Twenty years ago, journalism training was relatively simple. Students picked a pathway – broadcast, newspapers, or periodicals, and found a course teaching the skills needed. With the skills they picked up, some work experience, the right contacts and a bit of luck, they landed that crucial first job.
Now, it’s not so simple. It’s still possible to enrol on courses in newspaper, magazine and broadcast journalism, and students may still aspire to work in these fields. The difficulty is the all-pervasiveness of the internet – wherever you want to work, learning online skills could make all the difference. Bizarrely, learning how to shoot video might help land you your dream newspaper job.
But Emma Harpley of the National Council for the Training of Journalists, which accredits 60 UK journalism courses, said the first thing students should remember is not to neglect key skills like shorthand. ‘However the story is going to be presented, shorthand is key to actually getting the facts in the first place, so will always be a vital part of journalism.”
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