Headlines 2018 issue 3

Headlines Journalism Alumni Magazine 2017/2018

Echo trio: Making the move to one of the country’s biggest newspapers

Inside

Press-box Privileges: Sports reporters living the dream Healthy Outlook: Working with the NHS Czech It Out: Video journalism in Prague

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Welcome Welcome to the third edition of Headlines, a magazine that keeps you in touch with the activities and achievements of Journalism and International Journalism graduates all over the globe.

In the following pages you’ll read about football writers, broadcast award-winners and social media specialists, as well as communications experts from organisations as diverse as the NHS to CBeebies.

We are proud to have had a small part in the beginning of so many varied and successful careers.

It’s also been a fruitful year for the department, with the launch of our new Sports Journalism course bringing a host of new partnerships with sporting organisations such as the Anfield Academy.

We’ve also signed a new member of staff – former Sky Sports cricket correspondent Tim Abraham, adding more experience to our topclass team.

We hope you enjoy this magazine – expertly written, produced and designed by our very talented final year students!

Jackie Newton, Programme Leader

Inside this year’s issue: 3 4 6 8 10 11 12 14

Our Year On the ball Working at the Echo Fashionista Good morning Prague Lights, camera, action!

NHS communications Going Live at BBC Radio

15 Radio star 16 Beeb vibe 17 Getting social 18 Money talk 19 Council comms 20 Reporters in action 22 In the editor’s chair 23 Index on Censorship

Meet the team...

Tom Sutton

James Farrington

Evan Fyfe

Ross Hilton-Inkpin

Sara O’Hagan

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Our year T

his has been another busy year for JMU Journalism with several well-known faces walking through the doors of the Redmonds Building to come and talk to the team, students gaining recognition for their work and our record-breaking fundraising appeal.

To kickstart the year, TV producer and screenwriter Phil Redmond came to LJMU and spoke to Screen School students in the very building that was named after him about his bid to bring Channel 4 to Liverpool. Phil, who is an honorary Professor of Media Studies at LJMU, is continuing to campaign for the broadcaster to move to the North West and we will be following the bid closely.

Third year students also had the opportunity to meet the Director General of the BBC, Lord Tony Hall. Originally from Birkenhead, Lord Hall told JMU Journalism that he was happy to return to Merseyside.

This year also saw Class of 2017 graduate Cara Hunter shortlisted for a Royal Television Society North West Student Award. Her film “Suicide: Our Forgotten Troubles” was nominated under the news category and was an investigation of male suicides in Northern Ireland. It featured her friend, Zachary Gedis, who lost his life to suicide. A trust has now been formed in his name and is called “Break the Silence”.

JMU Journalism ended the year with a host of fundraising activities. Students organised cake sales, raffles and Christmas jumper news days in order to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. We also carried on the tradition of the Journalism Christmas Ball, which helped to bring the year’s fundraising total to a whopping £1,197, our highest ever.

Jessica Hughes

Tim SpencerTanfield

Top: Final year students at the annual Journalism Ball Above left: RTS finalist Cara Hunter Above right: Phil Redmond Below: Lord Tony Hall, BBC Director General

Jasper Hunt

Emily Kinsella

Gemma Jones

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ON THE BALL Getting paid to write about your favourite sport is every football fan’s dream.

Headlines meets the graduates who are doing just that Serafino Ingardia, Italian Football Federation

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Serafino Ingardia

orn and raised in Italy and having studied on Merseyside, football has always been a big part of Serafino Ingardia’s life.

He told Headlines magazine: “One of my first memories as a kid is the Italia 90 World Cup and growing up in a football-centric environment meant that the game was always on my mind. Back then, I thought the only way to be involved in football was playing it but as I fostered my passion for the game I soon realised how many paths could potentially lead me into it.”

Now, as an International

Relations Executive at the Italian Football Federation, the Sicilian said: “I get to work hands-on with high level communication and deal with sensitive information passing from my office to the top management.”

At the moment, a crucial part of Serafino’s role is assisting the Federation’s CEO in his international duties because he is covering the Vice-President role at UEFA. “We are also responsible for managing friendly matches and we recently agreed on a game between England and Italy at Wembley in March 2018.”

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Dan Burke, Reporter OneFootball Dan Burke

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raduating in 2009, Dan Burke now writes content for OneFootball, a mobile app and website dedicated solely to ‘the beautiful game’, which is based in Berlin.

