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Nicola Goodwin, Journalist - BBC Hereford & Worcester
Budding Student Journalists Guided by BBC Hereford and Worcester Reporter
27th November 2009
Since last year, College students following the extra-curricular Media and Journalism course have been introduced to the world of Media by external experts who have visited to offer instruction and insight into this exciting career. The course is structured to provide practical experience, alternating guest speakers in print, TV and radio journalism with opportunities to practise article writing, interviewing and film-making through The Student Voice, The Review On-Line and newsletter, The Rant.
After the success of last year, the 2010-11 course has been expanded to meet increased student demand, now extending over two terms with an even greater number of speakers coming to the College. Students are given the opportunity to complete a portfolio of work and receive a certificate for their efforts.
On Monday, 9th November, Nicola Goodwin from BBC Hereford and Worcester Radio came in to give a valuable insight into the crucial issue of "news gathering". Her talk centred on two main areas.
She began by asking students how they would define news. A question seemingly simple, but in a practical sense often far more difficult than it would appear. With the information overload of modern society she stressed the constant need to decide exactly what was newsworthy. Nicola spoke about the "So what?" test, determined by both what others are interested in and the need to inform others about "what they don't but should know".
The other main area of discussion was the necessity of the editorial values of impartiality, fairness and accuracy, to ensure a high quality of journalism and credibility. Nicola quoted the BBC's code of integrity which maintains that facts have to be checked thoroughly before going to broadcast or print. The motto "nobody remembers who is first but everybody remembers who is right" was clear! Students were made aware of the importance of questioning in this - the individual reporter has to be constantly questioning his/her sources to ensure that he/she has the right facts and the full story.
Students clearly profited from the experience and will have the benefit from a further line-up of speakers who will visit the College in the coming months, including a representative from the Rural Media Company and journalists from BBC Radio One and other BBC channels. Watch this space!