Rosie Blunt

Journalist

United Kingdom

BBC World Service, BBC World Online, BBC Young Reporter, BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Points West

Special interest in young people and global affairs

Online, digital, radio and television

NCTJ Gold Standard, PGCE, BA (Hons) in English and French.

Six years experience teaching English in UK and international secondary schools.

Lover of cats, chocolate, coffee and chat.

Portfolio
BBC News
01/07/2020
How to travel by train - and ditch the plane

A string of horrifying climate-related disasters has brought a distinctly environmental theme to many people's New Year resolutions. Many have chosen to reduce their carbon footprint by flying less, or cutting out planes completely. Flygskam - the Swedish word for "flight-shame" - has become commonplace.

BBC News
05/19/2020
Letter-writing: Connection in disconnected times

"This Zoom stuff doesn't cut it." That's how the writer Lionel Shriver described communicating with friends and family during lockdown, summarising many of our frustrations. While the coronavirus pandemic has presented challenges in all areas of our lives, the lack of human contact is one of the hardest.

BBC Three
01/28/2022
Meet the BBC Three TV announcers: 'People want to hear their mate' - BBC Three

N/A Rosie Blunt Ever wondered who the voice inside your TV belongs to? The one telling you it's time for EastEnders or the News at Six? Well, their official title is the "continuity announcer". There are 23 continuity announcers across the BBC TV channels - and 10 more have joined BBC Three as it prepares to relaunch on 1 February.

BBC World Online and World Service

BBC
01/21/2020
BBC World Service - Newsday, The elephant in the room

A hotel in Sri Lanka has gained an unusual guest. An elephant called Natta Kota is now the subject of a viral video - after starting to wander around the Jetwing Hotel in Yala National Park on a fairly regular basis. He's generally a well behaved visitor - except for knocking over the odd lamp.

BBC News
09/06/2019
Femicide: The murders giving Europe a wake-up call

On 1 September, a resident of Cagnes-sur-Mer in the south of France spotted a foot sticking out from a pile of rubbish, branches and an old quilt. It was the disfigured body of a woman, the victim of a brutal attack. Her partner denies her murder.

BBC News
01/07/2020
How to travel by train - and ditch the plane

A string of horrifying climate-related disasters has brought a distinctly environmental theme to many people's New Year resolutions. Many have chosen to reduce their carbon footprint by flying less, or cutting out planes completely. Flygskam - the Swedish word for "flight-shame" - has become commonplace.

BBC News
05/20/2020
Why we're seeing a letter-writing boom in lockdown

"This Zoom stuff doesn't cut it." That's how the writer Lionel Shriver described communicating with friends and family during lockdown, summarising many of our frustrations. While the coronavirus pandemic has presented challenges in all areas of our lives, the lack of human contact is one of the hardest.

BBC News
10/30/2019
Have gender reveal parties gone too far?

On Saturday, a woman died at a gender reveal party - a celebration announcing whether expectant parents will be having a boy or girl. A piece of shrapnel from a homemade explosive struck Pamela Kreimeyer, 56, in the head and killed her instantly.

BBC News
08/10/2019
Chagabi Etacore: The leader killed by contact with the outside world

Chagabi Etacore was a young child in 1986 when he heard a helicopter hovering over his home in Paraguay's Chaco forest. A member of the Ayoreo Totobiegosode tribe, Chagabi had never before seen the outside world. His family lived nomadically, sleeping around a hearth and growing melons in the forest's sandy ground.

BBC News
06/01/2019
The island community feeling 'lost' in Sussex

More than 50 years ago, Britain claimed sovereignty over the Chagos Islands and evicted its entire population to make way for a joint US military airbase. Decades later, Chagossian families in Britain say they are now being torn apart by UK immigration law.

BBC News
10/20/2019
'Gladiator School' - tales from NYC's notorious jail

Vidal Guzman was 16 years old when he entered Rikers Island jail for the first time. As he crossed the bridge over to the island, a prison guard told him to "get ready for Gladiator School". In Vidal's first week, he says, he saw two teenagers hang themselves.

BBC News
05/02/2019
Cyprus murders expose abuse of migrant women

Cyprus has been left devastated after an army officer confessed to the murder of five migrant women and two girls, in what is believed to be the island's first serial killing. Amid the shock, protesters have accused police of failing properly to investigate the victims' disappearances because of their migrant backgrounds.

BBC News
04/26/2019
Cyprus reels over serial killer case

Cyprus has been left stunned after a man confessed to killing seven women and girls, all of foreign descent, in what is thought to be the island's first serial killing. The authorities are facing accusations of not fully investigating when the women were first reported missing.

BBC News
04/29/2019
The film in a language only 20 people speak

On a wintry beach lined with conifers, the body of a teenage boy washes up on the grey sand. A mother runs to her dead son and clutches him to her chest, wailing. Meanwhile, a young man named Adiits'ii flees from the scene, running into the forest, gasping and grunting.

BBC News
02/13/2019
El Chapo's beauty queen wife stays loyal

The perfectly groomed, immaculately dressed Emma Coronel Aispuro became a familiar, and controversial, face at the trial of her husband, the notorious drug-lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, in the US. For three months, the 29-year-old sat steadfastly watching the trial of the 61-year-old man she has been married to for 11 years.

