A new practical guide to working as trainee reporter has hit the bookshelves, written by a former regional press journalist.

Essential Reporting - The NCTJ Guide for Trainee Journalists was commissioned by the National Council for the Training of Journalists, which is recommending it as the introductory text for students studying for the news writing exam and compiling their portfolios.

It has been written by Jon Smith, a journalism lecturer and NCTJ examiner, who previously worked as a reporter, news editor, features editor, chief sub-editor and assistant editor on various newspapers including the Teesdale Mercury, the Shields Gazette and The Northern Echo.

It includes advice, tips and warnings from working journalists, explaining what makes a good reporter, what news is and how to find it, and how newsrooms work.

It also covers key reporting tasks such as covering courts and councils and interviewing techniques, as well as a guide to NCTJ training and exams.

Published by SAGE, the book is designed as a sister title to the long established McNae's Essential Law for Journalists.

It is available from the NCTJ website, priced £12.99.