WORKING on a local newspaper is not all about neighbourhood disputes, council stories and run-of-the-mill issues, occasionally we get the pleasure of working on massive national stories.
And this week it was my turn to be part of the national media scrum thanks to golden girl Rebecca Adlington’s belting swim in the Beijing Olympics.
The swim will never be forgotten by Becky, and covering the event will also not be forgotten by me for a long time.
I awoke at 7am to a text message from the deputy editor asking me to go to the Adlington house to get all the reaction, it was clear it was not just a normal day and a normal story.
Once at the family house, the joy felt by Becky’s parents and sisters was clear for all to see. It was also something that was impossible not to get caught up in as the delight transferred to the assembled media.
To be honest I love sport at the best of times, but to work on a story of this importance to the nation’s sporting aspirations was a true pleasure. It was also a novel experience having to fight for time with the television big wigs for a few precious moments with the family.
It is also quite an interesting experience to cover a story and then see how the rival media organisations go about doing the same task, do they have the same interviews? the same angle? and could I have done anything better?
Hopefully I will experience the same enjoyment as well as Becky later this week when she claims more Olympic gold.
Ashfield Newsroom Blog 