This might sound like the obvious answer, but if I were given a million dollars to save journalism, I would pedal it all into employing more reporters.

Journalism is a massive thing, and if we’re including national and regional papers, radio stations, magazines and TV programmes, a million dollars won’t go very far. Even if I had ten million it probably wouldn’t get out of London.

So, I’d have to focus my reporters into the places that I think need them most, which is local newspapers and radio stations.

The first time I stepped into a newsroom was at a local paper, and I was surprised at how few reporters were there. In my mind there would have been probably 30 reporters, all working on stories. They would spent a lot of their time running in and out of the office, and sometimes days or even weeks researching big stories to make sure they had the all the facts right and they’d spoken to all the people necessary.

But in reality, there was a group of just 11 very hard working reporters. Because they were often working on two or three page leads per day, they rarely had time to leave the office, and stories were rushed.

Because they were pushed for time sometimes a non-story was turned into a story, just so they could fill the pages.

I think adding extra reporters into newsrooms would give journalists a chance to actually get out on their patch and get to know their community better, which would improve the quality of the news enormously.

I should probably say here that I do also think it’s important to make local news as multi-platform as possible, but at the moment reporters barely have time to write the stories in print or to prepare them for a radio bulletin, never mind turning them into videos, podcasts and web stories. More reporters would mean more time to turn things multi-platform, as well as getting back to the basics of good journalism: telling the news that affects your community.

I have spotted the flaw in the plan. Even narrowing it down to putting reporters only into local papers and radio stations, the million dollars isn’t going to go very far. So to save money, I’d employ junior reporters who have a talent for newsgathering above everything else and some web skills if possible. And I’d look into cutting down on the number of subs. While I’d NEVER sack all the subs- it’s just too hard to sub your own work- some days it feels like there’s as many subs as there are reporters, and it might be possible to trim.

This blog has been asleep for a good few months now, basically because I haven’t been travelling so have had nothing to blog about. But I’m now going to put it to use as a journalism blog.

I’ve started blogging in the blog ring TNTJ (tomorrows news tomorrows journalists) on Journalism.co.uk and have decided I can make a bit more an effort then the one post per month that TNTJ requires.

I thought about starting a new blog altogether, but seeing as I got quite a few readers on here before (although all friends and family!) I’ve decided to carry on with this one.

So the next blog post you’ll read on here (which I’ll post shortly) will be my response to this months question… If you had a million dollars to save journalism, what would you do. Check out journalism.co.uk/youngjournalists to see what the other young journalists said.

Happy reading!

Well my last week in the US was such a whirlwind that I didn’t get to post at all. There were plenty of internet cafes in New York but there was also so much to do that I just didnt have time to write.

So first of all, I love Chicago… even more then San Fransisco, and shockingly even more then New York. It’s a little less busy and intimidating then New York, and has a beach- just off Lake Michigan, which I really liked. What’s better then a city with the tallest building in the US, the original deep dish pizza recipes, loads of shopping, a park in the centre AND a beach? I’d definately go back. I also got very excited when on the first night I got to watch the ABC news being filmed live. The studio faces out into the street so you can just stand there and watch, which I thought was ace but I think the rest of my group were a bit bored.

So on the second night when we saw 3 news TV crews outside a bar in Chicago, we didn’t stop to see what was going on. I decided it was probably some American celebrity who I wouldnt have heard of, and just carried on walking without asking anyone who it was. And later on in a bar the news came on and I found out it was Barack Obama. DAMN! If only I’d had my news head on I could have seen Barack Obama with my own eyes, which I think would have been pretty cool. And I think if I’d been able to title one of my blog posts ‘Last night I saw Barack Obama’, it may have even beaten ‘Last night I showered with a frog’. But only just.

Moving on from Chicago we went to Cedar point amusement park in Ohio, and went on the wettest water ride I’ve ever been on. I may as well have just jumped in a swimming pool with all my clothes on. And then we queued for 2 hours to go on a 120-mile-an-hour-stupidly-high-seatbelt-but-no-harness ride, only to have it breakdown when we were 3 rows away from the front. But I had fun none the less.

