Scott Thomson; Journalist Portfolio
Your Photo

The Falmouth Anchor

At the University of Exter, I was a chief lead writer at our student newspaper, the Falmouth Anchor. Please find my work linked below:

Spy Photo
cottonbro studio / pexels.com

‘The King’s Man’ and ‘No Time to Die’ are weak on issues of cultural awareness

‘There has perhaps been no better barometer of British establishment values in the twentieth century than the James Bond movies. Now one of the world’s longest-running film series since Dr No in 1962, Bond is a cultural institution that has captivated the imaginations of thousands, and has become synonymous not just with the spy genre, but a broader sense of what it means to be “British”.’

Please find the article linked here.
Nuclear_image
pixabay / pexels.com

The Future is Nuclear: The Nuclear Power Debate and COP26

‘There are advantages to nuclear power plants that renewable sources of energy do not have. While they are costly and time-consuming, they take up comparatively little space compared to their energy output. Wind and solar require vast tracts of land to reach anywhere near the output of a nuclear power plant, including the space needed for batteries in which to store the energy.’

Please find the article linked here.
Condoms_image
cottonbro studios / pexels.com

Meet the students pushing for ‘Sustainable Sex’

‘In response to the worldwide demand to reduce carbon emissions and plastic waste, a group of University of Exeter students has begun to campaign for greater sustainability in an area of life that some may not have considered to be a threat to the environment: sex. “The whole of the UK is looking to be greener about transport and food, and the sex industry is too, but it’s a bit of a taboo subject so no-one really wants to talk about it”, said Matilda Money-Kyrle, one of the five team members of Sustainable Sex, an Instagram page dedicated to promoting eco-friendly sex products.’

Please find the article linked here.
Halloween_Image
Monstera Production / pexels.com

Five costumes you’re definitely going to see this Halloween

‘For so many people, Halloween is a time for creativity and self-expression: the best outfits are ones that their creators have clearly put a lot of time, energy, and imagination into. However, every year there are a couple of completely unoriginal costumes that get endlessly recycled by party-goers. Here are my predictions for what this year’s most popular costumes are going to be.’

Please find the article linked here.
Penzance_Image
The Exchange / flickr

The internet is nowhere and everywhere in new ‘Outside the Algorithm’ exhibition

‘With its Jubilee bathing pool and views over the historic St Michael’s Mount, Penzance isn’t the first place you might expect to encounter online culture. However, as the Exchange’s “Outside the Algorithm” exhibition highlights, the internet is both nowhere and everywhere, even in the furthest reaches of the UK’s most southern county. Although only a short experience, if you’re visiting Penzance there’s no real reason not to have a look around, especially as students are permitted free entry.’

Please find the article linked here.
Sustainability_Image
Pixabay / pexels.com

Falmouth University hosts ‘Reporting Earth’ summit

‘On Tuesday, Falmouth University hosted the “Reporting Earth” summit, showcasing the prototypes of five projects from young journalists around the world in a bid to develop new ways of reporting the climate crisis.’

Please find the article linked here.
Students_Image
Stanley Morales / pexels.com

An interview with Penfession II

‘In August, the administrators of the popular student Facebook page Penfession announced that they intended to close the page at the end of the month, officially ceasing operations last week. A Penryn-based version of the common university “fession” (short for confession) page, Penfession had amassed over 4,000 followers since its creation in January 2019. Following the announcement of its closure, a new team established a successor to the original page, Penfession II: The Swimming Pool Notice Board. The Anchor reached out to the administrators to ask them some questions.’

Please find the article linked here.
Police_Image
pixabay / pexels.com

‘Line of Duty’ exposes the banal reality of police corruption

‘Last Sunday, the finale to Line of Duty’s sixth series aired to mixed reviews. Although the series’ previous episodes had been met with critical acclaim, the response to episode seven resulted in #fuming trending on twitter for hours after the episode concluded. To summarise: for the past three series, the AC12 anti-corruption unit had been investigating the identity of a figure named ‘H’, a corrupt senior police officer working with organised crime, and in this final episode the identity of ‘H’ had been revealed.’

Please find the article linked here.
Drummer_Image
Jadson Thomas / pexels.com

Blue House Sessions on making music in lockdown

‘Karlis and Oli, two music students at Falmouth University, are Blue House Sessions. Based in Penryn, the two started recording covers in their sitting room over lockdown and have since surpassed 100 followers on Instagram. They spoke to the Anchor about their innovative new project.’

Please find the article linked here.
Hoodie_Image
lil arsty / pexels.com

Dishonest and dangerous: Run Hide Fight misses the mark

‘A black hoodie. A loaded rifle. Upturned tables and empty halls. The tropes of an American school shooting are so recognisable that they border on cliché. Since the massacre at Columbine twenty-two years ago, this imagery has appeared ubiquitously in the news, provoking feelings of terror, disgust, and resentment. So why has The Daily Wire, prolific conservative news network, chosen the first exclusive movie on its digital streaming service to be about such a volatile topic?’

Please find the article linked here.
Clothes_Image
Kai Pilger / pexels.com

Union Busting, Disease and Sweatshop Labour: The True Cost of Fashion

‘Ask most people in the UK and, more often than not, they’ll be able to tell you what a sweatshop is. Thanks to non-profits such as Fashion Revolution, knowledge about the unfair treatment of clothing industry workers is gaining currency. Google trends show how searches for fast fashion have reached an all-time high in the past few months, coinciding with discoveries about the proliferation of slave-produced Xingjian cotton in many popular brands.’

Please find the article linked here.
Election_Image
Element5 Digital/ pexels.com

A Divided Nation: the Lead Writing Team’s Analysis of the 2020 US Presidential Election

‘Over a month has now passed since the US election, arguably one of the most consequential and important elections of the 21st century, particularly for the West. Since the election, broadcast hours and column inches have been filled with pundits and commentators offering their takeaways and opinions of what demographic trends say about the changing nature of American society, the divisions that these changes have caused, and the electoral impacts that result from these divisions. Now that some time has passed, however, electoral reports and post-election studies reveal a new depth of data, from which we can conduct a reasoned and detailed analysis of the election, focusing on two distinct factors: youth participation and urban-rural divisions.’

Please find the article linked here.
Headphones_Image
Jess Bailey Designs / pexels.com

Viral trends: is TikTok the secret to success for the music industry?

‘It’s no secret that entertainment has been dramatically affected by COVID-19; previously safe businesses have been forced to innovate or risk falling by the wayside. This is no more true of the music industry. Even though music streaming does not necessitate being close to other people the same way going to the cinema or the theatre does, predicting which music gets popular has been made almost impossible by the virus. ’

Please find the article linked here.
Comedy_Image
Monica Silvestre / pexels.com

Bland and toothless: ‘balance’ isn’t the BBC’s only problem

‘At the BBC, politics and comedy are intertwined. Some of its longest running comedic shows centre around political commentary: Have I Got News for You, a news-orientated panel show, is a British institution, which has aired regularly since 1990. Similar political shows have been produced since the 1960s. For instance, in 1962 That Was the Week That Was used sketch comedy to attack conservative ideology.’

Please find the article linked here.
Comedy_Image
Suzy Hazelwood / pexels.com

Why toxic productivity culture is harmful and what we can do about it

‘During lockdown, time has never felt more fluid. Days that are indistinguishable from the next melt into one other. Whole weeks last the blink of an eye and are simultaneously excruciatingly long. The details of our daily activities are drops in an ocean of amnesia. But at the end of it all, that vague feeling of regret that comes with spent time: what could I have been doing instead? ’

Please find the article linked here.