An impressive line-up of speakers are set to take part in the first Journalism Skills Conference at Salford Quays, Greater Manchester, this week.
Organised by the National Council of the Training of Journalists, the conference will be a platform for discussion of the results of a major piece of research on convergent journalism skills, in which more than 250 editors and journalism trainers took part. More than 70 per cent of those surveyed reported a gap between the skills of new-entrant journalists and those they need to run their business.
In addition to this, and ahead of the publication of results tables, the top-performing courses in the UK throughout 2007-08 will be announced and celebrated. Concluding the NCTJ’s Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2008, The Chairman’s Award will also be presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to journalism training.
Joanne Butcher, chief executive of the NCTJ, said: “The Journalism Skills Conference is a unique opportunity to get editors and journalism educators together to talk about the challenges and opportunities of preparing future generations of journalists for a multi-media converged industry.
“The impressive line-up of speakers have strong views about the importance of training in both traditional and new skills, and I am sure there will be an interesting debate about the various paths the future of journalism training could take.
“It’s also an opportunity to celebrate the work of those in the industry, who join the NCTJ in the pursuit of quality and excellence, which is no mean feat in a fast-changing industry.”
Among those taking part in the event are:
Andy Griffee, editorial director of the BBC’s W1 Project
Cerys Griffiths, editor, TV News at BBC North West
Paul Horrocks, Manchester Evening News editor
Donald Martin, editor-in-chief of Newsquest's Glasgow titles
Lindsay Nicholson, editorial director of The National Magazine Company, and
Simon Reynolds, editorial director of the Lancashire Evening Post.
Representatives from the Broadcasting Journalism Training Council and Skillset will also take part in the debates.
The Journalism Skills Conference kicks off on Thursday, December 4, with a tour of the convergent news room at the Manchester Evening News. Former Mirror editor and Press Gazette columnist David Banks and broadcast journalist Mike Henfield will speak after the dinner at The Lowry, and the NCTJ Chairman’s Award will also be presented on Thursday evening. Joanne Butcher will also announce the top-performing accredited courses in 2007-8.
On Friday, there will be an ‘Ask the editors’ session, followed by the presentation and discussion of the full Journalism Skills Survey research results, and general debate about converging media and journalism skills.
