The Patch Report Experience

A little look into my experience of first hand reporting.

As one of our assignments for News and Journalism this term we are required to get off our backsides and do some first hand reporting. In pairs we were assigned locations, or ‘patches’. Katie and I were given Lansdowne, an area near the centre of Bournemouth that homes many student accommodation buildings, pubs and bars etc.

We decided to do a little bit of background research before we marched on in to help us acquire an angle to investigate. I came across a small article in a local free paper regarding an alcohol free nightclub that was going to be opening in Bournemouth; The Late Night Cafe. The man behind the plans was Michael French, Bournemouth’s Nightclub Chaplain. Katie got in touch with him and we found that he was also responsible for patrolling the Lansdowne area with a group of volunteers, helping people whp have been victims of late night crime etc.

The Late Night Cafe are using Facebook to publicise their events

We also found through the Police.uk website that Lansdowne was a hotspot for anti-social behaviour and other offenses involving drugs and alcohol. Everything began to slot into place and we had our angle.

Our next step was to try and get the police to talk to us regarding the levels of crime in the area. We visisted the Lansdowne police sataion to acquire the contact details of the local beat officers and were given some phone numbers. These officers, however, proved impossible to get hold of. It just goes to show how difficult it can be for reporters to gather information from reliable sources.

After having no luck with the police, we turned to the locals of the Lansdowne area. Everyone we spoke to here, students, shop workers etc, were more than willing to talk to us and very helpful. This was by far the most enjoyable aspect of first hand reporting to me; it was extremely rewarding to talk to fruendly people and get the answers that you needed.

Overall, completing our patch report was a real learning curve. Journalism isn’t just about sitting somewhere with your laptop and knocking out a quick story, you have to be dedicated and determined to get facts, opinions and information from the people that count. Which, as we found, isn’t always easy!

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(Since posting this entry I have uploaded my patch report assignment. You can read it here!)