media consumption – Kristina's Writing Adventures

December 14, 2018February 5, 2019

My career plan: Who do I want to be when I graduate (Section 1)

I. Me swinging gently between different kinds of journalism.

Making a career plan straight after Semester 1 finished might be a tough work to do, especially when the thoughts in your head are as mixed as eggs, sugar, pepper and milk could be. What I am trying to say is that I have not settled at one particular journalism area yet, but I want to try out a bit from everything. I decided to put my insights on a piece of paper, because I have read somewhere that listing your problems helps your brain to solve them easier.

“What kind of journalism should I do?,” the question popped in my head, while I was trying to list different areas where I could be involved. “Alright, definitely not politics,” I crossed out the first option. The second one- investigative journalism, sounds appealing, but I do not feel like the perfect person for this job. If I could describe myself with three words, that would be positive, sensitive and creative. When I realised these traits of mine, I totally dismissed every serious, criminal, politics-related journalism topics. So what was left on the list was separated words like “fashion”, “art”, “books, movies, plays reviews”. I need to produce pieces of writing that would bring a smile on my face and this is not just a whim.

When I was in Bulgaria, I tried to write fiction. I created my very own characters, who did not have real prototypes. The first story that I wrote was a sweet one. It was about a mountain trip, a group of friends, who try to overcome their problems by travelling without a final destination and escaping their zone of comfort. I could say that it was more like a large philosophical essay about finding yourself and your real purpose in life. My second trial to write a narrative was quite unsuccessful, because it was more tragic, filled with betrayal, murders and impossible love. I did not finish it, because I was scary of the bitter end that I should put. After some time, I started meeting people that have exactly the same traits as I depicted in my stories. It does sound dreadful to get to know the villains that came out of your hand in person. That is why I prefer to write about something undemanding, relaxing the mind and the soul, leaving positive impressions.

My initial goal is to create my very own magazine, that covers a wide range of topics: from fashion, book/movie/theatre reviews to discussions about astrology, mythology, past life regressions and unexplained misteries like the hidden code behind Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. This is going to be my soul in a printed version, overflown with creativity, artisticism and an intuitive sense to see matters from different angles.

II. The place I would like to work for.

cos_sep_2018_cover_-_rgb_-_400x530 — Cosmopolitan, September 2018 cover

I started doing some research for the perfect workplace for me. It turned out that I would fit quite well in the Cosmopolitan magazine, whether I would write for the print or online version. You can clearly see that the articles there are produced by professionals. The headlines are breath-taking, and so are the stories’ endings and this is how it should be- you have to keep the reader intrigued so that he would keep swallowing the words like hot bread (Bulgarian proverb). I really like the features there- they are easy-going, both humorous and thought-provoking. Cosmopolitan implicitly faces problems like social media addiction, unrealistic body expectations and our constant comparison with others, but presents them as if you have to make one small step to solve these obstacles, and I approve of this policy. After all, this is what I would like to do- to teach people, inspire them, influence them to become better with time. I want to be the nation’s example of an individual feeling satisfied with life, without looking at other’s achievements and making one’s own way off the beaten track. I would like to be a part of this magazine production, because I will have to use creativity and colours on a daily basis in order to depict a piece of writing that everyone will appreciate, because it would lead the reader to an unknown journey leading to happiness, catharsis, soul-cleansing and positive affirmations.

III. The journalist whose work I admire.

I will be honest- I have not spent that much time to possess a good quantity of knowledge about British journalists to be confident to analyse their work. However, the first journalists I had the chance to get to know in a great detail are my tutors at University of Westminster and I truly appreciate their way of thinking. After all, they were the people who unlocked my potential to express myself with more than one sentence.

The journalist I have as a role figure is called Stoycho Kerev, again Bulgarian journalist with lots of achievements. He does not have a printed magazine, but he used to have a TV show. Now he publishes new series of this broadcast in his Youtube channel alongside with a website, where he uploads articles. Last year he made a documentary called “The New Knowledge, The Conspiracy of 2017”. He is interested in global conspiracies, like the existence of Illuminati, the construnction of the pyramids of Egypt, hidden clues in popular artists’ paintings. He also immerses himself in topics like Bulgarian and world history, the consequences of past life regressions, understanding of the Kathara system, occultism, etc. His guests are esoteric experts, professors, cosmic lawyers… You cannot get bored by this diversity of aware people.

I like Kerev’s interviews with the esoteric and writer Hristo Nanev the most. Their last meeting was on 15th of December and I translated it so you could have the chance to understand it.

48363740_201557564122020_8987126278406537216_n — Screenshot of the live discussion between Stoycho Kerev and Hristo Nanev, 15.12.2018

They tend to talk about how past life regressions explain the decisions we make in the present. Hristo Nanev, as an expert in hypnosis, will always add a colour to the grey theories with examples from his own experience with clients, who had experienced obstacles, talking or other defects before going through their previous existence on Earth (or even on another planet). Both of them know what are they talking about- it does not look like the guest is trying to educate the host; it is more like an intellectual debate forming between them, leaving the audience with new insights and thirst for more of this brain game.

