Project Description: https://mmj.tees.ac.uk/~fjp18/
“The People of Teesside aims to showcase top local talents, tell incredible stories and celebrate our fantastic area.” – Daniel Ragusa (Site Creator)
Being from Teesside myself, I know how frustrating it sometimes is when all you hear is the negativity associated with our area’s name. First hand, I’ve seen how amazing people from this place can be and I wanted to share that positivity through the use of this project. I covered three main areas which were people who work within sport, the creative industry and also people who work within the community.
This is a promotional video that I created that explains a little bit more about the project…
I spoke to some of the biggest names arising from this area, as well as speaking to some hidden talents who you may have never heard of, giving them a platform to grow their name.
This is a longer interview I did with three-time BDO world champion Glen Durrant:
You can view the full article here: https://mmj.tees.ac.uk/~fjp18/2020/04/01/glen-durrant/
One of the more unknown local talents were performing duo Teesside’s Elderly Brothers.
This is the story I did on them:
FULL STORY: https://mmj.tees.ac.uk/~fjp18/2020/03/13/teessides-elderly-brothers/
During the project which was live for approximately one month, I created 29 videos, 9 pieces of audio, and 18 written articles.
The project gained a good following on Facebook with over 600 likes and follows, and also had good engagement on Twitter and Instagram too.
My story on Luke Mason, who went from being in a victim of a hit-and-run incident to a councillor in just two years, gained attention from BBC Radio Tees who used my story on their breakfast show.
You can view the full story here: https://mmj.tees.ac.uk/~fjp18/2020/03/08/luke-mason/
The site gained a good following on Facebook with over 600 likes and follows, and also had good engagement on Twitter and Instagram too. Because of this, I reached out to the public and published some of their photography that they sent in.
You can view the gallery here: https://mmj.tees.ac.uk/~fjp18/photography/
As well as delving into some deeper topics, I also did some more humorous pieces too.
One example of this was my video on the Parmo where I got the opinion of all of my interviewees on Teesside’s most famous dish…
You can view the piece I did on the Parmo here: https://mmj.tees.ac.uk/~fjp18/2020/04/03/parmo/
During the COVID-19 crisis I also decided to look into some of the amazing work that our local key workers were doing throughout the pandemic.
This is just one of the four part series I called ‘Teessiders on the front line’.
FULL STORY: https://mmj.tees.ac.uk/~fjp18/2020/03/25/coronavirus-teessiders-on-the-front-line/
PART 4: https://mmj.tees.ac.uk/~fjp18/2020/03/28/covid-19-teessiders-on-the-front-line-part-four-the-media/
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
ABOUT ME
Hi! My name is Daniel Ragusa and I am a Multimedia Journalist in the final year of my degree at Teesside University.
COURSE
Sport Journalism, BA (Hons)
BIOGRAPHY
Since I was a child I’ve always dreamed of being involved in sport. Like many others, I wanted to be competing on the biggest sporting stages – however that didn’t exactly go to plan. The next best thing for me was being able to get involved within the sport, and that’s where journalism came in. I’m a proud Teessider, so being able to report on and work with Middlesbrough Football Club is a dream come true for me. I’ve won two awards at University, the ‘Ali Brownlee Sports Coverage Award’ and also the ‘Video Journalist of the Year award’. Every day that I get to work in this industry is a pleasure, and I’m excited for whatever the future holds following my graduation from University.
Software & Hardware Proficiencies
I am skilled using Adobe software, Open Media, Scheduler, Dira applications and iMovie. I’m very familiar with various pieces of radio hardware and can desk drive at BBC Radio Stations. I can also use professional cameras, as well as video cameras such as the AC-90.
Employment, Work Experience & Volunteering
I currently freelance for BBC Radio Tees as both a Journalist and a Broadcast Assistant. These roles involve producing content for all kinds of different shows, speaking to a variety of different people. I’m also part of the BBC Radio Tees sport team, where I work on a match day for both Middlesbrough and Hartlepool United fixtures.
I have also carried out work for Middlesbrough Football Club, Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation, Tyne and Wear TV and Sky News. As well as this I also voluntarily worked for Stockton-based charity ‘A Way Out’ as part of their 2018 Christmas campaign, producing various amounts of content for them.
Interests
Despite studying a Sport Journalism course, I often delve into the wider journalistic world too. I have created pieces of work varying from politics to mental health. I love to play sport, something in which has increased my knowledge of the differing rules in each sport. I have a keen eye for graphic design, and also love music. Visiting different places in the world and photography are also huge passions of mine.
