麻豆约拍

Editor Jon Jacob reports on week 13 at About the 麻豆约拍.

This week has rushed past.听

Last weekend seems a world away now. I spent most of it underneath a duvet, nursing a surprisingly severe bout of man-flu and generally feeling sorry for myself. In between angry bouts of blowing my already sore nose, I sat slumped in front of the TV, bingeing on , the brilliant 麻豆约拍 Three documentary, the fourth episode of (unexpectedly, I find hair-styling on TV utterly compelling), the series on 麻豆约拍 Four and (I'm so hosting a party sometime soon just so I can make her table long meringue centrepiece). Next time I'd like my man-flu to hit me on a weekday: immersing myself in the TV seems so much more indulgent when you're at home and everyone else is at work.

The cold has gone. (It was just a cold - you probably realised that.) But something remains: the creeping realisation that I love iPlayer. There, reliable every Saturday morning. A whole suite of programmes available to download on my Sky box or streamed via my PS3. In just 6 years, its not only secured an 11 million request rate every week, but its achieved an unusual status in my world: it is now my guilty pleasure; my indulgence. 听"I'll watch that at the weekend on iPlayer," I'll promise myself sounding more and more like my parents than I care for. It is as though iPlayer has become my weekend security blanket or my favourite teddy bear. And I'm wondering whether that's a bit weird.

A similar rush of warm admiration washed over me on Thursday morning. Mid-way between updates on the search for MH370, the Pistorius trial in South Africa and Obama meeting the Pope, schoolchildren clasping furry microphones appeared on the TV screens in our office. , writing stories, taking pictures, and filming reports for online, radio and TV. Such endeavours are often rattled off for press releases, blogs and in meetings, but rarely do we give ourselves a moment to consider the outcome. But when you see young people delivering reports on a live news channel, the impact of the sight makes you stop. "Wow," I said to colleague Matt next to me, "That's amazing. Seeing young people doing the news on the News Channel. That is a good thing." Both of us stopped for a moment and stared at the screen before getting on with our work.

This morning, I've taken another look at School Report via its , catching up on what I missed. Inevitably those catch-ups focus on areas of the country I have a personal connection with, but all of the contributions share a commonality. First, the visit to Youth Parliament at Westminster Hall by Holbrook Academy in Ipswich, mentored by a former colleague of mine . An invigorating exchange between three young people and the House of Commons Speaker John Bercow: excellent questions answered in an engaging, clear, and informative way. An interview which must have been nerve-wracking for both parties (because the dynamic between interviewee and interviewer is so very different), the outcome of which was fascinating for those taking part and audiences young and older.听

Next, a few miles away from where I live in South East London, the in Lewisham听spoke to local representatives from the Office of Budget Responsibility and published their work on their website. And - my favourite - nearby Greenvale School听filed a which contain some really warm pieces to camera and compelling cut-aways and near-reportage footage shot in and around the school. There's a reason it has an impact, because it's different from what the majority of us see day to day and for that reason, those who produce such reports have secured our attention in a way that the rest of us can (sometimes) only dream.听

These and a touching report on the produced by School Reporters Iman and Megan have been a fascinating insight into not only the work of the 麻豆约拍 School Report team, but also a reminder of what about the representation of young people on-air. Watching these reports, I'm struck by how little I know of what young people think and feel on a given subject and how I want to hear more from them. Because their work appears to be having just as powerful an effect on me as any of my weekend iPlayer favourites.听

is Editor of the About the 麻豆约拍 Website and Blog.

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