Press Gazette - Journalism Training Supplement 2008

COVER 2-1st revise:Layout 1

29/4/08

17:59

Page 1

‘If you spell my name wrong forget about it’ Tips from the top on landing your first job XII 02.05.08

Free

INSIDE

The Big Decision

It’s frustrating, but employers expect you to know what you are doing before offering you a job. You need training; the best courses select carefully – so should you. Paul McNally on how to pick the course; Adrian Monck (above) on how the course picks you. II-III

What it costs

Whether it’s nine weeks intensive postgrad study, or a three-year degree, training is expensive. You need to get good value. VIII

So you want to be a journalist?

Getting into....

They all employ journalists, but TV, radio, print and online media have their own nuances. XII

Don’t be a churnalist

Paul Lashmar has strong views on what’s happening to his profession. The new generation must fight back! XIV CONTENTS What to look for in journalism training II If I’d known then what I know now IV Getting the most from your journalism degree V What price a job?

VII Directory VIII Getting into....

XII How to fight churnalism XIV

Christina Lamb Foreign Affairs Correspondent of the Sunday Times, describes how the desire to write and have adventures got her into journalism

I

’d like to claim it was a vocation but it was a cheese-and-wine party that led me into journalism and a wedding invitation that set me on the path of being a foreign correspondent.

I didn’t know anything about being a journalist.

At home, what the neighbours were up to was more

interesting than the six o’clock news and we got the Daily Mail for the horse-racing and the crossword.

What I wanted to do was to write and have adventures. On Saturday mornings in Wallington library, I discovered the reportage of Hemingway, Kapuscinski, VS Naipaul, and Kipling and Ed Behr’s unforgettable Anyone Here Been Raped and Speaks English.

At school careers day, I ventured that I’d like to be a writer or journalist. The careers adviser tut-tutted and replied that personnel was a good area for a woman or, how about being an engineer as I was good at science and it was Women in Science and Engineering Year?

But then I got into Oxford and accompanied a friend one evening for some free cheese and wine.

The party turned out to be for Cherwell, the university newspaper, and it seemed like lots of fun.

The little office full of clattering typewriters and carbon paper soon took over my life and I ended up editing the paper.

I also discovered the FT and wrote to the Asia editor, securing two weeks as an intern which turned into the whole summer. It was very exciting, though in those days of long liquid lunches I could never work out how the paper came out. Most exotic of all were the foreign correspondents, who wafted in and out of the office from faraway places.

One day the foreign editor sent me to a lunch for Asian politicians. I ended up doing an interview with Benazir Bhutto out of which an unlikely friendship was struck. A few months later a gold-inscribed invitation landed on my mat to a wedding in Karachi.

Being Benazir, this was no ordinary wedding. Not only was it a spectacle like something out of Arabian Nights but, after the ceremonial parts, there would be discussions late into the night on how to topple General Zia, the military dictator.

Pakistan seemed the most fascinating place on earth. But when I went to talk to foreign editors they were more interested in Afghanistan. So it was that I set off on a Flying Coach to live in the border town of Peshawar. I had no idea what foreign correspondents needed – in my suitcase was a giant pack of wine gums, Kipling’s Kim, a bottle of Chanel no 5 and a rented Tandy word-processor that showed just three lines at a time of green on green – these were pre-laptop days.

If you don’t have connections then just going somewhere and setting up is the best way to start.

These days email means you no longer have to go and bribe telephone or telex operators, and cutbacks mean there are few staff correspondents whose toes can be stepped on. But you do need the luck of being in the right place at the right time.

At the beginning it felt like sending stories off into a black hole as the FT never made it to Peshawar and this was long before the internet. But the war in Afghanistan meant I soon had all the adventure I could wish for.

There were other advantages I hadn’t thought about. For someone who is endlessly curious, being a journalist is an excuse to talk to anyone, from presidents to the most destitute, to go inside prisons and behind front lines. And caring passionately about injustice, I thought I could change the world.

There are downsides of course. It will drive your friends and family crazy that arrangements are always made “small wars permitting”. A lot of people lie to you. Some even shoot at you. And an awful lot of time is spent waiting for planes that never come in, airports that offer only cockroaches and overflowing toilets instead of Caffe Nero and WH Smiths.

Lamb’s book Small Wars Permitting is published by Harper Collins

www.pressgazette.co.uk = news<jobs<events<blog<subscribe

02-03 _JTS 2008-1st revise.qxp:Layout 1

29/4/08

18:05

Page 2

JOURNALISM TRAINING 2008

First steps: What you should look for

A

sk one senior journalist on a national newspaper how they recruited their last reporter, and you’ll get this response: “I remember that bastard. He abseiled down the front of the building and kicked my window in. When I stuck my head out, he said: ‘Any chance of a job?’ I really couldn’t not give him one.”

The NCTJ doesn’t have a module in abseiling, but this tale – which hopefully is true – demonstrates the lengths some people will go to for that all-important first job. And with thousands of trainee journalists coming off the end of the production line each year, and more than 100 courses on offer, getting noticed has never been more vital.

The options A quick, very unscientific, poll in the Press Gazette newsroom reveals a broad range of different routes into the trade. Some took an NCTJ pre-entry training course and landed a first job on a local paper; some studied journalism as a degree subject; while others paid up to £6,000 for a nine-month postgraduate course.

While there’s no “right” or “wrong” path, the decisions you make about where to train will affect when – and possibly where – you find work, and how much lighter your wallet will be at the end of it. If you opt for a three-year degree course, the chances are it’ll take a more academic look at the industry. Postgraduate and fast-track courses are generally more vocational, covering essential skills such as shorthand, media law and practical news – and feature-writing.

“It’s a point we make time and time again and yet year after year people come to us and they’re surprised,” says Dr John Jewell, a first-year tutor on Cardiff University’s BA degree course in Journalism, Film and Media. “We do everything to tell them that it’s an academic course. It’s not a training course in any way.

Particularly in this day and age, with the financial constraints they might have, we wouldn’t want them to come here and realise they might have made an error.” Jewell says the university’s postgraduate courses “operate in a completely different sphere” – focusing instead on practical journalism skills.

While an academic course at undergraduate level might give you a grounding in ethics and a broader view of the media industry, critics of the BA route say the only way to properly prepare yourself for the realities of the newsroom is to hit the ground running. Keith Elliott is the chairman of PMA Media Training, which has been

Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies is one of the older institutions offering journalism training. It offers both degrees in journalism and vocational postgraduate training.

II ◆ 02.05.08

The selection process works both ways – questions to ask your prospective tutors: • How long does the course last, and how much does it cost?

• Who will be teaching? What are their backgrounds?

• How many people are on the course? How big are the classes?

• How many hours a week will I be working?

• Will I spend time on work experience?

• Can you help me find a job at the end?

Paul McNally outlines what to consider when you decide to train training young journalists – and teaching old journalists new tricks – for almost 20 years. PMA’s postgraduate diploma in magazine journalism lasts nine weeks.

“When we started it 20 years ago, people said you can’t possibly do it in nine weeks,” he says. “But you’ve got to remember that at college they trot in at 9.30, have a nice break for lunch and at five o’clock, go home.

We don’t make them do 10,000 words on the history of the press in the world. What we’re doing with them is making them do all the things an editor would want them to do.”

Elliott says where a number of university-based courses trip up is in the nature of their teaching staff.

“We have working journalists [teaching],” he says. “A lot of the colleges have full-time teachers or lecturers.

How can you learn practical skills from them?

“A lot of students think: I’ve done a media studies degree, I’ll get a job,” Elliott says. “Then they get a nasty shock when they find out they’re unemployable.”

Even the postgrad route comes in different forms, and these can be vastly different in cost. PMA charges its students £3,500, while City and Cardiff ’s prices (for their more broadly based, but still skills-orientated postgraduate nine-month courses) are closer to £6,000.

Whichever route you choose, training at postgraduate level and having an unrelated subject at degree level is often looked upon favourably by employers – more so than going down a pure “media studies” undergraduate route.

What are employers after?

So what exactly do employers look for in a candidate’s education and training background? Nigel Stephenson is Reuters’ editorial training manager, and the gatekeeper to some of the most sought-after jobs in journalism. Every year, the global news agency hires a batch of would-be journalists from a broad range of backgrounds for its over-subscribed graduate recruitment scheme. The odds aren’t great. This year, Stephenson received 1,300 applications and hired eight people.

“For me, the type of degree is not crucial – it’s really what you do with it,” he says. “We have people from all disciplines – arts, humanities, occasionally journalism itself. It’s how they apply those things that is more important to us. I don’t want to say that we don’t want people with journalism degrees. But most of the people we take on will have done other degrees – things like politics, history and languages.”

The basics of shorthand, media law and news reporting are learnt on the job, with trainees spending their first year at Reuters’ London headquarters before being posted overseas in their second year.

