IF you yesterday found yourself doing something of a double-take at The Scotsman but was unsure as to why, it might be because of the space usually reserved for a cartoon.
It was instead taken up by a photograph (a rather fetching one of Greenock, to accompany a fascinating article by the paper’s Martyn McLaughlin).
It’s because the cartoonists at The Scotsman and sister titles, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News have each been let go, as part of a cost-cutting exercise.
Iain Green, Brian Adcock and Frank Boyle are all freelancers: Green’s remit being mainly The Scotsman, Monday-Friday, and occasionally Scotland on Sunday; Adcock’s being the Saturday edition of The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday; and Boyle, the Edinburgh Evening News.
Green has contributed to The Scotsman and SoS for nearly 16 years, starting with the SoS back in July 1999. His work has featured in political magazine, Holyrood, for the last ten years and he has occasionally worked for The Guardian. His final cartoon for The Scotsman was for the Monday edition.
Adcock, meanwhile, produces the cartoon for the Monday edition of The Independent newspaper. His final cartoon for Scotland on Sunday was at the weekend. He has been contributing to Scotland on Sunday for around ten years and The Scotsman for about five.
Frank Boyle has been doing the Evening News cartoon also for almost 16 years, with his last one for the paper appearing on Friday.
He worked five days a week for the title until last year, when he dropped to four days a week in order to produce work for The Sunday Post.
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A SCOTS photography collective is to be the subject of a feature, being broadcast this afternoon on BBC Radio 4.
It is about Document Scotland’s coverage of the run-up to the referendum vote in September, on Scots independence.
Says the BBC: “Reporter, Miles Warde. meets the photographers of Document Scotland in the run up to the independence referendum. Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, Sophie Gerrard, Stephen McLaren and Colin McPherson all came together at this historic moment in Scotland’s history to document what they saw.”
It is being broadcast at 1345.
Read more, here, on the BBC website. And on the Document Scotland website, here.
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BEGINS The Guardian: “Media Business Insight, which publishes the industry magazines Broadcast and Screen International, has been sold by Top Right Group to the private equity firm, Mobeus Equity Partners, which backed a management buyout.”
Read more, here.
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TRAINING on sound recording and lighting is being provided by the Scottish office of the National Union of Journalists.
Says the training arm of NUJ Scotland: “We have limited places available on the courses, running in Glasgow next Tuesday. They each cost £45 (for NUJ members) with the sound recording course running from 10am -1pm and the lighting course running from 2pm-5pm.”
The sound recording course “gives an introduction to audio recording for video journalists”.
The NUJ continues: “It covers the use of audio recorders used in conjunction with filming, types of microphones commonly used including use of radio mics. It looks at sound recording techniques. Editing recorded items onto basic editing software and basic editing.”
And the NUJ adds: “Lighting is generally only touched on in VJ courses. This [lighting] course will look at the various techniques that can be employed by using basic lighting kits in simple filming situations. Would be useful as an additional course to multi-platform video journalism or DSLR courses.”
For more information, contact Joan Macdonald on 0141 248 6648 or 07730 513991 or email: joanm@nuj.org.uk.
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BEGINS an announcement on the Scottish Government website: “Two new funds will provide financial support for Scottish film, animation and high-end TV productions and support skills development in the screen sector – Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, announced.
“A £2 million Tax Credit Loan Fund will provide a loan facility to qualifying productions in Scotland to fund the use UK film, animation and high-end TV Tax Credits earlier, which will assist producers in completing the finance of their projects and move them towards production.
“A £1 million Screen Sector Skills Fund will provide training and skills development opportunities for people already involved in the sector and young people considering a career in screen.”
Read more, here.
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SAYS a media release posted today on allmediascotland.com by Perthshire-based PR and marketing agency, Volpa, it has been appointed to provide marketing support for Tayside storage company, Keepsafe Storage Centres.
Read more, here.
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