News Interview
240 candidates; 156 passed - 65 per cent

This story was about the River Ox bursting its bank due to a combination of heavy rainfalls, gale force winds and a sudden surge of high tidal water. As a result, 112 residents on Oxdown's Riverside Estate were evacuated. Candidates were required to balance the drama of the rescue and public service angles.

In the months prior to this interview exam, much of the UK suffered flooding, so it was felt candidates would be aware of similar situations, and may have written about floods in their areas.

There were some excellent reports, written accurately and with great pace. In fact, with few exceptions, candidates honed in on the main angle. However, it was disappointing to see how few candidates brought the story right up-to-date by reporting the threat of further flooding in the opening pars.

Too many candidates ignored the rescue drama – emergency services battling against rotten weather, a metre deep in floodwater, to wake people in the early hours and ferry them to safety, in dinghies and on firefighters' backs.

Many candidates dismissed it along the lines "people were evacuated from their homes and taken to the community centre".

The detail and 'colour' for readers was missed. Indeed, some stories read more like a report to the council than an attempt to convey a night of drama to Oxdown's readers.

One examiner wrote: "Some reports were just a shopping list of facts without any colour."

Being able to visualise an incident helps to prompt follow-on questions.

Among the obvious ones missed were 'when can residents return to their homes', 'where was the River Ox breached' (it's a long river), 'what's being done to prevent further flooding', 'what caused the flooding'.

There was a high proportion of top scoring papers with candidates providing well-crafted stories that were a pleasure to read. With a few exceptions, most trainees managed to write to length.

However, the inability to calculate timings proved a problem.

There were reports saying things happened 'today' when it should have been 'yesterday'.

One story said: "The council is now working on shoring up the collapsed section of the riverbank" – it did the day before but not on the day of publication.

Candidates need to be mindful of when events happen and when stories are published.

Reflecting on interviews, a number of assessors made the following observations, which might help improve interviewing skills: reporters asking two or three questions at a time without waiting for the first reply; abrupt/arrogant manner didn't help to get all the available information.

Language
On the spelling front, 'metre' was produced as 'meter' in far too many accounts.

But the biggest problem was the inability to accurately report information from the reporter's written brief.

Riverside Crescent became 'Close' and 'Drive'; Councillor Edward Bentley became 'David', and in one paper Mr Edwards.

James Street was reported as 'St' James Street – it was on the map supplied to candidates.

And during interviews some candidates did not check spellings, so Davies became 'Davis', Portway Road became 'Portland', 'Portland Close' and 'Portaway Road'.

There was confusion over the number of firefighters and dinghies – although detail was provided in the reporter's written brief.

Failure to accurately report supplied written information should be a worrying thought for editors.

There was a tendency to summarise figures ineffectively, which, in some cases, wasted words. We had 'more than 35 firefighters' when there was actually 36; 'dozens'/'scores' of residents when there were 112.

"...a 10-metre tidal wave." (As one examiner put it: 'Oxdown obliterated – at last!')

"...a freak natural accident..." (Marker commented: "Is there such a thing?')

"Properties were submerged under water." (It was only a metre deep)

"He (Bentley) predicted the combination of high rainfalls, gale force winds etc." (So the councillor was psychic?)

And describing some heavy-laden firefighters "equipped with rubber dinghies, police officers and ambulance staff".

"The Salvation Army and WRVS were provided hot meals..." (What about the evacuees?)

Find out who passed their exams
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