MrT (17/02/2009 14:00)
Poor souls. They may as well train to be coal miners or steel workers.


NCTJ Alumni (17/02/2009 14:19)
I recently completed my NCTJ course in London where 1 person out of 43 landed a job. I know they are a good cash cow for the NCTJ but some of these courses cost upwards of £3,500 for the 20 weeks. If anyone reading this is currently thinking of enrolling on one of these courses, please for your own pocket/future do not. It might seem like a glamorous job but the reality is you will be providing free labour to an industry which thrives of naive young graduates who think they are getting 'valuable experience.' What you will actually be doing is helping newspapers get by on a skeletal staff, by providing a constant influx of unpaid dogs bodies. Having been through this process for the last 12-18 months - I have very little sympathy for these papers or their workers who are going to the wall - you reap what you sow.


Mr_Osato (17/02/2009 14:32)
Just goes to show that most of the people who take 'meejah' courses have never picked up a newspaper or watched more than five minutes of the news. It just sounds glamorous, and easy. They'll be the perfect malleable recruits for our highly skilled and respected bosses then!


LadyBo (17/02/2009 14:52)
NCTJ Alumni, you seem to have misunderstood something vital here - the NCTJ is a charity that charges students £38 for each exam. Might I suggest researching a cheaper course (they start at around £1,000) be a good start to a career in journalism? If anyone reading this is thinking of studying on one of these courses, for your own pocket/future, how about you do your research, ask the editors who are recruiting NCTJ qualified trainees, and make up your own mind. Or believe NCTJ Alumni, who maybe has to persist a bit more to land a job that's still highly competitive. Oh - and no one should be working for free for this length of time! If you do - you're feeding the exploitation you're denigrating! NO editor wants to see someone has worked for free for a year - have some self respect and ask for payment after anything more than 2 weeks I'd say. Don't let them take advantage of you. And good luck in the job hunt... it ain't easy!


At the coalface (17/02/2009 15:55)
People starting out should be made aware of the pitfalls and told of the downsides and current climate (as well as perks of being a journalist). That would be responsible teaching. I'm sure post-course people can get a job - they're just going to have to wear out those knuckles out knocking. But be aware many of the joys of being a journalist (e.g. - simply leaving the office and going out on patch) have been stripped away. Bosses are licking their lips at the thought of taking on cheap labour. Be warned...It's not all bad though!


Hacked off (17/02/2009 19:35)
NCTJ Alumni - I appreciate your sentiments, but if you have no sympathy for the people whose jobs are going to the wall as you say, may I suggest you clear off and go and stack shelves somewhere? Do you really think the journos on the ground want to see our industry going this way? Speaking for my paper, we've stopped taking work experience people we don't know because there aren't enough staff to spend proper time with them and try and help them. People who came to me for work experience when we had more staff and I had a senior role (before being demoted basically)got all the help and advice they wanted, because I knew how important it was. As you apparently want to see people like that "go to the wall", then I hope you don't get a job in our industry.


Charles Sinclair (17/02/2009 21:14)
Keep the faith people. Newspapers are changing, sure, but they won't die; they will evolve to meet the age. New business models will come through, money will be made, news organizations will thrive once more. It's blood bath at the moment but the industry will be stronger for it when we come through it. A process of creative destruction if you like. Stay ahead of the curve, read the magazines, read the books, know the technology, learn the programs, take the courses. Hundreds of generations of journalists have had to face technological change, changing consumer tastes over many centuries and they have survived. Take control and be innovative. This is the most exiting time for a long time. So much change, so much opportunity. Stay positive people: there's never been a better time to want to be a journalist.


JP (18/02/2009 08:51)
Charles are you the PR man for Johnston Press?! Wake up...


Golam Murtaza (18/02/2009 10:13)
So Charles Sinclair thinks this is the most "exiting" time to be in journalism? Funny that, as a local newspaper reporter the word "exit" has been in my mind a lot lately.


olderhackette (18/02/2009 10:38)
I cannot believe these young people spend so much money on courses and still come out not being able to write a story in decent Englsh. They certainly won't learn how to write on a lot of papers. Why? because they are run by over-promoted and under- experienced hacks (some failed) who haven't been reporters for five minutes themselves. Cheap though! I had a great time being a hackette for about 20 years until about five years ago. Now its just a production line run by dull people with no idea of journalism. Maybe someone other than a PR bod or office crawler can tell me they love their job on a newspaper. But I do agree modern hacks need to adapt. It is their only chance.


