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| Go local, would-be journalist! There's a great world outside the national media | Go local, would-be journalist! There's a great world outside the national media |
| (4 months later) | |
| Glen Keogh's post for the Guardian Northerner last week, dealing with the struggles faced by aspiring journalists to break into the industry, will have struck a chord with many young graduates looking to get their foot in the door. | Glen Keogh's post for the Guardian Northerner last week, dealing with the struggles faced by aspiring journalists to break into the industry, will have struck a chord with many young graduates looking to get their foot in the door. |
| For those dreaming of a job with a national media organisation, unpaid internships in London offices are undoubtedly an injustice for those unable to afford to relocate to the capital without a salary. | For those dreaming of a job with a national media organisation, unpaid internships in London offices are undoubtedly an injustice for those unable to afford to relocate to the capital without a salary. |
| Yet while reading about Glen being peddled the perceived wisdom of 'move to London if you want to make it', I couldn't help but wonder – why are young journalists no longer looking for opportunities in local newspapers? | Yet while reading about Glen being peddled the perceived wisdom of 'move to London if you want to make it', I couldn't help but wonder – why are young journalists no longer looking for opportunities in local newspapers? |
| I am a trainee reporter at the Retford Times, a small weekly paper in a market town in north Nottinghamshire. It's perhaps not the setting that many ambitious media students dream of for their first job, and I'm not breaking globally significant stories every day. But since starting in October, just a couple of months after completing an NCTJ course at Darlington College, I can honestly say I've loved almost every minute of local reporting. | I am a trainee reporter at the Retford Times, a small weekly paper in a market town in north Nottinghamshire. It's perhaps not the setting that many ambitious media students dream of for their first job, and I'm not breaking globally significant stories every day. But since starting in October, just a couple of months after completing an NCTJ course at Darlington College, I can honestly say I've loved almost every minute of local reporting. |
| As one of a very small news team, I have been given far more responsibility and greater input in the stories I write than I could ever expect on the bottom rung of the ladder in a large national newsroom. | As one of a very small news team, I have been given far more responsibility and greater input in the stories I write than I could ever expect on the bottom rung of the ladder in a large national newsroom. |
| I have the freedom to come up with my own ideas and I cover a variety of news areas rather than specialising at an early stage of my career. Every day I do something different – as I write this I have just received an invitation from a local paranormal investigations group to join them on a ghost tour of some haunted hotspots. | I have the freedom to come up with my own ideas and I cover a variety of news areas rather than specialising at an early stage of my career. Every day I do something different – as I write this I have just received an invitation from a local paranormal investigations group to join them on a ghost tour of some haunted hotspots. |
| Glen mentioned the disappointment of receiving rejection emails, a feeling we're all familiar with. Yet Retford was only the third job I applied for, and I was competing with about 20 realistic candidates rather than the hundreds of high-calibre applicants who apply to trainee schemes such as the BBC's and other, usually London-based, roles. | Glen mentioned the disappointment of receiving rejection emails, a feeling we're all familiar with. Yet Retford was only the third job I applied for, and I was competing with about 20 realistic candidates rather than the hundreds of high-calibre applicants who apply to trainee schemes such as the BBC's and other, usually London-based, roles. |
| Part of the problem seems to be the tendency of journalism courses, particularly those based at universities, to steer students towards London and the nationals, the 'glamour' option of the industry. It's not hard to understand why - as institutions, universities exist to encourage their students to aim for the top, whatever career path they choose to follow, and for many professions – law, finance – the capital city is the pinnacle of achievement. | Part of the problem seems to be the tendency of journalism courses, particularly those based at universities, to steer students towards London and the nationals, the 'glamour' option of the industry. It's not hard to understand why - as institutions, universities exist to encourage their students to aim for the top, whatever career path they choose to follow, and for many professions – law, finance – the capital city is the pinnacle of achievement. |
| Yet traditionally, journalism has been about learning your craft on a local paper and then, later in your career, taking your experience of grass-roots reporting to a national organisation if you wished to follow the London path. Graduate entry routes into the BBC and the national papers are a recent phenomenon. | Yet traditionally, journalism has been about learning your craft on a local paper and then, later in your career, taking your experience of grass-roots reporting to a national organisation if you wished to follow the London path. Graduate entry routes into the BBC and the national papers are a recent phenomenon. |
| Prominent examples of top journalists who started out in humble surroundings include Jeremy Clarkson, who trained at the Rotherham Advertiser, and former BBC director-general Greg Dyke, who began his working life on the Slough Evening Mail. | Prominent examples of top journalists who started out in humble surroundings include Jeremy Clarkson, who trained at the Rotherham Advertiser, and former BBC director-general Greg Dyke, who began his working life on the Slough Evening Mail. |
| Many of these famous figures will speak fondly of their days in the often-eccentric environs of provincial newsrooms. | Many of these famous figures will speak fondly of their days in the often-eccentric environs of provincial newsrooms. |
| My own journalism course was based at Darlington, at a further education college which over the years has been an unlikely breeding ground for reporters who have made their mark at the highest level, many of them in the north-east, considered to be one of the UK's best news patches. Studying at Darlington would not suit everybody, but the course is tailored firmly to local journalism and has good links with top regional titles such as the Northern Echo. | My own journalism course was based at Darlington, at a further education college which over the years has been an unlikely breeding ground for reporters who have made their mark at the highest level, many of them in the north-east, considered to be one of the UK's best news patches. Studying at Darlington would not suit everybody, but the course is tailored firmly to local journalism and has good links with top regional titles such as the Northern Echo. |
| While the pull of the nationals is understandable, I think the advice of many seasoned journalists would be to learn the trade in a local newsroom. Following the local path has been the best decision I ever made, and I'd urge any aspiring reporter to seriously consider weekly papers as much more than just a step on the ladder. | While the pull of the nationals is understandable, I think the advice of many seasoned journalists would be to learn the trade in a local newsroom. Following the local path has been the best decision I ever made, and I'd urge any aspiring reporter to seriously consider weekly papers as much more than just a step on the ladder. |
| Grace Newton is 23 and lives in Doncaster. She read history at York university and then did an NCTJ short-course at Darlington. If you know of anything interesting happening in or near Retford, please tell her. She's on grace.newton@retfordtimes.co.uk and Tweets here. | Grace Newton is 23 and lives in Doncaster. She read history at York university and then did an NCTJ short-course at Darlington. If you know of anything interesting happening in or near Retford, please tell her. She's on grace.newton@retfordtimes.co.uk and Tweets here. |
| Glen and Grace have got a good debate going which the Guardian Northerner would like to continue. Posts on the issue are warmly welcome from other would-be or trainee journalists. We can't pay and we apologise for that, but we can give you a platform and a modest loudhailer. And we have some interesting - and interested - media people reading. Please email us on northerner @guardian.co.uk. | Glen and Grace have got a good debate going which the Guardian Northerner would like to continue. Posts on the issue are warmly welcome from other would-be or trainee journalists. We can't pay and we apologise for that, but we can give you a platform and a modest loudhailer. And we have some interesting - and interested - media people reading. Please email us on northerner @guardian.co.uk. |
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