Portfolio Critique

As I have split my portfolio into two sections, I shall critique each section individually then conclude with an evaluation of the project as a whole.

The Cosmopolitan section of this portfolio is the part I have been the most passionate about. I enjoy writing for women’s lifestyle publications and with strong personal interests in the topics I have written on I think it has brought the motivation to research thoroughly and produce some strong and interesting final pieces.

My initial thought and idea for this project was to create my own version of a women’s lifestyle magazine, using Cosmopolitan as the inspiration. I decided against this idea eventually as I felt that there were some aspects of the magazine that I would not be able to complete efficiently enough within the time permitted for this project, e.g. full fashion shoots, celebrity features etc. I also felt that this would make my portfolio seem quite limited in terms of style and variation, so finally decided on just creating a few articles

Is That Karma?

Wiltshire council have revoked the licence of Chippenham’s most popular night club, Karma

Police have felt that following prior warning and a licence review in August 2009 that the club has failed to adhere to demands. Karma owners were told to begin controlling the trouble caused by drunken customers.

Owner Mike Rosser and manager Jack Frost claim that they have made improvements and increased vigilance when it comes to drunken disturbances caused by their punters. However Wiltshire Council has been unsatisfied with the results and withdrawn their licence rights.

Rosser and Frost have confirmed they will be appealing the decision through the courts.

Is That Karma? Research

Wiltshire council taking away Karma Nightclub's licence.

Karma have previously been warned to control drunken customers behaviour.

Owner Mike Rosser and Manager Jack Frost believe they have improved and will be appealing.

Mike Rosser Quote
“Just to confirm, we are still open as usual. We have not been closed; we are going to Court to get this sorted once and for all.”

Mike Smith Quote

“I go to Karma whenever I am on a night out in Chippenham. It’s the best nightlife the town has. There are plenty of other places in Chippenham that have cheap drinks and people will get drunk there before heading to Karma.”

“Those places aren’t getting in trouble. I think the council will find that even with Karma shut, people will still get drunk and cause problems. They can’t close down every bar in Chippenham."

National News Story Indesign

I have combined these three stories into a standard national newspaper layout. Although the stories would not feature in the same issues or on the same page, it shows how they generically would look.
Click the link below to view it.

News Layout

Azerbaijan Win

Azerbaijan has won the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest with a remarkable 221 points.

Ell and Nikki performed beautiful duet ‘Running Scared’ which scored a giant 32 point lead ahead of runners up, Italy. They received 12 points from Malta, Russia and Turkey.

Although this quashed the UK’s hopes of winning the contest for the first time in 14 years, we can still claim partial victory. Nikki – full name Nikki Jamal – was born in Azerbaijan however lives in north London.

And it was not all doom and gloom for UK artists, Blue. They scored 100 points with pop song ‘I Can’, which is ten times more than last year’s entrant Josh Dubovie. After a brief glimmer of being at the top of the table with twelve points from Bulgaria, Blue ended up a respectable 11^th place, just missing out on the top ten.

Winners of Eurovision 2011

Azerbaijan winners - 221 points
duet by ell & Nikki = 'Running Scared'
Nikki is from North London.
12 points from Malta, Russia, Turkey

UK entry Blue scored 100 points.
12 points from Bulgaria
finished in 11th place

Irish entry Jedward finished on 119
8th place
12 points from Denmark, UK, Sweden

Booies fave France finished with 82 points

Nul Point?

Boyband Blue has been announced as the United Kingdom’s entry for this year’s ‘Eurovision Song Contest’ with catchy pop tune ‘I Can’.

The song, written by band members Lee Ryan and Duncan James, has been tipped to give the country its best Eurovision result for many years. The pop entry holds similarities to Blue’s pop style during their successful career which began in 2001.

The band was very popular after they began in 2001 and has toured the majority of Europe over the past few years. It is hoped that some established fan base and their experience will help us avoid ‘nul point’

Blue Announced for Eurovision Song Contest Research

Blue announced as UK entry - song = 'I Can' written by Duncan James and Lee Ryan (band members)

Blue started in 2001, split in 2005 and then reformed in 2009.
They have toured Europe - possible fan base?

1997 - last Eurovision win for UK - Katrina and the Waves.
2003 - Jemini - Nul Point
2010 - Josh Dubovie - 10 points

Bookies favourites:
1. France
2. Azerbaijan
3. Ireland - 3/1
Uk = 12/1

You Blue It

Chelsea’s loss at Old Trafford almost certainly decides the Premier League winners, with Manchester United now being only one point away from their 19^th title.

