Catch 22 Office Chat

MATILDA: Areeb where have you been?

AREEB: (silence)

ME: Areeb, Matilda's talking to you!

AREEB: I'm just thinking of what to say...Oh yeah, I had to get something from my Dad at the mosque.

MATILDA: *side-eye*


In a fix? Need an excuse? Dial 111-555-I-W-A-S-A-T-T-H-E-M-O-S-Q-U-E for a quick, ready-to-use escape clause :-P

Media Partner Work Experience Wishlist

So with the prospect of a professional placement looming, I've been asked to note down the three places I'd quite fancy ending up after Catch is over (which will be a sad day in Sarah-ville). Here they are:

At number 3:
PARTNER: Conde Nast
TITLES: Vanity Fair, GQ, Wired, Hotel Chatter, Vogue (their flagship magazine).

WHAT FOR?: This may be a tad optimistic, but I adore Vanity Fair and the old school American cinematic glamour they stand for. All of Conde Nast's publications are very high profile, sophisticated and focus a lot on the finer things in life, particularly Hotel Chatter. How brilliant would it be to be put up in a plush hotel and write about it? Pretty brilliant, I reckon. And all of their publications have such quality invested into them, even Nutrition Data. Conde Nast I would say is definitely a consumer focused publishing house, with a publication suited for any type of person, but mostly women due to their high number of fashion and health magazines. I feel I would be best suited to Vanity Fair as I would enjoy the culture side of it.


FACTS AND STATS: 

• Owned since 1907 by Advance Publications and the founder S.I. Newhouse Jr.
• CEO is Charles Townsend
• Have publications in England, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, and Spain, and with licensee arrangements in Mexico, Brazil, and Japan.
• Currently sell 13 million issues (and counting!) a month in total across the globe.
• Its competitors are mainly Time Inc. and Hearst

LATEST NEWS

In The Guardian: Conde Nast to invest in more ipad apps for Vogue and GQ. 

Up two places to number 2

PARTNER: London Evening Standard

TITLES: Evening Standard, Daily Express, ES Magazine

WHAT FOR?: As an avid reader of this publication, especially ES Magazine, it would be a great opportunity to work for them. In particular their culture section reviewing events in and around London. As the publication is currently free during the week, it would be a good chance to have my writing read by a vast number of Londoners.

FACTS AND STATS:

• Founded in 1827 
• Main competitor is The Times
• Purchased The Standard and The Evening Standard in 1904 by Cyril Pearson who changed the papers' political outlook from Conservative to liberal.
• Has been seeing off rivals for 181 years; only The London Paper has really managed to harm its sales.

LATEST NEWS:

in The Guardian: The publisher of the Evening Standard and The Independent refused to attend a conference in London, as he feared that if he left Russia, he would not be able to return.

And finally at number 1

PARTNER: Bauer Media

TITLES: Empire, Q, Closer, Grazia

WHAT FOR?: As someone with a keen interest in film, I would be best suited to Empire. I've been reading it since I was fifteen and I love the fact that it has the resources to be first with the latest film news and get the scoop before anyone else. As well as being humorous, you can tell from the reviews that those who work at Empire are passionate about acting, actors, and cinema in general. Again, it is a consumer title, with its competitor being Total Film which covers exactly the same material.

FACTS AND STATS: 

• Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Media Group, Europe’s largest privately owned publishing Group. The Group is a worldwide media empire offering over 300 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations.
• Their magazine heritage originates in 1953 with the launch of Angling Times and the acquisition in 1956 of Motor Cycle News.
• In 1994, they purchased For Him Magazine (now known as FHM) which is now one of their best selling magazine brands.
• Bought The Box in 1996 which grew into The Box channel, boasting seven music stations to its name.
• Grazia is its first weekly glossy, launched in 2006.
• Their radio divisions include Kiss 100 and Magic 105.4

LATEST NEWS: 

Bauer Media are now out of the running to buy BBC magazines, as the BBC look to talk to other potential buyers.

NEWS FLASH

This...

is actually a pretty decent album. Particularly that "Shake It" song. As a girl with a bit of "extra butter" I can relate!

You want an Ideas Book?

