Journo job going (again)

One of my bods has been lured away by London, so I need another pair of
hands. Can't think of anything more to say than what's in the blurb
sheet we have, so here goes.

I can be contacted myself today (Thursday 20 July) and tomorrow, but
then not for a fortnight.

Trainee Reporter wanted

FOODNEWS, the global food commodity weekly newspaper, is looking for a
trainee reporter. Based in Tunbridge Wells, FOODNEWS is part of the
Agra Informa Group and covers the world markets and industries for
fruit juices, canned foods, dried foods, dairy products, essential
oils, herbs and spices, nuts, dried fruits and others. Our readers are
food manufacturers, processors and traders on every continent. We also
produce glossy monthly supplements that may focus on an industry sector
or a particular part of the world.

FOODNEWS is a global title, sold on subscription only, and enjoys a
superb reputation. It is respected for its up-to-the-minute and
informed reporting. It stands or falls by the quality of the news and
market information gathered by its editorial team of five. We hardly
ever rely on press releases - we get the stories ourselves. Thus if,
as happened recently, a hurricane devastates an important fruit crop,
then our staff will talk to growers, traders, processors and commodity
brokers to determine the effect on the world industry and prices. They
will then write a report so accurate and tight that it will be quoted
on the largest industry website and/or in Fleet Street broadsheets.

Your job will mainly be to cover canned foods, which means canned
fruits, vegetables, fish and occasionally meat. Using our worldwide
contacts, you may be talking to a Greek peach grower one day, an
Italian tomato processor, and a Thai tuna fisherman the day after that.
And then you'll be analysing a page of statistical data from
Brussels. You'll also be expected to learn something of other sectors
so that you can provide emergency cover in the event of holidays,
illness, meteor strikes from the Van Allen Belt, etc. An important part
of the job includes putting daily news stories up on our
subscribers-only website.

Your predecessor has done a superb job on this sector, and has masses
of experience and contacts to pass to you. He's been snapped up by a
glossy magazine publisher in London, so there's this vacancy.

We have two prerequisites. First, you must be able to write flawless
English. All candidates interviewed will be tested on this. If you
still can't recognise a feral apostrophe, or you start sentences
after commas, forget it. Secondly, you must be prepared to talk to
total strangers over the phone, and at length, to get the information
you need. They may not know you, but they will know FOODNEWS, and
sooner or later you will meet them in the flesh anyway. And as the
Thais or Chinese or Americans will be doing business when you should be
at home asleep, you may find yourself working some odd hours in the
pursuit of a good story. And no overtime!

Familiarity with PCs, Apple Macs and DTP is useful, as is a rough
understanding of how markets and businesses work. However, you will be
expected to learn both of these components on the job. The job involves
a lot of foreign travel, so a passport is essential, and a foreign
language would be handy. Our staff, in the last few years, have been to
the US, Russia, China, Chile, Spain, France, Germany, South Africa,
Thailand, Greece, the Netherlands, Brazil, Serbia, Portugal, Colombia,
Poland and Malaysia. And the editor's off to Ecuador next month. There
are airlines that don't travel as far.

Starting salary? £16,000 or so. Prospects? Excellent: this is a large
company with over 50 titles, and promotion for talented staff may be
expected. The man who came straight from university to do this job less
than five years ago was promoted to editor of our sister title, and is
now a managing editor. We also have editorial offices in the US,
Russia, South America and on the European continent, and staff may move
there. Or you may move up the ladder elsewhere (but we hope you'll
stay!) Colleagues? A scruffy mercurial editor and three charming and
frighteningly competent journalists, all of whom are fighting to get
their stories on the front page.

In short, this is an opportunity to die for. Vacancies like this, to
get into quality journalism right from zero, come up very rarely.

Send your CV with a covering letter by post to Teresa King, Agra
Informa, 80 Calverley Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2UN or by email
to

 

Just as well it's not a science journal.

(Looks like I missed that last time you posted it, if googlegropes is to
be trusted.)

--
Ivan Reid, Electronic & Computer Engineering, ___ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

I am sure I was told in school that starting a sentence with "And" was
something to be avoided - is that not the case?

 

If you know the rules, you can break them for the sake of effect and
emphasis.

And?

 

Wot he said.

 

But you're a bokker so WTF would you know about the English language ?

;-)

P.

 

Ssssh! It's not often we get to see a feral "from" in the wild.

--
AndrewR, D.Bot (Celeritas)
Kawasaki ZX-6R J1, Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo
BOTAFOT#2,ITJWTFO#6,UKRMRM#1/13a,MCT#1,DFV#2,SKoGA#0 (and KotL)
BotToS#5,SBS#25,IbW#34, DS#5, COSOC# Suspended, KotTFSTR#
The speccy Geordie twat.

 

That's a new one on me.

 

Dear Mister,

I reckon id be good at your job that your advetising. my mumsays i can talk
the arse offa doinkey and me writins not to bad - gcse d. Thats a pass.

Im only in ramsgit so i can come for an inteview when you want.

cheers

Dave Oggshit.

 

TOG@toil, ,
wrote:

Or about once a year at Agra Informa. YMMV.

 

So far I think it's a chioce between you and Sir Doggy

 

You have to admit "I write articles about tinned food" isn't exactly
cool, as jobs go, is it?

 

<VVBG>

Indeed not. But a job that pays for you to go to South Africa,
Malaysia, Thailand, Greece, Spain and Germany to do it can't be all
bad.....

 

As opposed to 'I work for a large multinational blue chip company, and
I earn money talking bollocks all day' ?

P.

 

says...

If you remove the "blue chip" bit then you've described my job
perfectly.

 

TOG@toil wrote:

SNIP

Not The Boy?
Sorry but I don't have any more candidates

 

<narrows eyes>

Hmm, I was sure you were some sort of project manager ..

P.

 

Indeed. He'll be missed.

Bugger.

 

You can **** *right* off.

 

"mercurial"?

Like this, but with added socks?

http://www.nationalmuseum.se/upload...1073_Merkurius_Hans_Baldung_Grien_web_72p.jpg