He said: “I came to Berlin on holiday a couple of times and loved it, and it’s just an amazing place to live – there’s so much culture and history and great beer as well! As much as I love Liverpool, Berlin is the best. My German isn’t very good though to be honest!

I’m simply writing about football. It’s a really fun work environment

“There are a lot of things you learn at LJMU that you perhaps don’t even realise that you’ve learned until later on. I’m applying everything that I learned every single day now in my job.

“The instincts you have as a journalist is something that’s definitely honed on the course. “(While at LJMU) I got the chance to work at Anfield for a Liverpool v Real Madrid game in the Champions’ League, working in the press box.

“To do that as a student was an absolutely unbelievable experience.”

Adam Jones, Liverpool Echo Everton FC reporter

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or Adam Jones, becoming a sports journalist was the culmination of years of hard work: “About two years before I came to university, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to learn the basics and the essentials, and the work experience I picked up gave me a great insight into how a newsroom works.”

After graduating in 2015, his university journey has taken him all the way to

Goodison Park as a reporter for his boyhood club, Everton.

Reporting on his favourite team has proven the ideal job: “I got the call on transfer deadline day that there was a job opening and that they wanted to speak to me about it, which was odd, it felt very weird. I took a day to think about but to be honest it didn’t take much consideration before I said yes!”

Adam Jones

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Excelling at

‘I think it gives you so much job satisfaction knowing that you will never know what you’re coming into’

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ith an average daily circulation of 44,427, the Liverpool Echo is one of the most successful regional newspapers in the UK. Jenny Kirkham from Belfast, Josh Parry (above right), from Wirral, and Connor Dunn (above left), from Kent, now all work together in its busy newsroom.

All three were Echo community reporters in their final year of university, which made their swift move to the paper a lot easier.

The Liverpool Echo LJMU community reporters scheme enables final year students to report community news and issues from their own allocated area of the city and have their work published by the Echo, as well as having regular work experience in its newsroom.

Jenny said: “I knew about the Echo before I even moved from

Belfast and this is where I wanted to work because I liked the way they did things and I liked what they were putting out. I think that sort of helped me find a direction that way.”

Interested in sport as a child, Connor always wanted to become a sports journalist.

He said: “Essentially I have always wanted to be a journalist from a really young age. Through playing sport, I thought the next best thing would be to write about sport day to day. But I’m happy with where I am at the minute, although I kind of see it as a route round into sport eventually.”

For as long as he can remember, Josh has always wanted to become a journalist and is really proud of his career so far.

He told Headlines: “I’ve ended up doing all sorts of things I never thought I’d do but the most proud

I’ve been from a story is my investigation into gay ‘cure’ churches in the UK. The story got so much attention I appeared on Good Morning Britain with Piers and Susanna. I’ve also gone to some high profile events that I’d never have got to go to if I wasn’t a journalist. “ Working in the media is ever changing, especially working for a newspaper such as the Echo, no day is ever the same. One thing they all agreed on was that preparation is key and you must be ready for a day that will be varied in every way.

Connor said: “I love that in terms of you never know what to expect and you kind of have to have a general knowledge about everything.

I enjoy not knowing and it’s fastpaced and it’s good fun.”

Agreeing with this, Jenny tells Headlines that you always have to be ready for anything.

She said: “I think it gives you so

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the Echo ©Liverpool Echo Newspaper

Headlines meets Josh Parry, Jenny Kirkham and Connor Dunn at one of the region’s leading newspapers much job satisfaction knowing that you will never know what you’re coming into. There is no typical day at all.”

Even though, they all graduated at different times, Jenny, Connor and Josh agree that the things they learned from their time at LJMU were invaluable and have helped them even still in their jobs today.

Jenny who graduated in 2016, told Headlines: “The fact that the course is so practical prepares you for coming into here for when you are constantly speaking to people on the phone and going out and chatting to people, it made a big difference that way for me.”

Graduating in 2013, Josh loved his time at LJMU. He said: “The training I got gave me the best possible grounding for a career in journalism. The news days and working for Liverpool Life are honestly as close to the ‘real

thing’ as you can get.”

Josh felt there was no need to go to a city such as London to continue his career as a journalist.

He said: “I’ve never liked the notion that if you want a career in the media you have to move to the capital. The north is such a newsy place and Liverpool is an incredible news patch.

“Working on a regional like the Echo means we often set the national news agenda. I’ve realised that London isn’t the be all and end all.”

Connor fell in love with the city once he came here for university.

