Training for journalism in Britain

One reason why journalism used to appeal so much to young people as a career was that it did not seem to need long and boring periods of study. After all, what more does a reporter need than a nose for news, a notebook and pencil, and ambition? Many famous journalists of today did start in exactly that way. They talked themselves on to some small-town newspaper, and then learnt how to do the job as they went along. Many senior journalists look back on those days with nostalgia. They sympathise with youngsters who want to get away from their books and make a reputation in the outside world.

But today it is not so simple. Would-be journalists need a higher standard of school qualifications before they can get a job in the first place. And then they must agree to follow a course of training laid down by the National Council for the Training of Journalists, ¹ and they must pass their examinations before they can be sure of holding onto their jobs.

The NCTJ operates in Britain, but there are similar bodies being established in most countries. In those countries, such as the United States, where a high proportion of youngsters go on from school to college, there are university courses in journalism and the best jobs go to graduates. Though there is only one embryo course in journalism in a British university (at Cardiff), more graduates are entering the profession and as training schemes become more formalised, the chances in journalism for a boy or girl who dislikes school and cannot study or pass exams are very slight.

Training for journalism in Britain is organized by the National Council for the Training of Journalists which was set up in 1952 as a result of the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Press (1949).² The Council has representatives from newspaper and journalist organizations and four educational representatives, one nominated by the Department of Education and Science.³

The aims and purposes of the Council include the establishment of standards of qualification for entry into journalism, and the formulation and administration of schemes for the training and education of journalists, including press photographers.

In 1956 an International Centre for Advanced Training in Journalism was set up in Strasbourg under the auspices of UNESCO, and the Director of the British NCTJ is one of the five-member international executive committee of that Centre.

The training schemes run by the Council became compulsory for new entrants to journalism from 1961, when about 500 trainees were registering each year. To regulate the training courses around the country, the Council has 15 Regional Committees based in various towns. These committees supervise the operation of the training schemes in their areas, keep in touch with the local education authorities in arranging courses, and advise local editors on methods of vocational training, and provide the experienced journalists to conduct proficiency tests.

There are basically two ways of entering the training schemes organized by the NCTJ: either by getting a job on a newspaper and then applying to enter the training scheme which combines practical journalism with part-time study, or by taking the one-year full-time course organized by the NCTJ.

NOTES

¹ the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) -
Национальный совет по подготовке журналистов

² the Royal Commission on the Press (a body of persons intrusted
by British sovereign with duties and powers of holding an inquiry about
the press and issuing a report) - Королевская комиссия по делам
печати назначается монархом по рекомендации правительства из
числа наиболее авторитетных лиц для изучения какого-либо вопроса и представления рекомендаций правительству

³ Department of Education and Science - Министерство образо­
вания и науки

EXERCISES