Chesuro (18/02/2009 11:25)
I am a mature student, over 40, changing direction from a corporate sales career and then joint owner-operator of a start-up business - in two very competitive industries - and now in my first year of a single honours degree course in journalism. Although I have sympathy with those losing their jobs, my past experience has shown me that in any industry it is those who adapt to change that thrive. And change is after all, very much part of the free market no matter how painful. For the record, the majority of my class who are all in their lates teens apart from me, have little interest in newspapers and are aiming for careers in magazines. Although I would like the opportunity to learn on a local paper first (if I could avoid churnalism, which seems unlikely), ultimately I want to write for magazines too. In travel, probably. Or perhaps I may one day set up my own publication abroad. Who knows what opportunities will present themselves, as long as I remain open to the many possibilities journalism offers. It is a fantastic base for many writing careers. In times of recession and wholesale industry change, rigidity is. I am afraid, the enemy.


Alex Luthor (18/02/2009 14:51)
"I have very little sympathy for these papers or their workers who are going to the wall - you reap what you sow." At the newspaper I work for several reporters have been made redundant in the last 18 months against their wishes. They would be incensed to read your frankly witless comments that they got what they deserved after a combined total of more than 80 years service to the paper and its readers. Personally I would suggest anyone considering a career in the media industry to go for work experience at a local paper prior to choosing to do a degree in journalism or an NCTJ course - that way, you gain an insight into what you're getting into, especially in the current climate.


James Blackman (18/02/2009 15:41)
My NCTJ course will be finished in the summer. I am pretty scared that there will be no jobs - I am 27, have done little with my life so far, and really want to get that foot in the door.


Charles Sinclair (18/02/2009 21:46)
Too defeatist - why do journalists need Johnston Press/Trinity Mirror/Newsquest etc anyway? The business model of a large corporate company owning newspapers is in its death throes, quite rightly. Journalism should never have become a salaried job in the first place. Certainly it won't be a salaried job in the future. Journalism should be a 24/7 hustle; too many have come to treat it as a 9-5 desk profession. The types of media technology coming through make it much easier for journalists to work without the need for the old capital intensive methods. Decentralization of communication will inevitably lead to new markets; Indesign, web CMS etc integrate production, publishing costs a pittance, sell ads to local businesses who want a web presence - make money and have editorial independence. Entrepreneurial journalism: this is the future. The hand wringers and doom mongers can leave, quite rightly. But there is a new frontier to be conquered - and it will be conquered, no doubt, but only by those who are bold enough to find the solution. After all, why should we waste a crisis!


keengirl (18/02/2009 21:56)
I spent a brill week on paper in the South where nearly all the staff were older hacks but still keen. I was really shocked at how poor my writing style (based on essays for uni) was for newspaper work. Realise had no idea about papers at all. My advice? Buy a book on how to write stories or take some advice before you get there. They will love you for it because they won't have to spend time on basics. My uni pals in the Midlands and North who went elswhere tell me I was lucky- I am told most weeklies are staffed by "kids" because they are cheap to run and so you obviously don't learn a lot from them. Saw a lot of office politics too- never realised hacks had such a low opinion of top management but I was told reporters are paid to be sceptical! I am not gloomy tho- I will give it a crack with eyes wide open.


Humdrummer (19/02/2009 08:32)
You should try looking at BJTC accredited courses. I did a 15 week course with the National Broadcasting School and got a job in commercial radio. It was the same price as NCTJAlumni's course but the NBS has an 80% employment rate for its graduates! I spent every day in a radio studio on the course and the teaching was really hands on. Worth every penny as now I'm in the job I wanted to be. I think the BJTC courses are much more relevant than the NCTJ ones (though I would say that) and more uni's seem to be getting this accreditation. I think you have to do more research than just looking at the NCTJ site.


Don F. (20/02/2009 17:15)
For me, the NCTJ needs improving before anyone else signs up for it, especially with the astronomical cost kids have to pay out these days. The majority I've worked with on work exp still can't write a decent story even after they've passed their exams. And as for interviewing....