A university is to host a conference this month exploring the future of court reporting.

Earlier this year, journalism trainer Richard Jones of Salford University published research which showed the ‘big three’ regional publishers are largely maintaining a commitment to court coverage despite the financial pressures facing the industry.

Now Richard, pictured, is hosting a symposium on the issue at the university on Wednesday 18 June.

The event, held in conjunction with the NCTJ, will also serve as the launch for Richard’s book Reporting the Courts, which looks into the current level of court reporting in the UK and the challenges facing journalists who cover both the criminal and civil courts

Richard, who is director of journalism, politics and contemporary history at the university, said: “We’re proud of the hundreds of Salford graduate already working in journalism and across the media industries. We want to play our part in not only supplying talent, but also leading discussions about the opportunities and challenges facing journalism at this fascinating time.

“Working with top industry figures and accreditation partners, the NCTJ and BJTC on events such as these, helps keeps us at the cutting edge of journalism.”

Keynote speaker will be Sian Harrison, co-editor of McNae’s Law for Journalists and former law editor of the Press Association.

She will be joined by editors and reporters from Reach, National World and Newsquest as well as journalism researchers from Salford and around the UK.

The court reporting symposium will be followed on Thursday 19 June by the Sports Journalism Educators Conference, which has been organised by Taylor Umland, Salford’s programme leader for BA Sports Journalism,

He said: “There has never been a more exciting time for sports journalism, but for many years, universities and the sports media industry have not worked together enough to provide a future-focused, student-centered approach that better equips graduates for the jobs of today.

“That is the crux of this conference – to build a platform where industry expertise can directly inform education. Where students, graduates, lecturers, journalists, can all come and discuss how we make this happen.”

Among those taking part is Alice McKeegan, senior editor (football) at BBC Sport and former football editor for the Manchester Evening News.