Lacey Turner In Our Girl

Last night, Lacey Turner starred in BBC One's one off drama, Our Girl. It was a very moving programme, where a teenage girl from East London joins the British Army, leaving her not so good start in life behind.

The Mirror has written about Lacey's interview with Take It Easy magazine, discussing her role in Our Girl. Click here to read the article.

Lacey provided fantastic acting in the army drama. She made the part really believable and gave the 5.3 million viewers a good insight into what joining the army is really like. In the article, Lacey suggests that the drama reflects reality in the armed forces, after observing training in Pirbright: "I spoke to some of the girls there and it was a real eye opener. There were so many young girls who were only five foot four like me, tiny little things." 

The BBC One show also portrayed life as a working class family living in London. Relationships between Lacey's character, Molly, and her family became apparent and as a viewer, I empathised with her. These relationships develop and evolve throughout the ninety minutes, making it an emotional watch. To add to this, there's a twist at the end of the drama tricking the viewer, which I thought was a clever and effective end to the story.

If you haven't already seen Our Girl, I definitely recommend it. 

Abbey Hartley

Critical Reflection

My Strengths

Traits I am proud of:

- I believe I'm very organised. I like to plan my work in advance, so I never miss a deadline and complete tasks to the best of my ability without stress.

- I'm a very calm and collected person. I handle situations well under pressure and have the skill to remain together in stressful times.

- I work well individually but also complete tasks effectively within a group. I also believe I am a good team leader due to being assertive, confident and organised.

- I'm an extremely out-going individual who is easy to get along with. I find this useful when conducting interviews. To add to this, I like to offer help and advice to colleagues around me.

My Weaknesses

Traits I wish to improve on:

- I think my public speaking can do with some practice. I get very nervous when delivering pitches and speaking to large groups of people. This is a skill I hope to develop in future projects.

- I sometimes lack inspiration and creativity when developing ideas. I think my imagination needs to be broadened to help improve on this weakness.

Abbey Hartley

The Guardian's Interview With Louise Court: My Opinion

The Guardian: "Cosmopolitan's editor-in-chief discusses why feminism is still a taboo subject for many people and while some battles have been won, there are still many to come. She also talks about how she experienced sexism while working for a newspaper in the 80s and looks at the challenges presented by the changes in how people consume media today."

Click here to view The Guardian's interview with Louise Court.

 I have many opinions on the views expressed in this interview. I am a big fan of Cosmopolitan and find it interesting to hear the editor-in-chief's thoughts. Firstly, I completely agree with Louise, when she says that we need to "get women in more senior positions" within the media such as newspapers, magazines and advertising. I think it is important to have a gender balance in senior media roles. In the future, I hope to be one of these women who helps decrease the male domination of the industry. 

The topic of feminism is discussed in the interview. I believe feminism is not over and should still exist even if there are many negative connotations linked to the notion. Many individuals feel that men and women are now equal, I however do not. The fact that there are more males in senior media positions is just one example of gender inequality. As Louise says, "It's really important to remind people that actually we've won some battles, but there's a lot more battles to be won."

The interview goes on to talk of declining print readership in newspaper and magazine publications, but Louise speaks of the changes optimistically: "I think the exciting thing about a massive brand like Cosmo is that our audience is growing all the time. We've increased our audience by one million over the last year through digital editions, growing on our website, social media." I also think the growth of online resources is exciting and positive. It allows newspapers and magazines to reach even more audiences and different types of people through various platforms. However, I hope that print publications do not become extinct in this media revolution.

Abbey Hartley

Tuition Fee Investigators

From March 2013 until May 2013, me and five other aspiring journalists will be conducting an online investigation. We want to find out where student tuition fees go and what they are being spent on. We aspire to answer the questions: Do students feel that they are getting their money's worth? With the recent rise in tuition fees, has education improved? Who decides where this money goes?

My role within the investigation is to be Editor. This involves me leading the team, allocating roles and filling in the gaps of the investigation. Another major task of the Editor is to write a concluding article, summarising all of our findings. So far, I have conducted a survey to find out if students feel their degree is worth the tuition fee money. I will now be interviewing students to receive vox pops and audio opinions. In the coming weeks, I will also be contacting various organisations such as Student Finance and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to find out what tuition fees are actually being spent on.

We will be recording our findings on an online blog: www.tuitionfeesandstudentloans.wordpress.com. Please feel free to read my work and the group's investigation. My posts will be found under the 'Editor' category. I hope you enjoy reading!

Abbey Hartley

Future Outlook

Short Term Appraisal

What I expect to achieve in six months:

- Offer a good performance in my week long placement at the Birmingham Mail in April 2013. This will be my first work experience within a newspaper environment, so I am very excited about this prospect.

- Impress 69 Degrees in June 2013, when I complete a week long placement there. This is especially important to me as I aspire to work for a fashion and lifestyle magazine in the future.
- Achieve experience and knowledge in the investigative journalism sector, as I am completing a two week long placement at Help Me Investigate in July 2013. During this time, I will also be attending the Centre for Investigative Journalism Summer School which I'm very much looking forward to.

- Work well at the Worcester News, when I complete three days of work experience there in August 2013. I am hoping to use skills I learnt at the Birmingham Mail to impress staff at this newspaper.

Long Term Appraisal

What I expect to achieve in three years:

- As stated before, my main aim after completing my degree in BA (Hons) Media and Communication is to work for a showbiz, fashion, culture and lifestyle magazine. I have a huge interest in these topics and would love to write about them as part of my career.

- I am hoping to graduate from Birmingham City University in 2014 with at least a 2:1 (or preferably a first class). I also wish to have an impressive CV with huge amounts of experience to promote.

- Another one of my aspirations for the near future is to travel. I would love to visit Australia or the USA to go sightseeing and experience different cultures. I believe this adventure would broaden my knowledge and help develop my independence and confidence.

Abbey Hartley