The changing demands on young journalists are being demonstrated by the Manchester Evening News website.

Three former students from the Postgraduate Diploma in Newspaper Journalism course have presented video news bulletins for it since August.

Caroline Jack and Mike Keegan gained their diplomas only last June but if you go to Manchester Evening News you will see their talents have extended to presenting as well as writing the news.

Caroline said: ìPresenting the story means you have to really boil it down to the main points and cut out all the background without losing the overall picture ñ quite a challenge in a short space of time. We get two hours to select stories from the paper, write the script, find the pictures, rehearse, record and publish it to the web.î

Mike is keen on producing video bulletins because they allow the reporter to make the story more personal.

He said: ìThereís no hiding place on camera, which is good because if you can get your timing right and you enjoy it you can really get that across.î

Justin Webb is an online journalist at the MEN who has trained all of the staff to create video bulletins.

Easily digestible

He said: ìThe news headlines are short, pithy, to the point and easily digestible. For those website users with streaming video capabilities, they are one click away from hearing (and seeing) the most important news stories of the day.î

Caroline, Mike and Justin all agree that the technical side is easy to get to grips with although Caroline admits it was initially intimidating.

Justin said: ììI would say it’s been a very simple transition – once the gremlins were ironed out, I’ve found that journalists can be trained in the entire system from script writing to publishing the final bulletin online, in two to three hours.î

Caroline added: ìThe technical aspects seemed very daunting at first, but I had good training and thereís always someone on hand to ask if I need help. As a new reporter I think you have to show you are prepared to try different types of media other than print.î

Mike made a similar point.

ìExpect anything and make sure youíre flexible. Although the newsroom still revolves around the paper, weíre constantly liaising with Channel M and our online team so youíll always stand out if you get stuck in. The more contacts you can make the better.î

Producing video news bulletins has also allowed Caroline to indulge in a childhood dream of hers.

She added: ìBeing a natural born show-off, I was just fulfilling a childhood ambition to read the news! Obviously itís a webcast rather than TV broadcast but I enjoy the quick turn-around and immediate results of seeing your report on-line.î

The siteís archive also includes reports from another former student David Henry, who qualified in 2003 and has worked for the Manchester Evening News since.

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PGDip NewspaperJournalism
Manchester Evening News

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