The game was set to determine whether the Blues could steal the title for a second year running or whether United could return the crown and bring home a record breaking number of titles.

The 2-1 defeat began when Javier Hernandez put his print on the game. The young Mexican striker wasted no time in blasting the ball into the back of the net after only 36 seconds of play. Hernandez has now scored 20 goals for his club in his debut season, being the first player to do so since Ruud van Nistelrooy ten years ago.

Chelsea vs Man Utd Research

Manchester Utd won 2-1
Goal Scorers
- Javier Hernandez (MU) - 36s
- Nemanja Vidic (MU) - 23m
- Frank Lampard (CH) - second half.

Utd now 1 point away from winning Premier League. This will be their 19th title.

Press quote from Chelsea Manager, Carlo Ancelotti:

“This game was important for us to fight for the title today but we didn’t do our best. Manchester United played better than us and they deserved to win. Also I think they deserved to win the title.”

“We lost the game in the first minute. We started so badly. Conceding the goal in the first minute, it was very difficult,”

Press Quote from Man Utd Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson:

“The players won’t muck it up. They’ll get the point. It’s fantastic to say we are the most successful team in the country regarding championships.”

News Piece Section

This section of my portfolio is to display my news writing skills. I have chosen to write 4 news pieces. 3 for national news and one for local.

The national news outlets I have been looking at include 'The Daily Mail', 'The Times', 'The Daily Express'. The local paper I have been looking at is Wiltshire's 'Gazette & Herald'. Their writing styles are relatively formal and to the point. I will be using the generic pyramid format to write all of these articles.

The focus will not so much be on the length of the article or the quantity of information as much as it was with features. Instead the focus is on including the important facts in the correct order.

I have chosen four articles to write. They are as follows:
1. Chelsea vs Manchester United - A win for Chelsea could bring them closer to holding onto their Premier League title. A win for Manchester United will all bar 1 point secure their 19th title.
2. Blue announced as UK Eurovision act
3. Eurovision Winner
4. Local Night club loses licence.

InDesign Layouts

Below are the links to my Indesign layouts for my articles within the Cosmo section of my portfolio.

Perfect Wax Article
This is arranged in the style of the  Cosmo website as it is an online piece. The images for products were acquired through retailers.

Tip Top Anning Article
Images acquired through retailers

"I am not who you think I am" Article
Images courtesy of Ryan Gingell with his permission to  use.

Summer Beats
Images acquired as free press images for the albums.
Back to School Article
Images acquired from Jennifer Spinks at the OU press office.

Fashion Article
Images acquired from retailers

Final Photo Edits

From the photoshoot I had a large selection of pictures to choose from. I picked two of the best images and edited them so they could fit into a magazine feature article.
The results are below

Photo's

These are the raw photos from the photoshoot with Linda Blight , directed by myself and taken by Natalie Blight, for the photography piece of my portfolio.Edited images to follow.

Summer Beats - Final Edit

Summer Beats

By Emma Blight

We love the summer time! There’s nothing better than chilling on the beach, catching a tan with your iPod in listening to the some perfect summer music. Or perhaps blasting out some hot tunes while on an exciting road trip. Whatever you are doing this summer, you will need to create an amazing soundtrack for every situation. Check out what we picked as our five favourite sunshine albums.

Rhianna - Loud

Rhianna is just one of those girls that we just wish we could be; consistently a fashion focus and rumoured to be getting close to a certain Mr Usher Raymond, we couldn’t be more ‘jel’. Despite this she has still had time to roll out the hits on her fab new album; ‘Loud’. The album features 11 tracks from the Caribbean princess and if it still hasn’t made it onto your i-Pod then there better be a good excuse.

This album is full of songs to match your every need. Feel like screaming at your lazy boyfriend? Let rip to ‘Only Girl in the World’. Need a ballad for a good cry? Try ‘California King Bed’. Time to cheer up your heart-broken girlfriend? Turn up ‘Raining Men’ featuring Nicki Minaj. Whatever you need, Rhi Rhi has it covered.

As well as a succession of hits that have already been released, including ‘What’s My Name’ featuring Drake, the albums unreleased tracks are just as good. Remember the Eminem track ‘Love the way you lie’ which feature Rhi Rhi’s beautiful vocals on the chorus, well check out our princess’ haunting own version of the track, it’s sure to pull on your heart strings.

I am not who you think I am - Final Edit

“I am not who you think I am.”

