Challenging Times

Talkbank Times is coming along nicely - as is our deadline. Everyone's been involved with the process, writing, interviewing members of the public and gathering information for what promises to be one of the biggest and - ahem - best issues of our newsletter so far. Some harsh editorial decisions have had to be made in the printing process but hopefully it all serves to show Talkbank members how publishing really works and will help them to work with, and use, the media to their own advantage in the future.

Read All About It!

At the moment, we're busy putting together the next edition of our Talkbank Times newsletter. Everyone was beavering away at our meeting on Monday, we're all mucking in together with stories, reviews, articles, even debate on celebrities such as Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse. Things are ticking along nicely - although, you could say the same about a time bomb...perhaps things are going a little too well. Some people are never happy, eh? Whatever happens, with all the work everyone's putting in, it promises to be an interesting and entertaining read and it's all down to the contributors. Phew! That's the heady, thrilling world of journalism for you.

See you all next time.

Monday's Meeting

Well, what can I say? We had a visit from Joel Moors, a journalist from BBC Radio Stoke, who talked us through the work they do there and gave us an insight into how their studios work. Very interesting. Joel was very amenable and was open to ideas on how we can work with them to publicise our cause - that is, tackling stigma. A big thanks to everyone who attended and let's keep up the good work. We're planning more talks throughout the year so keep an eye on this post for updates.

Next week we'll be back around the table discussing the next issue of the Talkbank Times and collecting contributions from everyone who wants to be involved. If anyone thinks of anything in the meantime, please feel free to contact the editorial team (me) at talkbanktimes.org.uk

Until next time, keep the ideas coming!

Tune In To Talkbank

Well, what can I say about yesterday's meeting? Personally, I thought it was great and I'd like to thank everyone for turning up and taking such an interest. For those who couldn't make it, we had a fascinating talk from a local radio station, Crossrhythms - you'll find them on 101.8fm if you want to listen. We're building links wiht them because they're very community focussed and are running a City Focus campaign, which in May this year will be looking at mental health issues and interviewing some of our members. The speaker, Crossrhythms' Jonathan Bellamy was a very amenable fellow, answered our many questions and was a very nice kind of fellow who showed a real interest in who we are and what we do and even ended up offering us a tour of their studios. We learned about how the radio station is funded and heard about how they go about getting a licence to go on air, how they pick their stories and got the general feeling that although they come from a Christian viewpoint, the radio station is very inclusive and in fact welcoming of everybody. I think I speak for everyone when I say thanks again to Jonathan for giving us such an entertaining talk and spending time getting to know us - he's more than welcome to our offices any time in the future.

We have another talk in a few weeks - this time from Radio Stoke. I only hope they can be as informative and open as Jonathan was. It's well worth coming along as it's an insight into the world of journalism that most people don't get to see.

Aside from all the excitement, we're also looking for articles for our next Talkbank Times, which is due out around April time. So anyone with any inspiration or ideas or who wants to contribute in any way would be most welcome. See you 11am on Monday.

All the best, folks

Shirley

Talkbank 2008!

Welcome back to all the Talkbank members, and especially Clare, who has returned to the fold. I hope everyone's well rested after the break - and that's because 2008 the year that everyone knows about what we do. Firstly, we have the new edition of Talkbank Times to start. We're looking at a deadline of around March - we'll get the date for you next week. I'm working on putting in place an editorial structure and titles so that each of us knows exactly what role we have, and who is responsible for what in terms of making the magazine look as sharp as possible - so it's going to take commitment from those who are helping put together the magazine. The focus of this edition of the Times is going to be eating disorders and we're looking forward to having contributions from Clare and Amanda on this subject, but we're still looking for more ideas and more material, so I'm hoping that everyone will be brimming with ideas at the next meeting. In a couple of weeks, Monday 21 January, to be exact, we have a guest speaker coming in from Cross Rhythms radio station, a local Christian radio station (101.8fm). Jonathan Bellamy, the one of the radio's directors, is going to tell us how broadcast media works and what they look for in a good news story. The station is also focussing on mental health issues in May and would like to involve some of our members in that campaign, so I shall be taking names of people who would be willing to do that.
We also had a long discussion on people's perceptions of mental health, what needs to be challenged and how we can do this effectively. I asked our members to come back next week with an example of discrimination or where they feel they have been misrepresented and ideas on how we can reverse it, so it should be interesting to hear people's thoughts on that next week.
Finally, we're working on the new course - with the intention that many new people will be walking through our doors this year and becoming involved with our work. From those who have already taken the Talkbank training, I'd like to hear what they found good and bad about the course/what was memorable and what they think was missing or could be improved. We have to collate this information so that I can use it to modify the course for the next group.

I think that's all for now talks...it was a long session this morning, with ideas flowing and lots of enthusiasm around the table. Keep up the good work!