And then we went to Niagra Falls, which completely lived up to expectations. Going on the maid of the mist tour meant I really got to appreciate how big it is. That might sound silly, but you really can’t appreciate how big it is unless you been in a boat at the bottom. I also got absolutely soaked, despite the stylish floor length blue poncho I was given. Not only was there the spray from the falls, it was raining cats and dogs and thundering and lightening too- which resulted in some pretty amazing views. I walked across the bridge to Canada to see the falls from the other side and get a stamp in my passport, despite the rain. It was a toss up when I was more wet- on the water ride in Ohio or walking across the bridge to Canada. 

We concluded our trek on Monday afternoon in the big apple. New York is MENTAL. Firstly, I was disappointed to find that Times Square was a triangle, not a square. But to stand there and see all the famous lights and advertisements was pretty awesome. In my 2 days in New York I managed to go see a show on broadway (Chicago- AMAZING), go up the Rockerfella (cheaper then the Empire State), see the statue of liberty (from afar) and go on a bus tour of down town manhatten (which gave me a fleeting glance of ground zero through an alleyway). Oh, and I went shopping and almost got lost in the gigantic Macys, and bought my dress for graduation. Yay. I stayed in a hostel while I was there, and again it was loads of fun, although much more cramped then my Chicago hostel. I’d definately go back and do New York again, a day and a half is no where near long enough!  

So, that brings my blog of my trip to America to an end really. Thanks for reading and commenting, and hopefully I’ll see you soon and get to show you a selection of the 1000 photos I took while I was there.

xxx

I went white water rafting in Jackson (cowboy town) and ‘rode the bull’ (sat on the front with my legs over). It was loads of fun! only a grade 3 river though, but I’d definately do it again!

First of all, thanks everyone for all the messages. I’d love to message you all back individually but am paying for computer time by the minute, and I want to go and explore. But dont worry, I’m sure I’ll spend plenty of time telling you all my stories when I get home. Over and over again, of course.

So I’ve just arrived in Chicago and am checking out my hostel. I’ve never stayed in a hostel before and was a bit nervous because I’ve heard so many horror stories- but it’s awesome here!! The 4 girls on the trek are all in the same room (I didn’t shotgun a bottom bunk quickly enough so unfortunately am on the top- no getting drunk for me!). The hostel is absolutely huge- there’s a floor with a kitchen and a common room and computers, and we get free continental breakfast here… woop.  In about an hour we’re going on a bike tour of Chicago, it’s drizzling but who cares? And then think we’re gonna go out drinking. Yay. And tomorrow we’re free to explore, I’ve heard Navy Pier is good and you can hire inline skates round Millenium park, so think I’ll check those out.

So since my last post we have left bear country. We were disappointed that we didn’t see any bears, but it’s nice to be able to sleep with our stuff in our tents before- the national park camp sites were really strict and we had to have all our bags in the trailer. They had some really strange rules there too, one of my favourites was ‘no food allowed in tents OR sleeping bag’ (damn, I always keep a sandwich under my pillow) and it is illegal to imitate a wolf or coyote noise.

Yesterday and today have mostly just been really long drive days- 10 hours yesterday (and I had a hangover) and 8(ish) today. But the day before we were in the Badlands national park- the scenery there was amazing, but the best thing was we got to stay in a lodge. I really appreciated a bed after 10 nights straight of camping. And there was another trek group in the lodge too, so we got together in the evening and played loads of drinking games (hence my hangover). And in the afternoon I had one of the most terrifying experiences of my life when I went on a sunset horse ride, and had no control over my horse, Chance, who wnated to go down the steepest bits of the hill rather then stay to the path. Ok, most terrifying was probably a bit of an exageration. It was mostly just funny.   

I now only have 4 nights of my trek left- 2 in Chicago, one in Ohio and one by Niagra falls, and cant believe how quickly it’s going. I’ll be home a week today, after a couple of days in New York! So anyway, I’m going to go explore, and I’ll update when I can, probably in the big apple.