...you've got an Ideas Book. Actually, I've got an Ideas Book. Check this out.

I bought it on holiday in Fethiye, Turkey last year. The holiday itself requires it's own blog post. Probably in a different blog. Entitled 'Pervs Abroad' or something. Let's just say the locals there are...friendly.

Basically it comes as a result of being told on Tuesday that we need a special place to write down all the ideas put forward in features meetings. I've had this book for almost a year and had no idea what to do with it until Tuesday...

30 Seconds in the mind of....

30 Seconds in the mind of....Chloe Bernard

Contrary to what was promised in the previous post, today I sat down for a quick chat with fellow Catch cohort - 22 year-old Chloe Bernard, who lives in Haringey. She hopes to work in music journalism; and why not? She's ace.


1. Name 3 things you did this morning before you came here.
I brushed my teeth, sang the theme from Rawhide in the shower and dropped my ten-year-old brother off at the play centre.

2. Simon Cowell: hate him or love him and why?
I love him. He tells it like it is.

3. Which of your parents do you think you are most like and why?
Ugh- that's hard! I'd say my Dad; though I hate to admit it. He's very determined, very cultured and very strong minded. Mainly those three things.

4. What is the one thing you would never do?
Take my clothes off for money.

5. What turns you on?
Shopping. Oh wow. It's really bad, my addiction.


Nice one, Chloe! Thanks :)

And if you fancy a bit more of her, you can find her over on twitter.

Chloe's Favourite...

...song: 'Redemption Song' by Bob Marley

...website: Anything to do with Tupac

...YouTube Clip: Lauryn Hill - Motives and Thoughts

"Google before you tweet is the new think before you speak"

The above doesn't relate to my Catch 22 Academy experience to date; but the quote is cool, no? And TRUE. Shout out to the Total Film alumni for that one.

There is nothing that separates the present cohorts from the previous academy members - I'm sure they are enthusiastic and creative individuals all. But we were truly thrown in at the deep end on the first day, instructed to get into groups and glean news stories from the locals in the immediate Haringey/Tottenham area.

As someone who had never set foot in Seven Sisters before, this was daunting. All I knew was that there was a Tesco up the road (for lunch) with cash machines (to take out money for lunch) and a considerable amount of chicken shops (for lunch). However the task turned out to be a valuable learning experience; helping me to differentiate between what is news and what isn't - and apparently a Disco Ball party at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre isn't.

So far so fail. And it seemed to get worse for a while. Suggestions at features meetings fell flat, particularly my FIRST headed "What's the point of the Royal Family?" or as I now like to call it, "Bun the Royal Family" (thanks, Matilda!); and worse still, the dreaded FIND A LOCAL NEWS STORY MARK II that actually saw me in a disabled toilet making frantic phone calls, on a park bench having a mini break down, haranguing the owner of a Christian book shop and having my lunch on a tube to Finsbury Park when the bus would have taken half the time (although then I wouldn't have been able to finish my Smoky Bacon crisps).

But the Catch 22 process has been a roller-coaster. Not the standard up/down type, but more this type, thankfully with a greater number of ups than loops.

Court reporting was a fun day, so I would like to give a mention to the seemingly ordinary embezzler charged with eight counts of forgery, for making the experience so productive. I aim to find out what happened to her. The hearing wasn't as high profile as this guy's:

but close I think. Transferral of criminal property is a serious business! Furthermore, I learnt court reporting isn't all live-blogs as I first thought, but it is a clear and simple way of writing down the facts. And as a post-grad law student I lapped it up, legal jargon and all.

Surprisingly I'm pleased with my brief for my final feature idea. It was the very first idea I thought of - I thought it was decent when I made my pitch - which was also decent *smug alert*. So expect a little something on home-grown cartoons in the C22 magazine later this year WITH MY NAME ON IT. My name. Did I mention I'm writing it and my name will be there?

So to conclude, and because I have to put in a video, HOW DOES CATCH 22 MAKE ME FEEL?

At times, like this:

But then other times similar to this guy:

Et voila.

Next Time: My Feature: A Rant About Intros, What Matilda Was Wearing and When (it's always slick), and what my cohorts would be if they were a chocolate bar (all yummy, natch).