Nick Stylianou

Students’ Union announces £11,000 loss days after controversial dismissal of longest serving staff members

This was originally posted, along with my Scott Trust Bursary application (for MA Broadcast Journalism at City University, London) as an original article within a 200-word limit on 28th February 2011. Wish me luck! SURHUL’s Commercial Services Department has declared a deficit of £11,000 in just six weeks of trading. Details ...

Is there any merit in adopting a ‘peace journalism’ approach?

This was originally submitted to Roy Greenslade as part of my MA assessment in Journalism & Society (a module on media history, structure and ethics). Jake Lynch believes that the media’s coverage of conflict fuels further violence and makes peaceful resolution harder to achieve. To that end he argues that journalists ...

The Man Without A Face (Masha Gessen)

A review I published for We Love This Book - originally published here on 28th February, 2012. Masha Gessen is almost over-qualified to write this biography. In fact, as a journalist, she must’ve been upset to know that the book was nearly off to the printers during the December protests, which have ...

Should the News of the World hacking scandal and Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB takeover bid have been connected?

This was originally submitted to Roy Greenslade as part of my MA assessment in Journalism & Society (a module on media history, structure and ethics). Through News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch is the world’s leading newspaper proprietor. His company is also the largest pay TV owner and stood to grow larger still ...

Small Man In A Book (Rob Brydon)

Another review for We Love This Book. Rob Brydon visited Guildford in December for a book signing. That’s right, the comic impresario came to a sleepy Home County to promote his life story.  But why am I telling you this?  Well, where he's been and who he's met is a crucial part ...

Martin Amis: The Biography (Richard Bradford)

A review I published for We Love This Book - originally published here on 9th November, 2011. If you’ve read Martin Amis’ novels, then the density of this critical biography won’t be lost on you. Amis’ life is structured like most of his works, crammed with excess and disinterest (à la Money), ...

Civil Sin

With 20,000 words left to write for April 26th and having just handed in my dissertation about six hours earlier, I should be either celebrating or furiously scribbling away the last double-spaced, footnoted pages of my degree.  However, like the aspiring journalist I so crave to be defined as, instead ...

Crossover

This was originally posted with my application for MA Broadcast Journalism at City University, London as an original critique on a television programme within a 200-word limit, along with another one on a radio programme, on 14th March 2011. Wish me luck! Panorama: Smoking and the Bandits Date: March 7, 2011 Length: ...

Perfect Stranger

This was originally posted with my application for MA Broadcast Journalism at City University, London as an original critique on a radio programme within a 200-word limit, along with another one on a television programme, on 14th March 2011. Wish me luck! From Our Own Correspondent (FOOC) Date: March 10, 2011 Length: 28:18 First ...

Students’ Union announces £11,000 loss days after controversial dismissal of longest serving staff members

This was originally posted, along with my Scott Trust Bursary application (for MA Broadcast Journalism at City University, London) as an original article within a 200-word limit on 28th February 2011. Wish me luck! SURHUL’s Commercial Services Department has declared a deficit of £11,000 in just six weeks of trading. Details ...

Tomorrow: don’t go out before you’ve read the paper (I’ll let you read it online)

This was originally posted on August 19th 2010, in the Tomorrow's News, Tomorrow's Journalists blog-ring after I was asked to contribute to journalism.co.uk's August Debate. As I sit in my dressing-gown at my laptop at midday, with umpteen tabs open in Firefox, I often find myself the brunt of my housemates’ ...

Precious Time

Well, with five (fully categorised) post-it notes to make up my summer to-do list, and less than twelve hours before I go travelling with him, I thought I'd recount the first couple of weeks of my summer break. After arriving back in the Guildford area, I thought I'd get my car cleaned. ...

Is This It?

I'm officially no longer a fresher. You might have noticed I've itched for this moment since I got to university, but I reluctantly reset the keycard to my room at Royal Holloway.  If anyone's living in Tuke F-3A-05 in future, and you happen to stumble across this post, look underneath the ...

One Week Of Danger

The following takes place between May 26th and June 1st.  Events occur in real-time. 26/5 [1334] I've filled up the car, I've been food shopping and I've had my hair butchered. Time to drive back to RHUL. 26/5 [1546] I went straight to the office. I'm currently begging the printers to not ...

Checkmarks

From the inevitable unfounded panicking about my exams to the 'pens down' of my final paper, that's another academic milestone passed. My first year of university.  Nearly. My first set of university exams.  Tick. Now, I have no idea whether or not I've passed or failed, or even attained enough to make it ...

Lark On My Go-Kart

I'm starting to see the upside of having a car and living a paltry 35 miles away from University.  I enjoy many simple trips to the local Marks & Spencer to buy....microwaveable puddings.  Hop in and go to Staines for the cinema! Anything beats the Summer Term sparsity of people ...

