News: 'Jimmy Savile is Innocent' art show opens on Upper Street

This is my second published article for Islington Now, the website and newspaper run by City University MA Journalism students.

You can visit the website and see the published article here.

'Jimmy Savile is Innocent' art show opens on Upper Street

Imogen Blake

Curator David West. Photo: Imogen Blake

The curator of an art show launched in response to the Jimmy Savile scandal insisted the late BBC presenter is innocent until proven guilty at the show’s opening last night.

Curator David West said the artwork, on display in the Bread and Butter Gallery on Upper Street, is not a comment on the accuracy of child abuse claims against Savile but a reaction to tabloid coverage of the allegations.

He said: “The exhibition isn’t commenting on whether the allegations are true or false. The media coverage has been a bit chaotic and we should all remember that he is innocent.”

Installations include a photo of a young girl revealing her uncovered backside with a picture of Jimmy Savile in the background, and a cartoon of Savile as Gargamel, the evil wizard from The Smurfs, chasing a Smurfette-like girl.

The walls display press cuttings and interactive pieces, inviting the audience to write what they think of Savile and to highlight “possible evidence” with a black pen on pages of his autobiography.

Artist Katharine Fry, who attended the opening, didn’t know whether to come along to the exhibition when she first heard about it.

A cartoon Jimmy Savile chases an unsuspecting little girl in one artwork installation.
Photo: Imogen Blake

She said: “I thought it might be too soon. The exhibition is a strange antidote to the nauseating media coverage, which has gone from strange claim to strange claim, the latest of which is that he was a necrophile.

“I used to think Jimmy Savile was an eccentric guy who smoked cigars. I now have a retrospective squeamishness about him.”

Mr West said people had reacted positively to the show so far. The exhibition runs until 26 October and entry is free.

IB

News: Islington 'living wage' Council advertises unpaid internship

Sorry for not updating the blog in a while. A hectic summer working and relaxing after an even busier third year at university has been followed by the start of my MA in Newspaper Journalism.

I absolutely love the course so far - though with its 22 contact hours a week and (so much) additional work on top, it's very different from an English Literature undergraduate degree!

Here's my first article for Islington Now, the website and newspaper run by MA journalism students. This article was the top story for the week.

Islington 'living wage' Council advertises unpaid internship

Imogen Blake

Photo: Alan Stanton

A three month unpaid work experience placement is advertised on Islington Council’s website despite its pledge to pay all employees and apprentices the living wage.

Interns would work up to 35 hours a week and receive a maximum of £5 a day for expenses, depending on how many hours they clock up.

The internship is part of the council’s ‘Fair Islington work experience placement scheme’ which aims to offer unemployed borough residents “an insight into working life.”

As accredited living wage employers, the council choose to pay all employees a minimum of the London living wage, currently set at £8.30 an hour.

Under the National Minimum Wage Act (1998), councils are exempt from paying interns and apprentices for work but Islington Council pays its 16 to 19-year-old apprentices the living wage.

A spokesperson from the council’s recruitment team said the experience will not lead directly to a job and interns will have to apply for paid work after completing their internship.

Hours are flexible so Islington residents can still claim Jobseeker’s Allowance if they work less than 16 hours a week. If interns work more hours, their benefits will be affected.

HR resourcing manager at Islington Council, Savvas Tsattala, responded: “The placement is unpaid even if interns work 35 hours a week but we provide training and an insight into working life. We’re providing opportunities for the unemployed residents of Islington.”

Last week at the Labour Party Conference, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rachel Reeves highlighted Islington’s flagship role and said Labour councils following the policy gave her “immense pride”.

In June, Islington Council advertised two unpaid placements requiring interns to work up to 35 hours a week for three months in either office administration and customer services or procurement, the process of obtaining goods and services.

A representative of Living Wage Foundation, launched by Citizens UK in 2011 to accredit living wage employers, said: “We would recommend everyone is paid the living wage but apprenticeships and work experience fall under different guidelines and don’t have to be paid.”

