Masters students from the Journalism and Sports Journalism courses got to see what it’s like to work in a major international newsroom during a two-day field trip to London.
CNN, Bloomberg, Sky Sports News, the Telegraph and the BBC’s Westminster arm, Milbank, were among the newsrooms the group toured. They also had the opportunity to sit in the live gallery during the ITV lunchtime news and meet the presenter afterwards.
Journalism student, Elliana Hopwood, said: “It was insightful to see all the skills we have been developing over the past few months in action in the newsroom. Hearing first-hand what organisations look for in new journalists helped me understand what I can be doing now in my coursework and portfolio to be employable.”
This was echoed by James Costello, a student on the Sports Journalism course, who said: “It was a brilliant opportunity to see how what we do in the newsroom connects to the real industry. The Sky tour in particular was incredible. Seeing a studio I’ve spent thousands of hours watching on TV up close really showed just how much work goes into producing a live broadcast.”
The Journalism students also had the chance to take part in a workshop during their visit to CNN, learning how best to produce videos for social media platforms, and some of the tips and tricks the news channel uses to ensure high levels of engagement.
MA Journalism course leader, Polly Sharpe, said: “Trips like this are invaluable for our students, allowing them to see first-hand how the skills they are learning in the classroom are used in the industry. It really opens their eyes to the different types of jobs there are in Journalism and Sports Journalism too.”
This is the second trip to London the Journalism department has run in the last six months; in November, around 60 undergraduates were also taken to some of the UK’s biggest newsrooms.
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