Category Archives: nctj

NCE: training the lowest common denominator?

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Right, this press gazette article then.

 Editors involved in a review of the National Council for Training of Journalists’ NCE qualification for senior journalists have urged the training body to continue emphasizing traditional journalism skills over the use of new media.

Why?

…“without the solid grounding of journalism, good news writing, accuracy and sound interviewing skills to support the technical ability to write for blogs/web/social networking sites, the quality of that journalism will suffer and will become indistinguishable from citizen journalism.”

Why?

[the] “ability to spot a story, conduct a strong interview and then produce clean, legally sound, well-structured copy remains the priority”, and that “with these key skills everything else (social media, video etc) will follow”.

All makes a weird kind of logical sense doesn’t it – Get the basics right first and the rest will follow.

But there is an equally important reason for picking up the NCE

 “Editors are now able to shortlist and recruit candidates who have passed the exam,” the report said.

Of course it would. It was written by the people who set (and charge for) the exam.

So far so business as normal with the old vs. new media debate.

What industry needs right now not what’s right for industry

Frustrating as it is, I’m not surprised by the report or the reaction to it. I’ve kind of moved beyond being annoyed by the continued blurring of the lines between NCTJ marketing and the ‘views of industry’. What annoys me about this report is that it’s so output driven – it’s all about getting the paper out not about the process.

Looking at the relative importance of things just underlines how output driven it it is.

What's important?

What better way to interact with readers/viewers and listeners than social media. It isn’t the only way but it’s a good way and yet social media is down the running order.  When your editor can’t afford to let you out of the office and you have to do all your work via computer, some web skills would be important in finding news stories wouldn’t they? So why are they languishing at the bottom of the list?

Because they are seen as a way of getting content out there not getting content in or helping with the journalistic process. They will always be less important than getting the paper/programme out.

The responses also underlines a general attitude from editors that they are only interested in trainees with the skills they need to run the newsroom.  Whilst that might be a very real issue for them (and perfectly valid), for journalism in general it’s training for the lowest common denominator not for the future.

What’s important for the medium

In my digital newsroom module I’ve been using  a 2009 Journalism Skills survey from skillset that outlines the skills gaps across new and trad skills.

The new skills gap by medium

I think it’s clear that the priority of choices is completely driven by the medium. When it comes to traditional skills the basics are there but, again, I think the mediums show through.

Traditional Skills by gap

I use this stuff to show that the mediums demand a set of skills but the importance is purely down to the medium. Learn all of them and inject  appropriate amounts of digital to help you along and your better placed to exploit opportunities across all the mediums.

In that sense its a much more honest and useful report and it underlines what this NCE report is really about. It’s not really about what’s important but WHY. That’s driven by the medium and it’s demands and in that respect it has little or nothing to do with a broad concept of good journalism. It’s more about feeding the machine.

Look further

Look, I’m not saying the NCE isn’t valuable or worth doing. It is. I’m not saying that the basic skills are not important. Unlike many of the editors, I’m happy to see the importance of all the skills mentioned. * But lets’ have a little honesty in this.

The truth is that whether you think that some skills are fundamental (basic?) or not when it comes to the new stuff the following is true:

  • Social/new/multi media does not come after journalism it is part of it.
  • They are not mutually exclusive from accuracy etc.
  • Just because some editors don’t need them ,doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable.
  • If you’re not integrating appropriate digital tools in to your journalistic process your missing an opportunity.

So if you’re a journalist looking at this report I’d suggest a more open mind . See it as checklist not a hierarchy. See it for what it is and where it has come from.

Above all else, don’t let people with an agenda dictate what skills you learn. The truth is that none of this is difficult and there are some great people, editors amongst them, yes,online. They are right across this stuff (trad and new) who can help.

And whilst we are talking about it – this and this as well. Oh and while you’re at it, this and this

* I wish I didn’t have to but if I don’t say this then I’m simply a neophyte who doesn’t understand what proper journalism is all about! Maybe I don’t!

 

 

 

Financial protection for NCTJ courses

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Rachel McAthy at journalism.co.uk chips in to the recent NCTJ debate asking NCTJ accreditation: essential or an outdated demand? She reports on the recent meeting of the NCTJ’s cross-media accreditation board where the answer is an emphatic, if predictable, yes.

Most interesting for me though was a quote from the report of the meeting by Professor Richard Tait, director of the Centre of Journalism Studies at Cardiff University:

While the NCTJ is quite right to insist on sufficient resources and expertise so that skills are properly taught and honed, education is a competitive market, and NCTJ courses are expensive to run. In the likely cuts ahead, it is vital for accredited courses to retain their funding so that they are not forced to charge students exorbitant fees; otherwise, diversity will be further compromised.

