Write what you're told

The BBC Trust has launched new draft guidelines especially aimed at online content today but many of them seem reactionary rather than totally necessary.

Some ideas appear on the surface to be common sensical, advice such as, 'Audiences should not be able to tell from BBC programmes or other BBC output the personal prejudices of our journalists and presenters on such matters.' But there could be another reason this particular guideline has been rushed through - as the Guardian points out this has already been dubbed by some in the industry as the 'Jeremy Bowen clause' due to events earlier this year which saw Bowen, the beeb's middle east editor, disparaged by the Trust after playing fast and loose with his online version of a potted history of post-war Israel.

Far more reactionary though are those new measures which could be construed to target the broadcasting styles of particular names. The cutting-out of swearing, even after the watershed for example, would certainly affect the presenting style of a certain Jonathan Ross who has obviously gotten in trouble lately for his part in the Sachs/Brand furore.

'Sachsgate,' as it was dubbed at the time, was almost certainly the point of origin for another and perhaps the most strange of the new rules. The BBC said, 'Some comedy can be cruel but unduly intimidatory, humiliating, intrusive, aggressive or derogatory remarks must not be celebrated for the purposes of entertainment. Care should be taken that such comments and the tone in which they are delivered are proportionate to their target.'

This appears to be approaching dangerous grounds to me. Censorship of art forms like comedy smacks of a more old school and conservative beeb. I rather thought that by now we had left behind the days of banning these entertaining and even controversial forms of free expression.

All in all I wonder about the true motive behind these new guidelines, and can't help but think they are not there to benefit the real audiences of programmes at all. More likely they were put together to placate those angry-letter-scribbling, and more importantly license fee paying Daily Mail readers who were so outraged at the treatment of the elderly Mr Sachs - not that they actually heard the Russell Brand show going out, not that particular and fateful night - not ever! And who exactly are these people? Who revel in writing into various media, calling Offcom and generally getting riled up about something which in reality is not directly offending them or indeed really soiling their apparently previously utopian lives at all - and afterall, hasn't anyone told them? If they don't like it they could always try turning the filth off?!

The future

Having finished (yes finished) my degree last week I am left with a lot of free time at the moment. I'm hoping this will be filled productively with more blogging, spending more time at gair rhydd and making plans for both summer (Argentina is beckoning) and the inevitable move to London.

I really hope it's inevitable - unfortunately it does depend on my getting a 2:1, which due to handing in my last assessed work last week is now out of my control! If I do achieve the revered 2:1 I will be heading off to the LCC (London College of Communication - as pictured) to study their MA in Print and Online journalism.

The decision to go there was a difficult one, having been offered a place on the postgrad courses at Bournemouth and here in Cardiff too. I dismissed Bournemouth fairly early on, not because I didn't like it but because I felt if I was to make a fresh start somewhere it may as well be in London. The Cardiff/London debate went on for some time - I'm sure irritating housemates, parents, friends and a couple of contacts from work experience, all of whom I was hoping would make the decision for me!

In the end I decided Cardiff's diploma in newspaper journalism, despite its fantastic reputation, was too narrow-focused for me. I've had a good amount of experience in newspapers: I was a volunteer reporter in Honduras, had a two week placement at the Times and of course three years in student media at University - and I have realised that I'm not sure I want to write the news!

The LCC is much more modern in its approach to teaching journalism - not requiring its students to choose to take the path of investigative or features journalism until the end of the course. I also like their general attitude towards their students - Gary Horne, the course director told me that just as he and the other teaching staff are working journalists he regards his students as such as soon as they walk through the door.

There are also the obvious advantages of being in London, not only home to many of the UK's biggest media companies but also a place where a vast amount of smaller ventures will be starting up and trying to find their place, all-in-all I think the big smoke will provide me with more opportunities.

I'm relatively blase at the the moment about the whole thing - my time at Cardiff coming to an end, starting a new university, moving to London (which must be twenty times the size of Cardiff!) I think it's because most of my friends are yet to finish their courses here at Cardiff and we are all looking forward to enjoying our last weeks at Uni without being burdened with scary thoughts about the future, many of us are also going to be descending on Glastonbury en mass to really see out three years properly!