The Journalism and Sports Journalism department has received an award for the work it is doing in the field of equality, diversity and inclusivity.
Liverpool John Moores University’s Teaching and Learning Excellence Awards recognise outstanding work in a number of different areas and are seen as the gold standard of best practice.
The department was praised for its many initiatives aimed at embedding EDI in its teaching, outreach work and research.
They include being one of the first higher education institutions in the country to get involved with the BBC’s 50:50 Project, which is aimed at promoting gender equality; a ‘Women in Sports Journalism’ Day held in partnership with Sky Sports News, and a long-standing relationship with Index on Censorship, a leading human rights and free speech website and magazine that gives a platform to voices that are otherwise silenced around the world.
LJMU is also one of just six HE partners across the UK to pilot a new scheme launched by the John Schofield Trust, a charity that works to support diversity in newsrooms. This summer the project will see 10 current Level 5 students paired with a working journalist, with whom they will have regular meetings throughout 2023/4 as well as the opportunity to attend masterclasses with leading industry speakers.
The JMU Journalism team was nominated by Professor Rachel McLean, the Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor of the APSS faculty and Director of the Liverpool Screen School. She said: “Given the incredible work on EDI that goes on across LJMU, to win is an incredible achievement. I have seen first-hand how the journalism team works hard to find opportunities to engage with the sector on EDI, actively contributing to opening up newsrooms to a wider range of voices.”
Head of Department Fran Yeoman added: “The whole team works really hard to make LJMU’s journalism department a welcoming place for trainee journalists from all walks of life. Once they are with us, we teach students to be inclusive in their reporting and ready to grab all the opportunities that these courses offer them.
“While there is a long way to go before journalism is a truly equal and fully diverse industry, our students are playing an important part in the progress being made. This award is a fantastic team achievement.”