The Reuters view is that it doesn’t matter what degree you’ve taken, and you don’t need to be a 100-word-per-minute Teeline pro before starting; it seems the key quality is a demonstrable passion for journalism, evidenced by some practical application.

“We won’t look at anybody who’s not done some,”

• Are any basic muti-media skills included in the course?

• Do you teach shorthand and other essential practical skills? What speed am I expected to reach?

• How many graduates find work in the industry? How do you define “in a job”?

Stephenson says. “They don’t have to have done weeks of work experience at a national newspaper or a news agency. Maybe hours spent on the university paper.

In some cases the evidence for that [interest in journalism] is signing up and spending money on a course. You’re making quite a commitment in doing that.”

With so many courses on offer, with differing syllabi and prices, it’s difficult to put them all side by side and accurately compare them. The National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) accredits around 65 courses in 40 different ‘centres’. But although NCTJ accreditation means a course will offer a standard set of industry-recognised exams – covering news reporting, media law, shorthand and public affairs – the organisation admits the rubber stamp isn’t necessarily a vital kitemark for every course in the country.

“There are various people who’d rather slit their wrists than have anything to do with the NCTJ, which is fair enough. They’re entitled to that point of view. They’ve always had the courage to stand by their own,” says Stephen Chambers, the head of accreditation and the man in charge of making sure that the journalism courses that carry the organisations seal of approval conform to its standards.

Multimedia matters One element prospective journalism students might want to grill tutors about on open days before signing up to a course is the amount of multimedia training provided. As even some of the smallest trade magazines and local papers begin dabbling in audio and video output, a course that provides a basic grounding in cross-platform journalism might just give you the edge.

“Our expectation is that all those courses which might once have been deemed ‘print’ should certainly be able to produce trainees who have the right mindset and a basic skillset to think across a lot of platforms and functions,” says Chambers.

But what about the good old-fashioned skills of shorthand and media law? Are they still necessary? “We certainly ask the editors and the answer is yes. At the moment, recruiting editors tell us that is what they want,” Chambers says. “We’re constantly confronted with people who question the usefulness of shorthand.

You’ve only got to look at Ron Neil’s report [to the BBC’s governors after the Hutton inquiry], which says accurate shorthand ought to be the bedrock of BBC journalism training.”

Paul McNally studied for a postgraduate diploma in magazine journalism at City University. He worked on Press Gazette as a sub-editor before going freelance.

NEWSDESK: 020 7324 2385/SUBSCRIPTIONS: 01858 438872

02-03 _JTS 2008-1st revise.qxp:Layout 1

29/4/08

18:05

Page 3

JOURNALISM TRAINING 2008

or when choosing a journalism course Route maps With direct entry to any decent job in journalism an increasingly rare route, aspiring journalists need to look hard at the training options open to them. There are three basic patterns: A good undergraduate degree in a good university is a good start for any career. Follow it with postgraduate vocational training – fasttrack, university diploma, or NCTJ pre-entry.

Cut out the middle man and take your undergraduate degree in journalism. But be careful that you end up with the practical skills journalism employers demand, as well as the academic background.

Get a place on a graduate training scheme offered by the likes of Reuters and the BBC. Once you’ve decided on the basic route, look long and hard at the courses themselves. Make Graduates at PMA Training’s nine-week intensive postgraduate course in magazine journalism. Courses such as this, and the longer diploma courses at places like Cardiff and City Universities, are purely skills based – Quark, shorthand, subbing, media law etc – and are targeted unambiguously at job hunters

CREDIT HATIM OWEIDA

Worth paying the price?

Professor Adrian Monck, City University’s Head of Journalism and Publishing, on what you can gain from training – and what prospective tutors will look for in you What will get you a job in journalism? If you answered putting yourself up for adoption on eBay by a leading member of the media establishment, nice try. But sadly, if you’ve left it this late in your development, you’re probably no longer cute enough.

Short of worming your way into the blood family of someone from the media elite, let me offer journalism school as a practical alternative.

Sure, it’s expensive. As if the fees aren’t enough, the

WWW.PRESSGAZETTE.CO.UK

costs of another year of student life will add a perforated eardrum to the financial nosebleed of an undergraduate degree.

But if journalism is what you want to do with your life – and at best, it really is a great deal more interesting and exciting than any of the alternatives – then you might as well shoulder the extra debt.

When you’re working out which school to go to, what should you look for? In the first instance, seek out a course that will give you what anyone hiring journalists looks for – experience, skills and a decent portfolio.

How do you get experience? Internships. Good courses will have routes into good workplaces.

Hirers will want to know that you are familiar with work environments, that you know what you’re doing in a newsroom, and they’ll want evidence to back that up.

Internships provide all this.

Skills in journalism are – changing. Experience with Freedom – of Information requests should now be part of every journalist’s basic tool kit. Investigations need people who can combine a burning sense of

City University’s Department of Journalism and Publishing grew up around the one year postgraduate diploma that started in 1976

sure they match your ambitions and the demands of your would-be employers.

injustice with coding and high-tech information gathering. Are you familiar with the kind of software law enforcement agencies are using to crack organised crime? Are your tutors?

Newspaper groups want graduates with shorthand and video editing. Add to that familiarity with Final Cut Pro and some specialist knowledge in an area like health or finance.

Portfolios are changing too. Inky cuttings are all very well, but where are the urls? A blog can be more than a MySpace page, it can be a calling card. Brian Stelter at the New York Times got his media reporting gig straight out of college after running a blog called TV Newser.

What kind of work are students producing on the courses you’re looking at? Is it getting published?

And lastly where do the graduates end up? Are they hitting the road for news organisations or cleaning out coffee grounds in Caffe Nero? Destinations are important. They create paths into workplaces that you might be able to follow. Alums can pass on interview tips and brief you on what to expect.

It is a tough mix. Spend too much time on skills and you’ll have no portfolio. Too much time on journalism and you’ll have no time for skills. Too much of either and you won’t impress the people you’re interning with.

And what will good schools expect from you?

Self-confidence doesn’t hurt. Evidence that if you haven’t been applying yourself to journalism at undergraduate level, you have been winning distinction in other areas.

Tutors will want evidence that – unlike your peers, perhaps – you are well-versed in current affairs and familiar with all media products old and new. You don’t have to like them all, but try and like most of them. They are produced by journalists, and you want to be one.

That’s not to say there’s no place in journalism for feckless charmers who like a good party. But if that’s you, why waste time with the education system? Go the old-fashioned route and apprentice yourself directly to Prof Piers Morgan, c/o the University of Life.

Professor Adrian Monck graduated from Oxford and the London Business School, before becoming a broadcast journalist with CBS News, ITN and Sky News. Of course, he’s also a Press Gazette columnist.

02.05.08 ◆ III

04-05 _JTS 2008-2nd revise:Layout 1

29/4/08

18:36

Page 4

JOURNALISM TRAINING 2008

If I’d known then what I know now…

PHIL ADAMS

Three successful journalists look back on their careers, and offer the benefits of their early experience.

Asad Ahmad is a Presenter at BBC London News. He read law at Bristol and was a foreign exchange dealer and House of Lords researcher before joining the BBC’s training scheme in 1996 “You make your own luck in this game,” was one of the earliest pieces of advice I received from a senior BBC News manager just before joining the BBC’s News trainee scheme. It certainly was not the only piece of advice I received either – there is no shortage of old hacks willing to pass on their two-pence-worth as they draw from their self-declared vast experience. The trick is trying to sift through the good advice from the self-indulgent comments which allow others the opportunity to speak about themselves and deliver a long, tedious, verbal biography.

Making your own luck in this game – was, for me, good advice and I am yet to meet any successful journalist who has not done something out of the ordinary to get the big breaks in their life. Sometimes it is taking a risk with a story; other times it is making sure you are exploring every avenue, every contact in every area and putting in all the extra hours to guarantee you are in the right place at the right time.

I used to spend hours at the end of my shift sitting in a radio studio, improving how to edit, record my voice and write scripts. I used to hoard other reporters’ work to see what made their work good (or bad). It meant when I got asked to do something, my bosses were often surprised that I was reasonably competent.

Getting breaks in TV worked much the same. I made sure I was taking an interest in all areas of our newsroom at BBC Midlands Today. Weeks after joining the BBC trainee scheme, a flu bug struck and reporters went down like flies. The news editor asked me to do a report for the main programme, even though I had never spent a day working in television in my life. She later said it was because I was known to the editors for showing a genuine interest to learn and not being afraid of working hard and taking risks.

Another staff absence led to me being collared and dragged into a TV studio with five minutes notice to present the news for the first time in my life when the main presenter hadn’y turned up. The only reason I got that break was because I was the only person who used to practise all the different jobs in the newsroom, in my own time, so I could work out everyone’s role. I got spotted, so when an emergency struck, I got my break – and there was no looking back. I never actually planned on becoming a TV presenter.