The skills Kerev possesses are:

solid quantity of background knowledge- he is always prepared for different topics by doing a lot of research and consulting with experts in the area
thinking outside the box- he always questions the unquestionable and adds creative elements, making his show appealing to a wider audience
he knows how and when to ask a particular question that is provocative and gets the essential information from his guest
he explains in a way that even a child could understand
he has a sense for finding the right person for his broadcast
he always makes his show engaging, no matter the topic

November 27, 2018December 15, 2018

Thompson’s 4 types of journalists: Where do I fit?

4 types of journalists: How they tick and what we can learn from them

Thompson’s piece is of great value and provides some insights about the different types of journalists. When I read the article, I realised that I have never thought about the various approaches journalists take in this way. Thompson considers himself a System Analysist, but I would also put him in the category “The Provocateur” (with positive intensions only), because he unlocked a new journalistic part of my brain.

So where do I fit? I would say, considering my extraordinary approach to write, that I fit best in an intriguing mixture between a storyteller and a provocateur with a generous sprinkle of artisticism. I like to write about people and their stories, as there is always something unusual for you to learn and get inspired from. What is more, I like to question the unquestionable and sometimes I have an opinion that is off the beaten track. It is not that I want to be unique: it is just something inside me that likes to make things controversial and provocative, of course, with set boundaries and an element of creativity. Splashing colours on the blank sheet is my second addiction after writing: however, I have not worked so much on it, so this skill is complementary to my excitement towards staying up late and coming up with a story- whether it is fiction or not.

I a good example of a journalist fitting in the same categories? I would sadly declare that I am still ignorant of the diversity of journalists Britain have, although I am deeply impressed by how news is reported and delivered to us, the readers and potential workers in the journalistic sphere. So I would give an example from my home country- Bulgaria- which I left in the end of August this year.

This is a journalist Bulgaria should be (and is!) proud of. When I came in London, I could make a comparison between Bulgarian and British journalism. The former is quite partial, subjective, blurred– not much is said- a big part of international and home news remain in a shadow. Articles do not contain the structure we are learning about in lectures. Whereas in England, everything applies to the theory. When I open, for example, the i newspaper, I can conclude for myself which is the intro, the important part, the less important, etc.- the elements from the inverted pyramid are all there.

I wanted to give this information, so you can understand how important that journalist is for our little and disorientated in journalism country. His screen name is Martin Karbovski and he is most famous for his TV shows streamed during different periods: “Every Sunday” (2002, BNT), “Home front” (2006, NTV), “Karbovski in Action” (2010, NTV), “Karbovski’s Show” (2013, TV7) and “Karbovki: Plan B” (2016, BTV).

Karbovski. The sign on the bottom left (Карбовски: Втори план) translates as “Karbovski: Second plan”, or “Karbovski: Plan B”

He makes opinion features and articles for “Standard” newspaper and “Egoist” magazine. What is more, he writes for an online platform, Lentata.com, where he provides some good, yet tragic insides about our country and its fate. He also has his own site.

His TV shows are about the ordinary, sometimes marginal people, with extraordinary stories to tell. He has the gift for storytelling: his voice, the emotions it gives out definitely takes your breath from the very beginning and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end. You cannot just switch to another channel when it is time for his show: you are completely enchanted to follow the story.

He mixes in a innovative way people’s stories with personal insights and always gives the audience something to think about- the issue with freedom of speech, the poverty, the economic crisis, the homeless, the third gender, but also the love for, devotion and appreciation of what surrounds us. He does not just report the story: he makes you part of it and once you are mesmerized, there is no way back.

September 27, 2018November 27, 2018

Where does the journalism hide in my weekly media consumption

I had been monitoring my media consumption for a week (21th- 28th of September) and I put the results in a chart below:

It turns out, as I expected, that I spent most of my time in reading newspapers- in print or online (Evening Standard, The Guardian), magazines (Cosmopolitan, Writing, ES Magazine), excerpts from books (Media, Culture and Society by Paul Hodkinson, Why study the media? by Roger Silverstone) during my everyday travel from home to university and vice versa – 36 hours.

Some other 24 hours were spent by me watching TV at home after a hectic and yet exciting day in university (BBC, Sky News). In order for me to get a rest from the journalism world, I decided to post on social media and see how my friends’ day on Instagram was, and this took me 28 hours of my priceless time and a lot of my iPhone battery (after making this monitoring on consumption I am thinking of reducing the time spent on social media a bit) . Last, but not least, my radio consumption (BBC Radio 4) was 7 hours only.

The conclusion to be drawn from the above, is the fact that I tried to balance my active hours between keeping up with the news and getting in touch with friends, colleagues and relatives. The one thing I would like to correct is the time I spend on social media, so that I could have free hours for some extracurricular activities.