The importance to invest in diversity

I’ve been a reporter at Business Insider for the past three and a half years. Prior to that I studied journalism after my bachelor’s degree through a 22-week NCTJ course at News Associates.

My NCTJ course was sponsored by the JDF, who covered my course fees and travel. I came from a low-income background and was also on a bursary at university, so the costs of the course plus travel more than two hours away from my home each day would have been a big challenge for me. Sponsorship from the JDF enabled me to complete the course on a full-time basis and I was able to start my job straight after it finished.

I landed my current job at Business Insider after seeing the role advertised through the JDF. I’d always thought that the pathway into journalism was quite opaque, and I didn’t know how I’d break into the industry, but the network I had access to because of the JDF directly enabled me to find a full-time job in journalism before my NCTJ course had even ended.

I think my journey shows how important it is to invest in diversity in journalism. The JDF helped make something that seemed out of reach entirely possible. I now have the privilege of working in a newsroom everyday, and neither finances nor a lack of connections hindering me. I’d love it if many others who still want to break into journalism could say the same one day too.