On the face of it a reasonable demand. But one that in turn demands a lot more clarification.  Who should be offering that financial security?  The universities, the industry or the NCTJ who take a fee.

Some more NCTJ bursaries perhaps….

Ignoring icebergs: The NCTJ and sinking ships.

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It might be an iceberg but it's a minor in a court case so we ignore it.

It might be an iceberg but it's a minor in a court case so we ignore it.(picture from Ludovic Hirlimann on Flickr )

I’ve spent the day in the pleasent company of Journalists at the Middlesborough Gazette (some where from Newscastle) and I’m wondering what happened whilst I was training.

Did Hold the Front Page turn in the wayback machine.

Checking my email some of my work colleagues had been kicking around the HTFP story about an increase in applications to journalism degrees, despite the problems in the industry.

The story was one of my interesting links yesterday and I commented

I’m surprised by this or maybe students have got their head around what the industry can’t (and one or two of the comments on this piece make reinforce that idea) that newspapers/TV/Radio and journalism are not the same thing

The idea being that journalism was an intresting and valid thing to study. And, given the right course, would give you skills to do journalism rather than work for a newspaper or TV station.

So imagine my surprise when I read the following quote on another HTFP story today

Eastern Daily Press editor Paul Durrant told students that he “wasn’t bothered” about them having a degree.

Speaking at the second annual student council meeting, he added: “I’m bothered about NCTJ qualifications – I’m bothered about vocational training. I’m looking for maturity, passion and confidence.

“In terms of currency in the industry, I need to know someone’s got 100wpm shorthand, that they know what a Section 39 is.”

This was said at a meeting organised by the NCTJ where students could ‘meet the council’

I am genuinely amazed at the singular blindness a statement like this suggests to the broader problems in the industry.

Durrant may be bothered by these things. That’s his right as an editor. You could also argue they are important – I’m genuinely agnostic about this kind of thing now. But what else can he offer to anyone who takes him at his word?

As a senior journalist in the newspaper industry what security can he offer in return to a future journalist who is ‘bothered’ about staying in the industry?

Sometimes I wonder if the NCTJ has been running a secret training course – Pre-Entry newspaper editor, becoming captain of the titanic in 20 weeks.

Update: Over at Journalism.co.uk Dave Lee is asking for opinion on this whole debate as part of their Tomorrow’s News, Tomorrow’s Journalist section.

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NCTJ create Video training resource

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I’m back in work after a stint of what’s known around here as freshers flu. (all the new students bring more than just eager minds to class)

I know I have a lot of things that I need to post to make good on stuff I started before a bit of a work induced blogging hiatus. But I had to pass comment about this.

According to Hold The Front page the NCTJ (UK based newspaper training body) have created a video guide for all journalists struggling with video.

The eight-minute film has been produced by Lloyd Bracey, chief examiner for online and video journalism at the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

It’s essentially a 101 on how to shoot a neat interview and a sequence with some other stuff thrown in. Go and have a watch, it’s pretty good.

Good as it is though, I have a problem.

The overriding claim is that this is aimed at reporters making the shift to video – newspaper people and in that respect I don’t think it succeeds for a couple of reasons

  • It’s over 8 minutes long – Why isn’t it broken in to easy bite sized chunks? One for each section
  • It has no supporting material – Where is the ‘multimedia’ why not text and images and video on the same page.

From what I’ve seen, right across the board of all newspapers, people have moved well beyond this. By looking at what other newspaper journos are doing you get a better feel for what is required.

The skills and advice the video offers are sound and very well presented. It would make a great basic tutorial for starters. But it isn’t the only one out there. To stand out and really offer that advice to newspaper reporters it needs more application.

The truth is it’s a way behind where the industry is at and I would have expected the NCTJ to be reflecting a better application of the medium in their practice based on what their industry is already doing.

NCTJ consultation on photography

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Patrick Smith at the Press Gazette reports the latest effort by the NCTJ to modernise their courses. This time it’s Photography.

Yorkshire Post picture editor Ian Day, also an NCTJ photography board member, said: “Newspapers are changing very quickly and we need to ensure that future press photographers and photo-journalists meet the demands required by the industry. Multimedia and video products are now a core part of newspapers and this consultation document demonstrates how the NCTJ intends to modernise the photography syllabus which will enable students and trainees to meet their changing role in newspapers.”

Andy Bull has been asked by the NCTJ to look at what needs to change and he’s openeing up consultation via a blog – nctjphotography.

Given that reporters often take routine pictures, that video journalists almost always come from a reporting background, and that readers now take dramatic pictures of fires, cashes and other newsworthy events, what should the role of the professional press photographer be? And what training should photographers receive?

The NCTJ wants to find answers to these questions, and we need the industry to help us.

It’s an important debate to get involved with considering the split that has appeared in many newsrooms, here and abroad, between reporters and photographers.