Category Archives: About us

Wishing all our readers a happy Christmas

Before we close the Journalism.co.uk office for the Christmas holiday period we just want to wish all our readers a happy Christmas.

We’ll be back on Thursday 2 January and look forward to an exciting year of digital journalism innovation ahead. We have lots planned for the coming months, including our journalism social on Tuesday 11 February and our digital journalism conference news:rewired on Thursday 20 February – we hope to see you there.

In the meantime, have a lovely Christmas and very happy new year celebrations.

Five key courses for journalists in September

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Did you know that Journalism.co.uk organises one-day, evening and online training courses? We provide new skills to trained journalists. We are aware that we all need to keep learning, so we offer intensive and practical training in areas such as data journalism, social media and online video.

Rather than bringing in trainers who spend little time in a newsroom, we like to invite people to lead courses who are working journalists or who spend a large proportion of their of their time practicing a key skill.

And as our trainers are professionals taking a day out of their normal schedule to share their skills, these courses don’t take place very often. It is the first time that we are offering courses run by Luke Lewis from BuzzFeed and by Glen Mulcahy from Irish broadcaster RTE.

We have a great line up for September. You can click the links to find out more.

1. Data journalism (4 September)

Paul Bradshaw is a data journalism expert and is running this course which will get you started in dealing with data. You’ll be able to use data as a source of stories and learn how to present information online.

Paul divides his time between being a visiting professor at City University, London, course leader for the MA in Online Journalism at Birmingham City University, and a freelance trainer, speaker and writer. He founded Help Me Investigate, a platform for crowdsourcing investigative journalism, and the Online Journalism Blog.

2. Growing social media communities (19 September)

Luke Lewis, the editor of BuzzFeed UK and former editor of NME.com, is leading a course on growing social media communities. Interested in finding out how to make your posts go viral? Then sign up to the course.

This course has a great venue too. It’s being hosted by VICE UK in Shoreditch.

3. Mobile journalism (19 September)

Glen Mulcahy has been key to introducing iPhone and iPad reporting at Irish broadcaster RTE. In this one-day course he is leading you will learn how to shoot and edit broadcast-quality footage using an iPhone or iPad.

If you think you know how to use your phone, take a peek at this course description and you will probably realise that Glen can teach you some valuable lessons. (And if you want to see the quality of his teaching skills, take a quick look at this video of him presenting at news:rewired.)

This course is taking place in the building in London Victoria which is home to MSN UK and Microsoft. SaaS comparisons and reviews from users. myreviews Use our data driven guides to find the best business software for your specific needs.

4. Open data for journalists (19 September)

Kathryn Corrick and Ulrich Atz are experts in open data. This course takes place at the Open Data Institute, which launched earlier this year having been founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

This course is designed to provide journalists with an introduction to open data.

5. Online video (30 September)

Adam Westbrook is a multimedia producer and has been a key voice in the development of online video. He is running a one-day course in which you can learn how to shoot and edit video. Cameras and an editing suite are provided.

Journalism.co.uk is ‘pick of the week’ on Google Currents

The team behind Google Currents has selected Journalism.co.uk as ‘pick of the week’. And you can now listen to our podcasts from within the Currents app.

Our weekly podcasts have been available via the Currents app since last month, when Google officially launched the new audio feature.

Google-Currents

If you are not familiar with Currents it is a social magazine app, similar Flipboard and Zite, that lets you read your favourite news sites on your tablet or smartphone.

The app is available for Android, iPad and iPhone. If you do not already follow Journalism.co.uk on Currents, you will see a recommendation to subscribe to us when you open the app. That will show while we are ‘pick of the week’. You can also find a link to Journalism.co.uk on Currents here.

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To find out how to get your news outlet’s content on Google Currents see this link or sign up for next week’s news:rewired journalism conference. Madhav Chinnappa from Google will be talking about Currents in the Google tools masterclass.

Online journalism, data and social media: 22 short courses for journalists

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Journalism.co.uk runs training courses for experienced journalists wanting to boost their skills. Several are created specifically for freelancers.

Click the links for more information.

