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January 2010 News

Chief constable to help police the press

PCC appoints senior officer as new member

Will cameras in court mean death of shorthand?

There has been an interesting development in the thorny issue of not taking recording equipment, namely TV cameras, into our courts. As any newspaper journalism student will testify, after having it repeatedly rammed into their subconscious for the duration of

Brown in regional press charm offensive

Editors raise local issues at Downing Street get-together

Ex-colleagues team up to take on former employer

Staff who took redundancy prepare for new monthly’s first edition

Paper wins 18-month Freedom of Information battle

Ruling means council must reveal planned sites for Operation Stack

Privacy complaints against North-East titles rejected

Publication of ‘suggestive’ emails justified rules PCC

Daily launches new edition in rival's heartland

Battle brews for circulation and ad revenue in Second City

Senior MP backs publicly-funded council reporting

But Tories vow to “defend” BBC licence fee

Trinity misses out on Scottish TV news pilot bid

Eight consortia to go forward to next stage of selection process

Former Evening Times journalist loses cancer battle

Brian Sykes spent 18 years with Scottish titles

Photographer shot in line of duty exhibits work

Snapper shows off work from three decades of photojournalism

Weekly saves snow-hit wedding with 4×4 rescue

KM comes to aid of couple renewing their vows

Fellow regional titles go head-to-head on campaign

A regional daily is going head-to-head with a Trinity Mirror sister title.

New jobs created as group launches weekly title

Latest ‘Champion’ takes to the streets next week

New subbing hub plans in pipeline for JP titles

East Mids and South Yorkshire staff could be on move to steel city

Mystery new owner of newspaper publisher revealed

Herts entrepreneur and magazine publisher buys ‘View From’ titles

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.