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October 2012 News

Jobs at risk as Midlands print plant faces closure

Daily title set to be printed outside city

Former journalist and ‘father of e-reading’ dies at 63

Journalist went on to work alongside Bill Gates at Microsoft

Trinity Mirror titles launch daily live blogs

Newspapers experiment with new ways of delivering breaking news

Weekly’s fuel price campaign praised in Parliament

Paper credited with bringing down petrol prices

Free newspaper axed in bid to boost daily stablemate

Johnston Press to mothball South Coast title

Journalists targeted in group-wide redundancy scheme

Cost-cutting initiative ‘is aimed at journalists’

Dyson at Large: Using the web to focus on print

Our blogger gives his view on some of the year’s best front pages

Offices close as more jobs go at Midlands titles

Sports editor and features roles at risk

Ex-TV presenter who started in local press dies at 65

Lorraine Kelly tweets tribute to former breakfast telly colleague

Political editor wins battle to get FoI requests answered

Information Commissioner orders government to respond

Pop star backs weekly’s inquiry call over 1943 disaster

Wartime tragedy was blamed on crowd panicking

Former regional journalist launches PR firm

Reporter held PR roles after leaving regional daily

NCTJ course aims to help journalists go freelance

A one-day course will be held next year for journalists considering a move to become freelances. The National Council for the Training of Journalists has arranged the course, which is designed to refresh skills in news writing, grammar and editing.

Sports journalist completes 500-mile European cycle ride

A sports journalist has raised nearly £6,000 for charity by cycling from Amsterdam to Berlin and then running a marathon. Jack Travers, who works for the Sportsbeat Press Agency and is also a journalism tutor for News Associates, took part

Death of ex-Northcliffe trainer sparks detector campaign

Journalist’s family release hard-hitting video

Is this the longest headline ever?

No less an expert than Peter Sands seems to think so, but you’ll have to go to the Norwich EveningNews24 website to see it in its full 154-word glory.

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.