This is just a quick one- I’m in a library in Jackson Hole in Wyoming and want to go and explore the town. It’s a real western town- all log cabins and cowboys and tonight we’re going to a rodeo and out to party. But not too much, we’re hiking in the morning.

We had a TEN HOUR drive yesterday, finally leaving California and going into Idaho, but it was easily the best campsite we’ve stayed in so far. There was a pool which was filled with natural hot springs water, and it had a big slide and some diving boards and played music, so we had a really good time there.

Then after dinner I went for a shower and sat on the tap was a little frog. So I’m really getting used to stuff like that- camping and getting up early (6.20 this morning), having to use drop toilets (yuck), making sure my tent is zipped up so ants and spiders don’t get in, and having dirty finger nails from all the time we’re spending outdoors. But I’m actually really enjoying the camping- we have a camp fire most nights and make s’mores and have a few drinks.

Since my last post I’ve also been to Yosemite, I didn’t manage the 17 mile hike to half dome, but did 10 miles- but it was so hot and the air was so thin I started to feel poorly, despite drinking 4 litres of water. However the hike I did was still really beautiful. We’ve also been to Lake Tahoe in Idaho, it’s a really popular holiday spot for Americans and the lake is so big it feels just like being at the beach- especially as the weather has really improved since my last post, so it was hot enough to swim.

Anyway, off to do some exploring and see if I can get my hands on a ice cream, it’s lovely and sunny here

I love San Fransisco! It’s the most amazing city I’ve ever been to, and I’ve loved my last 2 days here, and will be very sad to leave here tomorrow.

So while the rest of my group have gone to bed as we have an early start tomorrow (7.15 get up) I, the hardcore dedicated blogger, have stayed up on the worlds SLOWEST computer in the hotel lobby to rave about how much I love San Fran.

The whole trek is going really well, it’s day 4 now and I’m loving it! My worries did come true- there’s just 5 of us on the trek, 4 girls and 1 boy. And while my trek does join with another, there’s only one person doing that trek- the boy who is in with us. BUT we’re getting on great and being a smaller group really has its advantages, we’ve got loads of room in the van and get to have 3 sleeping mats each every night we’re camping (which is most nights so it makes a massive difference). But some times its a bit awkward- for example when we all want to do different things in big cities but dont want to go off on our own.

So far I’ve been to Los Angeles (I got there feeling very sick and disorientated after 22 hours of travelling including a 3 hour delayed flight, grrr) where I met some other travellers like me the night before we set off for the trek. Then on the first day of Trek we went to Universal studios and Hollywood, which was loads of fun.Day 2 we went to Monterey, which was on the Californian coast and had a really cool aquarium, and day 3 + 4 it’s been San Fransisco.

So we got here yesterday, had a tour of the city from our fabulous Trek leader Lauren (no, she didn’t pay me to say that), then went to a park for lunch and then walked across Golden Gate Bridge (which took over an hour because we took so many photos) and then in the evening went on a sunset sailboat cruise which was loads of fun, not least because we got free drinks. Followed by a trip to China town and the cheapest, nicest chinese food ever. And today we’ve been exploring the city, so have been to lots of shops, a gay neighbourhood, china town again and the worlds most crooked street. I’ve fallen in love with union square, which is like a park surrounded by shops- not entirely unlike millenium square in Leeds. Then this evening we went to a Baseball game- San Fransisco Giants v. LA Dodgers (i sit here typing wearing a Giants jumper), the atmosphere was amazing, not like an English football match as they sit all the fans in together. Unfortunately the dodgers won, but it was fun all the same.

Tomorrow we head to Yosemite on a 5 hour drive (i’m looking forward to catching up on some sleep in the van!) which will be really cool in a completely different way to the city. Lots of hiking and hopefully far less money spending.

Everything has been really cheap over here so far, and everyone really friendly. On the bus on the way home from the game tonight a load of strangers started talking to each other about the best place to go out in town- not something that would happen in England! And this morning in a coffee shop I had a right old chat with a personal trainer called Ray, who recommended I visit the gay neighbourhood (so I did). However, the weather has NOT been waht i expected- San Fransisco is downright cold for most of the time, and it was too cold to swim in the sea at Monterey. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for an improvement at Yosemite.

