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NCTJ to finalise sports journalism exam changes after regional press consultation

Training chiefs are set to finalise a new assessment for sports journalists after a consultation involving regional press titles.

The National Council for the Training of Journalists is moving its sports journalism Diploma in Journalism exam online, which it says will offer “an opportunity to reshape its format and enhance its digital content”.

Sports editors and reporters were asked to complete a short survey to review the NCTJ’s proposed changes to the exam, which include using online technology to enhance the post-match quotes question in the match report assessment, replacing the round-up in paper two with a 200-word preview and introducing a data journalism question.

The first sitting of the new e-assessment will take place in December this year.

NCTJ logo final cmyk

An announcement on the NCTJ’s website states: “Since its launch 15 years ago, the exam has been sat by thousands of students who have gone on to forge successful careers in journalism, and with the constant change of the media landscape, there have been regular updates to the programme of study and exam.

“As the exam becomes an e-assessment, and to ensure the programme of study and exam continue to meet industry needs, the NCTJ conducted a consultation with the industry earlier this year to gain feedback on shaping its future.”

Regional titles involved in the consultation include Archant Norfolk, Essex County Newspapers, Isle of Wight County Press, Sussex Newspapers, Liverpool Echo, Manchester Evening News, Oxford Mail, Portsmouth daily The News, Sunderland Echo and Wales Online.

3 comments

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  • April 30, 2019 at 12:59 pm
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    sports journailsts? 90 per cent of my local weekly sport is submitted copy, nearly all of it badly written and none of it edited properly , if at all. In one rambling report of about 800 words on a match I had to wade through about 15 pars before I could find the result (there was none in the heading or sub-heading. Perhaps they could train these “journalists” to write properly and then edit properly!

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  • May 1, 2019 at 11:06 am
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    Memo to subs – please could you fix paperboy’s piece as indicated below:
    Needs capped S in opening sentence
    Percent is one word in our style book
    Delete space between “properly” and the comma which follows
    Needs full stop after “result”
    Needs cap T after the opening bracket
    Needs closing bracket.
    Many thanks.
    Ed.

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  • May 1, 2019 at 11:10 am
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    Ah, subs – one more correction please – second word in paperboy’s piece should be “journalists”, not “journailsts”.
    Thanks again.
    Ed

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