LJMU hosts European Journalism Training Association teaching conference

Written by JMU Journalism Liverpool Life
April 28, 2023
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The Guardian newspaper's investigations correspondent David Conn was one of the keynote speakers at the European Journalism Training Association conference hosted by LJMU

The Eurovision Song Contest may be the most famous continent-wide event being staged in Liverpool, but it is not the only one, as this week LJMU played host to the European Journalism Training Association’s 10th annual conference.

The three-day gathering, held at the Redmonds Building, attracted around 50 educators from as far afield in Europe as Georgia, Finland and Portugal, with a particular emphasis placed on the development of sports journalism teaching.

Alongside addresses from those most closely involved in higher education, one of the keynote speakers was Helen Brown, the sports news editor for the BBC, who gave interesting insights involving storytelling in the digital age, creativity, resilience, employability skills and diversity.

The headline guest on the final day was David Conn (pictured above), the Guardian newspaper‘s investigations correspondent, who made his long-standing reporting on the business of football and the Hillsborough disaster the focus of his engaging talk.

The BBC's sports news editor, Helen Brown, speaking at the European Journalism Training Association annual conference at LJMU. Pic by Michelle Ponting
The BBC’s sports news editor, Helen Brown, speaking at the European Journalism Training Association annual conference at LJMU. Pic by Michelle Ponting

Journalism senior lecturer, Jackie Newton, who set up and organised the conference, said it had been hard work but well worth the effort, adding: “It’s great and really rewarding to see the EJTA family all together and we are proud to show off our home city of Liverpool.

“I think everyone was particularly impressed by the night-time view of the Liver Building and waterfront at our social evening that followed the formal opening of the conference.”

Head of Journalism, Fran Yeoman, said: “It has been fantastic to welcome journalism educators from right across Europe to Liverpool to share ideas on how best to train our students for successful careers in industry.

“Aside from our high-profile speakers, I am most proud of our student Melissa Edwards and recent graduate Beth Lindop, now a football writer for national and local newspapers. They spoke brilliantly about issues of diversity in sports journalism and I think we all learned a lot from them. They are great ambassadors for the department and LJMU.”

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