A former regional daily editor has asserted that shorthand remains a “fundamental reporting skill” in a speech to tutors of the subject.

Andy Martin, who edited the Bournemouth Echo until moving into semi-retirement, told attendees at the NCTJ’s shorthand seminar that its “importance” has not changed despite other changes to the journalism industry.

Shorthand tutors from across the UK visited Twitter’s London offices for the seminar on Friday.

Andy, who now serves as the Echo’s associate editor, gave the opening address.

Andy addresses the seminar

He told the seminar: “So much has changed in journalism but what hasn’t is the importance of shorthand. It remains a fundamental reporting skill.”

Members of the NCTJ’s shorthand board ran workshops throughout the day, including a session which gave tutors the opportunity to share shorthand resources they find useful to their teaching.

A short video on marketing shorthand and engaging the new generation of students in a changing industry was also shown.

Following the recent move to online shorthand assessments, tutors were given an in-depth introduction to the accessing, creating and marking exams in the Cirrus platform.

Attendees also had the opportunity to have their questions answered in a Q&A and open forum with the NCTJ exams team.