Journalism Apprenticeships
There are some excellent journalism apprenticeships out there to help to train the next generation of media content writers and broadcasters. Journalism and the reporting of news is one of the most important jobs there is and while the rise of social media in recent years has dented the newspaper sector a bit, there is a thriving community of online journalists and community reporters. There are even still opportunities at the BBC.
What Are Journalism Apprenticeships?
Apprenticeships in journalism will often be with a regional press newspaper so you will most likely be working on a relatively small newspaper title with a local website and a Facebook page. This means that you can really work closely with your colleagues and learn the practical side from them while you are studying, and use the other 20% of your time to learn the theory side of how to craft stories for public consumption.
The Benefits of Journalism Apprenticeships
There are benefits of being involved with an established publication and editorial team that a purely theoretical study course simply can’t offer. Contact with seasoned journalists and the ability to tap into their knowledge and contacts is vital.
You will also meet a lot of people locally and become someone who is known to many of the important people in the geographical area where you work. This allows for a transition to the press office of a local politician or local authority for example if you are looking for a change in the future.
What Does a Journalism Apprenticeship Involve?
A journalism apprenticeship will give you access to a newsroom of journalists and an editor who will give you your assignments. You may be sent out with other journalists to help them cover stories and get reactions to events from members of the public. You will learn the anatomy of what makes a good story and how to write with a specific word target in mind, to fit a particular space in the paper.
You will be told what to include as well as exclude from a story, and educated on when it is ok to divulge certain details and when it isn’t, for example in the case of crimes and the reporting of court cases.
Are You Suited for a Journalism Apprenticeship?
People who go into journalism often have a keen interest in what is going on around them and a desire to report what they see as the truth, in order to raise public awareness. When you become a journalist, you should be aware that this will probably not be how it works.
Your editor will be able to compel you to change articles you have written, prior to their publication and you must follow the editorial line of the paper, whether you happen to agree with it or not. If this is something that you wouldn’t be able to live with then you probably won’t make it as a journalist.
To be a journalist you also have to have good people skills and be able to talk to people on the phone in a convincing manner. Despite a lot of information now being available online, a large amount of journalism is still telephone-based when trying to stack up sources for stories etc.
Apply for Journalism Apprenticeships in the UK
Journalism apprenticeships are popular and are usually competitive to get into. Apply for a journalism apprenticeship today or peruse our apprenticeship job board to see what opportunities are out there. If you remain unconvinced, try our reasons to start an apprenticeship fact sheet or take a look at the potential career paths that you could set off and begin exploring.
