Digital skills for professional journalists

The shift from traditional newsrooms to dynamic digital ecosystems has fundamentally redefined what it means to be a reporter. While the core values of accuracy and ethics remain unchanged, the delivery methods and technical requirements have evolved significantly. Today, a journalist must be a versatile creator capable of navigating various platforms while maintaining high standards […]

Media insights for journalists

The modern media landscape is crowded, fast-moving, and unforgiving. For aspiring journalists, technical skills alone are no longer enough to stand out. What truly creates a competitive edge is the ability to extract meaningful media insights and turn them into compelling story angles. This means understanding not just what is happening, but why it matters, […]

Skills meet real-world pressure

When skills are tested in authentic conditions, the stakes shift from theory to action. The ability to stay composed, interpret complex cues, and respond quickly becomes the real measure of competence. This interplay between capability and situational pressure is visible across high-performance professions, competitive sports, and even digital environments where strategic choices shape outcomes. In […]

Cricket defeats terrorism

Cricket was invented in England nearly two centuries ago, but, unlike football, rugby and golf, didn’t reach many countries around the world. Afghanistan, a country ravished by war and poverty, have very few national teams, but now their 17-man squad is just seven matches away from reaching the world stage at the ICC Cricket World […]

Independence without scrutiny?

Sales of Scottish newspapers have fallen steeply in recent years leading to job losses and a new democratic deficit. Debate has started about independence and the future of the union, but are there enough journalists to cover it and enough readers to take it seriously? The Independent on Sunday asked me to write about it. There is interest in Edinburgh. Feel free to participate in the debate.   

Newsroom printers

Please note that the printer in Newsroom 1 is now called dpjournstudent2. The old printer, dpjournstudent, has been removed. If you send documents to print to this printer, they won’t appear. There is a new printer in the new postgraduate newsroom. This will be dpjournstudent3, and should be available on the network shortly.

Tania Steere goes to Sky News

I begin my first day of my placement at Sky News as a result of winning the Bob Friend Memorial Scholarship. http://taniasteereskynews.blogspot.com/2011/07/day-one.html  

Romance is dead!

I sat inside court 1 at the Supreme Court in Westminster today, eagerly awaiting a verdict from five Law Lords on who was entitled to what share, in a three bedroom bungalow in Essex. Something as common as the breakdown of a relationship and the sharing of assets should never have reached the dizzy heights of ‘Supreme’ […]

Buzz News Network – Check us out!

Morning everyone! As you probably know we have an online Newsday today and we would all be very grateful if you checked out our site and looked and all the wonderful reporting we’ve been up too! Keep checking throughout the day and leave comments if you wish. From the latest breaking news to fun features, […]

Finally… those blogging prizes

Those of you with long memories may remember that back in the heady days of 2008 I rashly promised a glittering array of prizes to encourage thoughtful student blog postings on this site.  Some of those, covering the Christmas period, have already been announced. And I’ve kept a couple of other awards up my sleeve […]

First Years’ Hoodies

I don’t how many first years heard about the hoody idea but we’re thinking of getting a class hoody with Journalism on it and other exciting things… I don’t want to go ahead and pick something without all your consent so, on Thursday, once we’ve finished convergent journalism (so at 12pm), can we all just […]

Team A (P) Conference (Updated 18th Jan)

Conference will be at 08:30 on Wednesday. Section Editors will be in for 8:15. If you do have a laptop or a camera, bring it in. You all have my number (if you check your emails), so it would be useful to me if you send over a quick text with your name. Let me […]

Technology is destroying the innocence of youth

When I was 5, my source of entertainment came from puzzles, train sets, playing football and repeatedly watching Lady and the Tramp. I have a five year old brother who can do all these things on a brilliant multimedia machine; the IPad. I use the word brilliant reservedly, as for adults like myself, yes it […]

Year 1 Work Placements

Lesley Bellew from the Kent Messenger Group is coming to the Centre on Friday, 19 March at 11.00 to talk to year 1 students about the forthcoming work placements.  She will explain how everything works and will answer any questions.  Please ensure you are in the Newsroom by 11.00 on that day as it is important that […]

Revision Schedule Summer Term

Attached is schedule of revision sessions and rooms.  Please note that shorthand will continue at the usual times in the Summer term but rooms are different.  Attachment Size Revision Room Schedule.docx 14.3 KB

NCTJ Law exam – important message for Year 2s, MAs and (a few) Year 3s

Please don’t forget that you MUST see Anastasia and hand over your money (where necessary) for January’s Essential Media Law exam by NEXT FRIDAY. If you don’t you won’t be able to sit the exam on January 22nd as the NCTJ needs your entries three weeks in advance – and it’s Christmas!

iPads and Kindles force newspapers further away from print

My dad has been eyeing the iPad’s shiny screen ever since it first came out, but could never find a good enough reason to justify the rather large expense of buying it. But now, with the newest version of the iPad boasting digital versions of the newspapers he buys weekly and the new iCloud allowing […]

Holly Stewart’s blog

  It’s been a tough month for women in the media. First the Samantha Brick fiasco, perhaps the Daily Mail’s finest attempt at professional ‘trolling’ and the Telegraph ‘critic’ (I use the term lightly) A.A Gil condemning the brilliant historian, Mary Beard as “too ugly for tv”.

Panorama: The death of kiss and tell

This evening’s Panorama deals with one of the most controversial issues facing journalism: privacy. The Human Rights Act guarantees two competing rights viz: freedom of expression and the sanctity of private life.  In the competition between them, where does the public interest lie?  Many editors believe that the courts’ interpretation of the right to privacy in cases such as that of Max […]

BBC placements

I will be calling a meeting in a few days for the selection of students who said they would take up our offer of help to secure a BBC placement. In the meantime if this applies to you, would you please start thinking about choosing where and when you want to go. A good time […]

For third year students. Convergent TV classes coming up.

We will have two classes on TV, one on 12 October and the other on 19 October, both at 3pm. Please read the chapter entitled: The Use of Words in John Simpson’s News From No Man’s Land book before class on 12 October. Then, also before class, please watch this piece by Jeremy Bowen. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/378013.stm […]

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