tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20823184592110062082012-01-26T18:14:06.396ZBy Mark AnsellMark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.comBlogger1661100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-33857774597686962272012-01-18T23:30:00.000Z2012-01-26T18:14:06.407Z

On Monday I went to Shiregreen, in the north of Sheffield to a primary school where the children give each other massages every day after their lunch break. The peer massage has split opinion among the parents with some complaining that it's inappropriate. The story prompted a big reaction from the BBC Radio Sheffield audience with callers arguing for and against the idea. They say imitation is

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK53.381129 -1.47008553.3053575 -1.6280135 53.4569005 -1.3121565000000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-5814265747362312012012-01-10T14:16:00.000Z2012-01-10T18:46:12.383Z

Bonds? Quantitative easing? Austerity? I've always struggled with understanding economics news so am looking for coverage of the global economic crisis which will help me get my head around it. I've recently discovered the BBC's Global Economy webpage which explains some of the main issues and key phrases in a concise and comprehensible way. Here's the BBC's Global Economy webpage: http://

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-54795815710426489202011-12-19T09:44:00.001Z2011-12-19T10:45:05.054Z

Sometimes while out reporting you meet the most remarkable people. Grenville Squires is not just notable because of his name, for 28 years he was the caretaker of Park Hill, Sheffield's (in)famous council estate that towers over the city. Anyone who's ever taken the train to Sheffield can't have missed the huge buildings of flats at the top of the hill. They were built in 1957 and are Europe's

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-81770132321761417122011-11-28T10:13:00.008Z2011-11-28T11:03:29.311Z

I'm very excited to be starting my first day of a six month attachment at BBC Radio Sheffield where I'll spend most of my time reporting for the Toby Foster Breakfast Show. I'd love to hear your story ideas for South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. If something unusual or exciting is happening to you or someone you know, or you know of an issue that people are getting behind, then do let me know.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-27145988313757406172011-10-31T15:02:00.000Z2011-10-31T21:24:00.341Z

If you’re a journalist or interested in a career in the media, I would highly recommend making use of a website that was until recently only available to BBC Staff. The BBC College of Journalism website is now accessible to all.It covers advice on how to report on different specialisms such as politics and religion, as well as how to write for broadcast and a guide to the importance of accuracy

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-10340133877536980052011-10-17T20:04:00.006+01:002011-10-18T00:27:23.079+01:00

As part of the Olympic Dreams series for BBCRadio Derby I've been tracking the progress of four of Derbyshire's London 2012 hopefuls. Rebecca Peake is a shotputter from Kilburn and here's an article that my colleague who works on online has written using my interview with Rebecca:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/14445308.stm

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-10377511938914755572011-10-03T23:20:00.009+01:002011-10-03T23:34:31.368+01:00

Click here for more on this.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-79127431248008274672011-09-14T13:26:00.002+01:002011-09-14T14:42:42.907+01:00

I've been featured alongside four colleagues at BBC Radio Derby in the BBC's staff magazine Ariel. Five of us in the newsroom have already got, or are about to get, married! Click on the photo above for a closer look.Emily and I are also on our wedding photographer's website. Danielle Benbow is relatively new to working on weddings but the quality of her photos is superb. Click here to see our

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-50033968656273811512011-09-03T11:34:00.025+01:002011-09-10T00:39:11.805+01:00

Yes, I know, I can almost see you cringe!(Click on the picture to see a bigger version)Journalists always get their facts right. Although in this case, Emily's parents have somehow gained a farm - much to their delight!

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-24226277580087545942011-08-15T13:01:00.002+01:002011-08-15T22:41:06.851+01:00

I know I'm a pedant but something that really frustrates me is hearing mispronounced words, for example "fus-trated" instead of "frustrated". Listen to what I've recorded on my phone, two sounds I hear most days on the commute to work and when I'm on my break. Can you guess where I recorded these two sounds and which phrase they have in common which is mispronounced?

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-44241768549458817752011-08-01T18:23:00.003+01:002011-08-02T00:02:16.471+01:00

Over the last few weeks I've been working on a series for BBC Radio Derby called 'Olympic Dreams'. I'm tracking the progress of four athletes in the build up to London 2012. They are Leon Taylor who is the Paralympic football team goalkeeper from Chaddesden, Rebecca Peake, a shotputter from Kilburn, women's boxer from Oakwood Talia Anthony and one of Derbyshire's most successful current athletes,

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-32016317998287200632011-07-23T19:49:00.021+01:002011-08-15T22:44:53.205+01:00

Today I've been covering the Bombardier march and rally in Derby. I reported live from the Bass Recreation Ground where the five to six thousand protesters gathered (photo 1), on the march through the city (photo 2) and at the rally on Cathedral Green (photo 3). I also recorded some interviews for Monday's breakfast show including one with Derby South MP Margaret Beckett. I took photos on my

