An industry-recognised journalism qualification for students has been revamped and renamed for the coming academic year.
The National Council for the Training of Journalists has announced that its preliminary Certificate in Journalism will be replaced by a new Diploma in Journalism.
The preliminary examination has existed in various guises since the NCTJ was first established in 1951 and its current structure has been running since 2007.
It currently features seven separate compulsory elements and is widely recognised by editors looking to appoint trainee reporters.
The new multimedia Diploma in Journalism also features seven elements – five core subjects and two options to be picked by students.
The five compulsory subjects are reporting, multimedia portfolio, shorthand, essential public affairs and essential media law.
The specialist options are media law court reporting, video journalism for online, sub-editing, sports journalism, business of magazines and broadcast journalism.
Some of these will be compulsory though depending on which media students are studying such as newspapers or magazines.
The diploma has been 16 months in the making since the journalism skills survey in December 2008 identified the need to update the qualification.
It has been developed by examiners, editors, senior journalists and trainers and was officially launched at the NCTJ’s Qualifications Forum for lecturers and course leaders in London on Tuesday.
Donald Martin, chairman of its qualifications board and Sunday Post editor, told delegates: “We all now operate in a multimedia world. The boundaries between journalism sectors are no longer distinct.
“Employers like me are demanding multi-skilled journalists. And students, who are full of enthusiasm for this new world, want multimedia training and multimedia NCTJ qualifications.”
Donald added that, as broadcast journalism was a new area for the NCTJ, it had been building expertise and contacts to integrate broadcast skills into the core assessments.
Further specialist options would be developed if there was a market for them, he added.
The first NCTJ-accredited courses to deliver the new diploma will begin in September, after which there will be a one-year period of transition, and all accredited courses will then deliver the diploma from September next year.
The five core subjects will incorporate the following:
Comments
Mandy (22/04/2010 10:03:08)
Talk about a load of codswallop. Why’s there the need for a public affairs assignment in the portfolio? Despite making little changes, they’re happy to harp on about a “radical multimedia diploma”. This is misleading. Also, they should be more upfront about the horrific state of the industry. How many trainee jobs are being advertised on here today? One. Just one. You tell everyone that, NCTJ.
Dan (22/04/2010 10:07:28)
Quite right Mandy. I passed the prelims last year and am working on shorthand. Practically no jobs to apply for and no luck with the ones I do. Where are all these hundreds of journalism students going to get jobs?
Onlooker (22/04/2010 10:24:34)
The NCTJ has a vested interest in training up hundreds of youngsters for non-existent jobs. It’s spelt ‘m.o.n.e.y’
ExEx (22/04/2010 10:55:32)
I think it’s also symptomatic of the DEskilling of editors: in the not too distant past editors would look at interviewees’ portfolios and give them a shot and train them on the job. It’s how many older journalists got their start. Then along came NCTJ, a money-making scheme which gave a certificate (but no job guarantee) to trainees and an easier life to editors, who could just look at the paperwork instead of exercising their people-assessment skills. I think the NCTJ should be duty-bound to point out how little regional and local journos earn and how job openings are getting rarer. I think any training organisation that demands a hefty financial investment from students without pointing out these basic facts of life upfront is unethical in the extreme.
Anon (22/04/2010 11:33:04)
Never a truer word spoken, ExEx. The NCTJ should be boycotted.
Fencehopper (22/04/2010 12:17:08)
The really scary thing is when you look at how they plan to structure these multimedia elements.
Once more the NCTJ throw some buzzwords in the air and see how they land. This bunch of Twitters wouldn’t know their Arsenal from their Bebos.
JP (22/04/2010 13:17:01)
Can I suggest changing the term “reporting” to “content gathering” – such a term will definitely curry favour at interviews with MDs (who’ve never worked in a newsroom) with Johnston Press
TheTruth (22/04/2010 14:41:40)
JP – have you seen there’s an optional module all to do with sub-editing. Clearly the nctj hasn’t been keeping up to date with what’s going on at Johnston Press. How ignorant of them.
anonymous (22/04/2010 15:01:16)
This is a disgrace to those who have already passed the NCTJ exams, and who can do multi-media without needing a piece of paper to identify they can Twitter, Facebook, create video, and, use a keyboard!….What next? A certificate to say you can turn the computer on?
Certificated -out (22/04/2010 15:33:56)
I agree, Anonymous, and in interview who will come out top? The NCTJ trained journalist minus useless degree but plus experience and hands-on new media, or the degree and certificate -laden “newbie” who will do the job for less anyway, never mind the grammar and spelling?
Responder (22/04/2010 15:47:19)
@TheTruth: Just because Johnston Press is doing away with sub-editors there are still plenty of newspaper companies (i.e. the majority) that employ them. And whoever said that once you pass an NCTJ course, you MUST go into newspapers. What about all magazines and journals out there that could make use of people with subbing skills. And subbing really is a skill. Once again, typical newspaper staff thinking the world starts and ends with them.
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