It’s an exciting time for this course, which has risen remarkably in its standing and will soon be exchanging rather ordinary premises for a bright new place in MediaCityUK. It’s an irony that as newspapers across the region have made cut after cut in journalist jobs there seem to be more and more journalists being trained.
The National Council for the Training of Journalists now accredits six training centres in the North West alone – privately-run News Associates in Manchester, Salford University, Edgehill, Liverpool Community College, the University of Cumbria and the long-established and prestigious courses at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston. Other universities in the region are also looking at establishing courses which leads one to ask: what are all those trainees going to do?
Newspaper staff levels may now be levelling out, so there will be some scope there, but there doesn’t seem to be any scope for growth on their internet sites any more. Radio and TV don’t look to have too many openings either. There are some positions in commercial PR
That leaves us with stand-alone internet sites – perhaps the newly-established, irreverent and delightfully named Wirral Gob – and, rather worryingly, council PR departments. It’s no exaggeration to say that in some towns the council will employ as many or more journalists than the media.
I don’t think that’s healthy for local democracy.
Most eye-catching story of the week must be the slip up at the Liverpool Echo where a report said that top country singer Taylor Swift would be holding a concert at a local primary school. Mayhem ensued as the “news” spread and the concert, which actually featured the unknown Taylor Bright, had to be cancelled.
In papers it’s always the stories that seem to have no dangers attached that end up causing the most trouble.
What could be more straightforward than a Mothers Day contest for the Mother of the Year which I ran in Rochdale? Nothing you’d think, until hundreds of people pointed out that our winner was originally a man who’d had a sex change operation!
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