BBC News
02/19/2019
New York City bans hair discrimination

The New York City Commission on Human Rights has released guidelines against targeting people on the basis of their hairstyle, classing this as racist discrimination. The guidelines aim to protect the rights of New Yorkers in schools, work places and public places, where black people are disproportionately affected by policies banning hairstyles such as afros, cornrows and locs.

BBC Young Reporter

BBC Bristol Digital

BBC Online

BBC News
10/24/2017
Man in 100-balloons camping chair flight

A British adventurer has flown 25km (15.5 miles) across South Africa suspended from 100 helium balloons. Tom Morgan, from Bristol, reached heights of 8,000ft (2,438m) while strapped to a camping chair, in scenes reminiscent of the Pixar smash Up. The 38-year-old spent two days inflating balloons ahead of the flight, which he described as "magical".

BBC News
11/03/2017
Pupils 'miss day a week' at poor school

Many children at a school rated as "inadequate" have been missing "on average" one day of school a week. Ofsted inspectors found that teaching at Merchant's Academy in Bristol is "poor" and "pupils cannot read and write as well as they could". The report, first obtained by the Bristol Post, found a "culture of low expectations" there.

BBC News
11/06/2017
Child kidnap attempt man jailed

A man has been jailed for seven years after a "terrifying" child kidnap attempt. Alexander Benfield, 25, of Lawrence Road, Cirencester, tried to snatch the eight-year-old girl as she walked home with friends in a Wiltshire village. Benfield grabbed and dropped the child and also grabbed her friend's shoulder and bottom.

BBC News
10/19/2017
Area's schools 'to be lowest funded'

Schools in South Gloucestershire will be the lowest funded in England by 2020, a campaign group says. National group, School Cuts, which is backed by teaching unions, claims over the next five years funding will be cut by 4% to £4,093 per pupil. Toby Savage, the Conservative council's cabinet member for education, has questioned the figures.

BBC News
11/08/2017
Vasectomy funding cuts crisis warning

Nine NHS groups in England are considering or have cut funding for vasectomies in a bid to reduce costs. Currently, men can have the operation free on the NHS but some authorities will only consider authorising it in "exceptional circumstances". Managers say the proposed cutbacks are due to "a time of significant financial challenge."

BBC News
10/30/2017
'Devastating' Hinkley Point strike off

Strike action has been averted as hundreds of workers building the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point voted for an improved pay deal. Unions Unite and GMB were preparing for industrial action at the Somerset site after an ongoing pay dispute with EDF.

BBC News
10/21/2017
Sculpture depicting community unveiled

A large steel sculpture telling the story of a town's community is to be unveiled later. The artwork, on the pavement outside St Paul's Old School in Cheltenham, features scenes, rendered in galvanised steel, of local landmarks and memories. Jane Clatworthy gathered ideas for the 8ft (2.4m) planter through workshops and conversations with the community.

BBC News
10/27/2017
Tidal barrier costs 'may rise by £10m'

The cost of a tidal barrier being built in Somerset is likely to rise by millions of pounds. The Bridgwater project's price tag could increase by £10m or more, a Somerset County Council report shows. Due to be completed in 2024, the flood defences aim to protect 10,000 homes from floods for the next 100 years.

BBC News
01/27/2015
Still thirsty after Malawi's flood

Recent floods in Malawi have left hundreds dead, many more homeless and devastated crops. Rosie Blunt visited two of the worst-affected areas. It has been more than a week since Cyclone Bansi hit Malawi, but looking out on what was once a bustling marketplace beside the Phaloni River, the formidable rains and mauling winds could have struck yesterday.

BBC News
10/18/2017
Inquest into M5 police shooting opens

The inquest into the death of a man who was shot by police near the M5 has been opened. Spencer Ashworth, 29, was stopped on the A369 Portbury Hundred near Bristol by firearms officers on 27 September. During a short hearing at Avon Coroner's Court, the inquest was told Mr Ashworth's body was identified by his mother.

BBC Radio

Freelance

Brightonandhoveindependent
11/30/2016
Choir with No Name heads to Brighton

At Christmas, many of us take community, happiness and over-indulgence for granted, but for someone dealing with homelessness, this time of year is often the darkest and most difficult. Marie Benton set up The Choir with No Name, a choir for those with experience of homelessness, in 2008 and it is set to perform in Brighton this month.

Brightonandhoveindependent
06/24/2017
'There's a desperate need for some investment in Portslade'

As property prices in Brighton and Hove continue to rise, buyers are increasingly moving two miles west to more affordable Portslade. But according to new residents, the main high street, Boundary Road, strewn with betting, vaping and discount shops, has a long way to go before it can compete with its more prosperous neighbours.

Brightonfringe
05/01/2017
WINDOW: Scorched

WINDOW is Brighton Fringe's Arts Industry showcase created to develop and encourage artists ready for the next step in their career. It is a platform for high quality, new work to be highlighted during the first days of Brighton Fringe (5 - 11 May) In a guest blog, Journalist Works' Rosie Blunt profiles one of this year's WINDOW shows, Scorched.

The Argus
We have to start 'doing politics differently' says re-elected Conservative MP

Nick Gibb has retained his Conservative stronghold in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton with 59% of votes, an increase of 8%. UKIP's Patrick Lowe faced major disappointment with only 1861 votes, compared to 10,241 in 2015. He said UKIP had "clearly suffered a massive blow" with a huge shift to the Conservatives.