He told Headlines: “I absolutely love the city. I love the people here, the culture, the nightlife; I love pretty much everything about it to be honest. It’s exciting, it’s fun, it’s a great place to be. The Liverpool I cover as a journalist probably isn’t the Liverpool I see as a resident.”

Pictures by Colin Lane at Liverpool Echo

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Passion for Fashion Nadine Higham, Digital Marketing

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ashion was always a passion for LJMU graduate Nadine Higham. While at university she found that her writing always swayed towards feature and fashion journalism and after graduation she landed her first job in fashion marketing with leading online retailer Missguided Nadine told Headlines: “Missguided was always the dream as it’s so unique in what it does as a brand. Once I’d started at Missguided I realised Digital Marketing was actually something that I was really interested in and something that I wanted to do moving forward.”

Originally, from Horwich, Nadine joined Missguided in 2014 when the company had just started to grow massively and it now has an online following of more than three million people. Working in fashion is very fast paced with the digital media

Nadine at work at Missguided above, below and right

constantly changing.

She said: “You need to be able to move with the changes – we’re always kept on our toes. It allows you to be creative and think outside of the box.”

After Missguided Nadine moved to In The Style as their Digital Marketing Manager.

Nadine believes her time at LJMU helped to build her confidence in herself and her in writing.

She told Headlines: “In my role now there are lots of times when I have to sit in important meetings and speaking up with confidence is something

that I definitely got from my time at LJMU. Also, attention to detail is something that needs to be spot on in my role - another thing that writing has taught me.”

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Good morning Prague!

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Jessica Jones,Video journalist

essica Jones went straight from university to working as a video journalist for Prague Morning, the Czech Republic’s leading English-language newspaper.

Now Head of Video, Jessica, who graduated in 2016, loves her adopted city and has no plans to return home.

“I’m glad I studied at LJMU but being here has opened my eyes to Jessica Jones reporting in Prague

so much more. There’s so much to do, so many interesting people, and an actual summer!

“I’ve realised that this is the perfect place for me to be at the moment.”

Covering everything from news and arts to business and tourism, no two days are ever the same for Jessica at Prague Morning – the Czech Republic’s answer to Buzzfeed.

“When I arrived I was worried about having no experience in the field, but most of what I needed I already knew from LJMU. It’s a confidence thing, you need to have a bit of faith in yourself.”

Future plans include moving into documentary making, but for now Jessica is quite happy making her mark in Prague.

“I don’t plan on leaving any time soon.”

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Lights, camera, action!

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Nathan Archer, Broadcaster

athan Archer is well on his way to becoming a familiar face across the North West. Already presenting live news for Made in Liverpool, things are only going up for this aspiring broadcaster.

Nathan’s career began while still at university. After struggling to find work experience in his final year, an email about placement at Made in Liverpool found its way to his inbox. It was only up from there. “On my first day, I was using all the skills that I had been using while at university to find and shoot the stories.” But there was one crucial difference. “We had to find stories daily. It wasn’t just a 2:30 package once a week – it was a three and a half minute story a day, which is a long time in television.”

Nathan now works for Made in Liverpool’s new station, Made in North Wales, commuting between Liverpool and Wrexham.

A typical day includes phone calls, planning, writing and shooting for that night’s programme.

“While all this is going on I’m getting calls and emails from contacts about stories for tomorrow.

It’s an ongoing cycle!”

Having graduated in 2017, Nathan’s career is just beginning but already he is making waves at the company. He looks back fondly on his career so far: “I’ll never forget my first live news programme.

I have never been more nervous

because I knew it was totally live – so no mistakes! After that first one, I stepped in regularly to do the live show. It was so weird when people started sending me snapchats of me on TV, because I had no idea anyone was watching.

Those programmes were really a highlight for me, because it gave me so much experience at such an early point in my career.”

Top: Nathan at work for Made in North Wales Bottom: Presenting local news for the area

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Healthy outlook “Working in NHS communications wasn’t what I expected initially - I didn’t even give it a second thought, but now I don’t really want to do anything else”

KatieDodson, Communications and Engagement Officer

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ot all Journalism graduates leave their course and go straight into dealing with journalists from the other side of the story.

But 2015 graduate Katie Dodson flipped the norm on its head and went straight into a role as a communications assistant after just three months of job hunting.

Katie started at a NHS Foundation Trust in Scunthorpe before moving to Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, a mental health and learning disability trust, as Communications and Engagement Officer.

She said: “Working in NHS

comms wasn’t what I expected initially I didn’t even give it a second thought, but now I don’t really want to do anything else.”