So there is no doubt you need luck, but much of your fortune lies in your own hands. It is down to your own hard work, your own personality, and as long as you make the most of your opportunities and consistently work at your best, then leave the rest to destiny.

IV ◆ 02.05.08

Zoe Smith started working for the Watford Observer at school. She freelanced for the Glasgow Herald during her Politics / Italian degree, and landed an internship with the Observer. Her first job was with Press Gazette

Emily Bamber is a travel journalist and former supplements editor of Travel Weekly. Her degree was in Media and Hispanic Studies at De Montfort University, and she took a pre-entry NCTJ course at Lambeth College

My best friend is a talented journalist. He started in print, then moved to broadcasting where he endured a sporadic series of contracts, all characterised by startling brevity. He was a hard worker but eventually the commissions dried up and despite being a graduate with years of experience in journalism, a sharp mind and a contacts book to die for, he ended up waiting tables to pay his bills.

Yet he still continued working on ideas, pitching proposals and setting up interviews. Last week, after five months of hoping, he was commissioned to produce a Cutting Edge documentary for Channel 4.

From my experience this is the real story about journalism. For every Natasha Kaplinsky, there are thousands of aspiring journalists slogging away on low salaries and possibly even for free. If my friend’s tale strikes you as deeply depressing, then journalism probably isn’t the trade for you.

If, instead, you see it as an example of hope in the face of adversity and proof that in the end talent will prevail, then you’ve already made the first step.

In this game patience is more than a virtue, it’s a necessity. Be prepared to multiskill. I find it funny when many of my friends declare an undying loyalty to the printed word or the broadcast package.

Obviously you’ll have your preferred platform, but if you want to have a long career in journalism you have to keep your options open. I started off in print, moved to online and now work in broadcast news. Being able to write, shoot, edit and encode is liberating.

At a conference a few years back a journalism lecturer asked one of the heads at the BBC what sort of people he was looking to recruit. His answer was simple “biochemists who speak Mandarin”. His point was that journalists with specialist knowledge are highly prized. If you’re as passionate as I was about journalism in my late teens you may want to get into the trade as quickly as possible. But think about what added value you can bring to the job.

British journalists are shamefully monolingual. If you can speak Arabic, Mandarin or Russian you’ll be everybody’s best friend, but to be honest, any language will do. Being fluent in Italian enabled me to get involved in an investigation into an Al Qaeda cell operating in Milan in the first week of my Observer internship and also led to a job as the London correspondent for the Italian edition of Rolling Stone.

Always try to treat others as you’d have them treat you. I learnt this after a monumental falling out with a friend who used to date Pete Doherty. Following his escape from a Thai rehab back in 2004 I tried to get the inside story from her. Only you can decide where your limit is, but if you follow the above motto you’ll always be able to look yourself in the mirror.

I’d hesitate to put a figure on it but a large part of having a successful career in journalism is down to being in the right place at the right time. So to some extent you’d be entirely justified in ignoring everything I’ve just written above.

But fortune favours the bold – when your moment of luck comes you can never be too prepared.

I knew I’d landed on my feet when three weeks into my job at Travel Weekly the editor handed me a bottle of champagne (I was going off to get married) and said: “We’re sending you to Bali when you get back.”

It was 2005 and a few weeks after the second bomb, so this was going to be more than a fluffy round-up of hot new hotels. Within hours of landing I was interviewing the chief of police (how safe are tourists?), the head of the hotel association (what are you doing to protect your guests?), and walking around the memorial to the 200 people killed in a similar bomb two years earlier. Not quite the run-of-the-mill travel story, but I was in the right place at the right time and fortunately my skills were up to it.

I had taken my NCTJ pre-entry in newspaper journalism at Lambeth College back in 2003 – I had my shorthand to rely on for all those interviews, public affairs to give me confidence speaking to officials, and media law for an idea of what we could and couldn’t publish. When I got back I filed two pieces – “Bali: to go or not to go” and guess what… “Five of the best luxury hotels”.

During the following three years the job took me across Africa, the Middle East, the Indian Ocean and Europe, on to cruise ships and airlines I’d never even heard of before I entered the travel industry.

Mostly I’d travel with other journalists, and time and time again I’d see how my brief always seemed more interesting than those

of the consumer magazines. Trade writing demands you deliver the nuts and bolts of the story, the why and the how is always the lead and carries as much significance as the when, where and what.

I studied a joint BA Hons in Media Studies and Hispanic Studies at De Montfort University, Leicester. Combining media with a language set me on a path towards international journalism, but it was a personal contact that landed me my first job, working for a national news magazine in Malawi, Africa. A year later I came back to the UK with a bulging portfolio and some fantastic experience, but I still took the NCTJ course before setting off for the publishing houses of London, the Daily Mail’s travel website and eventually Travel Weekly.

If I knew then what I know now I would have used my degree to gain a specialism, such as international relations, finance or business, before topping it up with the NCTJ – much of my media studies degree has been redundant in my professional life.

There are very few staff jobs in travel journalism – it’s mostly peopled by freelances – so I also would have developed some subbing skills sooner as shifts are a great way in.

But at the end of the day if I could do it all again I would still pursue the same career path – I’ve travelled the world, earned a living and most importantly, loved every minute of it.

NEWSDESK: 020 7324 2385/SUBSCRIPTIONS: 01858 438872

04-05 _JTS 2008-2nd revise:Layout 1

29/4/08

18:34

Page 5

JOURNALISM TRAINING 2008

Getting the most from your journalism degree Journalism student Dave Lee says working into the small hours is a price worth paying if it means you get the job you want Until you get your bags unpacked and start attending your first sessions, it’s very difficult to know how good your course will be.

The various prospectuses you will have been sifting through will make each course seem like a golden ticket into your dream journalism job, but this is rarely the case.

However, you can take some time to consider what sort of course will be best for you.

Since you’re reading this supplement we can assume that you want to be a journalist. Seems obvious, but you’ll be surprised how many on your course don’t want to be in the industry once they leave. Journalism is seen as being one of those “fun” courses. And rightly so; as you’ll soon discover, studying journalism is an enjoyable experience.

So, with journalism established as your career of choice, you need to assess what skills you want to leave with once your course is complete. Some courses are better in some disciplines than in others. Decide which is most important to you – be it television, print or whichever – and choose your course accordingly.

Remember, however, that in the age of multimedia journalism, you may have to at least dabble in every discipline as you progress in your career. So if you want to be a print journalist, don’t snub radio. You never know when your editor might demand you make a podcast.

It is critical that you remember the importance of ‘doing’. It’s easy to talk about good journalism – we all know what makes a good report. What needs to be learnt is the craft. In other words, you can’t get used to your tools unless you pick them up: the practical sessions make all the difference.

It takes a fluffed-up phone interview to make you realise how important it is to learn how to take notes properly. It takes one wonky TV report to realise how important it is to learn how to get that tripod set up right.

I could go on and on. The point is that you can

WWW.PRESSGAZETTE.CO.UK

only learn these things when you do practical sessions. So, when looking at places to do your course, find out how many hours in your week are devoted to actual journalism practice. It is very important.

Location is also a factor: Where will you be?

What newspapers are nearby? Can you get on to the local radio? TV? You need to know what your options are should you want some local work experience. Many good courses have links with local media – find out what they are and how to get on them.

Keep in mind that completing your course is only half the battle, so getting those placements will give you the upper hand when you start applying for jobs.

Think you’ll be too busy to take on extra-curricular work? Not a chance: you’ll make time. Finishing off your coursework at 3am is a small price to pay if it means getting where you want with your career.

“Remember the importance of ‘doing’. It’s easy to talk about good journalism – we all know what makes a good report. What needs to be learnt is the craft” Picking your course needn’t be a struggle.

Going to open days will allow you to meet your future lecturers and tutors. Find out what they do. They’re your first contacts in the journalism world. And if you make the right choices, they won’t be your last.

Dave Lee is taking a BA (Hons) in journalism at Lincoln. He writes the student blog for Press Gazette

02.05.08 ◆ V

060

29/4/08

19:18

Page 1

NCTJ Post Graduate Journalism (19 weeks) Newspapers or Magazines (September or February start) NCTJ modules (19 weeks) Sport · Subbing NCTJ One Year Journalism Newspapers or Magazines BA (Hons) Journalism Starting September 08

Foundation Degree in Journalism Starting September 09

Harlow College has been training journalists, editors, presenters and researchers for over 40 years.

Learn the skills of: • News writing • Feature writing • Shorthand • Page layout, design

and sub-editing

• Sports writing • Law, public affairs

and ethics

• Online Journalism • Newspaper subbing

For further details including entry requirements please telephone (01279) 868100 Harlow College Velizy Avenue Harlow Essex CM20 3LH

Enter the student journalism awards...