An Islington councillor wrote a blog post yesterday on the Local Government Association website speaking out against unfair wages for workers. Andy Hull, Highbury West ward councillor and co-chair of the Islington Fairness Commission, which recommended the council became a living wage employer, said in his post: “No-one should do a hard day’s work for less than they can live on.”

Charlotte Goodhart, 22, a MA student in Museum Studies at UCL, interned part-time unpaid with no expenses at the Jewish Museum in Camden between October 2011 and January 2012.

She said: “Unpaid internships are outrageous but necessary. I wouldn’t have been able to get onto my MA without museum experience but I had to get three jobs while I was interning and my parents helped me out with half my rent.”

IB

Work experience at The Guardian

From Monday, 21 May to Friday, 25 May 2012, I was on placement at The Guardian. It was an absolutely fantastic experience, which has made me want to become a journalist even more than before (which I didn't think was possible.)


For my own records, and in case you are interested, here are my bylines from the work experience placement (I'm surprised I got one let alone a handful!) in the order that they were published.


Middle East liveblog. I wrote a small report at 11.49am on Tuesday, 22 May 2012.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/may/22/syria-un-peacekeepers-visit-homs-live


My proudest achievement. I proposed this story to the news desk and they kindly allowed me to write it for the online paper. It was published on Monday, 28 May 2012.
Camping at the Olympic Games at London 2012
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/may/28/london-2012-camping-olympic-games


I spent two days helping out the Culture section with picture and video research for a feature they did on 60 years of the UK singles chart. I am credited for that research on their online interactive, which was published on Thursday, May 31 2012.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/interactive/2012/may/31/best-no-1-singles-interactive?fb=native


On my first day of work experience at The Guardian, I was asked to interview a few of my acquaintances and friends for the 'Good to Meet You' feature, which is published online every Friday.
On Friday, 1 June 2012, my interview with Lizzy Pennock was published. Unfortunately, they misspelt my name but that really doesn't matter!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2012/jun/01/good-to-meet-you-lizzy-pennock


Hopefully, another 'Good to Meet You' interview I conducted will be published but it probably won't be for a while.


IB

Debate over policy to contest speakers

Published on X-Media Online on 20th March 2012.

Debate over policy to contest speakers

By Imogen Blake

Gilad Atzmon visted Exeter last year. Photo -  Richard Kaby.

Potentially offensive speakers could be contested and excluded from the University if a widely debated contentious speakers policy, proposed by the Students’ Guild last week, passes.

A member of Guild staff drew up the policy after a student raised concerns about the existing open platform for speakers, which allowed controversial speaker Gilad Atzmon to give a talk at the University in November.

The policy would enforce a panel review of a speaker who is invited to the University if a student feels threatened by the speaker’s presence on campus and issues a formal complaint to the Students’ Guild.

A Safe Space Judgement Panel would then recommend the speaker is either excluded from or allowed at the University. Their recommendation would then be subject to a democratic voting process.

If enough people vote on the decision, the result of the vote would not be subject to appeal.

Jewish Society President Ben Salamon was quick to dispel rumours the contentious speakers policy was drawn up by J Soc after their protest against Gilad Atzmon.

Ben is, however, in favour of the policy. He said: “I fully support the policy but I want to distance myself from the ‘yes’ campaign – this isn’t a J Soc policy.”

James Eales, VP Academic Affairs, said: “Whilst a student may not have physically written [the policy], it was written off the back of their concerns and written with the final approval of students who asked for assistance in the first instance”.

Heated debate on Facebook has divided opinion of the policy. A ‘No to Contentious Speakers Policy’ Facebook group was set up last week and currently has 1,274 members. The group’s ‘wall’ is regularly updated with intense debate between students against and for the policy.

Third year Mathematics student, Matt Hardwick, is against the policy. He wrote on Facebook: “Nobody has a right to decide who should speak and who shouldn't - as human beings we all have a right to speak and discuss our ideas.