She and her communications team are the first point of call for any enquiries to do with the trust and its operations, she is now the one giving out the information not trying to gather it. It has allowed her to see the other side of the journalist’s world but still be able to brighten people’s days with her stories.

“There is a lot of internal communications - writing for the staff and positive bulletins for the website as well as news-related things that go out to the public.”

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Sam Fleet, NHS External Communications Officer

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ersonal admiration for the people he would be working with and the perfect set of skills came together when Sam Fleet landed his communications job at The Walton Centre in Liverpool.

Sam, from Shropshire, graduated in 2010 and initially did not see the NHS as somewhere he would fit into with his journalist training but when he wanted to explore a new role and saw a chance to showcase some brilliant healthcare providers he didn’t look back.

“I had never expected to end up in the NHS but I’ve always admired those medical professionals who do all the amazing work to care for patients, so it’s a great feeling to work alongside them and promote the great work that happens there.

Being able to promote their work is a particular highlight.”

This has given him the chance to develop his skills and work to new strengths. Instead of responding to breaking news stories, he’s now planning longer campaigns and writing positive news stories that can be used on the NHS website to promote its work.

What surprised him most is the amount of innovation he has seen

happen around him.

Despite the ongoing challenging financial situation for the NHS he is still able to tell positive and inspiring stories.

He said: “The lasting skill I gained from my degree at LJMU was people skills. Without my people skills I wouldn’t be in the career I am today.”

Leo Stevens, NHS Clinical Commissioning Group

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or journalists, the move to communications is almost like jumping over the fence.

This was a jump that graduate Leo Stevens was happy to make.

After nine years at the Press Association he went in search of a role in the public sector, somewhere specifically where people’s lives were being improved. That’s when he found himself as a part of a NHS Clinical Commissioning Group.

“For me, the NHS personifies this and so I sought about researching where within the NHS I

could put my skills to good use.”

Leo must navigate the tricky world of communicating ‘dry’ commission health initiatives in an engaging way to reach his audiences but he loves the challenge.

It has made him learn to write in a persuasive way to make reluctant journalists get behind the stories he’s pitching to them.

He sees himself in the bigger picture now, working in an organisation that hires about 1.5 million people in the UK and enjoys the relationships he must build and maintain in order to get his job done effectively.

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Going live!

Claire Bynoe, Live events at BBC Radio

Behind the scenes 1Xtra Live in Manchester

“ I’m

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laire Bynoe has always had an interest in broadcasting. She has worked her way from taping the top 40 charts when she was young to working as a Live Music and Events assistant at the BBC. As well as graduating in 2014 from LJMU Claire had also worked as a presenter and producer on KCC Live, a local radio station aimed at 10 to 24-year-olds, for seven years.

“I think that from a young age, just having a general interest in and listening to the radio inspired me to do my own radio show, which I did back in the day and then from there I just always had an interest.”

Claire at Radio 1’s Academy in Exeter

She secured her first role in the BBC as a tour guide before moving on to other roles such as a team assistant and researcher before landing her current job. She is now a part of the team that is responsible for putting together the BBC’s ‘Biggest Weekend’ event, for which 175,000 tickets will be available to the public.

“My role at the minute is putting together an artist’s grid, which is essentially what the running order would be on stages of all the sites.

“It’s a little bit of everything but mainly logistics and having a strong relationship with all the different departments across the BBC. I’m always working on something

always working on something different which is really nice” different which is really nice.”

Claire also discussed how her journalism degree from LJMU has helped her. “My writing skills definitely improved! I’m really happy that I did the course at LJMU. In my interview for the BBC a lot of the examples I gave were from my university course.”

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Tuned A In

fter graduating in 2006, Sam Clack knew that radio was the right choice for

Sam Clack, Radio 5 Live

Sam receiving the 5 Live news team’s ARIA Gold award

He said: “It’s kind of a bit of a double-edged sword in a way in that it’s great to be recognised for the work that you do but him. when it’s actually something Award-winning journalist really quite tragic like that it was Sam has worked for numerous bitter sweet.” radio stations such as BBC Sam believes that working in Radio Stoke, Juice FM, Capital journalism is a calling.

