The managing editor of the Manchester Evening News is among those from the media industry who will celebrate the 50th birthday of a journalism school.
The University of Central Lancashire in Preston is holding a special event to mark 50 years of journalism teaching at its city centre campus.
A host of successful alumni will return to the institution, including Eamonn O’Neal, Managing Editor of MEN Media, UCLan honorary fellow Richard Frediani, who is editor of the 6.30pm ITV News, and Tessa Chapman, chief correspondent at Channel 5 News.
They will join current students and academics at the My Career, Your Career event on 23 April, which will spotlight the teaching and research offered by the School of Journalism and Digital Communication.
Deborah Robinson, course leader in BA (Hons) Journalism who has helped organised the event, said: “We are delighted to have a range of successful alumni coming back to commemorate this fantastic occasion with us.
“It’s an honour to be celebrating 50 years of journalism at UCLan and also the fantastic teaching and research within the School as a whole.
“We’re proud of our proven track-record in providing our graduates with the necessary skills to enter the heavily competitive creative industries and our name is globally recognised as a centre for excellence in journalism and digital communication.”
On the day, one-to-one and group sessions will take place between the alumni and current students and some alumni will present short lectures discussing their careers in journalism and other creative industries.
Students will also pitch their story ideas or media projects to the experts with the chance of winning an exclusive work shadowing position at ITV, Sky TV and Channel 5.
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As one of the first students at Preston I would be interested in hearing what happened to others on that course. I made it to editor of the Worksop Guardian Series before hubby and I bought our own small newspaper in Scotland, selling out 13 years ago. Retired to Spain, now back in Scotland.
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Loved it when I was there mid 90s. Proper journos as teachers (Geoff and Maggie), good pubs, loads of tabs, rock and roll. And no kids! People from uni or other walks of life. Would hate to be doing it now though.
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The then Harris College gave me my first training – two eight week long block release courses when we got our shorthand up to 100wpm. I went on to edit several regional weekly papers and one daily and became Managing Director of a group of West Midlands newspapers before setting up my own training company and consultancy 25 years ago. I have many happy memories of the journalism course.
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I also did my training on block release at the old Harris in Preston, in the company of Graham Lees, one of the four founder members of the Campaign for Real Ale. That says it all, really.
Still managed 44 years, though, before taking voluntary redundancy last June from the Lancashire Evening Post, where I was Features Editor. It took me two years to realise they’d scrapped the department…
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