The 47th Harry Brittain Fellowship
6 June to 14 July

"Newspaper of the Year"
By John Rolfe (Australia)

The News of the World's dapper editor Andy Coulson bursts back into his editorial conference room. Wearing a cheeky grin, pink french-cuff shirt and trendy, dark-rimmed specs, Coulson cooly says: "Did I mention we were the Newspaper of the Year?" The room cracks up, because Coulson had already crowed so many times about The News of the World's first victory in the British Press Awards that it had become a joke.

How did The News of the World win? By doing what it's famous for - revealing the secret sex lives of celebrities. It's not nicknamed The Screws for nothing! But that type of story won't win my tabloid, The Daily Telegraph, any awards. I don't think.

Andy Coulson, Editor, News of the World

What will, is campaigning - another strong-suit for The News of the World. And in between the jokes, Coulson and his team furthered my understanding of how to run campaigns, how to set the news agenda and how to keep a scoop quiet - then how to promote it once its on the news stands.

I loved every minute of the Harry Brittain Fellowship. But The Screws was one of the highlights. It was fun. How many newspapers could you say that about? And it's extremely daring. How many other papers would get a reporter to pose as a Muslim extremist to expose a plot to buy radioactive red mercury for a "dirty" bomb? Hats off to The Screws. Pants off, too.

Fast moving Australians By Lee McDougall (Australia) AUSTRALIAN sprinter Matt Shirvington was once described as the fastest white man in the world but 2005 Harry Brittain Fellow John Rolfe, himself an Australian, may perhaps take a shot at the title...

"Newspaper of the Year" By John Rolfe (Australia) The News of the World's dapper editor Andy Coulson bursts back into his editorial conference room...

Of saris, sneakers and a kiss on the cheek By Rachna Rawat (India) If you ask me what the most diffficult part of this fellowship has been, I'd say leaving my three-year-old baby to travel half way across the world...

Plymouth laughs off stress By Otsieno Namwaya (Kenya) I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive about going to Plymouth for my media attachment...

When it gets going, it gets hot By Julie Middleton (New Zealand) Growing up in New Zealand in the 1970s, I was aware of Northern Ireland's "Troubles", the long-running and often-violent scrap for supremacy between pro-Londoners and nationalists seeking greater autonomy...

The Value of Life By Funsho Aina (Nigeria) HOW can I begin to write about my most memorable experience as a Harry Brittain Fellow in the UK when each module of the six-week programme opened new vistas in my journalism career?...

The inspiring spirit of London By Farhat Anis (Pakistan) Big cities have bigger vision and a big heart. It goes for London too. Exploring London a huge, sprawling city having the distinction of world's most diverse city, on your own, was an exciting experience of my life...

The Mysterious Blackpool By Alexander Rheeney (Papua New Guinea) I had an eerie feeling when I checked in at Blackpool's Imperial Hotel along the north promenade for a night before I began my job-attachment two days later with the evening newspaper, the Blackpool Gazette...

The Hummingbirds vs the Kookaburras By Mapula Sibanda (South Africa) The 2005 Harry Brittain fellows ushered in Week Six of the programme with a lot of drama and trepidation after the London 7/7 bombings...

Cricket Attachment By Curtis Rampersad (Trinidad) I suspected this would be good afternoon when the head server at Edgbaston apologised to the four sports reporters and myself because sandwiches and tea were five minutes late...