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-55688861096077424162011-07-13T09:07:00.028+01:002011-07-15T13:35:10.973+01:00

I'd like to share with you some of my favourite money saving websites. I've always been keen on spending money wisely and these sites have helped me do that.MY 8 WAYS TO SAVE:1. First and foremost, www.moneysavingexpert.com is an excellent website for finding out the cheapest way of buying just about anything. The website is run by Martin Lewis, who happened to do the same Broadcast Journalism

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-63110366816261455962011-07-06T06:32:00.003+01:002011-07-06T20:28:46.124+01:00

BBC Radio Derby has recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. To mark the event, a video of a day in the life of the radio station has been made. It gives you an insight into what my colleagues and I get up to at work...Click here to watch the video on the BBC Radio Derby Facebook page

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-41286184693610949042011-06-25T20:20:00.014+01:002011-06-26T12:02:45.226+01:00

I've been in Poland this week to celebrate the wedding of my brother and new wife and had a bit of time to explore Poznań.While looking around the city I came across an overbearing monument (left) that immediately reminded me of the Soviet war memorial at Treptower Park in Berlin (right). Confused why in contemporary Poland the era of communism would be commemorated, I took a closer look. I

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-82766714139176079832011-06-13T17:51:00.003+01:002011-06-13T20:30:28.948+01:00

If you've never been to Taizé but have wondered what it's like there, here's an excellent video for you to watch...Life at Taizé from Taize on Vimeo.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-27390612466895949902011-05-27T09:01:00.003+01:002011-05-27T09:50:33.642+01:00

This type of journalism really annoys me. It gives journalists a bad name. The headline in this Metro article is 'We'll Stuff Take That!' and yet if you read the quote from the The Wanted in the article below, you'll see that it has nothing in common with the headline. They say: "We want to be big or bigger than Take That", not we'll stuff them or we'll be bigger than them. A trivial example I

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-28044272822217149872011-05-19T09:02:00.005+01:002011-06-13T20:21:11.653+01:00

It was BBC Radio Derby's 40th birthday last month and we've been marking it by looking back at some of the key events in Derbyshire and East Staffordshire over the last four decades. I made a package on Derby County's move from the Baseball Ground to Pride Park in 1997. I went along to the recent home game against Hull where I took this photo and recorded lots of natural sound which included the

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-45846322055766974062011-05-09T23:43:00.026+01:002011-05-13T17:46:21.513+01:00

BBC Radio Derby has tonight been named Sony Station of The Year for an unprecedented third time in five years (and second year in a row)! It makes all the hard work everyone at the station puts in worth it. It may not look state of the art, but we create award winning radio in this former car show room. Click here to read what the judges said about us. Here's the video of our team collecting the

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-81298947935202108092011-05-03T08:53:00.023+01:002011-05-04T00:27:05.343+01:00

I've written the following as a guest blog post for the website www.newmediamonster.co.uk which covers all things new media. My work as a BBC reporter has been helped enormously by finally giving in and investing in an iPhone in November last year. I now heavily rely on it to help me tell stories. I’m often the radio car reporter, which means I drive a people carrier around my patch (Derbyshire

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-63755133241882029782011-04-28T10:05:00.004+01:002011-04-28T10:16:54.763+01:00

I've been at The Alexandra pub in Derby this morning doing a live report from the radio car. The royal wedding will not be shown tomorrow and any talk about it is banned. Here's my tease (a short piece tempting you to stay tuned) and my live... Pub Ban Royal Wedding by markansell

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-29485114190329694302011-04-26T13:01:00.013+01:002011-04-26T14:00:47.758+01:00

I never thought I'd have the chance to report on Oxford United but on Easter Saturday I covered the Chesterfield match at the Kassam Stadium for BBC Radio Derby - albeit from the opposition's perspective. My pre match, half time and full time reports had to be brief. I wonder what you think about me singing during my half time report? Too much? Perhaps, but I think it's important to inject

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-31883593790893930562011-04-22T21:23:00.020+01:002011-04-23T01:47:17.912+01:00

I've been in Birmingham this week covering my first murder trial. Sylwia Ciapinska was a 24 year old Polish teacher who came to live in Burton to earn money to buy a house in Poland. Just two weeks after she moved to England, she was murdered by her Polish housemate Tomasz Sobczak.The Crown Court in Birmingham is a long way from the BBC building called The Mailbox, so I decided to use my iPhone

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-74103623548999907472011-04-14T21:16:00.006+01:002011-04-14T22:16:35.488+01:00

I've been looking into the stats on the number of young people in Derby who are are claiming job seeker's allowance. I found out that over the last 3 years it was up 77% to over 2,000 18 to 24 year olds. I went out in to Derby to ask random young people the daunting question, "why aren't you working?" And this is what they told me for this morning's breakfast show on BBC Radio Derby...

