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Broadcast journalist: Training

If entry has been via an accredited course, it will be expected that the necessary basic training needed to practise in the profession will have been covered. For those who have not come via this route, gaining an understanding of media law and health and safety is normally considered an immediate training need. A substantial amount of training will be informal and 'on the job'. It is usual for trainee journalists to initially be assigned basic tasks such as working autocues and fetching tapes, gaining an insight into the whole process, before they move into more specific and responsible roles.

As budgets are stretched, multi-skilling is becoming more prevalent in the media. Many broadcast journalists find that they can now be responsible for recording and editing their own footage. Acquiring knowledge and understanding of technical equipment and relevant software is, therefore, currently a key training need and many employers will require/support training in these areas.

The media is a fast-paced, ever-evolving industry. Its professional bodies (Skillset (Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries) , National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and National Union of Journalists (NUJ) ) recognise the need to support journalists in their continual professional development in order to stay ahead of the game. Short courses include: negotiating contracts; public relations; sub-editing; interviewing skills; as well as new technologies.

The Media Courses and Multimedia Courses Directory , compiled by Skillset and BFI, lists over 6,000 available courses. Others can be found through Journalism.co.uk or BBC Training and Development including some free online courses.

AGCAS

Written by Claire Byron, Newcastle University

Last updated:

February 2009

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