Profile Feature by Emma Blight

If you have been as glued to ‘Hollyoaks’ as we have been recently there will have been one story line you will have not missed. Newcomer Jasmine Costello, aged 16 has recently rocked the ‘Oaks by revealing she wants to be a boy.

The storyline followed Jasmines struggle to be accepted as her male alter-ego, Jason, by her close family, boyfriend and even herself. Now living as a male, Jason gives his family no choice but to accept the change and help make his transition from male to female as smooth as possible.

But this is not a story so far-fetched from real-live. There are an estimated 5,000 recognised transgenders in the UK alone, but this may not be the true number. Due to the high discrimination rates, it is common for people to keep their gender identity a secret.

Ryan Gingell, 21, is not one of those keeping quiet. He had a happy childhood, but couldn’t help but feeling different. It wasn’t until he turned 19 that he realised it was time to do something about it, which would change the way he lived his life forever.

In fact, Ryan was not born as Ryan at all. He was born as a female, but after discovering his desire to make the transition from female to male, he now lives his live as a transboy in Brighton.

Transwho?

Transgender’s are perhaps the most misunderstood cultures in the world. To someone who hasn’t experienced or had contact with someone who is living as a different gender the question would be “How on earth can you decide you want to be a different sex?”

 “Being transgender means that your sex does not align with your gender. So you can be assigned female at birth but how you feel about yourself whether it be masculine, feminine or neither, does not match. Some say it's like being born in the wrong body. Like having a male brain but female body or vice versa,” explains Ryan. “Transgender also encompasses identities such as genderqueer, bi-gender, genderless etc, which means that some people just don't identify as either male or female so remain, some could say, as androgynous.”

Back to School - Final Edit

Back to School

By Emma Blight

Many people view higher education as a way to better yourself and you are encouraged to pursue education and training as early as possible to get the best start in life. But not everyone has this option. Some people favour family commitments over education and some find that they cannot support this decision financially. Does this mean that all hope is lost? It certainly does not.

It is becoming increasingly popular for adults to begin studying at a later stage in their lives. These mature students may have not been pushed towards education at a younger age and live to regret that, or have decided on raising a family before looking for something to add more substance to their career or lifestyle. Others may simply be looking to re-train in a different area. Whatever is may be, there also becomes the difficult choice of where and how to study. Should single parents immerse themselves into full time study at a brick university? Should people who wish to enhance their career have to leave their job to aid their study? Not any more, thanks to the Open University.

The Open University is becoming one of the world’s most popular options for distance learning at degree level offering the opportunity of study to anybody despite circumstances or locations. There are no entry requirements and access and support is available for all, including a strong service for each of their 11,608 students with disabilities. Although it doesn’t appear in league tables as it is not a residential university, the OU received a satisfaction rating of 93% by its students last year.

Perfect Wax - Final Edit

Perfect Wax

By Emma Blight

Summer time is vast approaching and that means it’s time to get as much skin on show to catch that tan (or that man!). Time to make sure our skin is as smooth as a baby’s bum, and that starts with a bit of hair removal. Beauty expert Lesley Devlin shares her top tips on waxing.

1.       Preparation is key.
With proper preparation you can make sure you get the best results and hopefully reduce the after effects. For best results, the hair should be at least ¼ inch long and Lesley stresses the importance of making sure your skin is clean before a wax. It is also important to wear loose clothing to allow skin to breathe.
Are you bad at dealing with pain? If so, Lesley advises to avoid waxing during your period.
“Your body will be a lot more sensitive and, as well as the pain being a lot worse, the after effects such as a rash or inflammation may increase.
Lesley’s top tip to reduce pain is to take an aspirin 45 minutes before the treatment.
“It will reduce pain as well as reduce the risk of inflammation,” she says.

Tip Top Tanning - Final Edit

Tip Top Tanning

By Emma Blight

We all know that having sun-kissed skin makes us feel more wonderful, but how do you get the glow if you are stuck in the office all day. Tanning specialist Caroline Pellant gives us a few tips to achieving the perfect fake tan.

Is your tanning kit at the ready girls? No? Well here are the essentials when it comes to tanning. As well as the obvious bottle of fake tan, you should also stock up on exfoliator and moisturiser. After cleaning the skin, you should exfoliate.
“This will remove dead skin cells and help reduce the risk of streaks,” says Caroline.
Try Sally Hansen’s Pre-Tan Exfoliator for only £2.99

Moisturising will also help avoid those dreaded streaks.

Final amendments

For the remaining three articles in this section (Tanning, Waxing and Reviews) I will be making minor amendments to spelling and grammar and working to create a perfect article. There will be no other amendments to these articles.