Diversity in journalism on the agenda at NCTJ event
More than 100 journalists, editors and industry professionals will join the National Council for the Training of Journalists on Wednesday, 18 October at its inaugural diversity in journalism seminar in London, hosted by Google News Lab.
More than 100 journalists, editors and industry professionals will join the National Council for the Training of Journalists on Wednesday, 18 October at its inaugural diversity in journalism seminar in London, hosted by Google News Lab.
The seminar will form part of the annual Journalism Diversity Fund celebratory event, which invites students, trainees, sponsors and supporters to come together to celebrate the work of the important industry fund, which has awarded 248 bursaries to fund the journalism training of diverse students since its launch in 2005.
Abu Bundu-Kamara, NCTJ trustee and group diversity and inclusion specialist at Boeing, will chair the event, welcoming industry figures on stage to address a range of topics.
The first panel session of the day will look at attracting and retaining journalists from all walks of life, which will be discussed by Suchandrika Chakrabarti, editorial trainer for Trinity Mirror, Elizabeth Pears, deputy news editor at BuzzFeed UK and Jackie Simmons, executive editor of Bloomberg.
Following this, four speakers will draw on their personal experiences to discuss disability and mental health in journalism.
This panel will welcome previous JDF Thomas Read bursary recipient Gemma Stevenson, journalist presenter and author with specialisms in para-sport and tennis, alongside Jenni Regan, senior media advisor at Mind; Aaron Fowler, visually impaired sports journalist and founder of website Disability Sports News, and Hannah Jane Parkinson, award-winning features and comment writer for The Guardian.
Cassiano Mecchi, a diversity business partner at Google UK, will present a lively interactive session on unconscious bias in recruitment. Cassiano, who has been with Google for six years, provides a range of support on the enterprise-wide diversity and inclusion agenda, on finding, growing, advancing and retaining the most diverse workforce possible.
The celebratory lunch reception includes the launch of a video to promote the Journalism Diversity Fund, produced by Sky Sports News apprentice, Daniel Boswell. Lead sponsor, NLA media access, will be presenting the NCTJ with a cheque for £100,000 to fund JDF bursaries in 2018.
Attendance is by invitation, and if you have a particular interest in diversity in journalism and would like to attend, please confirm your interest with Kimberley Holland at [email protected] as soon as possible.
