Creating a Newspaper Article from a Press Release

As part of my journalism course sometimes we are given press releases from which we have to create articles. Although some people call this lazy journalism or "churnalism" I still think it's a valuable skill to know. Today was my first day back for my second year and I was given a press release about Nick Clegg charging for carrier bags and the potential effects that this could have on our health. Here's my article.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has announced plans to discourage the use of multiple bags, but scientists warn that this could trigger serious health risks.

Leading Scientists warn that ditching plastic bags in favour of reusable bags could pose a serious risk to public health including exposing shoppers to the risk of food poisoning.

A research study by Pennsylvania University found a 25 percent increase in hospital admissions for bacterial infections such as E.coli after San Francisco banned plastic bags.

According to the study: “The San Francisco ban is associated with a 46 percent increase in deaths from food-borne illness to a rate of approximately 12 deaths a year.”

Scientists warn that reused bags are often “heavily contaminated” with bacteria and that food contamination is on the increase.

Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University said: “There are some bags you should only use once. Any bag that’s carrying meat, wrapped or unwrapped, shouldn’t be used again.

“Even if people wash the bags they won’t necessarily get rid of all of the bugs. The bag may look clean but you can still easily find these bugs,” he continued.

Professor Kofi Aidoo, leading expert on bacterial toxins and food-borne diseases said: “One bacteria cell will quickly become thousands. If people are going to have to pay for and reuse bags then they need advice on how to clean them, we are creating a high risk of food poisoning.”

The plans to charge 5p for plastic bags will come into effect in England from 2015.

A Gift of Hope for The Homeless

With only eight days until Christmas day, it's easy to feel festive. Many of us are already dreaming about what awaits us under the tree, salivating at the thought of freshly cooked turkey and pondering over which bottle of wine to buy for the family, however this Christmas not everyone has these things. For many homeless people in the UK all they have to look forward to is bitter cold nights and the odd food thrown into the dustbins.

A recent report from the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24798498 ) explained that according to Shelter charity more than 80,000 children face spending Christmas in “shocking conditions.” In addition to this charity St Mungo's have stated on their website (http://www.mungos.org/homelessness/facts ) that rough sleeping has risen nationally by 31% in the last two years and according to The Guardian (http://society.theguardian.com/gall/0,9730,1670666,00.html) the death rate of rough sleepers is 25 times that of the rest of the population.

So what can we do to help in this season of giving? Thankfully the homeless are not being ignored this year due to the kind hearts and souls volunteering at various charities.

Shelter charity aims to work with like-minded charities in order to offer homes to as many homeless people as possible. Similar to this, The Salvation Army are launching a Christmas Appeal to gain funding which will be used on providing hot food and beverages to the homeless this Christmas.


Crisis will be running it's 34^th Crisis Open Christmas at various venues near London and will be providing both shelter and training courses providing a window of opportunity for homeless people to learn new skills.

Also, according to The Huddersfield Examiner, Anthony Hegney of The Lindley Group, plans on holding a Christmas Day Luncheon at John Smith's Stadium in Huddersfield and is inviting 100 needy people.

So if you have a penny or a pound to spare why not donate and give a gift of hope to those who truly need it? The links below lead to various charities who are desperate for donations in order for them to aid those who aren't feeling as festive as the rest of us.

https://donate.shelter.org.uk/a/my-donation

https://salvationarmyappeals.org.uk/form.asp?id=894&gclid=CMiWm-jIt7sCFQMIwwodk1MARg

http://www.crisis.org.uk/pages/donate.html

Blog Description

My name is Nina Ross, I'm an undergraduate student studying Journalism at the University of Huddersfield. Within this blog I am to write about current events alongside detailing controversial topics and discussing major issues in the world. I do not wish to be subjective so I will aim to lay out the facts, as readers you can form your own opinions. This is my second blog my first being a portfolio for my work completed in my magazine journalism module it is available at www.ninarossjournal@blogspot.com as I write both of these blogs I aim to develop my writing skills and hopefully share a little about the world we live in. Feel free to post your opinions and comments although I do ask that when I write about controversial issues please refrain from discrimination. I hope you enjoy my writing and thank you for taking the time to read this.