Manchester and Yorkshire and He said: “If you’re interestsecured his current job at BBC ed in people and telling their Radio 5 Live in February 2015. stories and finding out interSpeaking of his time at LJMU, esting things that other people Sam told Headlines: “It was wouldn’t get the chance to do open in a way that you got a and then telling other people taste of everything, especially in about it, go for it.” first year and some really hands Two of the main highlights of on experience which was really working at 5 Live for Sam have important to me. From there been presenting and producing you sort of chose your path, a feature-length documentary which for me was TV at the time called ‘The Ultra Way’ and going but I went into radio afterwards.” to Dunkirk and Calais to present Sam was part of the 5 Live and produce special reports on news team that won an Audio the migrant crisis. and Radio Industry award - the He said: “The icing on the cake ARIA Gold for News Coverage was doing a report, ‘Following in – for its reports of the London the Footsteps of the First Lady Bridge terror attack. of the USA’ - in which I did He was the desk editor, helping just that in Ljubljana, Slovenia. to organise the team on the Admittedly, that involved eating night and liaising with correinto a holiday - but you have spondents among many other to take the opportunities when things. they present themselves.”

“You have to take the opportunities when they present themselves”

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“Making stuff for kids is easy -we’re on the same wavelength”

Sophie Grundy

Children’s content creator, CBBC

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oes Sophie Grundy have the most fun job you will read about today? At Headlines we think so! After graduating in 2013 she has found herself settling into a creative role at CBBC, where she makes and releases the quizzes and games that can be found on the CBBC website and it really gives her the freedom to take it in any direction she wishes She told Headlines: “I just make quizzes that are whatever I feel like, really. As long as I feel like someone is going to enjoy it then I have a lot of freedom.”

She finds it easy and fun to connect with kids because really it allows her to remain young at heart, whereas work is usually a place where you have to put your adult hat on. Sophie, who initially worked on the production team at Hollyoaks, finds her version of going to the office a little different, she can still play like a kid and have fun while at work.

“Making stuff for kids is easy, we’re on the same wavelength.,” she said.

Still based in Liverpool, Sophie remembers creating her news packages back in university and

Sophie away from the office on holiday is still using those skills now, and thinks that learning about the use of Twitter for news gathering is one of the most useful things she did.

She now runs the Twitter feed for CBBC and she loves it: “I’ve basically made a career out of using Twitter now.”

18 Left: Amber interviews Anne Boden, CEO of Starling Bank

Big apple, bigger dreams Amber-Ainsley Pritchard, Financial Journalist

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ork experience in New York led Amber-Ainsley Pritchard to choose to follow a career in the busy world of financial journalism.

The 2016 graduate said: “When we were given the chance to carry out work experience in our final year, and told we could do it anywhere, I set my mind on work in NYC. “I love New York and was determined to have experience in the city referenced as ‘If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere’!”

Now a financial journalist at

Shard Financial Media, Amber added: “I hadn’t set out to report on finance but it was the only offer to take me to New York.”

After graduating, Amber returned to New York at The O’Neill Film and Theatrical Foundation, before securing a job as a senior journalist in London.

“The most valuable thing about studying at LJMU was the life practice. The course really replicates how life is outside and that experience is tremendously valuable in preparing you for life as a journalist - think deadlines, always deadlines and always pitching ideas.”

Amber Ainsley Pritchard

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Making the local news

Connor, left, at work meeting the local police dog unit

Headlines meets reporters in action around the country

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Connor Lynch, Grimsby Telegraph

onnor Lynch has one word to describe life as as a newspaper reporter: “Awesome!”

Originally from Belfast, he moved to Liverpool to study but his first job took him further from home to Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire, however, he soon settled in.

“It is kind of normal now, except there is very little Irish in Grimsby!”

Connor, who graduated in 2016, loves the diversity of his job as a reporter.

He said: “It’s honestly awesome you meet loads of people and it is never the same. One minute you can be at a council meeting, the next minute you are at a crime scene”.

University newsdays proved to be good training for his professional life. He said: “Newsdays are such a confidence builder for becoming a journalist, they really do build the foundations to become a success in the industry. The course helped me build my confidence and was beneficial to my ability to find stories”.

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Sophie Corcoran, Hull Daily Mail

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ophie Corcoran graduated in 2016 and is now a reporter for the Hull Daily Mail.

Sophie had nothing but praise for how university prepared her for work. She told Headlines: “It is a daily paper so I was scared I wouldn’t keep up but LJMU seems to have prepared me well so far!

“I use the same communication, writing and story-sourcing techniques I was taught while at LJMU. The best thing about university was the newsdays. I loved seeing the end result and my byline. I think we were given a lot of freedom which was a good thing for my development.”