The Student Journalism Awards celebrate the work of the next generation of stars in this exciting and challenging profession.

The awards are open to all students who were enrolled on journalism courses between 22 June 2007 and 22 June 2008.

The course can be of any length between three weeks and three years and of any academic standing – entries are encouraged from students on HND, GNVQ, postgraduate, undergraduate or private diploma courses. There is no restriction on age for entrants but please state your age on the entry form.

This entry form should be completed by the students themselves where possible, but tutors are also invited to enter on behalf of those who have already finished their studies.

From our panel of industry heavyweights, two in the relevant fields will judge two categories each, and the shortlist will be

announced on our website and in the Press Gazette on Thursday 12th June.

All shortlisted candidates will be invited to a lunchtime ceremony at Habadasher’s Hall in the heart of the city of London on Friday 27 June 2008, where the winners will be announced. The day will be a great opportunity to mix with other students as well as working journalists and editors from your chosen field.

There are CASH prizes for each winning student, and key figures from the world of journalism will be there to witness the proceedings.

Previous winners are making waves in national and regional newsrooms up and down the country. If you want to join them, getting this entry form in could be the best career move you make..

Entry deadline: Monday 19 May 2008

Visit www.studentjournalismawards.co.uk for more information

0"#$%& 2008-1s- .e0ise234p:7a9:u- 1

2</4/08

1":4"

Page "

JOURNALISM TRAINING 2008

What price a job?

Any job that requires further education has a price tag attached to it.

Paul McNally weighs the costs and benefits

WWW.PRESSGAZETTE.CO.UK

Whichever route you choose, don’t feel you need to go rushing for the nearest credit card. A number of funding options are available to you, from loans and interest-free overdrafts to grants, bursaries and scholarships if you’re lucky.

If you opt for the undergraduate route, take a student loan. It’s probably the cheapest form of borrowing you’ll ever come across, and with the “credit crunch” making it increasingly difficult to borrow elsewhere, it’s too good to turn down – even if you don’t think you’ll need all of it. The interest rate is in line with inflation (around three per cent), which means you’ll only ever pay back the original amount you borrowed (in real terms). There’s nothing to pay back until you’re earning more than £15,000 a year — and even then it’s taken in manageable instalments, directly from your pay packet, and in proportion to however much you earn that month.

A number of companies sponsor students to train on recognised courses, with a more-or-less guaranteed job at the end of it. The BBC, for example, runs a sponsorship scheme open to anyone accepted on to a BJTC-accredited postgraduate broadcast journalism course.

The fund pays out £5,000 towards your living expenses and pays course fees on your behalf.

If you decide to go down the postgraduate or pre-entry NCTJ route, you’ll probably be eligible for a career development loan. You can take as much as £8,000 and the interest only starts adding up when your course finishes — so it’s technically a 0 per cent loan for the duration of your studies.

They’re provided by three high street banks: Barclays, the Co-op and the Royal Bank of Scotland. A word of warning though: once you’re in a job, the interest rates are higher than a normal high-street loan – between 13 and 20 per cent APR – but there’s nothing to stop you switching the debt elsewhere.

Finally, there’s a number of grants and scholarships on offer for postgraduate courses. The Arts and Humanities Research Council hands out more than 1,000 tuition fee and maintenance grants for the more academic-based courses.

The NUJ, meanwhile, sponsors black and Asian journalism students who have been offered a place on a course but cannot afford to take it up. Applicants need to have been refused a grant from their local education authority and failed to have found sponsorship from a ISTOCKPHOTO/ONUR DÖNGEL

The more you learn, the more you earn.

That’s the catchphrase being used at the moment by the Learning and Skills Council in an ad campaign to promote the benefits of investing in new skills. But is it true for journalists?

Take a typical regional press starting salary, divide it by the number of hours’ work you do in a year, and the chances are you’ll be taking home not much more than the national minimum wage of £5.52. Or put another way, every year hundreds of aspiring journalists pay four-figure sums to train for a job that pays about the same as that of a cleaner.

Of course, the career prospects of working in a newsroom are more appealing than cleaning. There’s a well-trodden path of promotions, from reporter to senior reporter, from local to regional to national.

And although you’ll never become a millionaire as a journalist, the perks that the job brings mean that you’ll occasionally feel like one.

The cost of journalism training varies greatly, and with the average British student racking up almost £18,000 in debt by the time they graduate, it’s difficult to work out what counts as a reasonable price to pay. How long are you prepared to wait for your first pay cheque? Will investing in a more expensive course pay off?

Means to an end The undergraduate route Cost: Up to £9,000 over three years, plus living.

Time before you get a job: At least three years, although there are opportunities for work experience during the course Career progression: Depends on how much experience you can get during your studies The NCTJ pre-entry route Cost: £750 to £1,500 Time before you get a job: Around 20 weeks Career progression: Promoted to senior reporter within 18 months once you complete the National Certificate Examination (NCE) The fast-track postgraduate route Examples: PMA Media Training, NoSweat Journalism Training Cost: Up to £3,500 Time before you get a job: 10-20 weeks Career progression: Generally good, if you can prove an ability to hit the ground running The university postgraduate route Examples: City, Cardiff, Central Lancashire Cost: Up to £6,000 Time before you get a job: Around 12 months Career progression: Generally good

02.05.08 ◆ VII

08-09 _JTS 2008:Layout 1

29/4/08

17:49

Page 4

JOURNALISM TRAINING 2008 Northumbria University 0191 232 6002 www.northumbria.ac.uk

Harlow College 01279 868000 www.harlow-college.ac.uk/

City College Brighton and Hove 01273 667788 www.ccb.ac.uk

University of Bangor 01248 382005 www.bangor.ac.uk

Nottingham Trent University 0115 848 5803 www.ntu.ac.uk

Kingston University 020 8547 2000 www.kingston.ac.uk

Harlow College 01279 868000 www.harlow-college.ac.uk/

University of Bedfordshire 01582 489 286 www.beds.ac.uk

Peterborough Regional College 0845 872 8722 www.peterborough.ac.uk

University of Leeds 0113 243 1751 www.leeds.ac.uk

Liverpool Community College 0151 252 4366 www.liv-coll.ac.uk

Birmingham City University 0121 331 5000 www.bcu.ac.uk

University of Portsmouth 023 9284 8484 www.port.ac.uk

Leeds Trinity & All Saints 0113 2837100 www.leedstrinity.ac.uk

noSWeat journalism training 020 7490 2006 www.nosweatjt.co.uk

Bournemouth University 01202 524111 www.bournemouth.ac.uk

Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen 01224 262000 www.rgu.ac.uk

University of Lincoln 01522 882000 www.lincoln.ac.uk

Sheffield College 0114 260 2600 www.sheffcol.ac.uk

Brunel University, West London 01895 265265 www.brunel.ac.uk

University of Salford 0161 295 5000 www.smmp.salford.ac.uk

Liverpool John Moores University 0151 231 2121 www.livjm.ac.uk

Sutton Coldfield College 0121 362 1176 www.sutcol.ac.uk

Cardiff University 029 2087 6048 www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec

University of Sheffield 0114 222 2500 www.sheffield.ac.uk

London College of Communication 0207 514 6130 www.lcc.arts.ac.uk

Warwickshire College 01926 832655 www.warkscol.ac.uk

University of Central Lancashire 01772 201201 www.uclan.ac.uk

Sheffield Hallam University 0114 225 5280 www.shu.ac.uk

The London School of Journalism 020 7289 7777 www.lsj.org

University of Chester 01244 512 528 www.chester.ac.uk

Southampton Solent University 023 8031 9653 www.solent.ac.uk

Napier University, Edinburgh 08452 60 60 40 www.napier.ac.uk

Darlington College 01325 503030 www.darlington.ac.uk

City University, London 020 7040 8221 www.city.ac.uk/journalism

South East Essex College 01702 220400 www.southend.ac.uk

Nottingham Trent University 0115 848 5803 www.ntu.ac.uk

Harlow College 01279 868000 www.harlow-college.ac.uk/

Cornwall College 01209 616161 www.cornwall.ac.uk

Staffordshire University 01782 294885 www.staffs.ac.uk

Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen 01224 262000 www.rgu.ac.uk

