A new free training course has been launched to help working journalists cover the issue of immigration.

The National Council for the Training of Journalists has announced the launch of the Reporting on Migration course in partnership with the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford.

The programme is designed to help reporters and other communications professionals to understand the technical, legal and policy issues at the heart of the immigration debate.

It aims to support journalists in ensuring their work is accurate and based on a clear understanding of the complex challenges relating to migration.

Laura Adams, pictured, head of the NCTJ’s Journalism Skills Academy, said: “Migration is one of the most polarising issues in media around the world. It generates powerful emotions and enormous numbers of stories.

“But while there is lots of great migration reporting out there, few journalists have had any training in migration issues, which leaves people open to errors and misunderstandings. This short, free course sets out the basics that any reporter covering migration issues in the UK should know.

“Thank you to Rob McNeil from the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford for using his expertise to compile this training course for all journalists.”

The course covers he origins of migration reporting and the history of immigration to the UK since 1900, explanations of how to analyse migration policy and statistics, and why sports reporters and sub-editors have just as much need to understand migration issues as politics and home affairs reporters.

Short video interviews from experts and leading journalists, who give their thoughts on what good migration reporting looks like, also feature in the programme.

Participants who finish the course receive a certificate of completion and a downloadable glossary for reference in future reporting.

Rob, who is himself a former journalist with the Evening Standard and Daily Mirror, said: “Migration is rarely out of the news, and nearly every journalist will cover the issue in some way or another in their career.

“Political reporters dealing with a new bill; sports reporters dealing with international transfers of football superstars between clubs; local news journalists dealing with the diverse communities in their area, or picture editors deciding which images to use to illustrate a story about labour shortages – they’re all migration stories.

“But migration stories often step into complex and nuanced issues where reporting can have big impact on people’s lives, community cohesion and the decisions made by politicians.

“This course provides reporters with clarity on key technical and policy issues, explains the sometimes confusing or misused terminology, and helps people to grasp what we can and can’t know about migration and how it affects society.”

More information can be found here.