Sophie is still brushing up her shorthand skills.

“I can write 80 words per minute at the moment but struggled at first. I’d still like to be a lot faster.

I hadn’t written any shorthand for a year when I started my job so it took a while to get back into it but your brain does remember.

“I didn’t believe it when our tutors said we would need it because everything is so technological now but it’s so important to have. I’m still practising and still use my university textbook!”

Paige Freshwater, Lynn News

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or many graduates, moving away to secure your dream job after finishing university may seem daunting.

This however, was not the case for the class of 2017 member Paige Freshwater who decided to pack her bags and moved to King’s Lynn, Norfolk.

Originally from Grimsby, Paige told Headlines: “I currently work as a trainee news reporter at Lynn News. I was fortunate enough to secure a job before leaving university and I have been in this position since June last year.”

The 21-year-old had already secured her job in Norfolk before graduating and so moving away was a no-brainer: “I was willing to move for a job because I didn’t want to wait around hoping one would become available in

Liverpool. It was scary packing up my life and moving to a completely new town where I had never been before and didn’t know anybody, but I did it anyway. “ For Paige, some of the experiences and skills she picked up while on work experience at LJMU proved invaluable: “In the third year, we embarked on three weeks work experience and I was fortunate enough to spend a week at The Times, The Sunday Mirror and Liverpool Echo. I doubt I would have been able to access these opportunities without LJMU.” Looking to the future, Paige told Headlines: “Once I have gained enough experience, I would like to work in national newspapers.

Alternatively I wouldn’t mind winning multi-millions on the lottery and retiring at age 22!”

Sophie, left, and Paige below

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From temp to top Georgie Whitworth Business To Business magazine editor

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eing editor at one magazine is enough but 2015 graduate Georgie Whitworth has three publications to look after.

After leaving the course with an open mind towards the next step of her journalism career she looked at many different options before she found herself as the acting editor of a publication owned by one of the UK’s biggest Digital trade publishers Opus Business Media.

Georgie told Headlines: “B2B (Business to Business) is very different in some ways but I have been able to apply and adapt most of the basic reporting and subbing skills I learnt on my course.”

After only receiving the job to fill in for another editor on maternity leave, she ended up staying and being given a huge chance. “I was fortunate that Opus kept me on permanently as an Editor and I was given the opportunity to look after other magazines and even launch a brand new publication.”

But Georgie has taken it all in her stride and doesn’t seem to be letting up, at 23 she is currently the editor of Tomorrow’s Retail Floors, Tomorrow’s Tile & Stone and Tomorrow’s Care.

As the editor of these publications, she is still using the skills she learned in LJMU, but she now has a lot more tasks she must tackle, including liaising commercially with representatives of other companies, “but the freedom of my role means that I still get the opportunity to conduct interviews and write features myself too,” she said.

Georgie Whitworth

“I was given the opportunity to look after other magazines and even launch a brand new publication”

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Global vision Danyaal Yasin

Editorial assistant at Index on Censorship & winner of the Tim Hetherington Fellowship

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anyaal Yasin is the winner of the 20172018 Tim Hetherington Fellowship at Index on Censorship, a not-for-profit news organisation that defends freedom of speech across the world.

Danyaal is an editorial assistant for Index on Censorship’s international magazine, which is based in London. During his final year the International Journalism graduate joined Index on Censorship for a placement before applying for, and winning, the fellowship grant.

Danyaal said: “It’s a very varied role, but at the core of it is the journalism. The fellowship means you get to work for a year on a great magazine in a great city, amazing office, great organisation, it’s the experience you want after university and the skill set you learn at university you get to put into practice at a professional level.”

The fellowship is named after Tim Hetherington, a photojournalist from Liverpool who was killed while working in Libya in 2011. He was known for his campaigning journalism and was co-director of the award-winning documentary Restrepo.

Speaking about his role, Danyaal

said: “There is a lot of research, interviews, writing sidebars and articles and they are all opportunities to develop the skills that I learned

Danyaal at his graduation, July 2017

over the previous three years.

“I chose an International Journalism degree because I was interested in working on a global scale. News is not just things happening in your own area, it is happening all around the globe. Working with Index I can see the stories in Venezuela, Honduras, working on a global scale gives you a different perspective.”

Index on Censorship is a nonprofit that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide. They publish work by censored writers and artists, promote debate, and monitor threats to free speech.

Keep up to date with the latest news from Liverpool at:

www.jmu-journalism.org.uk