The report also criticised unpaid internships as a barrier to wider access to the industry and proposed a code of practice. Most new recruits are graduates. So they've already got big debts. It's likely that only the wealthiest can afford to take a poorly paid internship, maybe for months, maybe with no pay at all. There is some positive action. For example, the Journalism Diversity Fund, encouraging people from different backgrounds into the business. But more needs to be done. Plenty of titles bang on about fairness and accuracy. It's about some basic fairness was injected into recruitment.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Exclusive - that's what journalism has become
The Unleashing Aspirations report made shocking reading. Journalism has become posher. The report, commissioned by the Government from a panel of experts, said without action future journalists will come from the richest 25 per cent of families. And it found the traditional career route of training in the regional press then moving to the nationals had all-but broken down.This is depressing. Maybe too many editors are recruiting people in their own image. But unless the newsroom fairly represents the audience, how can a title reflect what they care about, are talking about? In the mid 1980s in a Midlands city I worked in a newsroom which was exclusively white. I doubt things are as bad now. But could this be one of the multiple factors behind the slide in circulations? Maybe some titles are simply out of touch with their audiences.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
It's crunch time for journalists
It's been a while since my last post. Meanwhile the credit crunch has blown in like an economic tornado, stripping out titles, closing offices and blasting jobs out of existence. More youngsters see staying in education as a way to postpone entering the job market when vacancies are scarce.
But from where I sit on the inside of the industry, now the dust has settled a little, it's not all bad news. There ARE opportunites around - the turnover in regional press reporters is still going on. The jobs are often just not advertised, so get pro-active and get emailing and letter-writing. With a bit of luck - maybe work experience in the right place at the right time - you can land a job.
Otherwise a journalism course is a good step. I bet course leaders will tell you a lot of their leavers are in jobs, maybe not all their first choice, but still beavering away in the by-ways waiting to make their mark. And while you're learning the trade make sure you make the effort to write and get published. There are more outlets than ever before - in print as well as online. Talent will be recognised.
Consider the specialist and trade media. Some industries are thriving, with lively media serving them. And publishers like Future are always on the lookout for pasionate people who know their subjects - from needlcraft to cycling. Once you're in, it's down to you and your talent how far you take your career. Be inspired, think laterally - from adversity comes opportunity. Darwin was right - adapt and survive.
But from where I sit on the inside of the industry, now the dust has settled a little, it's not all bad news. There ARE opportunites around - the turnover in regional press reporters is still going on. The jobs are often just not advertised, so get pro-active and get emailing and letter-writing. With a bit of luck - maybe work experience in the right place at the right time - you can land a job.
Otherwise a journalism course is a good step. I bet course leaders will tell you a lot of their leavers are in jobs, maybe not all their first choice, but still beavering away in the by-ways waiting to make their mark. And while you're learning the trade make sure you make the effort to write and get published. There are more outlets than ever before - in print as well as online. Talent will be recognised.
Consider the specialist and trade media. Some industries are thriving, with lively media serving them. And publishers like Future are always on the lookout for pasionate people who know their subjects - from needlcraft to cycling. Once you're in, it's down to you and your talent how far you take your career. Be inspired, think laterally - from adversity comes opportunity. Darwin was right - adapt and survive.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Educators, take note
There's a debate raging at the UKPG about shorthand and how useful it is. There seems to be a suggestion that it's a waste of time when there's now lots of kit like video and digital recorders to do the job. Well, that just goes to show the danger of handing over journalism training to academics and new media wonks who don't have a clue what the job actually involves.
Fact: most trainee journalists will be sent to cover a court - and without shorthand, you're in trouble. So is your newspaper, TV station or website, if you mangle the facts in this rapid-fire theatre where the exchanges between judge, lawyers and witnesses have no rewind button.
Recording devices are banned in courts. Some say they can report courts with longhand notes- good luck to you. But why not buckle down and actually put some effort in to learn shorthand? The rewards are great - not least, the satisfaction and confidence of knowing you've got rock solid notes - especially when someone tries to challenge your story. Sure, you can sit down with a recorder plonked on the table for a long interview. Just make sure the batteries are working. And make sure you've got enough time to go through it all again. You'll probably have to transcribe the whole tape just so you know what's on it.
And what about when you've got no recording device? All you need is a bit of paper and a pen, and you're still in business. You learned to drive, learned to type, learned a bit of French - so why not learn shorthand? In my view, it's an essential, especially in the proving ground where good journalists pay their dues - the regional media. Or you can blag, bluster and bullshit your way around it. Your choice.