University College for the Creative Arts 01372 728811 www.ucreative.ac.uk

University of Stirling 01768 473 171 www.stir.ac.uk

University of Salford 0161 295 5000 www.smmp.salford.ac.uk

University of Cumbria 01228 400 300 www.cumbria.ac.uk

University of Strathclyde 0141 552 4400 www.strath.ac.uk

University of Sheffield 0114 222 2500 www.sheffield.ac.uk

De Montfort University, Leicester 08459 45 46 47 www.dmu.ac.uk

University of Sunderland 0191 515 3000 www.sunderland.ac.uk

University of Strathclyde 0141 552 4400 www.strath.ac.uk

University of East London 020 8223 3000 www.uel.ac.uk

University of Teeside 01642 384019 www.tees.ac.uk

University of Sunderland 0191 515 3000 www.sunderland.ac.uk

Edge Hill University 01695 575 171 www.edgehill.ac.uk

University of Ulster 08700 400 700 www.ulster.ac.uk

University of Westminster 020 7911 5903 www.wmin.ac.uk

University College Falmouth 01326 211077 www.falmouth.ac.uk

University of the West of Scotland 0800 027 1000 www.paisley.ac.uk

University of Glamorgan 0800 716 925 www.glam.ac.uk

University of Westminster 020 7911 5903 www.wmin.ac.uk

Glasgow Caledonian University 0141 331 3000 www.gcal.ac.uk

University of Winchester 01962 841 515 www.winchester.ac.uk

Goldsmiths, University of London 020 7919 7600 www.goldsmiths.ac.uk

University of Worcester 01905 855000 www.worcester.ac.uk

Undergraduate Courses

Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education 0800 315 550 www.grimsby.ac.uk

Postgraduate Courses

Day Release Courses City of Wolverhampton College 01902 836000 www.wolverhamptoncollege.ac.uk

Two-Year Foundation Courses Cardonald College, Glasgow 0141 272 3333 www.cardonald.ac.uk Cornwall College 01209 616161 www.cornwall.ac.uk

Harlow College 01279 868000 www.harlow-college.ac.uk/

Bournemouth University 01202 524111 www.bournemouth.ac.uk

Lambeth College 020 7501 5000 www.lambethcollege.ac.uk

University of Hertfordshire 01707 284000 www.herts.ac.uk

Brunel University, West London 01895 265265 www.brunel.ac.uk

London College of Communication 020 7514 6130 www.lcc.arts.ac.uk

University of Huddersfield 01484 422288 www.hud.ac.uk

Cardiff University 029 2087 6048 www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec

North West Regional College Derry/Limavady 028 7127 6000 www.nwrc.ac.uk

Kingston University 020 8547 2000 www.kingston.ac.uk

University of Central Lancashire 01772 201201 www.uclan.ac.uk

Leeds Trinity & All Saints 0113 2837100 www.leedstrinity.ac.uk

City University, London 020 7040 8221 www.city.ac.uk/journalism

University of Lincoln 01522 882000 www.lincoln.ac.uk

University College for the Creative Arts 01372 728811 www.ucreative.ac.uk

Liverpool John Moores University 0151 231 2121 www.livjm.ac.uk

De Montfort University, Leicester 08459 45 46 47 www.dmu.ac.uk

London College of Communication 0207 514 6130 www.lcc.arts.ac.uk

University of East London 020 8223 3000 www.uel.ac.uk

London Metropolitan University 020 7133 4200 www.londonmet.ac.uk

Edge Hill University 01695 575 171 www.edgehill.ac.uk

Napier University, Edinburgh 08452 60 60 40 www.napier.ac.uk

Glasgow Caledonian University 0141 331 3000 www.gcal.ac.uk

University of Northampton 01604 735500 www.northampton.ac.uk

Goldsmiths, University of London 020 7919 7600 www.goldsmiths.ac.uk

VIII â&#x2014;&#x2020; 02.05.08

Northbrook College, Sussex 0845 155 6060 www.northbrook.ac.uk Peterborough Regional College 0845 872 8722 www.peterborough.ac.uk University of Teeside 01642 384019 www.tees.ac.uk City of Wolverhampton College 01902 836000 www.wolvcoll.ac.uk

Distance Learning Postgraduate London School of Journalism 020 7289 7777 www.lsj.org

Pre-Entry (Academic Year) Cardonald College, Glasgow (Part-time) 0141 272 3333 www.cardonald.ac.uk

Fast Track (17-21 weeks)

Highbury College, Portsmouth 023 9238 3131 www.highbury.ac.uk Lambeth College 020 7501 5000 www.lambethcollege.ac.uk Liverpool Community College 0151 252 4366 www.liv-coll.ac.uk noSWeat journalism training 020 7490 2006 www.nosweatjt.co.uk Sheffield College 0114 260 2600 www.sheffcol.ac.uk Sutton Coldfield College 0121 362 1176 www.sutcol.ac.uk

Photojournalism and PressPhotography

University of Bolton 01204 903903 www.bolton.ac.uk University of Gloucestershire 08707 210210 www.glos.ac.uk London College of Communication 0207 514 6130 www.lcc.arts.ac.uk Press Association Training 01424 858123 http://www.pa-training.co.uk/ Sheffield College 0114 260 2600 www.sheffcol.ac.uk Swansea Metropolitan University 01792 48 10 10 www.sihe.ac.uk University of Westminster 020 7911 5903 www.wmin.ac.uk

Vocational and Group Training Cleland Thom Journalism Training Centre 07733 145620 www.ctjt.biz

NEWSDESK: 020 7324 2385/SUBSCRIPTIONS: 01858 438872

08-09 _JTS 2008:Layout 1

29/4/08

18:10

Page 5

JOURNALISM TRAINING 2008 Cotswold and Swindon News Service 01793 485461 www.stares.co.uk

Goldsmiths, University of London 020 7919 7600 www.goldsmiths.ac.uk

The Editorial Centre (Press Association Training) 01424 858123 www.editorial-centre.co.uk

London College of Communication 0207 514 6130 www.lcc.arts.ac.uk

Johnston Training Centre 0131 225 3361 www.johnstonpress.co.uk noSWeat journalism training 020 7490 2006 www.nosweatjt.co.uk

Broadcast Journalism

Undergraduate Courses Bournemouth University 01202 524111 www.bournemouth.ac.uk University of Brighton 01273 643707 www.brighton.ac.uk University College Falmouth 01326 211077 www.falmouth.ac.uk

Nottingham Trent University 0115 848 5803 www.ntu.ac.uk University of Sheffield 0114 222 2500 www.sheffield.ac.uk University of Sunderland 0191 515 3000 www.sunderland.ac.uk University of the West of Scotland 0800 027 1000 www.paisley.ac.uk University of Westminster 020 7911 5903 www.wmin.ac.uk

Two-Year Foundation Courses Belfast Metropolitan University 028 9026 5265 www.belfastmet.ac.uk University of Brighton 01273 643707 www.brighton.ac.uk University of Wolverhampton 01902 322484 www.wlv.ac.uk

Vocational Training BBC Training and Development 0870 122 0216 www.bbctraining.com Highbury College, Portsmouth 023 9238 3131 www.highbury.ac.uk noSWeat journalism training 020 7490 2006 www.nosweatjt.co.uk

Magazine Journalism University of Central Lancashire 01772 201 201 www.uclan.ac.uk University of Leeds 0113 243 1751 www.leeds.ac.uk University of Glamorgan 0800 716 925 www.glam.ac.uk Middlesex University 020 8411 5555 www.mdx.ac.uk Nottingham Trent University 0115 848 5803 www.ntu.ac.uk University of Salford 0161 295 5000 www.smmp.salford.ac.uk Staffordshire University 01782 294885 www.staffs.ac.uk University of Sunderland 0191 515 3000 www.sunderland.ac.uk University of Wolverhampton 01902 322484 www.wlv.ac.uk

Postgraduate Courses Birmingham City University 0121 331 5000 www.bcu.ac.uk Bournemouth University 01202 524111 www.bournemouth.ac.uk Cardiff University 029 2087 4000 www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec University of Central Lancashire 01772 201201 www.uclan.ac.uk City University, London 020 7040 8221 www.city.ac.uk/journalism Edge Hill University 01695 575 171 www.edgehill.ac.uk University College Falmouth 01326 211077 www.falmouth.ac.uk

WWW.PRESSGAZETTE.CO.UK

Undergraduate Courses

University of Sheffield 0114 222 2500 www.sheffield.ac.uk

Postgraduate Courses

Sheffield Hallam University 0114 225 5280 www.shu.ac.uk

University of Lincoln 01522 882000 www.lincoln.ac.uk

University of Sunderland 0191 515 3000 www.sunderland.ac.uk

Sheffield Hallam University 0114 225 5280 www.shu.ac.uk

University of Westminster 020 7911 5903 www.wmin.ac.uk

Staffordshire University 01782 294885 www.staffs.ac.uk

Vocational Training Highbury College, Portsmouth 023 9238 3131 www.highbury.ac.uk PMA Training 0207 278 0606 www.pma-group.com Editorial Training Consultants 01428 644123 www.etc-online.co.uk noSWeat journalism training 020 7490 2006 www.nosweatjt.co.uk Online Training BBC Training and Development 0870 122 0216 www.bbctraining.com Bournemouth University 01202 524111 www.bournemouth.ac.uk Cleland Thom Journalism Training Centre 07733 145620 www.ctjt.biz Cornwall College 01209 616161 www.cornwall.ac.uk University of Glamorgan 0800 716 925 www.glam.ac.uk The Innovatory 020 7553 4470 www.theinnovatory.com University of Central Lancashire 01772 201201 www.uclan.ac.uk London College of Communication 0207 514 6130 www.lcc.arts.ac.uk

