National Council for the Training of Journalists AnnualAnnual Report Report 2009-2010 2009-2010 www.nctj.com NCTJ strategic objectives • Broaden the NCTJ into a converged training body in order to deliver effective products and services for all journalists across all media sectors • Develop ‘gold standard’ multimedia journalism qualifications that are the respected benchmark of Contents excellence • Enhance, promote and support the high standard and quality of 3 Vital statistics education and training provided by 4 Chairman’s report accredited journalism courses 5 Chief Executive’s review • Take action to achieve greater 6-7 Qualifications development diversity of journalists in the media 8 Examinations delivery industry 9-11 Certificate in Journalism • Communicate effectively with all 12-13 National Certificate Examination target audiences to increase 14-16 Accreditation awareness of the NCTJ’s brand 17 Results tables values, core business and its 18-19 Student Council status as a charity 20-21 Journalism Diversity Fund 22-23 Awards for Excellence in Journalism 24 Communications 25 Learning resources 26-27 Journalism Skills Conference 28 Business and finance review 29 Who’s who Vital statistics A total of 16,290 NCTJ exams were sat throughout 2009-10 These comprised: 9,205 preliminary exams (excluding shorthand) sat on course, 756 national exam sittings, and 4,468 shorthand exam sittings The total number of NCE exams sat was 1,861 1,786 students attended one of 67 accredited courses at 38 approved centres and sat the Certificate in Journalism exams 297 of these achieved gold standard, passing all exams while on the course 387 candidates sat these exams on the two national dates 625 trainees sat the National Certificate Examination – 595 reporters, 20 photographers, 6 sub-editors and 4 sports journalists 324 trainees achieved gold standard of passing their NCE – 301 reporters, 14 photographers, 6 sub-editors and 3 sports journalists Registrations consisted of 197 reporters, 7 photographers and 1 sub-editor 24 scheduled and in-house short training courses were run during the year 3 National Council for the Training of Journalists Annual Report 2009-2010 Vital statistics Chairman’s report In an exciting new media world that gives you news, employers, confronted with a sack of applications from aspiring pictures and opinions wherever you are and whenever you reporters, find NCTJ qualifications a pretty good place to start. want, how do you know what you can actually trust? Who’s checked the stories? Where were the pictures We believe there are certain skills that journalists should have – and taken? Could the video be faked? others that they might find useful. So, in our new Diploma in Journalism for example, we aim to strike a balance between It’s terrific that the barriers have come down, that anyone can publish compulsory elements – reporting, shorthand, essential media law and and that news is no longer under the control of professional essential public affairs, a multimedia portfolio – and selective topics organisations. But we haven’t time to look at everything, so it’s such as a choice of media law court reporting, video journalism for helpful to have an idea about the origins of what we read and watch online, sub-editing, sports journalism, the business of magazines and and listen to: is the blogger writing with inside knowledge or broadcast journalism. regurgitating something she has read? Is the guy on Twitter actually there or hearing it second hand? Everything we do is designed to equip trainee journalists with the knowledge and experience they need to gain a job. There are many attractions to practising “citizen journalism” as a hobby: most people That’s why we tend to turn in the find it even more attractive to do journalism and be paid for it (on end to sources we trust, “brands” which note, it has been encouraging to see signs that the media economy is recovering a little). that we recognise. We can be successful only if we keep in touch with what is going on When it comes to news, we know those sources operate on the in the industry. It’s why Joanne Butcher and her team get out into the basis of certain journalistic principles. The form of delivery changes, country, talking to everyone who has a stake in journalism. As we but the underlying journalistic requirements remain the same. Their develop journalism training, we must take with us students, teachers journalists believe in curiosity and passion, but understand the and employers. You are never short of ideas and we are immensely importance of objectivity and accurate source. They have a working grateful for that. You take the time to work with us to develop new knowledge of public bodies, the law. They operate under codes of courses and the trouble to tell us what you think. Working together, practice. And yes, despite all the new technology, many continue to we will meet the needs and aspirations of the next generation of take a shorthand note. It’s remarkably practical, shorthand. journalists. They demonstrate, in short, the kind of journalistic skills that the NCTJ develops and examines: practical skills, developed with the Kim Fletcher purpose of ensuring high standards of journalism. That is why Chairman National Council for the Training of Journalists Annual Report 2009-2010 Chairman’s report 411 Chief Executive’s review The NCTJ has been overseeing the training of professional industry standard and giving people the best possible chance to journalists for many years. It has stood the test of time succeed in journalism. but, like the fast-changing multimedia industry it serves, has also moved with the times. It continues to deliver and The Journalism Diversity Fund goes from strength-to-strength and oversee the most trusted training scheme for journalists in soon it will have helped more than 100 students who couldn’t afford the UK. their training. We are particularly grateful for the financial support of the Newspaper Licensing Agency and the Scott Trust as well as Just as the industry is changing, so the NCTJ is in the midst of those in the industry who have given up their time to help tackle the the biggest revolution in its history. We are investing in a broader diversity issue. range of charitable activities to raise journalism standards and are developing into a truly multimedia organisation. The economic downturn hit our industry hard. We’re conscious that we have moved from an under-supply to an over-supply of qualified The highlight of the year was the launch of the industry’s new new entrants. So we are even more focused on quality and efficiency. diploma in journalism. Everyone was involved in its development, There were no increases in exam fees and thanks to the industry's led by top employers in all media, journalism schools, and students on-going support we were able to continue to invest. We have a new and trainees. website, students have access to their exam results online, and we launched a qualification for senior sports journalists. At its heart are the fundamental skills of high quality journalism in newspapers, magazines, online, television and radio. We involve as many people as possible in our work through editors' focus groups, exam boards, meetings of heads of journalism, our Journalism skills have converged and so ‘new’ and ‘traditional’ skills Student Council and the Journalism Skills Conference. are now fully integrated into training to a national standard. Our strategy for the next 12 months will continue the work to The diploma focuses on the vital skills of finding and telling stories ensure the NCTJ has the expertise and support to operate in all accurately and to deadline. media sectors. Our role as a professional awarding body is recognised by Ofqual, There are lots of exciting new projects in the pipeline but most the exams regulator. We were thrilled during the year that Ofqual importantly we are about to embark on a comprehensive review extended our recognition to operate in the new Qualifications and of the National Certificate Examination. It has been through many Credit Framework. changes since its introduction in 1990, when it replaced the old National Proficiency Test. The exams provide a challenging test Our Journalism Qualifications Board, chaired by Sunday Post editor of senior status and the logbook won a National Training Award for Donald Martin, has provided valuable advice and guidance and Sean the industry. We look forward to hearing your views on the current Dooley, the chair of quality and standards, is the independent arbiter training scheme and how the qualification needs to evolve in the of NCTJ awards and keeps us on our toes. future. A new cross-media accreditation board, chaired by Chris Elliott, Next year we look forward to celebrating our 60th birthday with you. readers’ editor at the Guardian, was set up during the year to ensure Thank you for your involvement and support. the industry standard for accrediting courses is the very best. All our accredited courses have signed up to deliver the new Joanne Butcher, diploma. These are the centres that have opened themselves up to Chief Executive public scrutiny. They are as committed as we are to delivering an 5 National Council for the Training of Journalists Annual Report 2009-2010 Chief Executive’s review Qualifications development Diploma in Journalism of our Journalism Qualifications Board, Donald Martin, editor of The Sunday Post, Weekly News and editor-in-chief of all D.C. Thomson It has been an exciting year for qualifications at the NCTJ titles in Dundee, and the content was presented by NCTJ subject with the development of a new entry level qualification, the chief examiners.