On these pages...
1: Media & Publications Officer
2: Craig Fordham
3: Adrian Fraguela

Craig Fordham

Media & Publications Officer

Hey Pompey! My name is Craig Fordham and I want to be your Media and Publications Officer for 2006/2007.

Why Vote Craig?

I am a final year Media Studies student and I bring to the role professionalism and experience. I want to improve the quality of nights out in the Union and to enhance the Union’s communication with the students. Foremost, I am extremely approachable and I want to involve more students in decision making, as I feel we have been let down in the past.

Experience

I have been in Pompey since 2002. I arrived at just the right time, the brand-spanking new Union smelt not of stale Snakey-B, but of freshly painted walls and was full of promise. Elsewhere, the newly built Trafalgar Halls dwarfed the already delayed Spinnaker Tower. In my time here, I have written for Pugwash and have organized nights at the Union, notably a Fresher’s night in 2004. Currently, I am a member of the University cricket team.

Before I came to Portsmouth, I spent three years volunteering on a council run radio station called Youth FM. I held various positions, including Assistant Station Manager and Chairman of the Committee whilst presenting my own show and writing for the magazine.

Professionalism

Last year, I took time out to gain work experience. It concerns me that there are large numbers who do not complete their degrees only to accumulate debt and be under-qualified in extremely competitive industries. I worked for one of Europe’s leading PR agencies, and I credit my time there with the proficiency I will bring to this role.

If elected, I vow to:

• Establish the Union as a landmark for live entertainment.

If bands such as the Arctic Monkeys can tour Britain and play at the Guildhall, why can’t they play at our Union? Likewise for big-name DJ’s that tour the Unions across the country. We have the facilities, the students deserve it, let’s provide it.

• Obtain an AM radio license for Pure.

We can hold a longer license and can fund this by commercializing the station. I want to ensure that every student in Portsmouth has access to Pure, making it the most listened to station by students and a definitive source of information exchange between us and the Union.

• Introduce a student run television channel.

Shown in the Union and/or streamed on the UPSU website, students would have the chance to exhibit their work. Also, highlights of important sports matches would be shown in a Purple Wednesday TV Show, bringing the student population together to share in our sports teams’ successes. This would provide students the opportunity to learn key television production skills.

So what now?

If you like what you’ve heard then Vote Craig from March 8th to March 10th. It only takes a minute and together, WE can finally make our Union a topnotch entertainment venue with first-class media services that benefit all members of the Union. Its time we stood together to make a change.

Change for the better.
Vote Craig for MAPO

Word association

• Media: Expansive
• Communication: Shared
• Paper: Recycled
• Design: Innovational
• Funding: Essential

Questions

1. What do you envisage the role of the Media and publications Officer to be?
The role carries great responsibility. I will be accountable to the not only the students but to the Union as well, and I will act in the best interests of both. In short where media issues lie, I will be VOICE the students and the EAR of the Union.

2. Communication with the student body lies solely with this position. What in your opinion is the best way to communicate with the student body?
I believe that our existing communication channels with the students remain the best solution. However, that is not to say they cannot be improved. I believe that these services should reach more students so they are able to have their say. Ultimately, the students should be more frequently updated and involved in Union events.

3. Why are you attracted to Media?
When I was a child, I got my parents to help me make a television set out of a cardboard box, from which I sat on the end of the bed and read the news. I was Nicholas Witchell reading the Six O’clock News. Excruciatingly embarrassing but true nonetheless. My Dad worked for the Evening Standard as well, so I started reading the newspapers from an early age. From then on, I guess I’ve always been fascinated by the Media and I’m happy to report I no longer wish to be Nicholas Witchell, I’d rather be Tim Lovejoy.

4. How would you expand on the success of Pugwash, Pure FM and www.upsu.net?
I want to introduce a student-run television station, streamed on the UPSU website and shown in the Union. It would be fantastic for students to exhibit their work and get behind their Union. It would provide students with key TV production skills and up-to-the-minute news. I’d also like a longer, AM license for Pure as FM licensing is very expensive and Pugwash to have an independent website, promoting all aspects of Portsmouth life.

5. Who is the best communicator of all time and why?
The white van man. You can hear him from a mile off. He uses all his senses to let you know that he loathes your existence and wants you off the road. That is, unless you’re a lady, in which case he will wolf whistle at you until his heart’s content.

6. This position becomes much easier with student participation. How do you plan on getting students involved in your ideas?
I would like to build on student impetus by basing the events we put on at the Union in a democratic fashion. Students should be asked to vote via an e-ballot on what acts they would like to see at Graduation Balls, Fresher’s Week and Purple Wednesdays.

7. What experience have you gained so far in Media?
I have written for several publications including Pugwash and I DJ’d for several years on the radio and in nightclubs back home. Also, I have worked for a PR and Marketing agency, where my job entailed liaising daily with local and national journalists, writing press releases and events management. From experience, I have learnt that hands-on experience is just as vital as a degree.

8. As a sabbatical networking is essential and important, what is your best ‘networking line’?
Put your crash helmet on, ‘cos you’re going through the headboard tonight!