Investigative Journalism

Postgraduate Courses City University, London 020 7040 8221 www.city.ac.uk/journalism University College Falmouth 01326 211077 www.falmouth.ac.uk University of Strathclyde 0141 552 4400 www.strath.ac.uk

NVQs Companies in England/Wales providing NVQ training: Archant Cumbrian Newspapers Northcliffe Newspapers Kent Messenger Group Midland News Association Newark Advertiser Co Ltd North Wales Newspapers Ltd The Press Association train candidates from: The Maidenhead Advertiser The Methodist Recorder The Jewish Chronicle Trinity Mirror The Sun The London Neighbour Press Association 0870 1203200 www.thepagroup.com Colleges in Northern Ireland providing NVQ training courses:

Bournemouth University 01202 524111 www.bournemouth.ac.uk

London School of Journalism 020 7289 7777 www.lsj.org

Belfast Metropolitan University 028 9026 5265 www.belfastmet.ac.uk

University College for the Creative Arts 01372 728811 www.ucreative.ac.uk

Nottingham Trent University 0115 848 5803 www.ntu.ac.uk

University of Northampton 01604 735500 www.northampton.ac.uk

University of Sheffield 0114 222 2500 www.sheffield.ac.uk

North West Regional College Derry/Limavady 028 7127 6000 www.nwrc.ac.uk

University of Sunderland 0191 515 3000 www.sunderland.ac.uk

University of Sunderland 0191 515 3000 www.sunderland.ac.uk

Southampton Solent University 023 8031 9653 www.solent.ac.uk

Postgraduate Courses Cardiff University 029 2087 4000 www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec City University, London 020 7040 8221 www.city.ac.uk/journalism City College Brighton and Hove 01273 667788 www.ccb.ac.uk University College for the Creative Arts 01372 728811 www.ucreative.ac.uk Harlow College 01279 868000 www.harlow-college.ac.uk/ Kingston University 020 8547 2000 www.kingston.ac.uk University of Central Lancashire 01772 201201 www.uclan.ac.uk London College of Communication 0207 514 6130 www.lcc.arts.ac.uk Nottingham Trent University 0115 848 5803 www.ntu.ac.uk

Sports Journalism

Undergraduate Courses University of Brighton 01273 643707 www.brighton.ac.uk University of Huddersfield 01484 478443 www.hud.ac.uk University of Central Lancashire 01772 201201 www.uclan.ac.uk Leeds Trinity & All Saints 0113 2837100 www.leedstrinity.ac.uk London College of Communication 0207 514 6130 www.lcc.arts.ac.uk Southampton Solent University 023 8031 9653 www.solent.ac.uk Staffordshire University 01782 294885 www.staffs.ac.uk University of Sunderland 0191 515 3000 www.sunderland.ac.uk

Southern Regional College Armagh/Newry 028 3839 7700 www.src.ac.uk Candidates who have completed the Level 4 NVQ in Journalism are able, after six months additional experience and submission of pieces of work and completion of a law questionnaire, to apply for the National Diploma in Newspaper Journalism issued by the Newspaper Qualifications Council.

General Contatcs BBC Training and Development 0870 122 0216 www.bbctraining.com Broadcast Journalism Training Council 01778 440025 www.bjtc.org.uk National Council for the Training of Journalists 01799 544014 www.nctj.com National Union of Journalists 0207 843 3717 www.nuj.org.uk The Newspaper Society 020 7632 7400 www.newspapersoc.org.uk Periodicals Training Council 020 7404 4166 www.ppa.co.uk Society of Editors 01223 304080 www.societyofeditors.co.uk

02.05.08 â&#x2014;&#x2020; IX

010-011_JTS_0205

29/4/08

19:15

Page 1

BA (Hons) Journalism

NCTJ and BJTC accredited Bring your dreams

Fusehill Street Carlisle Cumbria CA1 2HH 0845 606 1144 www.cumbria.ac.uk

• National press • Regional press • Broadcasting • Communications

• Magazines • Online • Newswires • PR

www.jobs4journalists.co.uk OB FIND A J Use jobs4journalists and have the best jobs available at your fingertips

Journalism Courses Foundation Degree in Journalism 2 year course with the option to top-up to BA Honours Degree at

00 5 e er Ov onlin s job now!

JOB POST A Top-notch candidates are attracted to jobs4journalists; it is THE source of the best jobs in journalism

London Metropolitan University

NCTJ Pre-Entry Newspaper Journalism 18 Weeks/ 4 days a week September and February starts For details contact Wendy McClemont on 020 7501 5489 or email wmcclemont@lambethcollege.ac.uk or go to the course section on our website: www.lambethcollege.ac.uk Vauxhall Centre, Belmore Street, Wandworth Road London, SW8

-POEPO $PMMFHF PG $PNNVOJDBUJPO

010-011_JTS_0205

29/4/08

19:14

Page 2

Train with the Media Professionals 0VS DPVSTFT JO KPVSOBMJTN GPDVT PO QSBDUJDBM USBJOJOH XJUI FYQFSJFODFE KPVSOBMJTUT 8F IBWF BO JNQSFTTJWF USBDL SFDPSE JO HFUUJOH QFPQMF KPCT BT KPVSOBMJTUT FEJUPST BOE SFQPSUFST 'PSNFS BMVNOJ JODMVEF 3FCFLBI 8BEF ,BUF 5IPSOUPO )FMFO #PBEFO BOE +FGGFSTPO )BDL $PVSTFT FOSPMMJOH OPX Foundation Degree Journalism BA Journalism Postgraduate Diploma/MA Journalism Diploma Broadcast Journalism Foundation Degree Sports Journalism BA Photojournalism MA Photojournalism, Documentary Photography 'PS NPSF JOGPSNBUJPO DPOUBDU UIF *OGPSNBUJPO $FOUSF PO 0S WJTJU UIF XFCTJUF BU XXX MDD BSUT BD VL -POEPO $PMMFHF PG $PNNVOJDBUJPO &MFQIBOU BOE $BTUMF -POEPO 4& 4#

Choose journalism at Goldsmiths Journalism at Sheffield Sheffield is one of the top universities in the country. Courses in its Journalism Studies department are accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council and the Periodicals Training Council, and embrace the demands of media convergence. Our graduates are employed all over the media, in the UK and abroad. We are highly regarded for applied teaching and research, for our links with the industry and for the professional backgrounds of our staff.

These are our courses:

BA (Hons) Journalism Studies

Study the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;whyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;howâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in journalism. We offer full-time Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degrees, taught by award-winning national and international journalists and broadcasters, with sessions by visiting professionals from Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s media and cultural industries.

Choose MA in Journalism (PTC accredited, covering

BA (Hons) Journalism and a Modern Language (French, Spanish, German or Russian)

newspapers, magazine and web), Television Journalism (BJTC accredited), or Radio (BJTC accredited), in the

MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Print Journalism

lively, multi-cultural, internationally-known Media and Communications Department.

MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism

For more information:

MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Web Journalism

www.goldsmiths.ac.uk

MA in Political Communication

admissions@gold.ac.uk call 020 7919 7766

Information about these courses and how to apply from: Journalism Studies The University of Sheffield 18-22 Regent Street, Sheffield S1 3NJ Tel: 0114 222 2500 Email: journalism@sheffield.ac.uk Web: www.sheffield.ac.uk/journalism

Committed to equal opportunities

12-13_JTS_2008-rd-1st revise:Layout 1

29/4/08

17:57

Page 12

JOURNALISM TRAINING 2008

So you want to work in...

Newspapers candidates who have not completed their basic training from one of the colleges recognised by the National Council for the Training of Journalists. Yet we remain eager to hear from applicants who have the talent and skill to make a name for themselves as a journalist and the fire in the belly that will make them stand out from the crowd.

But your chances of landing that first full-time job are made a lot better if you prepare carefully. Here are some things to consider as you plan your job hunting campaign.

Know yourself Understand exactly what you expect from your first job. What kind of newspaper work interests you? Is location or geography important – small town or city? Where do you want to be five years from now? Mundane considerations such as can you afford to live on patch?

Malcolm Starbrook is the editor of the East London Advertiser and was group editor of Trinity Mirror Southern There are always 20 applicants for every newsroom job and hardly a week goes by without a crop of letters or phone calls from hopeful journalists looking for the first step on the career ladder.

