A regional journalist-turned-Fleet Street blogger is to hold a masterclass for student reporters, giving the inside scoop on the tabloids and tips for their future careers.

Fleet Street Fox will appear at the University of Sunderland on March 18, just weeks after she shed the anonymity she had worked behind for 10 years and outed herself as Susie Boniface, a Sunday Mirror journalist who previously worked as  defence reporter for the Plymouth Herald.

She said: “My talk is going to be about all the tricks of the trade and things no-one ever taught me when I was starting out – all the ways people will try to stop and abuse you, and the best bits of fun it’s possible to have while typing.

“I love this industry and my job, because it’s full of fascinating people and I get to travel the world on someone else’s dime. But it’s also hard, it’s not that well-paid, and a lot of people hate you before you even open your mouth. The fun bit happens when – and if – they change their minds.”

Susie revealed her identity to coincide with the publication of her book, The Diaries of a Fleet Street Fox, which has just been released.