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-55291362033193334212011-04-10T08:01:00.003+01:002011-04-10T08:36:41.565+01:00

I recently had the great pleasure of going back to Risley, the Derbyshire village where I spent many a happy weekend in my younger years. My Bonnemaman (Belgian Grandma) and Grandad lived in a lovely big, old house (left) with outhouse after outhouse next to garden after garden. As part of a nature series for the afternoon programme I went to a bird of prey centre in the village. The lives I do

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-36825270599409766262011-04-01T20:59:00.008+01:002011-04-02T15:21:17.425+01:00

Today I was reporting live at a new 'fish therapy' shop in Burton after stories in the press claiming that it could be dangerous to have fish nibbling on your feet... Podcast Powered By PodbeanAfterwards, I recorded a video on my phone...

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-53310447183846040432011-03-31T17:11:00.011+01:002011-04-01T20:58:32.446+01:00

One of the stories on the latest University of Sheffield alumni email not only took my breath away but also provided me with an excellent interview for the breakfast programme on BBC Radio Derby. Two PHD students built a helium balloon fitted with cameras and launched it into the atmosphere to record the earth from the edge of space at a cost of just £350. The video they made is well worth

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-43662420273374780002011-03-24T20:27:00.005Z2011-08-08T20:28:42.230+01:00

My friend (and best man) Matt Willis and I gave our friends Joel and Issy an unusual wedding present - an audio diary of their special day. Our edit lasts 47 minutes but here is our 5 minute, cut down version... Joel and Issy's Wedding short by markansell I hope you enjoyed it. Matt and I have even considered setting up a business offering engaged couples this service. After all, it's more

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-79492156765331955692011-03-12T11:47:00.002Z2011-03-14T21:23:37.168Z

A group of Irish travellers in rural South Derbyshire have had their application for planning permission to live on a field in Church Broughton rejected. They bought the land and started living in caravans there without planning permission so applied after the council put a stop notice on the development.It's well known in the journalism world that travellers do not often agree to speak to the

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-80062482852373732372011-03-04T19:15:00.025Z2011-03-12T15:56:44.641Z

One of the most enjoyable aspects of being the radio car reporter is the range of stories I get to cover.Hard news is what you live for as a reporter but it's great to be able to do some light hearted stories from time to time. Serious stories often tell themselves (you stick to telling the listener the hard facts) whereas lighter stories offer the opportunity to be more creative. Today, for

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-45478597659788012052011-02-16T18:45:00.012Z2011-02-17T21:43:00.636Z

I spent today in Ashbourne covering the funeral of the four children who died in a house fire in Hulland Ward last month. I, and the other journalists from BBC East Midlands Today, ITV Central and local newspapers, were allowed to sit at the back of the church during the service. It was an emotionally draining day and I couldn't help feeling out of place - being exposed to so many people's grief

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-72683381344540495642011-02-09T15:26:00.002Z2011-02-10T19:16:20.027Z

Over New Year I was one of the 30,000 young people that met in Rotterdam for the Taizé European meeting. The Taizé Community is an ecumenical Christian monastic order based in Burgundy in France. It welcomes hundreds of thousands of young people for pilgrimages every year. I've been there many times and did a week in silence there in September 2008.Every New Year, the community hosts a meeting in

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-59985039699084925122011-01-27T18:36:00.011Z2011-02-06T20:27:12.222Z

This is one of the few stories I've worked on which has continued to play on my mind long after my working day is over. Over the last couple of days I've been covering the disturbing story of the death of four children in a house fire in Hulland Ward near Ashbourne. This was the first time I've been on a story for BBC Radio Derby where TV crews from Sky News, BBC News, ITV News etc were there.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-33947117066611778902011-01-15T13:03:00.005Z2011-01-15T13:27:00.745Z

I've just finished the BBC Journalism Foundation training week in London which included having a go at creative writing. It's the first time in years I've written anything that was not news-related. I wrote about a family holiday in France when my then three year old brother Pascal nearly drowned. I ended up writing it through his eyes...I was curled up like a foetus. Still. Silent. But

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-10877994515420257682010-12-15T19:57:00.008Z2010-12-19T20:38:58.910Z

Today I went back to Hulland Ward near Ashbourne, where I was stuck in the snow with the BBC Radio Derby radio car two weeks ago. As you can see in this photo compared with those in my blog post below, the snow has since melted away. However, the white stuff is scheduled to fall there this weekend. I went back to interview the Coxon family who looked after me when I was stuck there for four hours

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-14040944218113517992010-11-30T19:52:00.020Z2010-12-02T13:44:49.659Z