Anyway, I’m SHATTERED, and this was supposed to be a quick post, but what can I say? Blogging’s addictive. I’ll try keep you posted. xxx

I’m at Heathrow airport now, and my flight to Chicago will be boarding in about 40 minutes. Exciting!!

I had a bit of a scare this morning when I got to Heathrow and asked for directions to terminal 3, and a very ‘helpful’ man told me that terminal 3 was closed and unfortunately I was going to have to go to Luton, over 100 miles away. I started to panic until I realised that the man was laughing at me. I must remember not to be so gulible (and I must learn how to spell gulible).

So far everything has run smoothly *touch wood*. I finally managed to get everything packed (thanks Hannah), got to the train station on time (thanks Lizzie) and eventually got over my hangover from Friday night (thanks everyone who came out, it was awesome).

Tonight I’m going to meet two of the other girls on my trek in Los Angeles, so I wont just be sitting in a hotel room on my own. But I had to get up at 6, and by the time I get to LA it’ll be 11pm UK time, so I’m hoping for a good night’s sleep!

Anyway, must dash… gotta go get some breakfast before my flight. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to update again but I’ll do it as soon as I can. I’m likely to not have phone signal for a lot of my trek, so if I dont text you back its probably not because I’m ignoring you. Best way to contact me is probably by email (katiemcphillimy@googlemail.com).

Wish me luck!

My stuff won’t all fit in my backpack!! Dilemma!

I’ve always been one to overpack but this time I was really proud of myself when I looked at all my stuff laid out and thought it really wasn’t that much. But then I tried to fit it into my backpack, and it won’t go! And it’s not even a bit of a squeeze, I literally cant get half of my clothes in, let alone my sleeping bag and all my other bits and pieces.

So I tried to cut down and take out anything that wasnt absolutely essential, and so far I have managed to take out a t-shirt, a pair of shorts and a skirt. Oh dear. Think I’d better sleep on it and try again in the morning!

In one week and two days I will be jetting off to Los Angeles.

I’ve managed to track down two other people who are going on my Trek, via leaving a message on the Trek America message boards- and one of those two is travelling with her friend too. They’re all staying in the same Hotel in Los Angeles the night before the trek starts too. So I know there will be at least 4 of us plus the trek leader. But I’m a bit worried that’ll be it, because despite much facebook searching I haven’t managed to find anyone else going on the trek, I’m the only one who’s written on the message boards, and Trek America are still advertising my trek as ‘available’. Most are ‘closed’ this close to the departure date, or at least ‘limited’. 

However, I have found out that one of the other treks travels with us for most of the time, it’s a 6 week trek which then goes and does the South of country afterwards, so I’m really hoping it wont just be 4 of us and the trek leader.

It’s my birthday today (21 so I will legally be able to drink in the US, Hurrah!) and I’ve got a few helpful trek items as gifts. This includes some funky luggage tags from my mum and dad, and my brother got me an awesome ‘camping survival’ kit. It’s a big water bottle filled with emergency items- including a poncho, an emergency blanket, a whistle with a compass, a pen knife with a knife, fork, spoon and bottle opener, and a torch. Ace.   

Just incase you want to know where I’m going, here’s my itinerary (it’s a flexible trek so might not be exact, but its a vague idea- my mum suggested I do this):

1. Day 1: (Tuesday August 5th) Depart from Los Angeles- visit to Universal Studios and Hollywood
2. Pacific coast
3. Monterey (coast)
4. San Fransisco
5. San Fransisco
6. Yosemite National Park
7. Yosemite National Park
8. (Tuesday August 12) Lake Tahoe
9. Idaho/ Nevada
10. Jackson
11. Yellowstone National Park
12. Yellowstone National Park
13. Sioux Indian Lands (and Mount Rushmore)
14. Badlands National Park
15. (Tuesday August 19) South Dakota
16. Minnesota
17. Chicago
18. Chicao
19. Ohio
20. Niagra Falls
21. New York

Which is where my Trek finishes! But I’m staying in New York for an extra night, flying back on August 27. Fun fun fun.