The pass rate for the journalism seniors’ exam fell from the record high of 72pc in March to 61pc for the July cohort, with logbook errors partly blamed for the decline.

To pass the exam, candidates need to achieve a pass in each of the four sections – media law and practice, news report, news interview and logbooks.

A total of 44 out of 72 candidates were successful, earning senior reporter status.

Here’s a summary of how the candidates performed in each section and what the examiners said.

Media law and practice

Candidates: 61
Passed: 47
Pass rate: 77pc

Exmainers hailed a “good set of results” with the majority of candidates showing a good understanding of the law on defamation and contempt.

However a question on Who owns the copyright of photographs on social media sites seemed to cause the most problems for candidates, while many were also unclear about the ethics of recording calls.

Said the judges: “Candidates with a good writing style and a logical approach tended to do better.

“However, it is still obvious that a number of candidates did not give themselves enough time, and the resulting answers just skimmed the surface.”

News report

Candidates: 70
Passed: 45
Pass rate: 64pc

The news report centred on a local family history society’s mission to find an heir to an £8.5m property.

Examinser said careless mistakes proved the undoing of many candidates, with too many incorrect names, ages and dates and even the mis-spelling of the title Marquess which had been given in the brief.

Said the report: “The markers noted a tendency for direct quotes which got the gist of what was said but were not verbatim, a lazy practice suggesting that shorthand is an issue.

“News sense was also questionable in many cases. There was a tendency for candidates to go for councillors, MPs and the visitor centre, without making any attempt to talk to the key players involved.”

News interview

Candidates: 63
Passed: 49
Pass rate: 78pc

The news interview concerned a straightforward story about a young rugby club star, Robert MacIntosh, who was driving back to his parents’ home with his girlfriend, Joanna Rigby, when he was run off the road by a “maniac” driver.

Their car left the road, ploughed through a fence and went down a 25-foot embankment where it ended up on its roof, trapping the couple.

Said the examiners: “Many candidates got the point of the story – the promising player whose career is in doubt after suffering spinal injuries after he was run off the road. But some simply treated it as a crash, implying that Robert just drove off the road, not mentioning the BMW until much later in the story.

“There were also some “howlers” that candidates did not pick up on, eg breaking for braking, crimpled for crumpled, pug instead of plug earring.”

Logbook

Candidates: 49
Passed: 42
Pass rate: 86pc

The examiners described the fall in pass rate for the logbooks section as “bitterly disappointing” although most entries were generally of a high standard.

Chief examiner Steve Nelson said the fall was due to seven candidates – 14pc of Logbook entries – not submitting one or more of the key tasks in the Logbook correctly.

“Unfortunately, where examiners did not have access to the original copy, and where there was no explanation provided on the coversheet, the work could not be marked,” said the report.

“This resulted in several failed logbooks as one or more of the key tasks had not been submitted properly and in accordance with the guidelines provided.”