Today instead of covering the story, I became it after being stuck in the snow for four hours. I left the newsroom prepared for the cold weather (see left) and headed to Hulland Ward near Ashbourne to do a radio car story for the breakfast show. I parked the vehicle in a drive off the main road and after doing the interview decided to head to Ashbourne to report live on the effect of the snow

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-668562093707632352010-11-17T13:39:00.000Z2010-11-17T20:09:59.330Z

I reported live for the BBC Radio Derby breakfast show on the phone in topic, is the high street dead? I went to Long Eaton, between Derby and Nottingham, and staged managed this live. I lined up the first interview with the owner of a newsagent who partly blames charity shops for the death of the high street and then walked across the road into a charity shop to put that accusation to the shop's

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-85015541088209224452010-11-02T10:55:00.000Z2010-11-02T16:38:14.373Z

I went to Ogston Reservoir in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside to do a feature for the BBC Radio Derby afternoon show. I recorded the interview about the sailing club on a speed boat with one of the club's founder members, 91 year old Harry Fisher.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-63242326135811845212010-10-19T20:01:00.005+01:002010-10-19T21:03:40.486+01:00

I've been working on the radio car shift at BBC Radio Derby recently and it's been really enjoyable. I've learnt loads about the patch - Derbyshire and East Staffordshire - and met some great people. I can broadcast live from almost anywhere in the patch by putting up a 30 foot mast from the car.One of my favourite radio car reporting jobs was at a sweet shop in Alfreton. I found this story while

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-74101994426125912542010-10-06T09:59:00.002+01:002010-10-06T16:59:48.767+01:00

I've been listening to some incredible podcasts made by one of my former colleagues at BBC Radio Oxford who's very sadly recently passed away. It's the best radio I've heard since the 'Anatomy of a Car Crash' Radio 4 programme which I blogged about a year ago. Ali Booker made 'the cancer diaries' for Oxford commercial station Jack FM. They are an incredibly moving insight into what it is like to

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-55184199195771695882010-09-27T20:43:00.000+01:002010-09-27T21:51:56.492+01:00

My last package for ITV Calendar was on Ian Hutchinson making history at the Isle of Man TT.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-35791995152494393882010-09-20T08:01:00.001+01:002010-09-19T23:26:50.112+01:00

One of the last things I did at ITV Calendar was to start a Facebook and Twitter Feed for the programme - something I had wanted to do since starting there. It felt quite a triumph to finally have it mentioned on air with the graphic I'd commissioned.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-748901882814503702010-09-10T14:01:00.000+01:002010-09-10T15:38:38.188+01:00

My friend Millie is doing research on how great tits change their songs according to where they live. She's found out that urban birds sing at a higher pitch than rural birds as they have to reach above the noise of traffic. Millie's doing her PHD at Aberystwyth University but did part of her research in North Derbyshire. After discussing it in the pub (surely the best place to find out new

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-11248207313854324532010-09-01T09:03:00.005+01:002010-09-01T14:12:52.478+01:00

Before I left ITV Calendar I interviewed Mohammed Bhaiyat and his dad Ziauddin. Mohammed was on one of the boats heading to Gaza when it was stormed by Israeli troops in May. He was taken captive after the forces dropped from helicopters onto the deck of the vessel. When Mohammed returned home to Bradford he came in to the ITV Calendar studios in Leeds to be interviewed.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-49426105679459505452010-08-27T08:13:00.000+01:002010-08-27T08:49:38.767+01:00

One of the last reports I did for ITV Calendar was on the missing Royal Marine Alan Addis. We got hold of the footage from British Forces News (BFBS) and I re-edited and re-voiced the footage.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-9274850696239026332010-08-16T20:44:00.001+01:002010-08-16T20:54:26.665+01:00

At the beginning of last year I wrote a blog about how the BBC News website should have a map of the world displaying the latest news on its homepage. All the new stories coming into the BBC from its journalists around the world would be displayed around the map with arrows showing where the story's taking place. I'd call it 'BBC News 24/7'. Now scroll down and have a look at what I've found on

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-40402444804770185572010-08-10T21:58:00.004+01:002010-08-10T23:00:45.026+01:00

This story on BBC Radio Derby kept me busy for half an hour a day for 7 days!:

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-66990703007309042172010-08-02T22:00:00.002+01:002010-08-02T23:39:10.157+01:00

For the first time ever, a story of mine has been pinched by a newspaper! I've been working for BBC Radio Derby recently and came across an engaging story about three ferrets. The day after it was broadcast, I found it in the Derby Telegraph, here's the start of the article... "Postman finds missing ferrets during roundsA POSTMAN left devastated after losing his pet ferrets has been reunited

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-52513163151470082562010-07-26T20:56:00.009+01:002010-07-28T09:01:01.627+01:00

