National Careers Week 2024: Community news reporter says journalism job is ‘better than she could have imagined’

This National Careers Week (NCW), a journalist in Glasgow has said landing her job through the Community News Project (CNP) has been “so much better than she could have imagined”.

Eszter Tárnai (picture: Colin Mearns/Newsquest) was hired as a CNP reporter for the Glasgow Times in 2021, studying the NCTJ’s Diploma in Journalism at Glasgow Clyde College alongside her day job in the newsroom.

The CNP is a partnership between the NCTJ, Meta and regional news publishers to improve the diversity of UK newsrooms and support the coverage of underserved communities.

The 26-year-old, who has been shortlisted for the Community News Project award at the NCTJ’s Awards for Excellence this year, said: “It’s been so much better than I could ever have imagined.

“I don’t have a bad word to say – I really love this job.

“I have done so many things I couldn’t have imagined doing as a community reporter.”

NCW is taking place this year from Monday, 4 March to Friday, 9 March.

“I wanted to be a journalist from when I was 13,” Eszter added. “It sounds cliche but I like writing and reading and I have always loved literature and poetry and books and talking to people, so it just made sense with my interests and hobbies.

“I am so grateful.”

Eszter previously graduated with a journalism degree, but struggled to secure a reporter job during the pandemic and without an NCTJ qualification.

She initially found work as a social media marketing specialist and said it was “great”, but she felt it “wasn’t quite what I wanted to do”.

The Glasgow Times recently published Eszter’s first ‘spotlight’ series, which is a run of connected stories based on an investigation of a particular issue.

Eszter’s stories focused on the upkeep of graveyards in Glasgow.

Find out more about NCW here.

Find out more about kick-starting a journalism career by studying for an NCTJ qualification here.