NCTJ launches safety and resilience industry forum

The NCTJ has launched an industry-led safety and resilience forum to address ongoing concerns about the safety of journalists.

The NCTJ’s Journalism Skills Academy (JSA) launched an e-learning course Safety and Resilience for Journalists

Safeguarding journalists is an important topic that continues to dominate the industry – particularly online safety – and has been linked to organisational issues including recruitment and retention and mental health and wellbeing.

The safety and resilience industry forum will unite employers to tackle an issue which has no clear, single, solution, and demonstrates a collective commitment to supporting and protecting journalists as they do their day-to-day jobs.

Members of the forum – who will meet three times a year – will share experiences and best practice and will work with the NCTJ on how NCTJ-accredited courses can best deliver training on safety and resilience to prepare students for the realities of journalism.

The NCTJ’s Journalism Skills Academy (JSA) launched an e-learning course Safety and Resilience for Journalists in November and also hosted a lunchtime discussion panel.

Joanne Butcher, chief executive of the NCTJ, said: “Safety and resilience is a huge topic in the industry at the moment and we hope the forum will play a part in addressing some of the key issues.  We want all journalists, whether they are at the start or end of their careers, to feel protected at all times and the forum will seek to ensure that every individual feels supported as they do their jobs.”

The forum will be chaired by Joanna Webster, deputy global editor for visuals at Reuters and vice-chairwoman of the NCTJ board of trustees, with representatives from organisations across the industry including Newsquest, Reach, Sky News, Iliffe Media and 5 News at ITN.

To access the free e-learning course, visit skillsacademy.nctj.com