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October 2012 News

Yorkshire weekly censured over ‘I’m dying’ headline

Treatment of man’s medical condition was ‘insensitive’ rules watchdog

Former Northcliffe training boss dies from poison gas

59-year-old took early retirement to become mountaineer

Saturday sports title axed mid-season after 109 years

Title closed ahead of daily’s relaunch

Sub-editors’ group votes for minimum daily wage of £130

An online group of sub-editors has voted to ban adverts which offer wages of less than £130 per day. SubsUK is a Yahoo! group that was set up in 2005 to help freelance subs to keep in contact with each

Echo leads way as media awards shortlist announced

All the contenders for EDF Energy London and South of England awards

Hyperlocal sites turn pink in search for missing April

Two hyperlocal news websites in Wales have been turned pink to support the search for missing five-year-old April Jones. The family of the missing girl, who disappeared on Monday, appealed for their town of Machynlleth in Powys to be turned pink,

More speakers unveiled for top industry gathering

MEN editor Irvine joins line-up for future of journalism session

Saucepan fire makes hot news

Slow news week in the Manchester suburb of Timperley where the Sale and Altrincham Messenger reports on a culinary escapade gone wrong. The real killer is in the last paragraph: “The damage was limited to the food in the saucepan.”

More Johnston Press titles to relaunch this month

Cover price rises set to accompany new designs

Weekly to retain town centre base in office move

Most staff set to switch to neighbouring town

Journalist and anti-nuclear campaigner dies aged 66

Career started at weekly newspaper

Devon weekly editor is ‘woman of the future’

Rare honour for Northcliffe journalist

Political columnist to address Midlands press lunch

Daily Mail columnist Andrew Pierce will be the guest of honour at the latest Birmingham Press Club celebrity lunch on Monday. Andrew is promising juicy revelations about government Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell and other senior politcians at the event to

Trinity Mirror creates group-wide user-content role

Journalist to oversee user-generated content across regional titles

Reporter leaves after 11 years for council PR role

A senior reporter at a daily-turned-weekly newspaper has left to become a press officer after 11 years working at Northcliffe titles. Emma Pearcy has left the Torquay Herald Express, where she mainly covered the Teignbridge area, which has its own edition.

Industrial action spreads to second Newsquest daily

Chapel claims pay freeze has been imposed

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.