My First Post

Well, this is something new.

Hello, my name is Adam Jones, a 20-year-old Journalism and Media Production undergraduate student at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham.

When I entered the weird and wonderful world of journalism at 16 as a confused, fresh-faced sixth form student, I had one modest aim: to change the industry for good.

Over the years, I have seen just about everything, from ‘clickbait’, sensationalism, ‘fake news’ (to coin a phrase from a former US president), witch-hunts and more. As trust in the UK media falls further and further, to a lowly 28% last year, journalism has pretty much hit rock bottom — but fear not people. Now is the chance for the next generation of journalists to come through, pick up the pieces and rejuvenate an industry which has been under financial strain for many years.

When an industry like journalism which is designed to serve the public has to focus on profitability to survive, it can no longer be a form of public service. But do I blame these media institutions for this emphasis on data, clicks and adverts? Not at all. After all, American law takes the view having “more media outlets is better than few” according to Shoemaker and Vos’ 2009 book on Gatekeeping Theory.

Regardless of which area of journalism you operate in, it’s hard to argue with this theory. Whether you are holding the Prime Minister Boris Johnson or Reading manager Veljko Paunovic to account (yep, Reading fan here), having a sizeable media presence can only be a precious asset to democracy if the journalists act in the public interest. However, we face the loss of many more media institutions as the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic start to bite. It’s a tragedy and a great cause for concern.

My final year dissertation even revolves the current ethical state of play in online football journalism and the viability of multiple funding models, including digital adverts and a subscription-based system. And the ethical side of journalism is exactly why I have decided to create my own presence on this platform.

Why Medium though? To be honest, it has the tools I need to succeed in my writing career. Whilst I can finally receive some income, after gaining vital skills in three non-paid internships since 2019, it also gives me the chance to control my own journalistic destiny and write content I’m passionate about.

At a time when authentic, reasonable and fulfilling articles are hard to find with this unrelenting thirst for profitability, I aim to bring you ethical content which satisfies your requirements as an expectant reader and build a rapport with you as a loyal companion.

That desire to serve the public is what brought me here after all. But why journalism? Well, I have a feeling I would totally wilt under the pressure of being a paramedic or surgeon, my phobia of fire alarms wouldn’t exactly serve me well as a firefighter and as a 5'5 man mountain, I think my chances of becoming a good police officer are quite limited.

In all fairness, I did have the chance to do Government and Politics at AS Level, something my parents advised against and looking at the current climate with this awful pandemic, it was probably not a bad bit of advice from them. Politicians are also easy targets, although their inability to answer a straight question is infuriating at the best of times. Best to stay out of it I reckon, although our current Prime Minister was a journalist once upon a time, so who knows what lies ahead in the future?

Prime Minister Adam Jones? I can barely run a bath let alone a country — but it would be good fun nonetheless.

Anyway, moving on from the self-deprecation, my aims for this platform are quite simple:

• Serve the public with authentic, fulfilling content
• Transform this platform with a running theme
• Continue to post here for the foreseeable future acting as a ‘bit on the side’

As a writer who has covered sport, politics, education, mental health and lifestyle for print and online, it would be impossible to talk about all five topics on this platform and fulfil those two other promises made to you at the same time. There’s more chance of me ending up on the moon tomorrow morning.

Long-form journalism is my favourite content to consume and also my favourite type of content to write. Having one topic to focus on will allow me to provide that depth so many people crave. Whilst many people would prefer to listen to a podcast or watch a documentary, and I personally would not hold that against you (please make an exception and read my articles though), I will cater for you journo hipsters who enjoy the fulfilment written content can offer.

What topic will I pick though? I will have to come back to you on that one because that is the million dollar question. Although I want to pick a topic I like, can write about in depth and feel like I deserve an income from the quality of content written, this project aims to serve as many people as possible — and I will take both those factors into consideration when making this big decision.

Oh, I may as well tell you about my bylines whilst you are here. It’s probably quite important and my university lecturer will skewer me when he sees this for not putting the key information at the top. If you’re reading this, I can only apologise.

For the rest of you, I have previously had articles published at the Daily Express, Farnham Herald and Wokingham.Today (other good media outlets are available), as well as Football League World, The Tilehurst End, the Student Minds Blog, award-winning political literacy platform Shout Out UK and many other websites. My portfolio website can be found here. And for those of you who want to connect with me on social media, all my links will be in the ‘about’ section — I’m happy to take any suggestions from you on the sort of content you want to see.

Other than that though, I think it’s time to wrap up this first article. If you have made it to the end, perhaps this is a good sign for me! Thank you for visiting and if you want to find out even more about me, please do watch the following clip. In this podcast, I talk about why I want to be a journalist and my path from being an undecided 16-year-old to a 20-year-old university student.

WARNING: We also have a natter about all things Reading FC.