Fact: most trainee journalists will be sent to cover a court - and without shorthand, you're in trouble. So is your newspaper, TV station or website, if you mangle the facts in this rapid-fire theatre where the exchanges between judge, lawyers and witnesses have no rewind button.
Recording devices are banned in courts. Some say they can report courts with longhand notes- good luck to you. But why not buckle down and actually put some effort in to learn shorthand? The rewards are great - not least, the satisfaction and confidence of knowing you've got rock solid notes - especially when someone tries to challenge your story. Sure, you can sit down with a recorder plonked on the table for a long interview. Just make sure the batteries are working. And make sure you've got enough time to go through it all again. You'll probably have to transcribe the whole tape just so you know what's on it.
And what about when you've got no recording device? All you need is a bit of paper and a pen, and you're still in business. You learned to drive, learned to type, learned a bit of French - so why not learn shorthand? In my view, it's an essential, especially in the proving ground where good journalists pay their dues - the regional media. Or you can blag, bluster and bullshit your way around it. Your choice.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Reporters are going back to the future
The need to file stories straight to the web has resulted in a new trend being identified in the United States - reporters actually leaving the office to meet people, interview them, then file copy. As this is the 21st century, this new breed has a name - they're 'mojos' - mobile journalists. Joe Strupp talks about the trend in a special report for Editor and Publisher. To be fair, the new demands of newspaper staff shooting video means they need to be at the scene. And the race to be first now the web is a 24/7 outlet means there's no time for a pie and a pint then a stroll back to the office after picking up your dry-cleaning.
But with slimmed budgets and out of town publishing centres - largely to cut costs and make it easier for deliveries of newsprint - reporters have long moaned about not getting the chance to go out on a job. Now some U.S. papers say most of their reporters work remotely from their laptops. This heralds the arrival of the true multi-skilled journalist - out and about with several thousands of pounds worth of kit, a roving reporter at last freed from the shackles of the office. Any decent reporter should embrace this liberation. And I note that the training providers are sprinting to catch up. The NCTJ has at last stipulated that training courses must include digital skills. But I bet there are some that still teach print skills without an introduction to video. Time to wake up to the realities of the modern newsroom!
But with slimmed budgets and out of town publishing centres - largely to cut costs and make it easier for deliveries of newsprint - reporters have long moaned about not getting the chance to go out on a job. Now some U.S. papers say most of their reporters work remotely from their laptops. This heralds the arrival of the true multi-skilled journalist - out and about with several thousands of pounds worth of kit, a roving reporter at last freed from the shackles of the office. Any decent reporter should embrace this liberation. And I note that the training providers are sprinting to catch up. The NCTJ has at last stipulated that training courses must include digital skills. But I bet there are some that still teach print skills without an introduction to video. Time to wake up to the realities of the modern newsroom!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Degree or no degree, that is the question
The Guardian newspaper devoted four pages today to journalism training. Peter Wilby moans that there are now few working class journalists any more, just an old guard of working class heroes who slogged their way up from the slums. Now he says the business is full of middle class ex-public school folk with private incomes. They're the only ones who can afford the huge cost of postgraduate courses to bag the best jobs.
Of course, it was better in the old days you left school at 16 and got a job on the local rag, spent several years reporting flower shows and funerals before packing your belongings in a handkerchief tied to a stick and hitching a lift on a horse and cart for the big smoke, wearing a trilby with a band for your press card. At least then it was a meritocracy, says Wilby, with grit and determination winning through.
As for ethnic minorities, they are drastically under-represented in the business. He has got a point there. But what's the solution to this mess?
Perhaps his London-centric view is distorting his grasp on reality. Outside the capital, with its promise of riches and broken dreams, there are thousands of journalists toiling in the regional media. Most, but not all, are graduates. That's because editors decided they wanted the best on offer, and equated better education with better quality staff.
They have found though that graduates are keen to get trained and clear off, party through ambition, partly to try and up their wages from the measly trainee stipend. Maybe the NCTJ has got some responsibility for this, by locking industry starters into a rigid framework that the media groups are only too happy to sign up to. In fact, there's nothing to stop editors paying trainees more, other than they would have to pay everyone else more.
Meanwhile, you can actually still leave school with A-levels and get on a journalism pre-entry course. And often these journalists stick around longer. They are more likely to have local roots and knowledge and stick around longer, providing a return on the investment in their training. Maybe it's time editors placed more value on that route. And with the explosion of college and undergraduate courses, there could be an answer.
