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Trainees ‘not afraid to ask tough questions’

The Leveson report has not stopped trainee reporters tackling difficult stories or asking tough questions, a conference on journalism ethics was told.

Senior editors and training leaders from across the industry attended last week’s event held by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

Kevin Duffy, who lectures at the Univerrsity of Central Lancashire, told a panel of editors that “we are in danger of raising a generation of neutered journalists who are looking for permission to report.”

But Kevin Ward, editor of the South Wales Argus, said the desire to ask the tough questions remained as strong as ever.

“Young reporters are anxious to expose wrongdoing and hold people to account,” Kevin told the event, held at the Daily Mail offices in London.

And Sunday Post editor Donald Martin said that young reporters were now becoming “better journalists”, working harder than in the past to ensure reporting is accurate and balanced.

Neil White, editor of the Derby Telegraph, stressed the importance of ethical training for young journalists who might find themselves making decisions about stories to be published online, only shortly after starting work in a newsroom.

“They need to be good citizens to start with, and that is very important for our customers,” he told the audience of trainers and educators.

Last year, the NCTJ introduced a mandatory programme of study in practical journalism ethics for all students on accredited courses.

Knowledge of journalism ethics is assessed in both the pre-entry Diploma in Journalism exams and the NQJ exams for senior journalists.

Educators and trainers all agreed that the changes were working well, although there should be a greater proportion of marks allocated to the ethics question in the reporting examination.

NCTJ vice chairman Brien Beharrell said: “It was clear that to do nothing, to change nothing, was no option at all if we were to maintain our credibility as a training organisation to the outside world.”

5 comments

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  • May 27, 2014 at 8:35 am
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    All good and well, but are they prepared to sit through dull council groups, community events and do all the other mundane stuff that brings in the bulk of copy?

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  • May 27, 2014 at 10:29 am
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    Agreed there continues to be a throughput of young journalists wanting to change the world and ask challenging questions, but find myself empathising with Kevin Duffy that, generally, trainees are now querying what they are ‘allowed to report’. It looks like being a more ethical future, but, without a good counter-balance in the training centre and newsroom, a duller one.

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  • May 27, 2014 at 3:40 pm
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    Not afraid to ask tough questions….we’ll see.
    Although most fail to do any research on journalism jobs before entering this industry.
    Then act surprised when they discover the long hours, hard work and low pay……

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  • May 27, 2014 at 4:11 pm
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    The toughest question of all for a trainee is: “Where will my career be in five years from now?”
    There are far more journalists being trained than what there are jobs for.

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