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July 2012 News

Newspaper’s investigation exposes fake Navy captain

Businessman cautioned after admitting fraud

Weekly makes a ‘splash’ with floods front page

Sub’s novel treatment of the story that was everywhere

Publisher seeks to sublet unused office space

Desks left empty by rounds of job cuts

Newspaper trio win silver medals for triathlon event

Group finished second out of 75 teams

Leveson warns budding journalists to behave

Lord Justice Leveson warned budding journalists about the importance of behaving with “absolute propriety” as he received a university fellowship. The Liverpool-born judge, who is leading the high-profile inquiry into press standards, was awarded an honorary fellowship from Liverpool John

Tributes paid after death of former weekly editor

Journalist led two papers after Fleet Street career

Murder probe opened after regional daily’s campaign

Midlands editor interviewed on Indian TV

Johnston Press titles in ‘centralisation plan’

Northern Ireland shake-up could lead to mergers say reports

Highfield questions BBC ‘expansionism’ over local TV

Corporation considering bid to run network infrastructure

Regional daily tweets 800 years of history in a day

Anniversary of city status marked by paper

Photographer aims to show she has pedal power

Cycle ride will cover 354km

Budding reporters interview Blue Peter presenter

Two budding reporters interviewed Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton as part of a work experience placement with the National Council for the Training of Journalists. Jessica Dyer and Katie Tomlin, from Saffron Walden County High School, carried out the interview

Did the Queen have a hand in this?

We’re not sure what the connection is between the Queen’s recent visit to Yeovil and this picture of a ladies’ glove, but we’re sure there must be a great story behind it. Could it be the Queen’s glove, perhaps?

Promotion for journalist after successful campaign

A chief reporter who spearheaded a successful campaign to have a killer stretch of a road made safer has been promoted to a new role. As reported on HTFP last week, the Dumfries and Galloway Standard gathered 4,352 signatures on

Tindle merges paid-for weekly into free newspaper series

No redundancies as a result of move says company

Journalist completes mountain challenge for youngster

Bad weather fails to halt three peak trek

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.