Category: Training

NUJ freelance training in 2019

The National Union of Journalists has announced 2019 dates for my day courses for freelancers, all running at NUJ headquarters at Headland House, Acton Street, 10 minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations.

I am down to run First steps in freelancing, designed for new and recent converts to the freelance life, on Friday 22 March and Friday 11 October. It costs £60 for most NUJ members, £50 for student members and £110 for everyone else.

Winning and negotiating freelance work will run on Friday 5 April and Friday 25 October. It costs £70 for most NUJ members, £60 for student members and £130 if you are not a member. Continue reading “NUJ freelance training in 2019”

Aid organisations dodge cloud for technology that works

There were two reasons I wanted to write about software used by international aid organisations. The first reason was that there were lots of great projects to write about. Where commercial mappers failed, Missing Maps volunteers using OpenStreetMap and aerial images had 23,500 square kilometres of the Democratic Republic of the Congo hit by Ebola mapped in a fortnight, helping Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to tackle the outbreak.

The second reason was that aid organisations need technology that works in all environments. Among other things, this often means avoiding cloud computing. MSF physically flew its new maps to the Congo, first on paper then on a small server, to save bandwidth to its facilities there. Those with staff working mainly in the field, such as Oxfam and World Vision, make sure their software works offline. It demonstrates why cloud is not the answer everywhere, even if mobile coverage in Britain are usually better than in central Africa. Continue reading “Aid organisations dodge cloud for technology that works”

New NUJ training dates on freelancing and data journalism

All three of my NUJ training courses are due to run this autumn, all at the union’s London headquarters, Headland House. Winning and negotiating freelance work is on Friday 21 September, costing NUJ members £70, NUJ student members £60 and non-members £130. Details and booking here.

First steps in freelancing, which does what it says on the tin, is on Friday 5 October, at the same prices. Details and booking here.

And my Introduction to data in journalism course, organised by the NUJ’s London Freelance Branch, is on Friday 19 October, at a cost to NUJ members of £55, student members £45 and non-members £110. Book here.

 

Introduction to data in journalism course on 5 July at the NUJ

I will be running a course on using data in journalism at the National Union of Journalists’ London headquarters on Thursday 5 July. The course, organised by the London Freelance branch, is open to NUJ members at a cost of £55 and everyone else for £110.

The course is very much aimed at working journalists, and covers understanding data and risk, assessing data quality, surveys, data sources such as government and open data, freedom of information, combining and manipulating data and graphing. (It will not directly cover use of spreadsheets – there’s a limit to what you can do in a day.) You need to bring your own laptop or tablet with keyboard. Book here. Continue reading “Introduction to data in journalism course on 5 July at the NUJ”

New training dates: winning and negotiating, first steps and data journalism

On Friday 8 June, I will be running a new one-day course, Winning and negotiating freelance work, for the National Union of Journalists in London. It is designed for those who have recently gone freelance or want to improve their skills in this area.

The course will include ideas and practice on how to win new work and negotiate its terms; what you need to earn; different ways to pitch ideas; how to produce a good quote; advice on ensuring you have an enforcable contract; and how to chase late payments. Continue reading “New training dates: winning and negotiating, first steps and data journalism”