ADVICE on how to clear land mines was part of training received by the Scots journalist, Audrey Gillan, ahead of her covering war in Iraq in March 2003.
She speaks to The Guardian – for whom she reported the war – explaining also how to deal with kidnapping and also given information about nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
She took part in two training sessions, the first lasting a week.
Freelancer Gillan was a senior reporter on The Guardian and has worked on various other newspapers, including The Sunday Telegraph, Scotland on Sunday, The Scotsman and The Herald.
Says her website, she is a recipient of the Laurence Stern Fellowship, which saw her working at the Washington Post. And in 2003, she received the What the Papers Say Foreign Correspondent of the Year award, for her reporting from the frontline in Iraq.
Listen to a brief audio interview with her, here.
Meanwhile, she has a radio play being broadcast on BBC Radio 4, on Thursday. She made her radio play debut on BBC Radio Scotland last year.
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FOLLOWING its annual general meeting, the Edinburgh and District branch of the National Union of Journalists elected the following: Chair: Liam Rodger; Vice-chair: Hilary Horrocks; Treasurer: Brian Horne; Secretary: Pat Herd; Welfare officer: Hilary Horrocks; Equality officer: Mark Auld; and Edinburgh TUC rep: Hilary Horrocks.
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THE Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this year is the inspiration for a short film competition, partly designed to unearth new talent. Films have to last less than ten seconds, in the competition being staged by Channel 4 and Creative Scotland and as reported here, in the Sunday Herald.
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A SCOTS photographer, said to have been the first person to picture casualties on the battlefield, has been recognised in a new book.
Writes Darren Hamilton, in The Scotsman: “Alexander Gardner, from Paisley, risked his life to capture images of the American Civil War on glass plate but was robbed of most of the credit by his employer.”
The book is by Aberdeenshire author, Keith Steiner.
Buy it here.
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YESTERDAY, allmediascotland.com pointed readers to an announcement by the editor of The Scotsman, about plans to cluster live music, etc reviews.
Today, Ian Stewart restates the position, adding: “We have also re-thought and re-designed our Perspective section on some days of the week, in part to take into account the recent addition of [the placed articles by] Friends of The Scotsman.”
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THE annual general meeting of the Scots division of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations is taking place on March 11, in Glasgow – as reported here on the CIPR Scotland website.
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A BULLISH take on the Scottish newspaper industry has been presented by the director of the Scottish Newspaper Society, former Scotsman newspaper editor, John McLellan.
Writing in today’s Agenda slot in The Herald, he also plugs a journalism education project in schools, imPRESS.
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THE Aberdeen-based PR agency, Frasermedia, has announced it has acquired a rival, run by a former Press and Journal newspaper business editor.
Says a media release posted on allmediascotland by Frasermedia, it has concluded a five-figure deal to purchase McAllister Media, founded by Bill McAllister.
The deal is designed to assist Frasermedia’s plans to expand its business into the Highlands.
The story receives a decent show in today’s Scotsman newspaper.
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THE links between the Celtic Connections music festival in Glasgow and the local radio station, Celtic Music Radio, are to be discussed at a free event tomorrow, in the city – as outlined in a media release posted here, on allmediascotland.com.
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BUSINESS reporter, Peter Ranscombe, has left The Scotsman, after nine years, to join Scottish Field magazine where – says The Scotsman – “he will be able to indulge his passion for nature and the great outdoors”.
Adds the paper: “He will be teaming up with the monthly magazine’s editor and Scotland on Sunday contributor, Richard Bath.”
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