“In my experience Exeter students are strong, opinionated, passionate individuals who relish the chance to discuss ideas with people who threaten the ideologies on which they base their very existence”.

Guild President, Nick Davis, wanted students to express their views. He said: “How the ‘have your say’ system works is for students to engage with it actively. We have seen a great start to this so far and the coverage of the contentious speakers policy will hopefully lead to real student engagement”.

What do you think?

The policy to contest speakers did not go through.

IB

News: Occupy Exeter activists respond to cathedral demands

Published on X-Media Online on Monday, 16 January.

Occupy Exeter activists respond to cathedrals demands by Imogen Blake

IB photo

Occupy Exeter protestors have said they refuse to end the illegal encampment on Cathedral Green, declining the cathedral’s offer of a marquee during the day.

A joint statement from Acting Dean of Exeter, Carl Turner, and the cathedral’s Chapter urged members of the movement to stop camping on the site but offered activists a marquee during “daylight hours.”

A message on Occupy Exeter's blog said accepting the cathedral’s offer would go against the “very essence of our movement”.

The Chapter said relations between the church and Occupy members had been “under great strain”. Protestors have camped illegally on cathedral grounds since 12 November last year.

Voluntary sector worker, Stuart Crewes, 39, has been involved with the occupation since the start. Reacting to the cathedral’s demands, he said: “We chose to only give a brief response to the cathedral as we didn’t feel like getting bogged down in arguments.

“It’d be great if they could stop attacking us and instead help us with the issues of social deprivation, rather than squabbling over materialistic values. We think the issues we’re involved with are bigger than people just staying on the grass”.

Cathedral staff said the amount of noise and mess made on the green has tested the relationship of “good will” between the Chapter and Occupy members.

Mr. Crewes responded: “We’re aware of who makes the noise and mess and we’re trying to combat these issues. We have tranquillity watches every night to maintain security and peace on the green”.

For Occupy Exeter’s full statement, go to occupyexeter.wordpress.com.

This article was used in my applications to MA Journalism courses.

IB

News: Cathedral calls for Occupy Exeter protestors to leave

Published on X-Media Online on Monday, 16 January.

Cathedral calls for Occupy Exeter protestors to leave by Imogen Blake

IB photo. 

Cathedral officials have urged members of the Occupy Exeter movement to end the illegal encampment on the green.

Acting Dean, Carl Turner, and the cathedral’s Chapter has offered protestors a marquee during the day if they stop camping on the site.

A joint statement on the cathedral website said the relationship between the church and activists had been put “under great strain”. The message claimed “untrue statements” were made on Occupy Exeter’s Facebook page about the cathedral’s lack of support for the homeless. Residents living on the green have also complained about noise and mess.

Occupy Exeter, a branch of an anti-capitalist movement, set up camp on Cathedral Green on 12 November last year. Cathedral staff had allowed protestors to stay on site until recently.

Now the cathedral urges activists to leave the green at night but can offer a marquee or gazebo in daylight hours on a more prominent part of the green.

The statement said: “There have been a number of incidents which have put a relationship of goodwill under great strain. Those who live on the Green have found the noise, the mess and the some of the activities of the occupation disruptive and at times upsetting.

"Members of the Chapter have felt that statements on the Occupy Facebook page and the protesters' general assembly minutes have painted an untrue and unfair picture of the work of the Cathedral, in particular the suggestion that the Cathedral does nothing to help the homeless”.

The message adds: “The Chapter would like to seek a way in which this impasse might be resolved through a more collaborative approach. However, this cannot happen while there is an illegal encampment on the Green that is causing damage to our property and distressing those living there.

“The Chapter would therefore like to offer the protesters the chance to site an 'Occupy Exeter' protest marquee/gazebo on a more prominent part of the Green, to use as a focal point for the campaign”.

To read X-Media Online’s report on Occupy Exeter’s response, click here.

What do you think?

IB