The Media Trust and The Sun have joined together to launch this year’s Column Idol competition,.
The contest, now in its second year, is open to 18 to 25 year olds. Six shortlisted entrants will have the opportunity to be mentored by journalists from the Sun newspaper and the overall winner will then be given the chance to have their column printed in the tabloid.
Applications are now open and can be submitted until 20 June.
Community Newswire, a news service which works in partnership with the Press Association to assist community groups in getting stories in the media, will close tomorrow due to a cut in funding.
The Cabinet Office has withdrawn funding from the group following October’s government spending review.
The service, which is run by the Media Trust, encourages community groups to contact the organisation and stories are then written up by PA journalists and sent via a PA feed to newsrooms.
In a statement on its website, the Media Trust said it is seeking new funding and hopes to reinstate the service.
The chief executive of the youth charity The Prince’s Trust, Martina Milburn, is to join the Board of Trustees of Media Trust, it was announced today.
Media Trust works with media organisations and charities to improve communications, and help raise the profiles of communities through training, funding and additional resources.
Existing board members include Dawn Airey, chief executive of Channel Five; Tony Ball, Chairman of Kabel Deutschland; Jon Snow, Channel 4 news journalist; Mark Thompson, director-general of the BBC; Jane Reed, director of Times Newspapers; and Andy Duncan, chief executive of Channel 4.
“I’ve had an association with Media Trust for many years, and I’m absolutely delighted to have been offered the opportunity to join the Board of Trustees,” said Milburn. “I am really looking forward to helping further their cause in supporting charities and the Third Sector.”
Andy Duncan, chairman of Media Trust’s Board of Trustees, said: “Martina has a wealth of knowledge and experience as a result of her extraordinary career and which will prove invaluable to Media Trust and further enhance its work.”