Investigative reporting in the regional press will be one of the topics covered at the forthcoming Journalism Skills Conference.
The conference, hosted by the National Council for the Training of Journalists, will also cover the reporting of terrorism, the importance of editorial accuracy and how media outlets can take advantage of social media.
Emma Youle, pictured left, investigations journalist at regional publisher Archant, will be part of a panel discussing how print journalism is prospering in a digital age and how investigative journalism is thriving in some local press titles.
Emma will be joined ont he panel by Ian McGregor, editor emeritus at the Daily Telegraph, and Metro editor Ted Young.
Lucy Manning, special correspondent for BBC News, will chair a discussion on lessons from reporting disasters and terrorism. alongside Sun on Sunday news editor Matthew Bell, Daily Mail assistant editor Neil Darbyshire, University of Sheffield trainee Harrison Jones and News Associates managing editor James Toney.
The panel will share their own experiences, as well as discussing the risks to physical and mental health faced by journalists covering terrorism and disasters, the pastoral support needed during and after, and ethical issues.
Mark Alford, head of digital at Sky News, will chair a session on how journalists can make the most of social media along with Jane Bradley, investigative reporter at BuzzFeed News, Ben Hayward, editorial manager at Unilad and Olly Osborne, head of social media (Europe) for Vice.
Diversity in journalism discussed by Faisal Islam, political editor at Sky News, and he will be joined by Hussein Kesvani, columnist at Vice, and Adebola Lamuye, an apprentice at the Evening Standard.
A discussion surrounding the importance of accuracy, objectivity and ethics in journalism will be chaired by Brian Cathcart, professor of journalism at Kingston University, with Belinda Goldsmith, editor-in-chief at Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Christina Nicolotti, head of content for Sky News, also on the panel.
Joanne Butcher, NCTJ chief executive, said: “Our event partners, Sky and Kingston University, have come up with a brilliant blend of topical subjects for people in the media and training sectors to come together to explore and debate.
“The combination of these working sessions with our award celebrations make this an event not to be missed by those interested in the latest developments in journalism skills and new talent.”
Tickets for the conference, which will be held on 23 and 24 November in London, can be purchased here.
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Just remind us all please exactly where ‘ print journalism is prospering in a digital age and how investigative journalism is thriving ‘?
Newspaper copy sales are at all time lows, ad revenues are in rapid decline and online digital revenue has failed to be realised despite publishers crowing about hugely increased audiences ,so it’s not ‘prospering if so few people are buying to read it.
The the quality of grammar and content on the online sites is dreadful and certainly where I am ‘ investigative journalism’ includes the expose that house prices are higher in affluent areas and quality of life and living is poor in areas of high unemployment. This has been the result of dumbing down departments and sacrificing quality for the quick fix RGC and ‘get it out cheap and quick’ strategies most are now operating,so time to take the blinkers off,accept reality and address the real issues facing the industry today
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Investigative reporting? Sadly, for the vast majority of the provincial media – broadcast included – this simply means submitting FOI requests in the hope that something – anything – vaguely interesting will turn up
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Observer50 Is correct, If they believe that they’re fooling themselves or in denial, however It’s probably not their fault as I guess many are so new they haven’t seen any true journalists in action grinding out and piecing together a strong story and can’t remember real investigative journalism so see the old FOI requests and council and police press releases as investigative journalism compared to the reader supplied bits and pieces they’re used to
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My local paper frequently prefaces its stories with “An investigation by the [name redacted] has revealed….” then goes on to detail the results of a routine FOI in about 250 words. Woodward and Bernstein it ain’t.
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