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April 2020 News

Sunak reveals £35m advertising boost for press industry

Scrapping of VAT on e-newspapers also brought forward

Editorial chief opens up on coronavirus lockdown funeral experience

Plus: Shadow Chancellor calls for subscribers to local paper and our daily round-up of other coronavirus-related news

Regional newspapers go blue in honour of NHS heroes

Fundraiser Captain Tom also speaks to dailies on 100th birthday

Journalism trainer defends media amid claims it is ‘missing public mood’

Teacher wins national praise after critique of social media post

Journalist who served regional press for 55 years dies aged 90

Tributes paid to reporter who kept writing into old age

Daily calls on readers to ‘fly the flag’ on VE Day anniversary

Newspaper wants to see patch homes decked out in red, white and blue

Woman who owns every issue of weekly donates collection to paper

Collector has read title since launch in 1982

Regional daily launches appeal for online reader donations

Contributors can make one-off or regular contributions

Three sister dailies to quit offices after lease talks break down

Publisher seeking new premises in same city

Journalist friends from same town die within days of each other

Both worked in regional press during careers

Weekly to include sister title as free pull-out due to coronavirus

Publisher aims to bring news to “widest possible audience”

Daily illustrates support for key workers with artist’s front page design

Plus: Proposal for £1m democracy reporting fund and our daily round-up of other coronavirus-related news

Regional journalism awards schemes shelved as O2 withdraws sponsorship

New financial backers sought by organiser

Raab taken to task on national TV over regional journalist’s exclusive

Local democracy reporter’s investigation gets Andrew Marr mention

Chief reporter hits back after readers accuse him of ‘making up’ story

Readers claimed story about council’s new cemetery was ‘fake news’

New newspaper launched to replace title axed four months ago

First edition published despite coronavirus outbreak

Tips on choosing a journalism course

Emma Clark, former marketing and communications manager for the National Council for the Training of Journalists, offers her advice on choosing between journalism courses.
Recently I've attended numerous careers fairs around the country, meeting students of all ages keen to break into journalism - whether that be in newspapers, television, radio or magazines. And of course, all students want to know which journalism course they should go on and whether they need NCTJ qualifications.

A quick look at the trainee job ads on HTFP demonstrates the importance of gaining the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism. Many adverts require candidates to have, or be awaiting results for, their NCTJ Diploma.

Trying to break into the industry without it makes a tough task almost impossible. With the rise in tuition fees, choosing the right journalism course is even more important than ever and students need to be sure they are learning the vocational skills required by employers, enabling them to hit the ground running when they enter the newsroom.

Employers know that an NCTJ-trained applicant will be able to find and construct stories, understand media law and ethics and be able to take down an accurate shorthand note when required. And contrary to popular belief it is not just the regional press looking for these skills, but nationals, online and broadcast too. Recent Sky Sports News schemes, for example, have been looking for practical skills including a minimum of 100wpm shorthand.

Student journalists can complete their NCTJ training in a number of ways - FE colleges and independent centres offer the Diploma in Journalism as fast-track and academic year courses, while universities offer it as part of undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. All of these journalism courses lead to the same NCTJ qualifications and meet the same standard, allowing students to pick the one that's best for them.

It's no secret that the NCTJ has an exacting standard, and this applies not just to the qualifications but also to the course provider. All NCTJ-accredited courses have to work incredibly hard to meet the requirements in the same way that students have to work incredibly hard to achieve the gold standard. This ensures the NCTJ logo acts as a meaningful kitemark for quality journalism training.