More locally trained entrants, equipped with the necessary skills, but also with local connections, could be on their way to a newsroom near you soon. And this should also address the imbalance in represenation of ethnic minorities. Meanwhile there are a number of schemes offering cash and support for ethnic minority candidates on postgraduate courses, including the Scott Trust, NUJ and Journalism Diversity Fund. See more details on the links section of http://www.beajournalist.talktalk.net/ .
Anyway, as I understand it, you train in the regional media, learn your stuff, then if you want, go to London, get some shifts and if you're persistent or lucky enough, land a staff job. Or carry on with shifts, go into PR, or decide you want to do something more useful or worthwhile. The options are there for the best to be recognised and rewarded, no matter which school or college they were at. At every level, you're only as good as your last story.
Roy Greenslade suggests it's time the industry pulled itself together to address the working class/ethnic minority shortage. And I guess the rather confusing entry system could do with a little more clarity. But with the NCTJ accrediting more private sector providers, and many institutions opting out of the NCTJ, that's unlikely to happen. It's down to editors to recognise who is going to do the best job for them. And that's fundamentally down to ambition, skill and persistence, which are equally available to all.
Chris McGillion, former editorial page editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, says editors should work with the courses to shape the type of graduates that they want. Sound sensible.
As for me, I did a postgraduate one-year pre-entry course at City University in the 1980s, funded by a government grant. My coursemates are now all over the place, in regional and national newspapers, foreign correspondents, TV and PR. There was a mix of backgrounds, colours and creeds. All shared the drive and ambition which got them there, and which has driven them on afterwards.
Of course, it was better in the old days you left school at 16 and got a job on the local rag, spent several years reporting flower shows and funerals before packing your belongings in a handkerchief tied to a stick and hitching a lift on a horse and cart for the big smoke, wearing a trilby with a band for your press card. At least then it was a meritocracy, says Wilby, with grit and determination winning through.
As for ethnic minorities, they are drastically under-represented in the business. He has got a point there. But what's the solution to this mess?
Perhaps his London-centric view is distorting his grasp on reality. Outside the capital, with its promise of riches and broken dreams, there are thousands of journalists toiling in the regional media. Most, but not all, are graduates. That's because editors decided they wanted the best on offer, and equated better education with better quality staff.
They have found though that graduates are keen to get trained and clear off, party through ambition, partly to try and up their wages from the measly trainee stipend. Maybe the NCTJ has got some responsibility for this, by locking industry starters into a rigid framework that the media groups are only too happy to sign up to. In fact, there's nothing to stop editors paying trainees more, other than they would have to pay everyone else more.
Meanwhile, you can actually still leave school with A-levels and get on a journalism pre-entry course. And often these journalists stick around longer. They are more likely to have local roots and knowledge and stick around longer, providing a return on the investment in their training. Maybe it's time editors placed more value on that route. And with the explosion of college and undergraduate courses, there could be an answer.
More locally trained entrants, equipped with the necessary skills, but also with local connections, could be on their way to a newsroom near you soon. And this should also address the imbalance in represenation of ethnic minorities. Meanwhile there are a number of schemes offering cash and support for ethnic minority candidates on postgraduate courses, including the Scott Trust, NUJ and Journalism Diversity Fund. See more details on the links section of http://www.beajournalist.talktalk.net/ .
Anyway, as I understand it, you train in the regional media, learn your stuff, then if you want, go to London, get some shifts and if you're persistent or lucky enough, land a staff job. Or carry on with shifts, go into PR, or decide you want to do something more useful or worthwhile. The options are there for the best to be recognised and rewarded, no matter which school or college they were at. At every level, you're only as good as your last story.
Roy Greenslade suggests it's time the industry pulled itself together to address the working class/ethnic minority shortage. And I guess the rather confusing entry system could do with a little more clarity. But with the NCTJ accrediting more private sector providers, and many institutions opting out of the NCTJ, that's unlikely to happen. It's down to editors to recognise who is going to do the best job for them. And that's fundamentally down to ambition, skill and persistence, which are equally available to all.
Chris McGillion, former editorial page editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, says editors should work with the courses to shape the type of graduates that they want. Sound sensible.
