Professor David Nutt, the UK's former leading government adviser on drugs who was sacked by the government in 2009 after making controversial claims about the risks of ecstasy, LSD and cannabis, is to give a lecture at Canterbury from 6pm to 7pm on Wednesday, January 25. This would be a fascinating event to cover, and could be particularly useful for those of you looking for an issue to cover for the Public Affairs feature in your NCTJ portfolios.

Here's the audio recording of a conversation held via skype this afternnoon between the postgrad newsroom and BBC TV Centre. Have a listen to the BBC World News Editor Jon Williams, to hear just what it takes to make it as a correspondent for BBC World News. 

We've been contacted by Bliss magazine, one of the country's most successful titles in the teen market.

They are looking for a male journalism student who would be up for writing a 500 word monthly column on the issues that affect teenage girls from a boy’s point of view.

This could be a great opportunity for one of our students to get some real experience of the discipline of writing a column, and reach a national audience. Needless to say it would be an excellent thing to have on your CV.

The Sky Bob Friend Memorial Scholarship might plausibly be described as the most valuable award available to an undergraduate student of journalism in the UK. It is certainly the biggest prize available to first year students in the Centre for Journalism.  It reimburses the winner’s first year tuition fee (UK/EU rate) and provides a month-long, funded work placement at Sky News.  Competition is fierce. So, what do you have to do to win? Applicants must provide, by 12 noon on Friday 27 January, a detailed proposal for a multi-platform treatment of a topical news item, appropriate to Sky News. Multi-platform means content suitable for TV, radio, online and mobile platforms. Proposals will be considered by a panel that will draw up a final shortlist of candidates. On Wednesday 1 February the shortlisted students will sit tests in general knowledge and spelling set by Sky News. Finally the candidates will be interviewed by a panel consisting of Rob Kirk of Sky News, Tim Luckhurst, Ian Reeves and Stephen Claypole of DMA Media. The scholar will be chosen according to the scholarship rules (available on request). The scholar will receive their prize from Alex Crawford OBE, RTS award winning Special Correspondent for Sky News and 2012 Bob Friend Memorial Lecturer, at her lecture on Tuesday 21 February in the Pilkington Lecture Theatre.  Our previous scholars, Alan McGuinness (2009), Dan May (2010) and Tania Steere (2011), can reveal all. Ian and I will offer guidance when term begins. 

Over the last two months the Leveson enquiry has been collecting evidence on the phone hacking scandals and other alleged press abuses which invade privacy. The evidence is being collected with a view to making recommendations for a new, more effective policy and regulatory regime.

All this was fresh in my mind as I read the latest edition of New Internationalist in which Mabvuto Banda wrote about the struggles in Malawi for press freedom.

With Twitter emerging as great source for rapid and concise news, many of the nation's journalists have taken to the social networking site and now use it both an outlet aswell as a source for information.  I found an interesting piece by BBC reporter, Philippa Thomas on how Twitter transformed her coverage of the Stephen Lawrence trial. 

Read here

The first three stories I read in the news this morning were all I suddenly realised about censorship:

-China campaign cuts entertainment TV by two-thirds: the government says there are too many Western values seeping into Chinese TV.

-Belarus puts restrictions on foreign internet sites: a new law will restrict access to foreign websites, force users to only shop through domestic websites and force internet clubs and cafes to report users visiting sites registered abroad.

-Anti-internet piracy law adopted by Spanish government: following the US's tougher measures on internet piracy the Spanish government is implenting new laws critics say infringe on freedom of expression.
 

Following yesterday’s convictions of Gary Dobson and David Norris for the murder of Stephen Lawrence, many areas of the media have unsurprisingly erupted in celebration to the verdict. It’s understandable. Few times in history has a case been so widely picked up and campaigned about following a single murder, and for the law to be changed to ensure justice because of this campaigning. But following this verdict has the press in fact stepped over the line from campaigning for justice to lynch mobbing?

Congratulations to MA students Laura Garcia, Lizzie Massey and Qandeel Warrich, whose video about lone yachtsman Oliver Rofix went out on the Media Trust's Community Channel this week.

You can see it on the Community Channel web site here - it's the first item in the programme.

And for older viewers, it's a chance to see how Anthea Turner's career is panning out.

I did not buy a copy of the News of the World when it hit the shelves for the final time earlier this year. I had no affinity with the paper – a source of some great stories and superb journalism it may have been, but it was not my first-choice Sunday.

However, I do have in front of me a copy of the last ever edition of the East Kent Gazette, purchased earlier this evening while at work. It’s on sale for the final time after its owner, Northcliffe Media, announced a few weeks ago it would cease publication of two papers – the EKG (which includes the Sheppey Gazette and the Faversham Times) and the Medway News.