I'm now working at BBC Radio Derby having left ITV Calendar last month to get more experience of reporting. Today I went to Ashbourne when a story broke about a four year old boy being found dead in a tumble dryer. Here's my live on the drive time show: After doing the live I went in to the centre of Ashbourne to try to find people to interview who know the family. I found Jenny who was happy to

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-23406677766088787042010-07-12T07:02:00.002+01:002010-07-12T07:54:51.103+01:00

Following on from my last blog, I've recently discovered the superb podcasts from The Economist. The best of which is the "Editor's Highlights" podcast where you can listen to an audio version of the editor's favourite articles from the magazine.I agree with the recent "Britain isn't Broken" leader article which I listened to on the "Editor's Highlights" podcast.But I would add another reason why

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-68700260890093200342010-07-03T06:09:00.000+01:002010-07-03T06:09:00.286+01:00

Here's a story I did recently on a Coronation Street actor visiting Yorkshire.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-77806772540470846372010-06-25T06:08:00.003+01:002010-06-25T23:21:05.226+01:00

We weren't allowed to go and film with the Lottery winner because of his poor health so relied on the Lottery's press department to supply us with footage. All they gave us was two photos of Ashley and a few interview clips which made it a very 'shot-challenged' story, as it's known in the industry. This meant I had to tell it in a way that didn't keep referring to him winning the lottery. One of

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-21772939220706157562010-06-19T01:30:00.016+01:002010-06-23T00:09:10.657+01:00

There's quite a few daily World Cup podcasts on offer and I've had a good listen. Expect to hear discussion on the Jabulani match ball and the noisy vuvuzelas mentioned in every podcast at least once. Here are a few in order of my preference:1. Top spot has to go to BBC Radio 5 Live's World Cup Daily. Mark Chapman or Mark Pougatch present the day's highlights from South Africa. The podcast

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-12290354103729979222010-06-16T12:07:00.002+01:002010-06-16T23:56:28.516+01:00

I recently reported on the arrival of lions in Yorkshire. My package was broadcast on the late news which goes out after the ITV News At Ten. Our reporter on the ground filmed the opening shot of the report after her package on the story went out on the 6pm Calendar programme. So I changed the package for the late news bulletin. I was producing the late news that night so it was hard work

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-1616199911830887592010-06-03T09:01:00.000+01:002010-06-03T11:16:07.418+01:00

As a TV journalist you are told to use the most dramatic pictures at the start of any report and I almost always do. But for this package on the car crash reconstruction I decided to use shots of the emergency services arriving to build up the tension before the viewer sees the wreckage of the car crash. It also allowed me to make the most of the dramatic natural sound that everyone associates

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-89528828192415829542010-05-27T10:01:00.005+01:002010-05-27T11:23:13.276+01:00

ELECTION BLOG 3In the two months before polling day, I worked full time on the general election. I interviewed a few 'big hitters' as they're known in the newsroom. Boris Johnson, Vince Cable (at 3 mins 36), David Willetts (at 6 mins 42), Chris Beverley from the BNP (at 9 mins 02) and John Denham (at 12 mins 28).And here are a few election quirks I came across...It's election delivering time in

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-53869566458885223612010-05-18T17:01:00.004+01:002010-05-22T14:02:41.033+01:00

ELECTION BLOG 2On polling day I put together a report on the elections. Broadcasters are very limited on what we can cover on the day of the election by the OFCOM Broadcasting Code section 6 which says 'discussion and analysis of election issues must finish when the poll opens'. So I included the leaders voting, unusual polling stations and the postponed vote in the Thirsk and Malton

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-23996552263891594192010-05-11T17:30:00.005+01:002010-05-12T18:21:10.896+01:00

ELECTION BLOG 1How did you follow the general election? The political parties invested a huge amount of effort into trying to reach their supporters and undecided voters through social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Before polling day, I investigated whether this is the first internet election...The report includes an interview with Richard Allan from Facebook and Dr Peter

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-4413771481419195822010-04-30T07:02:00.000+01:002010-04-30T07:02:00.128+01:00

As broadcast journalists we have to stick to the OFCOM Broadcasting Code to show 'due impartiality'. In this report on the strike at the Staythorpe power station in Nottinghamshire, it was important for me to tell the story without being biased in favour or against the workers who were striking - just to tell the facts of the story.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-37246077558192853692010-04-18T00:22:00.006+01:002010-04-20T12:05:44.830+01:00

I recently set up an interview with Chris Morris, a comedian who's renowned for never doing interviews. He was on ITV Calendar to promote the premiere of his new film Four Lions at the Bradford Film Festival.Here's the whole interview plus the post interview chat between our correspondent Jon Hill and Chris Morris...And this is how we told the story on the Calendar programme...Click here to read

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-81337614470409897582010-04-10T07:10:00.000+01:002010-04-10T07:10:00.595+01:00

