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December 2011 News

Up to 50 jobs to go at West Midlands publisher

Voluntary redundancy scheme to start in January

Movember money tops £7k at Archant

News teams from a regional newspaper publisher raised thousands of pounds when they took part in the ‘Movember’ fund-raising drive in aid of prostate cancer charities. The sports desk team at Archant Norfolk raised an impressive £1,075 and a further

Ex-reporter: ‘Being made redundant was best thing that happened to me’

No regrets for journalist who left newspapers for PR

Dyson at Large: ‘Making local matter more’ in Kent

HTFP blogger reviews the soon-to-close East Kent Gazette

Judging panel unveiled for East of England Awards

Shortlist set to be announced before Christmas

Regional Press Awards to continue under SoE aegis

The Society of Editors has announced it is to stage the Regional Press Awards again next year following its successful revival of the event last May. Full details of the 2012 event will be announced in January but the date

Scottish daily erects partial online paywall

Users will be able to read ten articles a month for free

Match held in memory of student journalist

Money will raise awareness of Meningitis

Trinity Mirror merges local Scottish titles with Record

Company has creates new publishing unit called Media Scotland

Lebedev in funding boost for local politics website

Organisation will back journalism projects across world

Readers launch Facebook campaign to save doomed title

‘Like-minded locals’ could run newspaper

Midlands daily tells health bosses: ‘Time to listen’

Staffordshire title has stepped up campaign

Photographers seek voice at Leveson Inquiry

The British Press Photographers’ Association has asked to be represented at the Leveson Inquiry to provide a voice for its members. The association wrote an open letter to Lord Leveson in light of recent evidence given by celebrities during the

Midlands weekly apologises over front page howler

‘Curse of Stratford’ strikes again

New chairman appointed for Trinity Mirror

A former chief financial officer of Reuters has been chosen as the chairman designate of Trinity Mirror. David Grigson will join the company’s board as a non-executive director from 1 January and will take over as chairman from Sir Ian

Staff to produce souvenir editions of axed Kent weeklies

Journalists wanted to ‘go out with a bang.’

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.