AddThis SmartLayers

February 2011 News

Former regional reporter makes award-winning film

Journalist joined by top director to chart Afghan cricket success

Jobs at risk under publisher’s printing plans

Company wants to outsource publication of some titles

Reporter given new role covering football team

A chief reporter at a regional daily has been given a new role covering the city’s Premier League football club. Luke Traynor has been chosen as the new Liverpool FC reporter for the Liverpool Echo and will cover the Reds

Editors asked for views as NCE review launched

Qualification could be revamped and renamed next year

Campaign on RAF base helps paper win prizes

Highlands and Islands Media Awards winners revealed

Newspaper launches safety drive after fatal blaze

Regional daily’s campaign comes after death of four children

Supplement marks newspaper’s 200th anniversary

Weekly believed to be second oldest in Scotland

Essex boy Austin makes it five in a row

Storygetter supreme Jon Austin continued his domination of the East of England’s premier media awards yesterday.

Could this be the ‘head’-line of the year?

We’d normally save this for the Friday Funnies on HTFP, but this one from the Gloucestershire Echo is already doing the rounds of the UK regional journalism community so we thought we’d give it an outing here. Needless to say,

Paper’s homeless appeal exceeds £100,000 target

Cold winter weather prompted a surge in donations to weekly

Weekly launches unusual drive to tackle unemployment

Jobless readers will be able to promote themselves in paper

Jeremy Dear to step down as leader of the NUJ

Union will appoint new general secretary later this year

Snapper carries out year-long photo project

Images taken every day in 2010 for online picture journal

Reporter’s triple challenges support hospice appeal

Journalist will carry out skydive, bike ride and abseil

Sheffield journalists to stage two-day strike

Stoppage to go ahead next Wednesday

Weekly’s forest campaign praised in Parliament

Paper aims to protect woodland for public

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.