AddThis SmartLayers

November 2007 News

Brighton takes top honours

BT saluted the cream of the regional media at the 1999 BT Southern Home Counties Press and Broadcast Awards presentation lunch held at the Gatwick Renaissance Hotel, Surrey. Announcing the winners, Roger Broad, BT strategy and development (Southern UK), told

ITN man to host awards

ITN news presenter Dermot Murnaghan will be guest speaker and presenter of the Press Gazette regional press awards in July. Mr Murnaghan is a former Coventry Evening Telegraph reporter and he trained on the City University postgraduate journalism course in

Newsquest awards shortlist revealed

Darlington is up against Swindon and York in the battle to be named Newsquest Daily Newspaper of the Year. The Northern Echo, edited by Peter Barron, hopes to crown a year in which it was named best daily newspaper in

Sport England Awards

Jamie Niblock, of the East Anglian Daily Times, was runner-up in the Sports Photographer of the Year category in the Sport England East Region awards. He is pictured collecting his award from Minister for Sport Kate Hoey MP. Back to

West of England winners in the picture Photographs by Sarah Wyatt News Editor Alison Hulls and Editor Ken Bird celebrate their paper, the Somerset County Gazette, winning Weekly Newspaper of t

News Editor Alison Hulls and Editor Ken Bird celebrate their paper, the Somerset County Gazette, winning Weekly Newspaper of the Year All smiles from guests at the West of England BT awards – including Editor of the Exeter Express &

Backing arts festival is a winner

The South Wales Evening Post has received a prestigious award in recognition of its support for Swansea’s annual Dylan Thomas Festival. The newspaper won the best sponsorship-in-kind category at the annual Arts and Business Cymru Awards. Now in their seventh

Southern Home Counties winners

Business Journalist of the Year:Winner: David Litterick, The News, PortsmouthHighly Commended: James Scott, Crawley Observer and Liz Woodford, Basingstoke Gazette David Litterick, formerly of The News, Portsmouth, and now working for the Daily Telegraph, was named the BT Southern Home

West of England award winners

Daily Newspaper of the Year:Winner: Western Morning NewsHighly Commended: Evening Post, Bristol and Western Daily Press The Plymouth-based Western Morning News won the coveted Daily Newspaper of the Year category for the first time after being a runner up three

Transco Tom Cordner North East Press Awards

Myson Prize for North East Women’s Writer of the YearNoreen Coltman, Evening Chronicle, Newcastle CITATIONStrong writing focused on people with fascinating stories to tell won this award. Secret weddings, whirlwind romances, living with the constant threat of sudden death, coping

Catherine Pakenham Award glory

Two regional daily reporters were among the four finalists for this year’s Catherine Pakenham Award for young women journalists. Sarah Crabtree (22), from the Sheffield Star, and Mhairi McFarlane (24), from the Nottingham Evening Post, both receive £200 for reaching

Northern Echo staff celebrate

Staff from the Northern Echo are jubilant following their successes in the Transco Tom Cordner North East Press Awards. The Darlington-based paper carried off a clutch of awards, including Newspaper of the Year, in a ceremony attended by more than

Shortlist for BT's Southern awards

The Brighton Evening Argus and the Southern Daily Echo will be competing for the title of BT’s Southern Daily Newspaper of the Year at the regional finals on May 26. It will be a journalist from one of those newspapers

West of England winners revealed

The Plymouth-based Western Morning News has won the coveted 1999 BT West of England Daily Newspaper of the Year category for the first time after being a runner-up three times in the previous four years. Barrie Williams, editor of the

West of England award winners

Business Journalist of the Year:Winner: Chris Starkie, Evening Post, BristolHighly Commended: Carys Edwards & Neil Gallacher, BBC South West and Rob Sims, Express & Echo, Exeter The 1999 BT West of England Business Journalist of the Year title went to

Transco Tom Cordner North East Press Awards

Durhams Sporting PlateMike Amos, Northern Echo CITATIONHe might write about the minor leagues of football and cricket, but the winner of the Durhams Sporting Plate is a Premier League writer in a class of his own. He writes about sport

Transco Tom Cordner North East Press Awards

Kate Adie Prize for InitiativeBarry Nelson and Nigel Burton, Northern Echo CITATIONHighlighting unfairness and seeking to remedy inequality could be said to be two of the most important tasks of any journalist. This was a winning combination in more ways

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.