JMU Journalism joined forces with the BBC Young Reporter scheme this week in a bid to encourage more people to get involved in the thriving media industry.
The partnership involved a ‘real news day’ event which saw 10 schools across Merseyside attend Liverpool John Moores University on Wednesday for a day packed with journalistic and media workshops designed to offer diverse insights.
Over the course of the last 13 years, BBC Young Reporter has worked with thousands of schools to tell the stories that matter to youths – and this year is no exception.
BBC Radio presenter, Ngunan Adamu, ran one of the day’s workshops at Redmonds which focused on interviewing techniques and offered a taste of working in radio.
She spoke about her academy, iWoman, which gives unemployed women to use radio as a means of helping them with their communication skills.
Ngunan said: “There’s so much support in Liverpool, you can literally just run with it.”
The group participated in various activities to develop their skills, including a question game in which they would have to guess Ngunan’s ‘secret profession’, to demonstrate the ‘QAQA method’ of starting with an open question then moving onto a closed question i.e. why/how.
Twitter: BBC Young Reporter
Journalism is all about sharing new and interesting stories and information, so when we asked students at today’s #BBCYoungReporter @JMUJournalism event to tell us an interesting fact about themselves we loved discovering a beatboxer!
Thanks for demo-ing your skills Sevene! pic.twitter.com/vOJMkR7O2y
— BBC Young Reporter (@BBCYoungReport) June 26, 2019
Other workshops included digital animation, hosted by BBC employee, Helen Jackson, where the students were given plasticine in a range of colours to create mini-creatures.
The guests didn’t hesitate to get stuck in and created a range of monsters, from a big eye to a Mike Wazowski-esque creature. After making their models, the students worked in pairs to create a video using the Stop Motion Studio app.
LJMU Journalism lecturers, Tim Abraham, Polly Sharpe and Pete Leydon, hosted workshops focusing on working in live TV and journalism ethics.
Reflecting on the day, Max, 17, said: “It’s given me an insight into John Moores University, which is not something I was looking at but I might consider now. With the animation workshop, it’s something that I want to go into, so it’s been a big help getting a bit of experience in that industry.”
Ava, 17, added: “Today has given me a new appreciation for the skill that goes into producing the world’s media.”
To conclude the day’s events, the students attended a careers session hosted by a panel of professionals, including JMU Journalism alumni Jenny Kirkham, Bethan Tolley and Sophie Corcoran who shared their experiences and journeys into becoming journalists.
Hailed a successful day by both hosts and all who attended, the university hopes this is the start of an ongoing partnership which will see many more real news days and events going forward.
Additional reporting by Scarlett O’Toole, Toni Brown, Isabelle Cairns, Ruairi Walsh & Reece Pape
So lovely to head back to my Uni @LJMU today! Hoping I managed to inspire lots of current and future Journo students. Thanks for having me @JMUJournalism it was a blast! ???????? pic.twitter.com/VTG6LUkfTu
— Bethan Tolley ✨ (@bethaninbrum) June 26, 2019
Ending the day with a panel of journalists and producers sharing their top tips for #mediacareers:
Perseverance, transferable skills, ask questions, take up every opportunity and treat every meeting as an informal interview.
There is no one way only into #journalism career! pic.twitter.com/kaFZI59Bjv
— BBC Young Reporter (@BBCYoungReport) June 26, 2019
Our panel guests give their ‘do’s & don’ts’ of starting out in the media industry. @JMUJournalism #BBCyoungreporter pic.twitter.com/PMa7aorulG
— Annie Williams (@AnnieWilliams0) June 26, 2019
Great stories from successful @JMUJournalism graduates now working in the industry… and how they got there! Passion, determination, drive… @LJMU pic.twitter.com/xIZrSObtbq
— Pete Leydon (@PeteLeydon) June 26, 2019
To conclude today’s #bbcyoungreporter event at @JMUJournalism, students are attending a careers session hosted by a panel of guests, including @LJMU alumni Jenny Kirkham, Bethan Tolley and Sophie Corcoran. pic.twitter.com/uneI9rNjhi
— Annie Williams (@AnnieWilliams0) June 26, 2019
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6th formers trying their hand at live TV. Could we be seeing a news star of the future?! @LJMU @JMUJournalism @BBCYoungReport #bbcschoolrepoter pic.twitter.com/DX3SAt1UTW
— Polly Sharpe (@polly_sharpe) June 26, 2019
Interviewing skills, #mediacareers, animation workshop and #newsliteracy and ethical journalism sessions are amongst the activities taking place with young people with @JMUJournalism today.#sharingskills#medialiteracy pic.twitter.com/euq2irQy4q
— BBC Young Reporter (@BBCYoungReport) June 26, 2019
Sukhi Nagra from the BBC welcomes sixth formers ahead of today’s acitivities. #BBCyoungreporter @JMUJournalism pic.twitter.com/LJuZR1zZqP
— Annie Williams (@AnnieWilliams0) June 26, 2019
Great to be part of the BBC Young Reporter day @JMUJournalism @LJMU – delivering an ethics workshop soon! pic.twitter.com/Lukcz9i3Ks
— Pete Leydon (@PeteLeydon) June 26, 2019
Really looking forward to being part of this important day for @JMUJournalism. The culmination of great hard work by @polly_sharpe and @franyeoman pic.twitter.com/DrQJCm2ENc
— Tim Abraham (@JustMrTimNow) June 26, 2019
Today we’re looking forward to sharing #mediaskills and talking about #newsliteracy with @uptonhallfcj, @CaldiesSchool, @anselmscollege, @deyeshigh, @StHildasCE, @WirralMet, @WGSB, @SacredHrtCrosby, @HFCHSThornton & @Childwall_acad students.
Thanks for hosting us @JMUJournalism!
— BBC Young Reporter (@BBCYoungReport) June 26, 2019