I am a business: A course for freelance journalists
Evening course, 23 Jan, led by Steve Bustin, cost: £95 (+VAT)

Online reporter 101: A web conversion course for print, radio and TV journalists
One-day course, 25 Jan, led by James Murray, cost: £200 (+VAT)

CV and interview clinic
One-day course, 26 Jan, led by Daniell Morrisey and Clare Davies, cost: £150 (+VAT)

Improve your blogging
Evening course, 28 Jan, led by Martin Belam, cost: £95 (+VAT)

Developing PR skills
Evening course, 29 Jan, led by Steve Bustin, cost: £95 (+VAT)

How to deal with breaking news online
Half-day course, 1 Feb, led by James Murray, cost: £125 (+VAT)

Online sub-editing
One-day course, 6 Feb, led by Emmanuelle Smith and Jane Wild, cost: £200 (+VAT)

Marketing course for freelancers
Evening course, 7 Feb, led by Steve Bustin, cost: £95 (+VAT)

SEO for journalists: a practical guide to getting your work found
One-day course, 11 Feb, led by Adam Tinworth, cost: £200 (+VAT)

Presenting and public speaking skills
Evening course, 19 Feb, led by Steve Bustin, cost: £95 (+VAT)

Your social media toolbox
Evening course, 26 Feb, led by Sue Llewellyn, cost: £95

Successful freelance journalism
Saturday course, 2 Mar, led by Olivia Gordon and Johanna Payton, cost: £200 (+VAT)

Online media law
One-day course, 5 Mar, led by David Banks, cost: £200 (+VAT)

Essential Twitter skills
Half-day course, 7 Mar, led by Sue Llewellyn, cost: £125 (+VAT)

Advanced Twitter skills
Half-day course, 7 Mar, led by Sue Llewellyn, cost: £125 (+VAT)

Out of thin air: How to find hundreds of new ideas every day
Evening course, 14 Mar, led by Ellie Levenson, cost: £95 (+VAT)

Adding a second string to your bow
Evening course, 17 April, led Steve Bustin, cost: £95 (+VAT)

Online video journalism*
One-day course, 18 April, led by Adam Westbrook, cost: £200 (+VAT)

Data visualisations*
One-day course, 18 April, led by Paul Bradshaw and Caroline Beavon, cost: £225 (+VAT)

Advanced research skills*
One-day course, 18 April, led by Colin Meek, cost: £200 (+VAT)

Introduction to data journalism: Taming the numbers
One-day course, 22 May, led by Paul Bradshaw, cost: £200 (+VAT)

Stiletto Bootcamp: Writing for women’s magazines
Six-week course, online, flexible start date, led by Tiffany Wright, cost: £250 (+VAT)

*The courses on 18 April are part of news:rewired PLUS, a two-day course which includes one day of our digital journalism conference on 19 April, and a choice of one of the three courses listed above.

news:rewired PLUS tickets are also available at an earlybird discount rate of £280 (+VAT). When all earlybird tickets have been sold, or by Friday 25 January, whichever comes first, news:rewired PLUS tickets will also rise to £310 (+VAT).

You can by buy news:rewired PLUS at this link. If you select a news:rewired PLUS ticket Journalism.co.uk will contact you to confirm which training course you would like to attend on the 18 April.

If no one likes journalists, then we need to look after our own

Journalists' Charity

Earlier this year, a US study claimed that becoming a journalist is the fifth worst career choice. As well as citing factors such as stress, industry outlook, income levels and general working environment for the ranking, the study quotes a reporter as saying the younger generation “doesn’t care about the news”.

This is against a background of continuing decline in public trust of communications professionals, no doubt exacerbated by the ongoing findings of the Leveson inquiry as it investigates the underbelly of journalism and politics.

Of course it’s not all bleak. In many ways, this is a time of renaissance for journalism as our ways of gathering and disseminating news proliferate online. And journalism will always offer rewards that outweigh the financial ones for the majority of us.

Nevertheless a life of low salary and high stress can take its toll, if not on you then for some of your colleagues. So why not do something small to help that collectively can amount to something big?

The Journalists’ Charity “started in 1864 when a group of parliamentary journalists met up in a London pub to set up a fund to help their colleagues and dependents who had fallen on hard times. In the days before state benefits, grants were made to meet the costs of providing some of the necessities of life”. The Victorian novelist Charles Dickens was a founder supporter.

