NCTJ launches online course to tackle lack of confidence in new journalists
The NCTJ’s Journalism Skills Academy has launched a new training course to tackle the escalating lack of confidence among journalists entering the industry.
The NCTJ’s Journalism Skills Academy has launched a new training course to tackle the escalating lack of confidence among journalists entering the industry.
Confidence in the field: A journalist’s guide to empowered reporting is a short e-learning course providing training in essential journalistic skills such as picking up the phone, face-to-face interaction and dealing with difficult situations.
Employers and journalism trainers have both reported ongoing issues with student and trainee journalists being too daunted to communicate offline – in person or over the phone – due to lack of confidence and resilience.
The course is available online as an e-learning resource and has been developed as part of the NCTJ’s safety and resilience action plan to support the safeguarding of journalists, which includes building resilience.
Lisa Bradley (Photo: Josh Caius)
Lisa Bradley, course leader at the University of Sheffield and member of the NCTJ’s Safety and Resilience Advisory Panel, has seen her students’ confidence significantly drop since the pandemic.
“Confidence is a quality that is lacking in so many young and training journalists,” she said. “This is down to various factors including Covid and imposter syndrome.
“But it’s such an important part of being a journalist, to have the courage and resilience to push through these obstacles is imperative. This course is an excellent way to harness these skills and change mindsets.”
Laura Adams, head of the NCTJ’s Journalism Skills Academy, recently appeared on The Media Show on BBC Radio 4 to discuss the issue.
Laura said: “Door-stepping and cold-calling have always been daunting but particularly now as communication methods are predominantly online.
“But these skills are so important for journalism to thrive – having the ability to communicate with many different people in many different situations means that the public will continue to be effectively represented by the media and for their voices to be heard.
“This course will help new journalists overcome their fears and confidently embrace these tasks which are so important to maintain the quality and credibility of journalism as a whole.”
The course content covers subjects including making phone calls, dealing with difficult callers, vox pops and door-stepping. It also provides guidance on communicating with the authorities while on a job, as well as a toolkit on where to seek support when faced with difficult situations or if your physical or mental safety is at risk.
While primarily aimed at early-career journalists, this training will also be relevant to more experienced journalists who wish to refresh their skills or those who have taken a career break and are due to re-enter the industry.
The course, which takes around one hour to complete, is available on the Journalism Skills Academy e-learning platform, so users can work through the material at their own pace and in their own time. It is available for a nominal fee. Click here to find out more.
The NCTJ’s safety and resilience action plan has been produced in response to the findings of the NCTJ’s Safety and Resilience Advisory Panel, an employer-led forum which seeks practical solutions to support the safeguarding of journalists.
