News Associates trainees produce multimedia general election coverage

News Associates trainees provided round-the-clock coverage of the 2024 general election.

Our three trainees and journalism tutor who produced our general election livestream through the night. They are all sitting and cheering, celebrating the end of a successful night of coverage. They are all dressed smartly sitting in front of a black back drop with purple lighting.

Trainees from across all of our NCTJ-accredited journalism courses – in-person and remote, London and Manchester, undergraduate and postgraduate, full-time and part-time – were on the ground and in our newsrooms overnight.

They created countless news stories, graphics and social media posts, ran live blogs, presented hourly live broadcasts, edited a magazine, and much more.

Our team were providing results, reaction and analysis for our Mancunian Matters and Londoners (South West Londoner, South East Londoner, North West Londoner and North East Londoner) audiences.

Trainees in our London newsroom provided on-the-hour, every-hour, broadcast updates to more than 1,000 viewers live on X and YouTube from 11pm to 8am.

Remote part-time course trainee Rob Thornton, who was part of the live broadcast team, said: “One of my favourite highlights was the learning curve of working with breaking news and turning it into a live broadcast, which is something that I have never done before.

“I also really enjoyed learning more about the individual constituencies and the different stories and personalities associated with them.”

Another highlight of our election coverage in London was a viral TikTok video produced by part-time trainee Ben Mulley.

Ben said: “Being in the newsroom to cover the general election was a fantastic opportunity.

“I spent the evening editing videos that my course mates were sending in of them interviewing politicians, live tweeting results, and creating a TikTok that went kind of viral!”

@londonersnews

British democracy at its quirky best #generalelection2024 #ukpolitics #ukelection

♬ Funny video “Carmen Prelude” Arranging weakness(836530) – yo suzuki(akisai)

A highlight from our Mancunian Matters coverage was Manchester undergraduate trainee Thomas Brace’s work at the Rochdale count.

Thomas said: “Being at the Rochdale count for the 2024 general election was a great opportunity to do some proper political journalism.

“I was also able to interview some of the politicians, such as the Rochdale Green and Lib Dem candidates, which not only was great experience but also helped add to our Mancunian Matters coverage.

“A lot of major publications and broadcasters were at the count due to the unique nature of the situation in Rochdale – this included the BBC, Sky, ITV, LBC, The Times, The Telegraph and many other national titles.

“Being around all these different journalists, discussing with them about politics and about Rochdale etc was probably my favourite part of being present, as the experience I picked up from it was very valuable.”

Manchester undergraduate trainee Poppy Dippnall, who reported from Stockport Town Hall, said: “Having the chance to interview the candidates, experiencing the atmosphere when someone was voted in, and hearing the hall erupt with cheers was just an amazing experience.”

Manchester sports journalism trainee Will Comish, who reported from the Stretford/Urmston count, said: “Initially, I felt pretty nervous. I had not done anything like this before and with other news agencies present at the venue, and keeping knowledge of what was happening with both sets of candidates, it was a lot to take in and get done throughout the night.

“But overall, I had an amazing time, the experience was invaluable, and I had the opportunity to be a part of some really historic changes over the evening as results flooded in.”

London fast-track trainee Amelia Stout said: “There was a real buzz in the team, which helped us get through the all-nighter without too much difficulty.

“As well as subbing copy coming back from various counts across London, I also got to write an article about Labour’s overall victory nationwide – this was my first time writing on national politics, which was a great experience.”

London fast-track trainee Maya Mehrara, who was at the Chelsea and Fulham count, said: “As an American covering my first election here, it was definitely really eye-opening, and a very different experience from American elections.”

Our London-based trainees also created a nine-page election-day special e-edition – showcasing their production and InDesign skills.

News Associates course director Graham Moody said: “The e-edition was put together using the best copy and visuals we received from trainees both at counts and in the office.

“We wanted a selection of stories across London and the trainees had done an excellent job of asking both winning and losing candidates the correct questions.

“Despite being up through the night, trainees were still helping put the e-edition together at 2pm on the Friday and checking it for accuracy.

“We’re very proud of what the trainees did throughout the night and into the next day and the quality of the magazine – alongside the social media, live show, website stories and live blog – really illustrates their fantastic talent.”

Londoners editor Tom Holmes said: “Trainees were assigned roles based on a combination of their own preferences and also their specific skillsets and specialities.

“Everyone worked superbly together to create a really great atmosphere and effective working environment in the office.

“It was great to see so many trainees get involved throughout our coverage and everyone worked very hard.

“Those who went to counts overnight showed great resourcefulness in a fast-paced environment and commitment to producing great content.”

News Associates Manchester head of journalism Alice Gregory said: “Seeing the trainees putting everything they’d learned into practice was a real highlight – they rose to the challenge and produced some really great content.”

News Associates journalism tutor Kieran Wellington said: “In no other industry would one of the best days of your career be off the back of an 18-hour shift.

“However, looking after the Londoners’ live stream of the general election was a genuine career highlight.

“Honor, Brydie and Rob threw themselves into the challenge and, despite the bags around their eyes getting heavier and heavier, their confidence for the task grew and grew and it was fantastic to see them reacting live to the biggest breaking lines out of London, and across the nation.

“I am also super thankful for the trainees who came into the office after being at counts overnight who were able to share their first-hand experience of the results live on-air, which at 4am onwards gave us all in the studio a welcome lift!”

News Associates journalism tutor Paul Kilbey said: “Our trainees were so lucky to have a general election during their course, and it was inspiring to see them seize the opportunity with both hands.

“The reporters we sent to counts did a brilliant job keeping us posted, securing interviews, and writing the results up as soon as they could. I was on the night shift, but it flew by.”

Trainees on 2024 courses had already covered the local elections earlier in the year too!