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August 2009 News

Photography exhibition features original paparazzo

Plus: New board post for GMG chief and more news in brief

Press plea to appeal hit-and-run sentence fails

Attorney General says Court of Appeal would not increase jail term

Weekly's cancer appeal tops £80,000 mark

Bid to refurbish unit storms ahead

Council audits remain a closed book

Earlier this year HTFP carried a story about a news agency’s laudable attempt to provide a comprehensive list of four-week council audits taking place this summer. Under the Audit Commission Act, local authorities are required to open their books for

Newspaper campaign funds town's new memorial

Project aims to honour all those who died in combat

Losing weight – there's an app for that

Love them or loath them, Apple iPhones are very popular and generally everywhere you turn. The marketing and technology companies have had a field day with some 65,000 applications being created since the phone first hit shelves. Around 1,500 of

Pub, pint, peanuts, parcel, parting

The plight of the postal service, and particularly small post offices, has been well-documented in recent years. Meanwhile, the local pub is also struggling during the recession as people stay in or flock to cheap drinks promotions in town centre

Take inspiration from this failure

A world record attempt to photograph the highest number of bikini-clad women in one place proved a miserable failure. The bid on an Essex beach attracted just 42 women – a figure somewhat shy of the current record which stands

Taking Memory Lane to court

Nostalgia features and Memory Lane slots have been a staple of the local paper for decades. But now they can take a darker and more sinister twist. Website Ancestry.co.uk has published details of more than a million court trials from

Press apology over inquest inaccuracies

Plus: Gangster’s former address prompts reprisal fear, and more resolved complaints from the PCC

MEN withdraws from ABC in circulation row

Rules fail to reflect distribution changes says paper

Weekly forces council to back down over audit

Councillors’ expense claims exposed after legal row

Newspaperman who became town mayor dies at 70

Frank Branston launched Bedfordshire on Sunday

Chronicle campaign helps save threatened club

FA reverses membership decision after fans’ pressure

Lecturing comeback for axed former editor

Weekly news chief was made redundant in JP shake-up

Newspaper Society seeks Olympics ad boost

Plus: Web hits boost for weekly and more news in brief

Tips on choosing a journalism course

Emma Clark, former marketing and communications manager for the National Council for the Training of Journalists, offers her advice on choosing between journalism courses.
Recently I've attended numerous careers fairs around the country, meeting students of all ages keen to break into journalism - whether that be in newspapers, television, radio or magazines. And of course, all students want to know which journalism course they should go on and whether they need NCTJ qualifications.

A quick look at the trainee job ads on HTFP demonstrates the importance of gaining the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism. Many adverts require candidates to have, or be awaiting results for, their NCTJ Diploma.

Trying to break into the industry without it makes a tough task almost impossible. With the rise in tuition fees, choosing the right journalism course is even more important than ever and students need to be sure they are learning the vocational skills required by employers, enabling them to hit the ground running when they enter the newsroom.

Employers know that an NCTJ-trained applicant will be able to find and construct stories, understand media law and ethics and be able to take down an accurate shorthand note when required. And contrary to popular belief it is not just the regional press looking for these skills, but nationals, online and broadcast too. Recent Sky Sports News schemes, for example, have been looking for practical skills including a minimum of 100wpm shorthand.

Student journalists can complete their NCTJ training in a number of ways - FE colleges and independent centres offer the Diploma in Journalism as fast-track and academic year courses, while universities offer it as part of undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. All of these journalism courses lead to the same NCTJ qualifications and meet the same standard, allowing students to pick the one that's best for them.

It's no secret that the NCTJ has an exacting standard, and this applies not just to the qualifications but also to the course provider. All NCTJ-accredited courses have to work incredibly hard to meet the requirements in the same way that students have to work incredibly hard to achieve the gold standard. This ensures the NCTJ logo acts as a meaningful kitemark for quality journalism training.