Journalism work placement

On all of our courses, trainees take part in a journalism work placement to gain experience in a newsroom and build their portfolio.

For our fast-track and sports journalism courses, this is built into the structure of the course, whereas for our part-time courses, we recommend trainees complete a placement at an appropriate time within their course.

Previously, trainees have completed placements in regional and national newsrooms and broadcasters such as the Financial Times, the South London Press, The Guardian, Manchester Evening News, Camden New Journal, The Times, Times Radio, Ham & High, Islington Gazette, The Daily Mail, Liverpool Echo, Southwark News, The Athletic, That’s Manchester, The i, Riverside Radio, Hayters TV, Richmond and Twickenham Times, Warrington Guardian, and many more.

We recommend trainees choose placements that align with their interests, whether that be in broadcast or print media, or through topic such as sport, lifestyle, culture, or a niche they have developed.

Trainees can also choose to do placement at our in-house publications – the Londoners or Mancunian Matters – where you will produce local journalism, whether that be digitally, on social media or using broadcast mediums.

When do I go work placement?

Fast-track multimedia journalism – Fast-track trainees will complete 20 days of placement as part of their course. These take place from the third week of your course until the end. From week three, classes are taught on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday – this leaves Wednesday as a good day to complete a work placement, but if the weekend works better for you, that’s fine. We host placement for our Londoner/Mancunian publications on Wednesdays. Some fast-track trainees join us every Wednesday of their course, some use us as a way to find their feet in the industry in London/Manchester and later move to an external placement. (The first two weeks of your course run Monday-Friday to develop key skills.)

Multimedia sports journalism – Trainees on our multimedia sports journalism course complete a work placement one day a week from the third week of their course. From week three, classes are taught on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday – this leaves Wednesday or, as is often in sports journalism, the weekend, for work experience. Trainees on our sports journalism course also complete a three-week block placement in February/March – this is a great opportunity for trainees to work at much bigger organisations. Our sports journalism trainees may also like to work with our sister sports content agency Sportsbeat. (The first two weeks of your course run Monday-Friday to develop key skills.)

Part-time multimedia journalism (both 40-weeks in person and 18-month remote) – Most trainees on our part-time courses have other responsibilities alongside their course such as a full-time job or caring responsibilities, therefore we do not allocate a set time for placement during the course. We recommend that trainees use their annual leave to complete a placement at an external organisation at a time that suits them during their course. If your schedule allows, part-time trainees are also welcome to complete a work placement one day a week like our full-time trainees – this could be internal or external. We hold work placement for our Londoner/Mancunian news sites every Wednesday and the beauty of joining us internally is our flexibility – you don’t have to attend every week, you can just attend when works for you. It’s also a great opportunity to network with trainees on our other courses.

How do I find a journalism work placement?

We suggest trainees try and source their own journalism work experience before the course starts. We do this because you know best what you are interested in, you may already have your own contacts, or you may wish to work closer to home. We believe sourcing a work placement is easier when you are able to say ‘I’m studying for my NCTJ at News Associates’ on your cover letter.

For trainees who are new to the area, we also have a list of publications we know often take our trainees on for work experience.

While on the course, we recommend local and regional publications and broadcasters as they are usually much more hands-on in the very early stages of your career.

Here are some tips for securing journalism work experience:

  • Call the publication first to get the details of the person who deals with placements
  • Send an email directly to them explaining that you’re training for your NCTJ with News Associates
  • Attach a CV and cover letter tailored to the publication
  • Explain why you are suited for experience with them e.g. You live in the area and know it well, or you have expertise in a particular subject
  • Follow up with a polite reminder if you don’t hear back

The work that trainees produce during their placement can be used in the e-portfolio module and provide great newsroom experience for when they start looking for jobs.

FAQs

Can I go on more than one work placement during my course?

Yes, within reason! The longer you are at the same organisation, the more responsibility they will give you. For fast-track trainees, we suggest you aim for one or two placements to allow you to get the most out of your time at an organisation. Sports journalism and part-time trainees have more time to complete more work experience.

When should I start looking for a work placement?

We recommend that you start looking for a placement around two months before the start of your course.

Does work experience have to be at a newspaper?

No, you can do your placement at any journalistic organisation, whether that is a newspaper, broadcast media organisation, content agency or radio station. If you’re unsure, you can run your placement by a tutor before confirming.