To tell this story I used a graphic showing where the dairy is being planned for. The graphic also helped me because I didn't have many shots to choose from to tell the story.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-27758378650576421252010-04-04T07:01:00.001+01:002010-05-14T11:07:38.672+01:00

Unlike the podcasts I went through in my previous post, the following aren't broadcast on the radio and are only accessible through the internet. John Pienaar's Political Review podcast. The week's events in Westminster are mulled over by 5 Live's Chief Political Correspondent and a guest (often a political reporter for a national paper). It's informal yet informative and best of all, concise -

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-66520321360675630632010-03-29T07:01:00.009+01:002010-05-14T11:08:04.674+01:00

BBC Radio PodcastsI've been regularly listening to podcasts since I finally bought an iPod over a year ago. I think I've got my commitment to listening to radio programmes from my Dad - since I was a young lad I've seen him recording numerous radio programmes on cassette and then listening to them at his pleasure. And he still does so to this day. Podcasts are my equivalent.I thought I'd pick out

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-23463215857683968282010-03-22T18:54:00.001Z2010-03-27T22:03:49.592Z

I had the luxury of around 4 hours to put this report together. It allowed me to tell the story just as I wanted, using the natural sound of Lauren reading out the celebrities who had signed her certificate for example.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-29131070478430546452010-03-14T07:01:00.002Z2010-03-27T20:14:35.162Z

Before Christmas I put together this package on footballers in the Calendar region visiting children's wards. I used a 'dip to white' between each of the teams' visits to distinguish between them.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-78295223027580926112010-03-06T08:32:00.002Z2010-03-06T09:23:27.817Z

You will have heard that the BBC plans to close 6 Music and the Asian Network, but you may not know that BBC Blast is also going to go. Blast is/was about letting 13 to 19 year olds be creative in writing, film, music, dance, fashion and games. The project gave me one of my first breaks in the industry. I think it's a real shame that it'll soon be no more since it does give young people the

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-31269805283046546482010-02-26T16:30:00.001Z2010-03-02T12:35:47.805Z

Here's a story I did recently on the return of a missing man.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-915157866748192842010-02-22T00:12:00.001Z2010-02-22T00:23:25.757Z

Following on from Charlie Brooker's take on how we report the news, take a look at this clip from BBC comedy Broken News. Frighteningly close to reality!

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-90717285410999692012010-02-15T11:01:00.002Z2010-03-02T12:38:08.616Z

This was my one and only Christmassy package over the festive period and my first ever 'and finally'. We decided to leave out the fact that the surgery the reindeer needed was on his testicles!

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-39690058496024974722010-02-07T23:00:00.000Z2010-02-07T23:40:58.937Z

I interviewed the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families at a school in Malton for my colleague who was working on a story about libraries being compulsory in prisons but not in schools. I tried quite a few times to push him on this but, typical politician, he knows how to answer difficult questions.His press officer was very keen dictate where we shot the interview (living up to

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-46941882654987333182010-01-31T15:38:00.008Z2010-02-07T23:41:59.710Z

A superb parody on lazy story telling. It's a warning to me and all TV journalists to think carefully about how we put together our packages.To watch more of Brooker's Newswipe, click here.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-15684984743166221752009-12-29T19:31:00.002Z2010-02-07T23:43:58.175Z

I went to a golf course to meet a very rich lady and a young golfer who's benefited from the money she's given to charity. I put a 'piece to camera' (where I talk to the camera) in the story because when I worked at ITV Meridian they were expected in packages. I regret putting it in as it didn't add anything - I think pieces to camera should be used to show viewers something extra.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-87029331498225800982009-12-20T09:02:00.000Z2009-12-20T09:02:00.450Z

Troops parading always provide good pictures for TV news stories. I enjoyed the challenge of being out in York with the soldiers and then heading back to the newsroom in Leeds to edit the package all within a few hours.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-28489393071039430092009-12-12T09:30:00.001Z2009-12-12T14:41:38.591Z

This video was put together at the end of the 2008/09 ITV News traineeship. It captures what it was like to be a trainee and always puts a smile on my face when I watch it. We saw it for the first time on the trainees' last get together in Birmingham in September and rounded off a very enjoyable traineeship year.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-25023334339711485792009-12-06T15:31:00.000Z2009-12-06T18:03:54.886Z

At the training in Birmingham which I talked about in my last post below, we (the trainees) were encouraged to go out and film a story on our own. So I went to a care home in Birmingham who'd been left without the use of phones for weeks. I started by interviewing the manager in her office and then I filmed some shots of the care home. I've always enjoyed using the camera but it's hard work

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-1877676151970115782009-11-28T15:35:00.005Z2009-11-28T18:28:59.865Z

On my last get together with the ITV News trainees, I had one of my first opportunities to give live reporting a go on TV. We gathered in Birmingham to make a not for broadcast programme covering the Midlands. For the trainee programmes in Leeds in June 2009 I was a presenter and then a programme editor, this time I was a reporter and was given the top story to work on - an independent