These days it has widened its remit to include all journalists and is always ready to help them and their dependents with advice, grants and other forms of financial assistance. The Journalists’ Charity also runs a care home for journalists, Pickering House, in Dorking, Surrey as well as sheltered and extra care housing.

Given that most of our pensions are not going to add up to much, that’s quite a nice safety net isn’t it?

On 8 June I’m going to cycle solo and unsupported from Brighton (home of Journalism.co.uk) to Oslo, Norway to raise money for this under-appreciated charity. I will be cycling approximately 850 miles in 11 days, an average of 77 miles a day, cycling through England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Denmark.

You can do your bit by sponsoring a fiver or more on my sponsorship page and helping to spread the word via Twitter, Facebook etc.

Sponsors who do not wish to remain private will be rewarded with recognition and thanks on our @journalismnews Twitter channel (58k-plus followers) so that’s pretty decent exposure, especially if you sponsor on behalf of your media-related business.

And if you’re still not convinced that the Journalists’ Charity is a worthy cause, I will also be raising money for two cancer charities – alternative sponsor page here.

John Thompson (@johncthompson), cycling to raise money for charity

Journalism.co.uk owner John Thompson (@johncthompson), who will be cycling Brighton to Oslo in 11 days to raise money for the Journalists' Charity

The route I plan to cycle from Calais (once I have cycled to Dover and taken the ferry)

The top 10 most-read stories on Journalism.co.uk, 4-10 May

1. Al Jazeera to relaunch citizen media platform Sharek

2. Eight top tips for those stepping into data journalism

3. ‘It is time to take storytelling seriously’

4. #jpod – Open data and journalism: How and why journalists should be digging for stories

5. Mail Online editor: Knox verdict report due to ‘human error’

6. Channel 4 scoops three gongs at One World Media Awards

7. BBC accuses China of ‘deliberate’ jamming of World News

8. Vogue editors sign international pact on model photos

9. Arabic rolling news channel Sky News Arabia launches

10. Al Jazeera English closes Beijing bureau after visa refusal

The top 10 most-read stories on Journalism.co.uk, 21-27 April

1. Vadim Lavrusik: 10 ways journalists can use Facebook

2. How journalists can create Guardian-style data visualisations

3. Sky News apologises for ‘briefly revealing’ rape victim name

4. Liveblog: Rupert Murdoch’s evidence at the Leveson inquiry

5. Neal Mann (@fieldproducer) to join WSJ as social media editor

6. Fleet Street Blues apologises to X-Factor judge Tulisa’s PR firm

7. Orwell Prize: Journalist and blogger shortlists unveiled

8. Google Currents: Five UK publishers hit 100K in two weeks

9. Google closes down online news payment system One Pass

10. MPs discuss local newspapers in wake of Johnston Press cuts

The top 10 most-read stories on Journalism.co.uk, 14-20 April

1. How the sinking of the Titanic was reported

2. NUJ fears jobs ‘massacre’ as five Johnston Press dailies go weekly

3. Sun journalists to be trained in mental health reporting after complaint

4. Advice on securing your first job in media production

5. Tom Watson phone hacking book out this week

6. US local newspaper launches paid-for HTML5 web app

7. App of the week for journalists: Signal

8. Regional Press Awards shortlist unveiled

9. Reporting the Anders Behring Breivik trial

10. Mail Online expects to become profitable this summer

The top 10 most-read stories on Journalism.co.uk, 7-13 April

1. Newspaper reporter: fifth worst job? US careers study seems to think so

2. How the Texas Tribune is making $5K a month from Google microsurveys

3. Cameron, Blair and Brown to appear at Leveson inquiry, reports say

4. Hearst unveils new ‘tablet-friendly’ women’s magazine

5. BBC Breakfast moves to Salford: Early reaction

6. Hacked Off: Motorman data leaks are ‘inevitable’

7. App of the week for journalists: Byword, a great text editor for iPhone/iPad

8. Johnston Press confirms further editorial mergers

9. Investigative video news channel to launch on YouTube

10. How citizen video journalists in Egypt are ‘pushing at traditional journalism’