An editor has praised a 16-year-old reporter for helping to improve her senior colleagues’ offering on social media.

Iona MacDonald has been credited with teaching fellow journalists at Highland News and Media, while she herself is learning new skills including shorthand.

Iona joined HNM after leaving school in the summer under the Community News Project, run by Facebook’s owner Meta and the National Council for the Trianing of Journalists.

She has now started using Instagram and TikTok to highlight her work and her day-to-day life as a journalist.

In a report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism report this month, publishers were urged to let individual journalists build their own identities, rather than the corporate brands of the titles they work for, to attract younger audiences on social media platforms like TikTok.

Iona, pictured, said of her video work: “I took short clips throughout my day so I didn’t get too distracted from work.

“I was also quite cautious to not make it seem intimidating; I think journalism is one of those things that sounds really scary – it did to me before I started my job.

“So, I wanted the video to come across as more casual and relatable for other people my age interested in the industry.”

HNM content and commercial editor John Davidson added: “The life of a reporter is a bit of a mystery to most people, so Iona’s excellent video gives a brief insight into the day-to-day operation and the skills behind producing our news websites, app and newspapers every day.

“She is quickly learning skills such as shorthand, as you can see in the video, and is developing really well as a young journalist – and she’s also teaching those of us in more senior positions plenty about how to improve our social media offering.”