As for me, I did a postgraduate one-year pre-entry course at City University in the 1980s, funded by a government grant. My coursemates are now all over the place, in regional and national newspapers, foreign correspondents, TV and PR. There was a mix of backgrounds, colours and creeds. All shared the drive and ambition which got them there, and which has driven them on afterwards.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
'A up me duck, get tha snap tin and get thesen darn te t'Guardian*
If you thought your regional accent was an embarrassing setback to getting on in the sometimes precious and largely middle-class world of the media, think again. Forget the plummy vowels of the educated classes, The Guardian, is saying 'Ay up' to the far-flung corners of England. It is looking for a trainee who apart from having a degree from anywhere in the world, must also be fluent in standard English and 'at least one other language, including but not limited to foreign languages, computer languages, the language of the arts or science, English dialects or some other speciality'. All you needs is experience in the media as well, and there's £25,000 a year on offer from September. So don't worry if you were no good at French - if tha can talk convincingly about black pudding and whippets, you just might be in with a chance. Find out more here.
*Hello my dear, pack up your lunchbox and hurry off to the Guardian
*Hello my dear, pack up your lunchbox and hurry off to the Guardian
Friday, February 29, 2008
In with the new...
Two posts on the UK Press Gazette website bring into focus the dynamic change in local media. The first is the relaunch of the Birmingham Post website on the newspaper's 150th anniversary. The second is the latest circulation figures for the regional press.
The Post site is flagged as a 'web-first' operation, embracing all the bells and whistles of web2 developments from blogs to delicious. The site looks clean and well laid out, with loads going on, from breaking news to columns, with all the latest devices to encourage the audience to interact.
In line with the rest of the regional press, the morning Brum Post has long seen a decline in readership of the newspaper -the regional morning market is notoriously difficult - you're putting a hybrid of local, regional and national news - up against the local and national competition. Now the has Post has clearly repositioned the brand online as a market leader in the search for the regional audience.
As editor Marc Reeves puts it: "We'll be breaking news and bringing you information on your sector of interest that you just can't get anywhere else - and even more than you can get in the newspaper."
Good luck to them, and that comes from a former reporter from the once arch enemy the pioneering, ahead of its time, now defunct free morning paper in Brum, the Daily News.
Meanwhile the regional ABC figures tell a familiar tale. In the last six months of last year the regional mornings bucked the trend of recent years, with a slight slowing in the overall decline - down 3.6 per cent year on year compared to 3.9 per cent six months ago. The Birmingham Post notably was one of the better performers, down 2.1 per cent.
The regional evenings were down 5.3 per cent overall, with only two titles showing a rise, in Swindon and Dundee. Andy just to make it slightly more complicated, many 'evening' newspaper now print overnight, putting them in the shops in the morning alongside the traditionally more upmarket regional morning papers.
And finally, just how relevant are the separate newspaper sales figures? The ABC has started publishing reports linking print circulation and website users. It says: "The new Multi-platform Monthly Report will detail month-on-month and year-on-year figures for both on and offline properties. In addition the report will breakout figures by geographical region; the UK, Republic of Ireland and other countries."
This has to be the way forward - convergence means audiences are delivered in a variety of ways, so advertisers need a reliable way of deciding how to reach them.
The Post site is flagged as a 'web-first' operation, embracing all the bells and whistles of web2 developments from blogs to delicious. The site looks clean and well laid out, with loads going on, from breaking news to columns, with all the latest devices to encourage the audience to interact.
In line with the rest of the regional press, the morning Brum Post has long seen a decline in readership of the newspaper -the regional morning market is notoriously difficult - you're putting a hybrid of local, regional and national news - up against the local and national competition. Now the has Post has clearly repositioned the brand online as a market leader in the search for the regional audience.
As editor Marc Reeves puts it: "We'll be breaking news and bringing you information on your sector of interest that you just can't get anywhere else - and even more than you can get in the newspaper."
Good luck to them, and that comes from a former reporter from the once arch enemy the pioneering, ahead of its time, now defunct free morning paper in Brum, the Daily News.
Meanwhile the regional ABC figures tell a familiar tale. In the last six months of last year the regional mornings bucked the trend of recent years, with a slight slowing in the overall decline - down 3.6 per cent year on year compared to 3.9 per cent six months ago. The Birmingham Post notably was one of the better performers, down 2.1 per cent.
The regional evenings were down 5.3 per cent overall, with only two titles showing a rise, in Swindon and Dundee. Andy just to make it slightly more complicated, many 'evening' newspaper now print overnight, putting them in the shops in the morning alongside the traditionally more upmarket regional morning papers.
And finally, just how relevant are the separate newspaper sales figures? The ABC has started publishing reports linking print circulation and website users. It says: "The new Multi-platform Monthly Report will detail month-on-month and year-on-year figures for both on and offline properties. In addition the report will breakout figures by geographical region; the UK, Republic of Ireland and other countries."
This has to be the way forward - convergence means audiences are delivered in a variety of ways, so advertisers need a reliable way of deciding how to reach them.
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