Princes Street Gardens Interview

Below is the article that I wrote on Jean Higson, the lady who I interviewed in Princes Street Gardens.

Walking through Prince’s Street gardens I came across an elderly lady, sitting alone, and dressed in white. At first she seemed reluctant to talk to me, but when she began to share her opinions with me that resistance quickly faded.

Jean Higson, from Glenrothes in Fife, is married with two sons and a grandson. She has been a practising Jehovah Witness for fifty years. As I conversed with her on a bench in the bustling gardens, it became apparent that Jean had extremely strong opinions on other religions, in that, she does not agree with them. She told me that religion, in her eyes, causes unnecessary trouble and will be the downfall of man in the next twenty years, in accordance with Jesus’ prophecy. She explained her belief in this as her sons were sent to Belfast, Northern Ireland, as “peacekeepers” with the armed forces in order to try and calm a country going through a crisis. Jean said that “for religion to bring once country into civil war is enough proof of its troublesome nature.” Her husband and his family are also from Northern Ireland and they have not been back due to the rife Sectarianism.

Jean went on to explain how many people claim to be religious or to be proud of their religion, yet they are not. She used the “Lord’s Prayer” as an example of this, claiming that most people did not understand its meaning. She also believes that religion is a tool used by people as a scapegoat for Sectarianism, which she puts as another reason for not supporting religion. However, she does not criticise or judge anyone who follows a particular faith.

Profile: Jane Loughrey

Jane Loughrey told me that her most difficult report, and the one that affected her the most, was the Omagh bombing in 1998. She said that it was “traumatic and harrowing to witness the pain but I had a job to do and it was my duty to deliver the news with humanity, and that was difficult.” Jane said even to this day she still finds it “amazing that people invite me in during times of grief.” She has been brought in more than she has been turned away, a true example of the trust she has gained from the public in Northern Ireland.

 A single mother of one from Belfast, Jane is the principal reporter in Ulster Television and has been a journalist for the past twenty years. However, it appeared that Jane stumbled across this career by complete accident, and she has not looked back since. Jane’s interest in becoming a journalist was sparked when she began working with the “Student News” in Queen’s University Belfast, even though she was studying business management. She was unsure which area of journalism she wanted to enter and was torn between broadcast journalism and print; however she believed papers to be “yesterday’s news” which made her disinterested in this aspect of media, although she still “respects newspapers” and feels that there will always be a place in the world for them. After a number of years Jane applied for a place in the London College of Arts for a course in broadcast journalism which had twenty places, and with over two thousand applicants it did not look hopeful, however she did get accepted. After graduating she worked for free for many papers in order to gain experience and was rejected from seventy five radio stations as her Irish accent was seen as “not acceptable at the time.” But, she got her lucky break when Classic FM took her on to work behind the scenes which later resulted in her having to read the news and this set her on the path to a successful career. Jane said that the experience from working on the radio was “invaluable, as you are on your own and the vital experience is gained. There will always be a part of my heart that belongs to radio.”

 Jane moved on from radio to work for Ulster Television where she has covered a vast range of stories, from The Troubles to features for the programme. She still finds it as interesting as when she first started, but she believes the nature of news in Northern Ireland has changed, making it different and somewhat more difficult to find news worthy stories. Jane’s passion for broadcast journalism was evident in how she spoke about it, saying it was “in her blood” and that she “loved it.”

 When asked how the recession has affected the industry Jane said that it has not directly affected her except when she is on stories. She told me that “rather than having a camera man and a sound man, you now only have the camera man,” which shows the cut backs in the industry. Jane also went on to explain how specialist correspondents are no longer sent out to America or Europe to report on events and instead they receive the pictures and stories from ITV.

 Even after twenty years Jane Loughrey is still “always nervous” before her story is aired. She said to never abuse the power that you are given as the public trust you and this must be gained and retained. Jane said to never make mistakes when doing a story and to finish she said live by the rule “If in doubt, leave it out.”