After Hours

Not content with the stereotypical notion of a party-hard Spring Break, here in England, United Kingdom I spent most of my Easter Holiday going to the theatre and playing Nintendo.  Wow, I wish there was a cooler way to say that.  Of course, I went out with some friends at ...

And Then There Were None

Sitting alone in the flat at the end of term,  the time has just flown by.  Almost a year of university, gone in what feels like half the time.  And that's sort of true.  The academic year timetable passes quicker than the calendar one.  Is that good or bad? Sitting alone ...

Sometimes Things Get Like, Whatever

I remember when I was at school, if I didn't go out on a Saturday, I'd be in a bad mood.  Saturday was the only day I could go out without worrying about what work I had to do - and without being knackered from the week.  No after-school commitments ...

Feel The Pressure

On the eve of my nineteenth birthday, I fear of people's perception of me. How quintessentially adolescent. I told you I've been horrendously busy, so a quick recap?  I got a few poorly-written essays back, with poor marks.  I went to Societies' Ball.  I didn't win either of the two awards ...

Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet

Mr. Ahmed G.Wuma 03:23 Dear stylianou I have been in search of someone with this name "stylianou ", so when I saw your name I was pushed to contact you and see how best we can assist each other. I am mr Ahmed Wuma,i am regional manager of UNITED BANK OF ...

One Million Billionth Of A Millisecond On A Sunday Morning

I don't know where to begin. "I've had better".  That's a phrase I've uttered numerous times since I've been back at university.  In case anyone thinks I was being my usual coy (read: cryptically, annoyingly-closed) self, it's because my dad spent most of the winter break in hospital.  I think I ...

Time Out From The World

Christmas break. Time to leave the comfortable campus bubble and return to the wider world.  New friends, new responsibilities, new courses.  As for the world I left behind about three months ago?  It's in a different part of Surrey, and they need Christmas presents. September 20th - December 13th 2008. Does my Fresher ...

Unexpected Places

Well, that was certainly one of the most odd evenings I've had.  And a rollercoaster of emotion. Before I begin, what's happened recently? I received my NUJ press pass in the post (yay!) but ended up not being allocated tickets for the Guardian Student Media Conference (boo!). Last night, I went to ...

November Has Come

I had to update my Facebook Info section just to keep track of what I'm doing.  Blimey. Aren't I a productive little chap? Well, I'm sitting in an empty flat.  In my dressing gown. All seven other residents have gone home for the weekend, and I'm trying to work out whether ...

Homesick at Space Camp

Sorry.  I've slipped even further behind on updating.  But this time, I have an excuse, because I was actually doing things. I went to Cyprus, which was fine.  Relaxing, reading my pre-University reading list, sun, sea, sand... I went to see underOATH at The Astoria, but really went for the support band, ...

Storm and Stress

I sincerely hope you're all up-to-date with my Summer so far. I don't need to tell you how it went by using clichés like "life-changing", but I've certainly returned with a different perspective.  Not necessarily a good one, mind.  Nevertheless, I'm glad I went. Enough. Other news? My camera had ...
June 30th 2008
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The (After) Life Of The Party

Wow.  No more school.  For real, this time.  What's that? You want me to tell you all about my life, my internet friend? I know, I know, long time no speak.. Okay. I've had my last A-level exam, I've returned (most) of my books, we've had the leavers' ceremony, we've been to ...

Future Sound Of London

I've got to keep this up-to-date, but I've been busy. I'm definitely having to think about the future, but let's have some highlights from the gap in my blog updates... Well, school's over for me, in the sense that I have no more timetabled lessons. I haven't been able ...
March 28th 2008
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The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging

Packing for Sevilla, I feel oddly disconnected. I'm not going to have my laptop (it's only just been repaired - it's not going anywhere.), therefore I'm not going to have the internet. Okay, get all the "teenager-can't-live-without-internet-what-has-become-of-the-youth-of-today" complaints out of the way, I get it. But I'm not going to ...
March 26th 2008
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Myths And Photographs

Let's talk about flickr. Look at me, typing as if I have an audience... I've inherited a pro account as a result of having a BT[internet/Yahoo!/openworld/broadband] account, which is fairly nifty.  It gives me 'unlimited' storage, but I'm not entirely sure how to use it.  Do I upload ALL of my ...
March 25th 2008
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Launch Time

Let's have a party! All-new nmsonline.co.uk is here! Launched with a powerful redesign and brushing iWeb and other inferior CMS blogs aside! Soon to be populated with Time Magazine-rivalling inter-stellar content! Now, I may have spoken ill of WordPress in the past, but it's really pulled its socks ...