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Victoria Wilkins is a multimedia journalist with a passion for working in a variety of journalistic situations, especially areas relating to dogs, dog welfare, dog showing and video gaming. She has successfully run her own 'junior events' column in international show dog newspaper, Our Dogs and currently reports freelance for show dog newspaper and broadcaster, Dog World.
From writing stories on WWII veterans to the national microchipping debate, Victoria produces interesting and vibrant content to a deadline, throwing herself into every situation she can in order to expand her knowledge base.
She currently has six out of her seven NCTJ qualifications. These are in court reporting, public affairs, news reporting, production journalism, news portfolio and 100WPM shorthand.
The work she produced as a volunteer communications assistant at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust was featured in Staffordshire county magazine, Staffordshire Life, which highlighted the work of conservation and survey officers dring the plight of the HS2 decision.
Living in Penkridge, Staffordshire, with her two dogs and family, Victoria writes about topical features in the dog field, trialling a variety of 'guinea pig' features and learning more every day about her passion, animals. Always found with her iPhone close by to keep herself updated with any news, she still trusts her notepad and pen to do the job just as any technology could do.
Victoria is a passionate and enthusiastic First Class Journalism graduate who is willing to put the effort, time and hard work into learning new skills that will contribute to shaping her career and enhancing the company she works for.
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On Monday, 25 October 2010 at 05:57
About me
I'm Victoria, a 21-year-old journalist who aims to write engaging, vibrant and creative copy. I have just finished a three year course studying journalism at Staffordshire University.
I’ve always enjoyed writing, whether it was stories about foxes in Farthing Wood, or even writing about a crazy spur of the moment decision to be a dog groomer for a day.
Animals are a huge passion of mine and they are one part of life I don’t think I could live without. This passion was so apparent when I was a teenager that I had always wanted to be a vet nurse, however, after being taken out of school at 15 and home schooled throughout my GCSE’s I was unable to pursue the career I would’ve loved, so I put my heart and soul into the next best thing.
In my spare time I can be found horse riding, showing dogs and designing and developing ideas for potential articles and pages.
My first freelancing job was with a specialist dog showing newspaper called Our Dogs. My reports consisted of show reviews until I started writing my own column called 'Just Juniors'. The column focused on news, results and information on junior handling, stakes classes and all aspects revolving around the Young Kennel Club (YKC). From this, I was given a weeks work experience at The Kennel Club press office in Mayfair, London.
Alongside my self confessed animal addiction, I also love spending time playing video games and writing about them, specifically Xbox 360 games.
In 2009, I was lucky enough to win a competition to travel to Germany with Microsoft and was one of the first community members to test out Kinect (known then as Natal). This gave me the opportunity to work with industry journalists and shadow them in press conferences and press briefings. It was one of the most memorable hands-on experiences I’ve ever had.
Throughout my university degree, I developed a passion for magazine design and feature writing and for my dissertation produced a 30-page magazine entitled ‘Staffordshire Dog Life’ as well as designing a double page spread for county magazine, Staffordshire Life.
Whilst at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, I assisted the Communications Officer with various press releases relating from Wildplay and coffee mornings to wassailing and the Churnet Valley Living Landscape Project. The role required me to help sub/design the Trust magazine, send press releases to local media, attend events for the Trust and contact various Trust staff for quotes.
I currently freelance for Dog World, writing show reports and assisting with their broadcasting subsidiary, Dogworld.TV. Each month, Dog World airs their television show 'Around the Dog World' on Sky channel Horse & Country, a show which I have helped provide opinion pieces on as well as expert knowledge on the dogs competing in the show ring, to camera.
For every article I write, I put my heart and soul into and really get stuck in with every aspect of it – even if it does include spending a day smelling of a dog parlour and learning about chrysanthemum haircuts.
“Victoria has shown a great range of journalistic skills while working for the popular online news site StaffsLive.
She has a strong portfolio of work, excellent technical/online skills, and works well in a team environment.
- Pete Leydon, Award Leader MA Journalism and BA (hons) Journalism, Staffordshire University (Staffs Live).
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“Victoria is a student who is versatile in producing content for a variety of different outputs. She has shown dogged determination to
unearth and piece together breaking content in a live news enviornment and showcases a real flair for the design side of journalism. As well as being a strong worker under her own steam,
Victoria is also able to play a productive role in a team. She is able to take instruction and offer constructive and informed opinion to help shape
ideas and move stories forward. I have no doubt that Victoria would be a strong member of any newsroom,
be it in design or content creation. Her skills would allow her to adapt to niche or mainstream publishing.”
- Ross Hawkes, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Staffordshire University (Staffs Live and Lichfield Blog).
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Victoria has been working with me as a volunteer communications assistant for the last few months, and has proved herself to be a valuable and popular member of the team. She has worked on a variety of different projects, from writing press releases to producing a double page feature for Staffordshire Life, and has taken on each challenge with enthusiasm and conscientiousness. She has excellent communication skills and quickly builds up a rapport with people, has good writing skills and a diligent approach to her work.
• I am currently the Assistant Editor and collator of the Paws.. For Youth page at Dog World newspaper. My duties include writing and researching the junior column, editing news stories, page design, subbing, podcasting, helping with DogWorld.tv and writing for ProGroomer magazine.
Dog World Newspaper Freelance
January 2012 - January 2013
http://www.dogworld.co.uk
• Dog World is a specialist canine newspaper catering for the needs of show hobbyists, breeders and dog enthusiasts. I wrote about breed shows and championship shows, providing reviews and reports for the events.
• I assist the communications officer by producing press releases associated with the Trust which covers events, social media, figures, facts and wildlife ventures. I have also wrote articles for Staffordshire life covering the topic of conservation and surveying.
Staffs Live News Reporter
September 2010 - February 2012
• I produced a variety of news stories and features based on news in Staffordshire. The site covers entertainment, reviews, news and sport and is powered by Staffordshire University. The content produced on this site by myself was created whilst studying my degree in my second and third years.
Our Dogs Junior Columnist
March 2010 - September 2011
• Whilst at Our Dogs I wrote reviews and reports which covered shows across England and Wales as well as running a monthly column about junior handling. This covered information on handling, stakes and the Young Kennel Club whilst also attending camps and events.
This job also allowed me to cover Crufts in both 2010 and 2011, providing the entire report for juniors for the paper. I also covered international handling.
Victoria Wilkins is a multimedia journalist with a passion for working in a variety of journalistic situations, especially areas relating to dogs, dog welfare, dog showing and video gaming. She has successfully run her own 'junior events' column in international show dog newspaper, Our Dogs and currently reports freelance for show dog newspaper and broadcaster, Dog World.
I'm Victoria, a 21-year-old journalist who aims to write engaging, vibrant and creative copy. I have just finished a three year course studying journalism at Staffordshire University.
