Review- NCTJ Student Council Meeting
February 14, 2010 5 Comments
On Friday the 12th of February I was one of 43 students who were lucky enough to take part in the NCTJ student council meeting, which this year was held at the Guardian HQ in North London.
The meeting was a chance to let student representatives from accredited courses share their opinions and ask questions directly to the people behind the NCTJ and what they would change about the industry recognised qualifications.
Firstly here are some things you may not want to hear if you are a student journalist on a NCTJ accredited course. The costs to take each exam will stay the same, you still won’t get feedback on any exam you have failed and yes, shorthand is the most valuable skill to obtain if you want to be a journalist.
Now here are some of the main changes that have been made since last year’s meeting: There will be a new, better designed NCTJ website which will launch at the end of this month.
The shorthand test will now include a vital quote in which 100% accuracy is needed to pass, this will test listening skills as well as speed and accuracy and may begin in September 2010.
Also in what I see as the biggest change, there will be a new multimedia NCTJ qualification launched, a great step in showing how the NCTJ is actually willing to evolve. How this will be assessed, however, was not fully discussed.
After an introduction the meeting kicked off with an open Q and A from the students to the panel. The panel was made up of Joanne Butcher, Chief Executive of the NCTJ, Joanne Aitchison, Examinations Manager, Kim Fletcher, Chairman, Lyn Jones, Head of Qualifications, Glen Oldershaw, Head of Communications and Michelle Patient, Head of Accreditation.
Areas of discussion included whether you should need to take both an internal and external media law exam. The explanation given that the internal exams you take whilst at university do not follow the NCTJ criteria- A statement which confused some as some people complained they answered identical questions on each exam.
There were also suggestions the law exam should be more practical, a court report was one suggestion, and not just ‘regurgitating facts’ or a ‘memory test’ as one student described it.
There was also lots of debate about the dreaded news and online writing exam, with the number of people who had passed it first time appearing to be a minority. The main criticism being that how can one person mark what is ‘good writing’ and even university lecturers aren’t too sure how to pass this exam.
The NCTJ reassured everybody that the exams are in fact open and they’re more than one answer, especially when it comes to choosing the right angle to a story. I actually managed to pass this exam first time, but of course I cannot tell you how as I did not receive any feedback. The chance for exam feedback also being another key topic of discussion which unfortunately doesn’t look like will be changing anytime soon.
Possibly the most popular idea that came from this open forum was from the one photojournalist in the room whose name unfortunately escapes me. He suggested that the photojournalist should also take a shorthand exam as there have been many time when he had to “bail out a journalist” by providing the important details of a story.
There was then an editors meeting which gave the students a chance to ask questions to some of the countries’ top editors. The panel was chaired by Bob Satchwell, Executive Director of the Society of Editors. Also on the panel were Jeroen Bergmans, editor of Easyjet Magazine, Dominic Ponsford, editor of Press Gazette, Brien Beharrell editorial director of Newbury Weekly News Group, Graham Dudman, Managing Editor of The Sun and Dave King, Editor of the Swindon Advertiser.
Here are some advice they gave to students seeking employment.
“Shorthand is number one, you wont get a look in without it.”
Dave King, editor, Swindon Advertiser.
“Fantastic enthusiasm is what impresses me most”
Dominic Ponsford,editor, Press Gazette
“Submit a CV that’s no more than two pages long.You might think you’re the most important person in the world, but you’re not.”
Graham Dudman, Managing Editor, The Sun
“I used to reject letters that said ‘dear sir’…it shows they haven’t bothered to find out who the editor is.”
Bob Satchwell, executive director, Society of Editors. A view which was shared by the only female on the panel Brien Beharrell, editorial director of Newbury Weekly News Group.
Finally my favourite quote of the meeting comes from Dominic Ponsford form the Press Gazette. He said
“This isn’t the worst time in history to be a journalist- That was last year. This is the second worst time.”
Then came the chance for the student representatives to tell the people behind the NCTJ directly what they would change about it in groups. Apart from the obvious suggestions such as cheaper exam prices or the chance to get exam papers returned there were also some other suggestions which I hope will be implemented.
The main one that was suggested more than once that the NCTJ should seem more personal and open. This could be done via newsletters or personal appearances to universities. There were even suggestions that they should visit colleges and high schools to show the importance of these qualifications to potential journalists as soon as possible.
Personally there wasn’t too much of what was said at the meeting that I wasn’t already expecting. I was most pleased with the news of a multimedia qualification and there was a genuine sense that the NCTJ were willing to make some changes based on our suggestions. We will have to wait and see to see if this does occur.
Any student who wants feedback on an NCTJ prelim exam I mark can have it, for nowt, face to face or in writing. Just ask.
That’s Law 1&2, Central Government, and Local Government.
I would have thought most lecturers would do the same, but it depends if your exam is marked in-centre. I think most are.
I’m surprised shorthand is still being touted so widely. I have never had to use it once in my career..and was there any discussion about multimedia journalism at all?
I love Dominic’s comment (although it’s actually the best time to be a journalist!)
Hey David, all I can say about getting the exams back is that there were a lot of students who were unhappy about not getting them back which either means they aren’t marked internally, or are just unaware that they are.
Adam, there was some discussion about the new multimedia NCTJ qualification, describing it as ‘gold standard’ but nothing about how it will be assessed, but this was still the news that pleased me most about the meeting.
As for shorthand, this is an argument that could go on for days. For every person like yourself who says they have never used it or never got up to 100wpm, you will always here someone else say you will never get a job without it.
For me personally it is something I hope to improve on, just as a skill to add to my CV if nothing else.
Enjoyed the post Ewan. I learned shorthand but we never quite hit it off (got to 70wpm). Actually, I do find some of the teeline symbols useful and use them but I will never be a 100-word a minuter.
This has not stopped me from being a successful news reporter. The reason: Spotting stories is the most important thing and you can’t teach that.
Would faster shorthand improve me as a reporter? Yes it would. I would have more material to pick quotes from – I currently focus on getting down a killer quote at the expense of later ones. On the other hand it would take longer for me to write up stories because there would be so much more material.
Without 100wpm shorthand you adapt and focus on the key points. You might have to collar the speaker afterwards and do a quick interview – but that often leads to new angles. You don’t always have the chance, though.
I think the growth of multimedia reporting will mean that shorthand will become less common in the newsroom. However it won’t replace it altogether. The newsroom should be a collection of people with complementary skills – it is physically impossible to do video journalism and take shorthand notes at the same time, for example.
For that reason, I’d like to see a core accredited journalism qualification with an emphasis on law and spotting stories. Anyone who passes that should go on to train for their chosen sector. A recruiter would specify what modules they should have to work at a particular place ie 100wpm shorthand for a job on a local paper.
Hi Ewan, think it’s probably lack of awareness, which we could all do more to improve.
Giving feedback on every exam would be an onerous task, but I think it’s particularly important for those who fail, or score a low grade under the present system, and want to resit.
I will always give guidance on where a student went wrong and what they need to revise. Don’t know of many lecturers who wouldn’t so, as you said, probably lack of awareness.
There is an official process of getting a failure report from the NCTK, but it costs money. Students should go to their module leader first.