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-16183134583557074102009-11-18T08:16:00.000Z2009-11-18T10:05:57.583Z

This has to be the most unusual story I've covered: a motivational expert attempting to break a record for the amount of time spent walking on broken glass! I had two hours to put the package together which was made more challenging as I had thirty minutes of footage to choose from and a just few paragraphs of information on the story. If I'd had more time, I would have used Annie Lennox's

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-17242177189171259372009-11-07T08:31:00.002Z2009-11-09T12:59:18.208Z

I put together this package on RAF bomb disposal experts searching for unexploded devises in a North Yorkshire village.It was on the day Hannah Whelan came in for work experience and was useful for her to see me under pressure to tun the package round in two hours. A reporter had been out filming the story and had given me some tips over the phone on which parts of the footage to use. The

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-78599330283125784492009-10-28T23:27:00.001Z2009-10-29T16:37:22.624Z

When it was announced that women's boxing would be included at the London 2012 Olympics, we localised the story by filming with a boxer from Rotherham. It was a challenging story to edit because the subject of the story (Sharon, boxing) was always moving.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-74099524949988181802009-10-21T16:49:00.002+01:002009-10-21T23:26:52.340+01:00

On my first week at Calendar I was sent out on this story. I wasn't expected to be out reporting so soon but was really up for showing I could do it. I knew a bit about Sheffield Arena having been there to watch Queen with Paul Rogers a few years ago. First of all I turned up at a Leeds Council executive meeting to see if they were going to give the arena plans the thumbs up. It could have

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-40754453043108992382009-10-15T19:46:00.005+01:002009-11-05T17:48:13.361Z

I recently went to Brightlights, a Catholic youth festival in north London, and met some incredible people...One of the highlights was hearing Delia Smith talk about her faith and then spending some time one-on-one with her discussing Catholicism, football and modern life. She was very open, interested and friendly.The most inspiring speakers of the weekend were Barry and Margaret Mizen. Their 16

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-22009773256976985112009-10-11T09:48:00.001+01:002009-10-11T14:31:30.326+01:00

Liane Llewellyn has to be one of the most incredible athletes I've come across. The Yorkshire physiotherapist swam non-stop across the channel and back in twenty seven and a half hours. We had a cameraman in Dover to film with her before she left and on her return. His footage was sent to me in Leeds via the ITV Meridian newsroom in Maidstone where I used to work. I then edited the package

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-23297766517324181092009-10-05T09:17:00.002+01:002009-10-06T19:27:55.552+01:00

Hannah Whelan, an A Level student and sister of my good friend James, shadowed me for a day at ITV in Leeds. I asked her to write a blog about the day. Hopefully it'll give you an insight into what it's like to work on the Calendar programme. Over to Hannah..."I'm a seventeen year old 6th form student desperate to get into the media industry. After doing work experience at an advertising agency,

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-67954451791647208152009-09-24T08:52:00.002+01:002009-09-25T11:57:18.028+01:00

This is the sad story of a Lincolnshire man being held captive in Iraq. We got the interview from ITV Granada - they cover the story too as the hostage's mum lives there. I put this package together for Calendar using Granada's interview, an interview we did with an expert on the war in Iraq from Bradford and our archive material from previous packages we've done on the story.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-84346768890986304042009-09-12T22:26:00.001+01:002009-09-12T22:54:13.179+01:00

Since starting as a journalist at ITV Yorkshire, I've been doing some reporting on the Calendar programme (covering Yorkshire and Lincolnshire). I was recently sent out to cover a story about one of the country's most dangerous train stations.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-65674304036020860512009-09-05T09:04:00.001+01:002009-09-12T22:58:49.304+01:00

All the ITV trainees were asked to put together a video of what they thought of their year and here's my offering. Watching it makes me realise how much I got out of my nine months with Meridian in Southampton.On Monday I'll be in Birmingham for the final training week with the seven other trainees. We'll be learning how to shoot our own stories - being the cameraman as well as the reporter.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-68161213669222259882009-08-30T17:18:00.010+01:002009-08-31T00:02:48.354+01:00

I recently finished as a trainee at ITV Meridian in Southampton to start a job as a 'newsroom journalist' on the Calendar news programme on ITV Yorkshire in Leeds. It means I'm back in Yorkshire and living in my favourite city in Britain, Sheffield.I had a great nine months at Meridian where I worked with some true professionals. I learnt how to set up stories for TV news, produce news

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-47271622782289383652009-08-01T23:03:00.009+01:002009-08-30T23:58:31.308+01:00

