_{The second part of Friday’s Alumni Day was a chance for the students and guest speakers to speak and talk about their experiences. This was my first networking event with experienced journalists; it was an opportunity for me to make some industry connections and ask some follow up questions from the talk. We were put into groups and each assigned one guest speaker. I was assigned Marcus Law a former student who now works for a local paper in Monmouth, Wales. Working in local news is something I have thought about going into after I have finished at university. I plan to move home to Bristol as I love the place and would love to work on local stories there. So it was great to hear his perspective about the pros and cons of working for local organisations. I also asked him for advice and tips he might have for finding stories when it’s a slow Newsday. Reporting within such a small market as he does can be challenging “it is key to develop good relationships with key people in the area and maintain them” such as the local police, councillors and prominent local people. Equally it is important to get out in the street, speak to people, and have your ear to the ground as well as being active on social media. This is something I will need to implement in my upcoming work experience placements and Newsday’s.}

 

 

_{We then spoke about the increasing decline in print newspapers and the closure of many newspapers over recent years. I was curious to see how much this had effected local newspapers and whether it was a dying industry. I was pleased to find out that Mark has not seen any decline in his paper because the majority of his audience is older and they still like to consume their news through print. He told me that print is still a viable career option if it is something I wanted to go into. However he was grateful that university had given him the broad media skills to be able to work in different formats of journalism, and allowed him to be more efficient in his job in print.}

 

_{We were then left to go around the room and mingle, it was difficult to find appropriate moments to get the opportunity to speak to people when they were involved in conversations especially with so many people competing for the guest speaker’s attention. I managed to use my conversational skills and managed to grab Jack Fallon, who now works for the social media team at Harlequins Rugby, for a quick chat. Sport is the main reason I got into journalism and is definitely the main area of Journalism I would like to get into in the future. I was pleased to hear that Jack also had an NBA blog when he was at university and he often uses it when showcasing his work for potential jobs. He then described what he does day to day. Dealing with players and posting on games. The social media team often has to be an extension of the PR team, by showing players and the team in a positive light with behind the scene features. This was  demonstrated recently with England international Joe Marler, who has come under fire  for receiving a number of suspensions for on field incidents The social media team decided to show Marler spending a day coaching the women’s team which showed him giving back to the opportunity and helping his public image. It was great to hear how different each day was for Jack and what he’d be dealing with as well as his close involvement with the players.}

 

_{After finishing the networking event I felt I had gained a greater insight into two potential areas of journalism and I feel more positive about them both after speaking to the industry professionals.  My first professional networking event had proved to be extremely valuable and I look forward to further networking opportunities.}