In such a climate it is rare for editors to be offering jobs to

Radio

Andrew Fletcher is a reporter and newsreader at Radio 5 Live. He studied politics at Birmingham University followed by a postgraduate diploma in radio journalism at UCE, also in Birmingham. His first job was as a reporter with BBC local radio There are no hard and fast rules about how to get into radio journalism, although there are tried-and-tested routes. It is not essential to have a degree, but it can help. If you are at the stage

XII ◆ 02.05.08

Basic learning Before you apply, spend some time with the newspaper. You can get a month’s subscription by mail. Read it. study it. Is it interesting, informative, balanced? Make a note of its strengths and weaknesses.

Learn the basics about the paper: circulation, history and who owns it.

Reading’s right Being well-read is a given for a good journalist. In addition to your local newspaper and a couple of the nationals, develop the habit

of reading news magazines and trade magazines so that you understand the industry.

Be prepared Identify the experiences that strengthen your application. Be candid about your strengths and weaknesses. Take your passion for newspapers into the interview and be able to explain it.

By the letter Your letter of application is the first impression you make: don’t cock it up.

Make sure all of the information in the letter is correct. Nothing puts me off more than people, especially those wanting to work for me, getting my name wrong. Add to that a litter of misspellings, typos, inaccuracies etc. Need I say more?

Preparing your CV and cuttings In the CV, highlight your academic preparation, extracurricular activities, leadership skills and activities related to journalism.

List your work experience, even if some jobs have no relationship to journalism, but explain any gaps in your educational or job history. If possible, keep it to one page. Edit for meaning, clarity, grammar, and spelling. Ask a friend to review your CV before you send it.

Samples of your work should show the range of what you can do, as well as your best work. Five or six are sufficient. If you do not have published cuttings, provide examples from college work.

of considering a degree subject with a view to becoming a radio journalist, do not feel obliged to pick media studies. While it will help you understand the trade you are trying to enter, it won’t necessarily impress editors. If you excel at a science or a language, go for that. A knowledge of climate science or Arabic will help you to stand out from the arts and social science graduates who are likely to be your future colleagues.

I decided I wanted to be a radio journalist while I was a student in Birmingham, where I wrote for the university magazine, Redbrick.

This helped me to secure a week’s work experience (unpaid) at the local BBC station, Radio WM. I loved the buzz of the newsroom and the incredible variety of the work, and knew it was what I wanted to do.

If you want to learn about radio and television journalism, make sure the course you pick has After graduating, I spent a the facilities to put theory into practice. fortnight at BBC GMR (now to me now found his way into commercial radio by turning up Radio Manchester) during which my first piece of radio journalism at his local station and asking if they needed anyone to answer was broadcast – a vox pop about politicians who have affairs. That the phones. Others have started out working for a newspaper and helped me to gain a place on a postgraduate radio journalism course found an open door into radio. If you don’t want to go to university, at the University of Central England in Birmingham. I took out or can’t afford to, apply for one of the trainee schemes set up by a career development loan to cover the fees and living costs. the BBC and other organisations for non-graduates.

I can’t speak highly enough about the post-graduadate course.

Radio journalism requires intelligence, determination, an ability I learned the essentials of writing for radio, media law and how to get the best out of people and, above all, curiosity. These are to operate a studio. The course ended with a month-long not abilities which can only be picked up at university. If you show placement at BBC Radio Leeds, where I was then offered my first enough potential and persistence, someone, somewhere, will give paid shift as a radio journalist. you a chance. In my experience, one chance is all you need in radio The route I took is still the most common way into the BBC, journalism, because it will inevitably lead to another. but by no means the only one. The programme editor sitting next

NEWSDESK: 020 7324 2385/SUBSCRIPTIONS: 01858 438872

12-13_JTS_2008-rd-1st revise:Layout 1

29/4/08

18:13

Page 13

JOURNALISM TRAINING 2008

Television

channelled into journalism. There’s so much opportunity to get involved at a very young age, so go for it. If you haven’t done it by the time you reach your second year at university, it’s almost too late. Don’t wait for finals year.

Online

How not to do it – Lesson Two “I would really appreciate a placement with Glamour”. Check your copy and make sure you’re sending it to the right target. I’m sure the people at Glamour magazine must have been just as puzzled when they got a passionate plea for a placement with Sky News.

Rob Kirk is editorial development manager at Sky News. He recruits TV journalists for Sky How not to do it – Lesson One “I am a second year student... and hope to be a journalist someday.”

That’s a line in one of the many applications for a toe-hold in the Sky News Centre I received this week.

We are, in fact, not interested in people who “hope to be a journalist”. We’re interested in people who are aching to be a journalist and have already done something about it. We want to see a CV bulging with appropriate work experience in radio stations or newspaper offices, and evidence of freelance journalism online, or an active career in school and university journalism.

We want evidence of ideas and energy,

How not do it – Lesson Three “I would like to be a TV presenter and reporter”.

Of course you would – and there’s no harm in that. But make it clear you understand you’ve got to earn that job – and that you’re willing to do an awfully long apprenticeship learning the ropes in newsgathering or production. Also: show us you’re aware there are many other fascinating, energising, challenging, stimulating and worthwhile careers in the multiplatform world of TV, radio and new media. The more multi-skilled and open-minded you are, the better.

How not to do it – Lesson Four “Here I are more details about me. I would be very grateful if you could reply me as soon as possible”.

Check your copy again. Make sure all the spellings are right, and you have the correct punctuation and grammar. Don’t put a lower case ‘i’, for example, when you mean upper case ‘I’.

Don’t use “text-speak”. Remember: even a covering email says something about you, and you don’t want to suggest that you’re careless or sloppy. In newsrooms, accuracy is the number one virtue.

Neil McIntosh, head of editorial development at guardian.co.uk worked shifts at the Glasgow Herald during his journalism BA at Napier University. The Edinburgh Evening News gave him his first job as a staff sub Many entry-level positions in this world will look a lot like those in the print and broadcast worlds – all about finding a story, and telling it in a few hundred words.

Others, however, will require an entirely new breed of all-rounder; with the old journalistic

skills, of course, but with HTML coding, photography, some ability in front of and behind a microphone or video camera, and the willingness to learn much more.

So how should you split your effort? Do too little and you might not have the breadth of skills some employers want. Do too much and you might find your thinly spread knowledge may or may not be useful. After all, technology and working practices continue to evolve rapidly.

Your best bet is to start with the fundamentals.

Courses that offer solid training in news and feature writing, law and shorthand will build skills as useful in the digital world as the analogue one. If nothing else, the ability to write well, accurately and to deadline will stand you in good stead whatever happens.

Then, depending on the course, there’ll be academic work, the opportunity to pick up other skills in audio and video editing, and maybe work for a group publication.

To stand out in the job market, however, you’ll need to do more. And these days, the best way to display your old-fashioned journalistic skills, as well as new-fangled ability with web publishing technology, audio and video, is to build your own blog. Find a subject you are passionate about – football, politics, showbiz, local public services, almost anything – and get seriously geeky about it. Use Blogger or Wordpress to build your site, then use your journalistic skills to delve in deep – every day.

Mix the media you use – experimentation is fine here – and try to become the leading web authority on your chosen niche. Learn – through web analytics, Technorati and Google – how to measure your progress towards that goal. It’ll be fun (if it’s not, reassess your chosen career) and it will make you a better journalist.

Best of all, it may just prove to editors that you’re motivated, technically savvy, and can write, because blogs don’t have subs to save your prose.

Progress your career in Journalism Darlington College offers a range of qualifications to help you get ahead.

Gain the skills to master Print, Video and Online Journalism.

Print Journalism – 20 Week Fast Track Video Journalism – 5 Day Course Online Journalism – 2 Day Course

NCTJ Pre-entry Certificate in Newspaper Journalism Foundation Degree in Journalism Foundation Degree in Radio Production

Various dates are available. For more information email Sue Kelly on skelly@darlington.ac.uk For more information about all of our courses contact the Customer Services team on 01325 503030 or visit www.darlington.ac.uk

Courses are delivered in partnership with the University of Teesside.

WWW.PRESSGAZETTE.CO.UK

Darlington College, Central Park, Haughton Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1DR

02.05.08 ◆ XIII

14-15%&'( 2008-2-d /e1ise456p:9a;<=> 1

2?/4/08

18:1A

Page 14

JOURNALISM TRAINING 2008

Make sure your dreams of journalism d The Guardian 52 per cent.

“Working in a news factory, without time to check, without the chance to go out and make contacts and find leads, reporters are reduced to churnalism, to the passive processing of material which overwhelmingly tends to be supplied for them by outsiders, particularly wire agencies,” says Davies.

Far from being encouraged to undertake inquiring and campaigning journalism, many new journalists will find their editors putting them under intense pressure to turn out numerous stories a day without talking to anyone directly involved in that story or checking the accuracy of the material. The current generation of reporters in the media has conspicuously failed to stop churnalism and it falls to those entering the profession to resist.