This has to be the best piece of radio I've ever heard. Listen to it, I bet it'll make you drive differently.The programme is called Anatomy of a Car Crash and was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 yesterday.It tells the story of a fatal car crash through the voices of the different people involved. There's no voice over which is a really hard technique to pull off in radio and in this case, really works.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-54414259558357614472009-07-30T09:00:00.002+01:002009-07-30T09:37:09.624+01:00

At the ITV training in Leeds, we also had a go at live reporting. One of the difficulties during the live is that you're constantly being updated in your ear piece with the amount of time you have left and have to be fairly strict about finishing on zero.For me, this is the most challenging and nerve-wracking part of reporting but I'd love to be doing lives all the time. It brings back the rush

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-50797177703545785522009-07-19T16:50:00.004+01:002009-07-30T09:13:29.650+01:00

At the ITV training fortnight in Leeds, we (the trainee journalists) made a second programme. I reported on a story in Sheffield. Look out for a cameo appearance from my girlfriend!Here's the link into the package that the presenter reads: "There's hardly a section of society that isn't feeling the effects of the recession. A recent survey questioned thousands of students in Sheffield, York and

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-49925815192114898162009-07-10T23:32:00.000+01:002009-07-14T23:42:41.054+01:00

I’ve finally got round to uploading the ITV trainee programme that I and the seven other trainees worked on. It was originally twenty minutes but I’ve had to cut it down as YouTube has a maximum upload of ten minutes. The edit points are marked with a ‘dip to white’ (a flash of a white screen). Each of the eight ITV regions has a trainee. We met in Leeds in April to produce two trainee programmes

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-21878913465558311432009-07-01T13:20:00.004+01:002009-07-01T13:33:12.537+01:00

On my placement at ITV in Leeds last month I interviewed David Blunkett about the Prime Minister's latest cabinet reshuffle. He was at a volunteering event in Sheffield. I realised the volunteering day would make quite a good story itself so I got enough material to make it into a package.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-12955237507000407972009-06-14T16:47:00.001+01:002009-06-14T17:38:06.126+01:00

I was recently at ITV Meridian's Maidstone bureau and got the chance to go out reporting. For the first time, I edited the story without any help and none other than Mr Fred Dinenage introduced it!

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-72723062523422317322009-06-05T18:56:00.006+01:002009-06-07T13:10:44.278+01:00

Earlier today I interviewed David Blunkett - he was at a volunteering day at a primary school in Sheffield. I started with a couple of questions on volunteering then moved swiftly on to as many about politics as he would stand! A soundbite from my interview was used in a package on Calendar this evening on the cabinet reshuffle.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-33980690333825224942009-05-30T10:12:00.007+01:002009-05-30T13:42:28.292+01:00

Last night I went to Farnham in Surrey to cover a meeting called by the local MP to explain his expenses. Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Culture Secretary, is thought to be the most senior MP to come clean about all his expenses.I put together an 'as live' for the ITV Meridian late news but as it was such a short bulletin, we used a soundbite from the MP instead. Nonetheless, it was good experience.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-84830258058737750932009-05-21T11:16:00.002+01:002009-06-05T07:44:58.049+01:00

I've recently put together a showreel of some of my best bits on TV.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-61059664991401183002009-05-13T21:19:00.004+01:002009-05-13T21:55:44.591+01:00

Late last night, after his Reading team lost the play-off semi final against Burnley, Steve Coppell resigned as manager.The day before, I went to Reading's training session to interview Coppell for ITV Meridian about the match. As you'll see, there was no sign he was on the verge of leaving.

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-28908253638422254162009-05-11T16:30:00.000+01:002009-05-11T16:36:10.978+01:00

Over the last few months at ITV Meridian, I've been producing the lunchtime news bulletin. I thought I'd write a little bit about what it involves:As well as the flagship Meridian Tonight, we have bulletins during GMTV, at lunchtime, after the News at Ten and at weekends. Each bulletin has a producer in charge and I've been learning how to produce the lunchtime bulletin. The day starts with the

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-57118282209922154152009-04-23T09:01:00.005+01:002009-04-23T23:49:53.715+01:00

Last week a report of mine was broadcast on ITV Meridian. I went back to my school in Thame to cover The Gambia Week, celebrating its link with a partner school in the West African country. This included a slave ship assembly.On the morning of filming the story, my news editor called to say I couldn't have a cameraman as there was a breaking story that needed covering. This meant I couldn't

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082318459211006208.post-74875522518488967762009-03-30T08:15:00.000+01:002009-03-30T08:21:06.122+01:00

I find potential news stories in the strangest of places. On a walk in the Chilterns on my day off, I came across a tree which people living in the area attach shoes to! Having trawled the internet for more information on the shoe tree, I found out that nobody seems to know why it started and why it continues. A four-year heritage lottery project, costing over £250,00 bore no fruit. Some say the

Mark Ansellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06609499088663973721noreply@blogger.com0