Media Wish List

For me, my choice of reading matter usually needs to provide me with intellectual stimulation and a sense of aspiration. I like to have learnt something when putting down a magazine, or gained some information about a new book I could read, skill I could master or place that I could go to. Interviews with offbeat, fascinating people are a must, as is the chance to broaden my cultural horizons. From a newspaper, I enjoy strong opinion and comment from writers whom I can respect.

Catch 22 have some very prestigious media partners and, while I would consider myself lucky to gain any kind of media work experience, I will enter into a brief reverie. If I may... 

I have been reading The Daily Mail for ten years. I quickly came to realize that far too many of my ideas for the morning features meetings were coming from The Mail online! I like the fact that the newspaper isn't afraid to propound strong opinions and I also enjoy the debate that the website engenders. In the last few years my weekly reading of You magazine (in the bath!) has come to be something I look forward to greatly. Its mix of fashion, lifestyle and cultural articles is exactly what I look for and enjoy in a magazine. Recently I have come to appreciate the previously overlooked Live magazine; it has that magical quality of making one feel more intelligent! 

The Mail online has recently climbed to second place in a list of the world's most popular news sites, beaten only by The Huffington Post!

The words 'Conde Nast' strike a chord in the heart of anybody who is as interested in the world of magazines as I am. The clothes and culture contained within the pages of Tatler represent a level of sophistication that I have always aspired to. While I was studying the long eighteenth century at university I referred to the Tatler of Addison and Steele for cultural context and thus I enjoy the heritage and links to history that the modern magazine has. Reading Tatler has been described as 'being like sitting next to an intelligent and witty person at a dinner party' and this is precisely why, for me, it is such an enjoyable read.

I have enormous piles of NatMags publications all over my house that I have collected over the last few years. I used my mum's Tesco Clubcard points to get myself a subscription to Harper's Bazaar and when it drops through the letter box I settle down for a couple of hours with a pot of tea to savour the glossy pages. It features a wide variety of interesting people and the fashion and lifestyle articles are always grounded in something substantial, rather than being too frivolous.



There are often copies of Good Housekeeping and Country Living scattered around our house and, although they probably weren't intended for my age group, I love them too!

So if my thoughts on the matter were to be bounded in a nutshell, so to speak, I would enjoy work experience at a newspaper with strong political opinions and controversial comment. Alternatively I would feel at home on any magazine that mixes lifestyle, fashion and culture with a certain amount of gravitas. But, as I (hopefully) begin my journalistic career I will welcome (with open arms!) any work experience that comes my way. 

If Moe and Lu-Hai were to talk about Tesco sandwiches...

...this is what they would say...

Moe: 'Tesco sandwiches, well, some of them are alright, and some of them aren't, but that's life, innit. Sometimes though, you'll get one that you think's gonna be alright, and then it's not. When that happens you just have to get aggressive with that sandwich, show it who's boss. That's the only way.'

Lu-Hai: 'Tesco sandwiches! Yeah! I read an article about them once, they're actually really technical. I've heard that soon they're gonna make a sandwich that eats itself, that will be awesome. I'd actually really like to spend a day with a Tesco sandwich, really get an insight into what life is like for one, follow it around for the day, maybe with a hidden camera. I'll tell you one more thing, I eat my Tesco sandwiches in the canteen, even though I'm not allowed to. That won't stop me!'

Five minutes with a fellow aspiring journalist...

Daniel Hall, 26, is a drum and bass MC from Sydenham in South East London. He studied Media and Cultural Studies at Wolverhampton University. Here's how he responded to some thought provoking questions...

1) Would you rather be homeless for the rest of your life or have to stay inside your house for the rest of your life?

I would rather be homeless because I could still experience the world, rather than being secluded.

2) What was the proudest moment of your life?

Graduating, and passing my driving test.

3) What would you do with a million pounds, assuming that you couldn't spend it on yourself or your family?

I would donate it to an African country where there is a lot of poverty.

4) Would you rather be able to go back and change something in your past or be able to define one thing for your future?

I would rather be able to define something for the future because the past is in the past.

5) If you weren't you, who would you be?

Barack Obama, because it would be interesting to see what it is like to be in the spotlight for being the first black president. It would also be good to be in a position to be able to change some things in the world.


Dan's favourites...

The Daily Mirror

A song he's really enjoying at the moment...

And his favourite video...

Stepping out of my comfort zone...

On my third day in London I arrived in Seven Sisters. With the help of the GPS on my iphone I made my way to the Bernie Grant arts centre for my interview for Catch 22. Faced with a panel of four interviewers I once again struggled to articulate my reasons for wanting to enter journalism. This, coupled with the fact that in my post-interview test I was asked to write a music review (VERY out of my comfort zone) convinced me that I hadn't been successful. So I was extremely happy to learn, the following day, that I had gained a place on the course. My first week in London was going well...

With Catch there is no catch...

I was idly browsing google on a snowy day in December 2010 when I stumbled across the website for Catch 22. At first it seemed to me to be too good to be true  - could there really be a way into journalism for young people that didn't require thousands of pounds? Surely not. But the case studies of previous trainees alongside the impressive array of media partners led me to believe in the authenticity of this venture. But what was the catch? Despite a thorough search of the site I could not find one. All that was apparently required was a hunger to become a successful journalist.

I was full of enthusiasm for my serendipitous find but couldn't ignore the feeling encroaching upon this happiness; would I be right for Catch? It would be difficult to say that a British, middle class Cambridge graduate has been in any way disadvantaged  - but financially I was certainly not on a sure footing - as I was constantly reminded on my weekly trudge to that theatre of crushed dreams that was my local job centre.

The application form sat on my desk for a few weeks until I was certain I was going to be moving to London. In the post Christmas lull, as I tried to shake off the flu, I finally laid pen to paper. All of a sudden it seemed very difficult to articulate the reasons why I wanted to enter a career that I had been dreaming of since I was a child.

But a couple of days later the form was in the post, sent on it's way with a first class stamp and more than a bit of hope...