Paul Lashmar, for 30 years an investigative journalist and broadcaster, argues that the new generation of journalists faces the heavy responsibility of reversing the trend towards ‘churnalism’ “Churnalism” is the term coined by the respected journalist Nick Davies in his recently published and provocative book Flat Earth News, to distinguish the emasculated journalism that is happening on more and more news desks from traditional, quality reporting.

Nick Davies’s views, well aired in the Press Gazette, have struck a chord among journalists. Media commentator Stephen Glover says the book “presents a damning picture of a dysfunctional national press, which is spoon fed by government and PR agencies, and incorporates wire copy into stories without the most cursory fact checking.”

The decline of specialists The health editor of The Times, the highly experienced and regarded Nigel Hawkes, is quoted in the book saying, “We are churning stories today, not writing them.

Nick Davies’s rules of churnalism “They are still being broken by a considerable number of able journalists who despise them, he says, but. “all of them flow from the two guiding principles of commerce: to cut the costs of production and to increase the flow of revenue.”

Rule one: Run cheap stories; Rule two: Select safe facts; Rule three: Avoid the electric fence (deference to institutions that can damage the media organisation); Rule four: Select safe ideas; Rule Five: Always give both sides of the story (not for balance but out of cowardice); Rule Six: Give them want they want. (The lowest common denominator); Rule Seven: The bias against the truth; Rule Eight: Give them what they want to believe in; Rule Nine: Go with the moral panic; Rule Ten: Run stories because everyone else has.

XIV ◆ 02.05.08

Almost everything is recycled from another source.

Specialist writing is much easier, because the work is done by agencies and/or writers of press releases. Actually knowing enough to identify the stories is no longer important. The work has been deskilled.”

I agree with Nick Davies and Nigel Hawkes and moreover I believe churnalism is potentially fatal for the already weakened national newspaper industry. Once reputable newspaper brands are becoming so diminished that soon they will not be unable to distinguish themselves from the garbage that purports to be news online.

Nick Davies based his devastating critique not on opinion but on research carried out for the book by a team at the Cardiff School of Journalism lead by Professor Justin Lewis.

The Cardiff team revealed that anything up to a startling 80 per cent of home news stories in quality

How it happens It was not always this way. Flat Earth News shows that there are fewer journalists in Fleet Street than 20 years ago but they are producing three times as much copy per head. But what value, these words? The journalism industry I joined in 1978 expected a reporter to talk to as many people as possible connected to the story, double check the facts and if the reporter said the story was flawed it did not run. Journalists were expected to build up inside contacts, not just talk to PRs. Short cuts were not accepted. Agency copy was used with circumspection.

I have experienced churnalism in a newsroom of a national newspaper that was under-resourced and understaffed. Although employed as an investigative reporter I was frequently asked to help out with the daily turnover of stories. General reporters on the paper were expected to produce two, three or more stories a day.

I discovered that for most reporters on the paper there was little time to make phone calls. There was heavy reliance on Press Association wire copy. Stories I produced were often little more than rewritten PA copy.

But I also began to notice that some reporters did even not bother to rewrite more than the top line of a PA report and just stuck their by-line on the article with no mention that it was in fact agency copy.

This all struck me as a fraud on the public. A member of the public reading the day’s reports of a story of interest would think that a dozen well-known reporters in the media had looked into the story and all come up with a “true” version that was strikingly homogenous. In reality they were all relying on one agency reporter, for better or worse. Sometimes you would see a serious or even a simple mistake, perhaps a misspelling of a name or age repeated across the entire media.

I also noticed that expertise was increasingly viewed as a hindrance rather than an asset. ‘Phone calls and expertise have a way of destroying entertaining stories because they reveal them to be untrue. Look at the reduction in specialist writers in the newspaper industry. After recent redundancy rounds in Fleet Street there is hardly an experienced crime reporter left in the

“This all struck me as a fraud on the public. A member of the public reading the day’s reports of a story of interest would think that a dozen well known reporters in the media had looked into the story and all come up with a ‘true’ version that was strikingly homogenous” UK national newspapers are at least partially made up of recycled material from the PR industry or news agencies. Looking at newspapers on a case-by-case basis, the study – which looked at 2,000 stories over two weeks in 2007 – found that 69 per cent of home news stories in The Times were wholly or mainly made up of PR and/or wire copy. The proportions for other newspapers were: The Daily Telegraph 68 per cent; The Daily Mail 66 per cent; The Independent 65 per cent and

newspaper industry. Yet good crime reporting is one of the most rewarding beats in journalism.

The wrong model Proprietors, editors and managers will claim to be “realists” and tell journalists that minimal staffing and high turnover of stories is the only way they can survive.

But it is their business model that is wrong. These are the people who have undermined some of the

NEWSDESK: 020 7324 2385/SUBSCRIPTIONS: 01858 438872

14-1$_&'( 2008-2-d re1i3e456p:9a;o=> 1

2?/4/08

18:18

Page 1$

JOURNALISM TRAINING 2008

m don’t become a churnalism nightmare world’s best-known newspaper brands. Their view is cynical “give the public any old rubbish”. And it has been a disaster.

Yet high-quality journalism for newspapers is more vital than ever. To survive, serious newspapers will have to distinguish themselves from the mass of opinion, madness and distortion that inhabits the web. In a world where there is so much unsorted information, newspapers can provide the factually accurate and vital.

When fledgling journalists make it into the newsroom, they should work hard to recover standards, and quietly insist on the resources to do the job

That requires checking and objectivity.

Only if the newspaper industry rebuilds a reputation for accuracy can it survive. There is some hope. Davies points out that if that if 80 per cent of home news stories are recycled then the other 20 per cent are properly checked and sourced.

It’s down to you With the current generation of journalists having largely failed to protect their relationship of trust with the public, the task falls to those coming into the profession. They will have to resist the combined might of churnalist editors and managers. How does a fledgling reporter face this? I would advise new journalists not to risk a head-on collision if it can be avoided. Make your opinions known; take every opportunity to maintain standards even if it involves making calls and meeting contacts in your own time. When faced with the problem I have always engaged in quiet resistance and made every effort to turn in quality copy. Remember: a reporter who is cynical towards the public is worthless. Make the check calls, weed out the PR crap and demand that agency copy is credited for what it is.

Only then will the media regain the trust of the public.

As BBC editor Kevin Marsh says of churnalism: “These are all questions of personal, moral and ethical choices.

If a journalist chooses to abandon the principles that all journalism claims to hold (commitment to the truth, independence, acting in the interest of the public), then he or she can blame no-one but him/herself.”

Flat Earth News by Nick Davies is published by Chatto & Windus at £17.99.

Paul Lashmar is an investigative journalist and journalist trainer.

He can be reached at www.paullashmar.com

Rules for real journalism Rule one: Be objective and seek the truth; Rule two: Don’t shy away from difficult but important stories; Rule Three: Always independently check the facts and accuracy of material; Rule Four: Go to the scene of a story if possible; Rule Five: Talk to as many of those involved as possible, preferably face to face; Rule Six: Never use PR material, surveys or polls unless independently verified; Rule Seven: Use agency copy only when you cannot get the information yourself; Rule Eight: If agency copy is used unchanged or only slightly changed, do not attach a staff by-line; Rule Nine: If substantial use is made of agency copy it should be credited with the staff by line, and an agency credit; Rule Ten: Produce original stories; Rule Eleven: Nurture real contacts; Rule Twelve: Demand proper resources.

Centre for Broadcasting & Journalism

Journalism courses Based in the vibrant city of Nottingham, the Centre for Broadcasting & Journalism offers a portfolio of outstanding and successful journalism courses. The Centre has excellent facilities and students enjoy a realistic working environment in a multimedia newsroom and studio suite.

Undergraduate courses: • BA (Hons) Broadcast Journalism Students on this course will cultivate the skills, knowledge and practical experience required for the research, production, presentation and management of broadcast news.

• BA (Hons) Print Journalism This course includes a balance of theory and practice. Core modules will be studied along with sport, magazine, online and celebrity journalism, equipping graduates with the necessary skills for a successful career at the cutting edge of the media industry.

Postgraduate courses: • MA/PG Dip Magazine Journalism (New for 2009!)

• MA/PG Dip Newspaper Journalism • MA/PG Dip Radio Journalism • MA/PG Dip Television Journalism Our postgraduate journalism courses also offer an international option which develops English language skills.

For further information please contact: Tel: 0115 848 5803 / 5806 Email: cbj@ntu.ac.uk Visit: www.ntu.ac.uk/journalism

WWW.PRESSGAZETTE.CO.UK

02.05.08 ◆ XV

Press Gazette

22/4/08

17:03

Page 1