I have written about how the pandemic is no equaliser. However, something that has spread across the generations with internet access are Zoom meetings. For recreating workplace meetings, holding family quizzes or attending education programmes, the platform is multifaceted in catering to people’s needs. Though I missed seeing people in person, Zoom assisted hugely with communication and extra curricular activities.
This was especially the case with News Associates. Consistently rated as the UK’s number one journalism school, I first came across the organisation when my student newspaper, The Boar, advertised a news writing session. Given I had written, at that time, no news articles for the paper, I thought this would be helpful. It was. Over a number of hours, I understood the importance of accuracy, the news pyramid and, most importantly, not getting sued! From there came many more News Associates sessions. A mixture of feature writing, In Conversation events with the likes of Kay Burley and Ian Woods alongside meeting successful journalists reinforced to me that the organisation was serious about journalism. Though I refer to myself as an ‘Aspiring Journalist’, the sessions, regularly attended by hundreds of people, convinced me that journalism was my future. Though I've got two years left of undergraduate university, I saw that an annual summer school took place at their Twickenham offices. The school was a chance to dip my toes into proper journalism! No longer working from my bedroom, writing, broadcasting and editing would take place in an office. Booking the school in April, I kept thinking the fortnight away would be cancelled. Thank goodness it wasn’t. The most important aspect of any educational experience - beside from feeling happy and comfortable - is the content. From higher education onwards, students (or trainees!) are paying to learn top quality content that will educate them and assist them career wise. However, where learning takes place shouldn’t be discarded. The atmosphere can make a real difference about whether someone feels motivated to learn. Twickenham, pleasingly, is a homely, pleasant place. I’d never visited before and only knew it was famous for rugby. In reality, it’s a gentle town located in Greater London or Middlesex, depending on your point of view. The town balances high street chains with many independent businesses, industrial buildings and numerous green spaces. As a whole, it contains both fantastic transport connections to London and preserving its own authentic character. It hasn’t been submerged by the capital or the Thames! Though we worked in an office each day, the external environment didn’t hinder my journalistic motivations. The first day of any summer school, regardless of content, always seems slightly awkward. Not knowing the layout, wondering if you’ll get on with anyone, questioning whether the content is worth the money! I thankfully knew someone else going, The Boar’s Music editor, which put me at ease. We got into the main classroom, filled with half the number of computers to maintain social distancing. It was clear from the off that the school probably wouldn’t be as interactive as previous years; the pandemic hasn’t been eradicated. That the school was taking place in person at all was a blessing. After introducing ourselves, a fun fact (it was my birthday in the first week of lockdown!) and our dream interview (Dominic Cummings), we got a chance to interview one another about the best day of our lives. Usually, I only contemplate such a range of philosophical and personal questions when listening to Radio 4, pretending my intelligence matches or exceeds those of the panellists. It was useful though. Thinking on the spot is a key skill for any interviewer or interviewee. In the end I chose visiting the Guardian and Observer offices in July 2018, which I’ve written about. I'm clearly not a thrill seeker, with some of the experiences other people spoke about terrifying rather than exhilarating me. As is the case in most ice breakers, we spoke about another person’s experience. This was helpful for ensuring we paid attention; it was a useful way for getting to know our fellow summer school trainees in a environment! From the next ten days came a real range of activities. The school managed theoretical lessons on, for example, Freedom of Information requests, and practical activities. Apparently this reflects the layout of postgraduate courses: a mixture of theory, practical work and, of course, shorthand. The mixture was effective. If I felt slightly exhausted from concentrating on a theoretical part of journalism, engaging in a practical task afterwards was a great way to unwind. The teaching was done by a variety of staff throughout the two weeks, with a range of course tutors and those in senior positions at News Associates engaging in discussion and ensuring our introduction into journalism was positive. They were deeply friendly, balancing informality with authority about journalism. The communication between staff had clearly taken place, with the timetable and agenda for the two weeks well laid out. At the start of each week, we knew what we’d be experiencing until Friday. That ability to mentally prepare was appreciated, though, when news breaks, that isn’t possible. Tutoring also came from outside speakers. Jem Collins of JournoResources ran a fantastic session on pitching. From writing a brilliant pitch to the financial side of journalism, the session was deeply helpful. Often, pitching and hearing no reply can feel demoralising. Even though I sympathise with commissioning editors who no doubt receive hundreds of pitches, no response can be depressing. The session reassured us not to take this personally and that setbacks are a definitive part of journalism. Nobody enters the industry for an easy time. Similarly, Beth Kirkbride of the Indiependent ran an entertaining session on culture journalism, exploring music, film, TV, gaming, books and theatre writing. It’s remarkable how much was covered. From looking at what makes a bad review to writing our own, the session highlighted the intrinsic value and importance of culture in shaping society. Writing about and experiencing culture is so important for understanding society. I particularly, perhaps counterintuitively, enjoyed writing a review to a deadline. No swearing took place, but it was a realistic reflection of filing copy before the presses start printing! The summer school also marked the first time I worked on my birthday. After breakfast at Cafe Zizou, we were given a session in interviewing. When so much of my experience with journalism is linked to writing, it was refreshing to hear about the importance of meeting people. After all, it is the best way to gather contacts. Who knows whether any of the people I’ve met over the last two weeks might come in handy for a story in the future? The school effectively stressed that, at its heart, journalism is about people. Journalists, therefore, must be willing to talk to them! We were thankfully able to put this into practice with a story on the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme published in the South West Londoner. My birthday afternoon, after lunch at Snax on the delightful Church Street, consisted of social media journalism. I’ve always regarded twitter and Instagram as a bit of fun. While I know plenty of people who use the social media as a business, I had never previously understood the importance of them as tools for spreading journalism. My mind had assumed people simply click the link to read stories in depth. There I was wrong. There is no doubt that many news organisations will have correspondents devoted only to social media, given that is where so many people look. I was pleased to have this so honestly spelt out. Shorthand is the part of News Associates that seemed most outside my comfort zone. While the two weeks had plenty of new concepts, decreasing the length of words and learning an entirely new language was something I’d never done before. I’d never needed to. My writing is often based on interviews that have already been conducted. If I was doing my own, it would likely be done over Zoom and recorded. Yet I understood the importance of shorthand. The process didn’t feel like a birthday nightmare. Given court and Parliamentary hearings can’t be recorded, transcribing what is said, for legal reasons, is so important. Plus, it’s a good party trick. Shorthand like all languages has its own rules that simply need to be learnt. I think the most important thing, were I to take the skill further, would be a mental attitude that succeeding, reaching 100 words per minute, was possible with grit and perseverance. On the surface however, it looked like a fantasy. The second week definitely felt more hands on. We had been settled on, now the real action was going to commence. A universal feature of most societies is owning a mobile phone. Under oppressive regimes, recording government actions and uploading them to social media can be a powerful way to expose wrongdoing to the world. Is this journalism however? Certainly. We were taught about how mobile journalism can be made professional. Even with all the technology available, it’s remarkable that professional content can be made from such small devices. Using iMovie, we recorded and edited together short clips about our time at News Associates: the funnier the better. While there was plenty I could improve in my clip, making it in the first place was a confidence booster, given I feel more in control when writing. This came alongside gathering stories. While many in newspapers are reprinted from agencies, exclusive stories, that original scoop that everyone else is desperate for, can really come in handy. When looking for a story, our attention naturally switches towards news websites. Other sights however, can come in more handy. I was able to find a story about an overgrown tree. Dull as dishwasher, you may think. Wrong. Twigs from this tree had fallen on the individual’s car and their seven year old child. Suddenly there’s a human angle. The most amazing thing I learnt from this was that all these stories are perfectly available in the public domain. No special access code is needed. They are just waiting to be found. The week concluded with a bit of broadcasting. Would a journalism school be complete without attempting to read an autocue? I think not. A mixture of finding stories, making them concise enough for a 90 second bulletin and rehearsing them relentlessly ensured that the experience on camera wasn’t a complete disaster! I found the autocue to be rather slow, though I suppose my naturally fast way of speaking didn’t help. Huw Edwards and Fiona Bruce clearly mastered the long pause and appreciate silence (which doesn’t have to be dead air). I, on the other hand, still have some way to go. Like all the best things in life, the fortnight whizzed by. Before we knew it, the two weeks had concluded and we were being wished on our merry way in the journalism world. Having the chance to speak to people - fellow trainees and tutors - in person was just completely different to an online session. It allows for an intimacy that, however successful Zoom may be, cannot be replicated. I was particularly pleased to see how many trainees were involved with their student publications, finding stories week after week. This demonstrates that the core values of journalism - holding authority to account, representing the voiceless, defending the truth - are just as woven into this generation as previous ones. News Associates has a huge part to play in this. The summer school was an opportunity I would strongly recommend to journalism novices and enthusiasts. You can tell from the length of this article that there were so many highlights of my two weeks. In my view, that’s great...would it meet the word count of a broadsheet double page feature spread though? That’s another story.
1 Comment
CK
16/8/2020 21:15:50
A very interesting read. Thank you for sharing your experience of the News Associates summer school.
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