Jim (far left) and Clare with the class of 09/10

CHINESE students have been welcomed to Preston for the first time – onto their second year of BA Hons Media Management course.

The 21 teenagers from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology arrived in August and celebrated their successful completion of pre-sessional induction with a group photo.

Course leader Clare Cook said: “It’s wonderful to see a new cohort full of energy and enthusiasm for the year ahead. The module tutors have been introduced, too, and there’s plenty of new and exciting content to be taught.

“Journalism is in such an exciting phase, learning media and management acumen is a fascinating topic.”

The students voted Sun Cheng Fei (Jim) as this year’s Staff Student Liaison Representative.

The course is now in its third year with graduation taking place for the first time in December.

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Mike Ward and Richard Frediani, Head of News at ITV Granada at the event

A BAFTA-winning journalist has been reunited with former tutors and students to help celebrate 50 years of journalism at UCLan.

Richard Frediani, Head of News at ITV Granada, studied on UCLan’s Postgraduate Diploma in Radio and TV Journalism in 1989.

At a launch event, celebrating the research produced by undergraduate students Joe Cawley (history) and Louise Steggles (journalism), the Preston-born alumnus declared the exhibition open by cutting a specially prepared cake.

“It’s a great honour, as a former student and proud Prestonian, to open this exhibition,” said Richard. “The University is certainly in the premier league when it comes to journalism and I was very privileged to gain a place on the postgraduate course all those years ago.”

“Journalism has changed dramatically in the last 50 years and I hope we will still be here in 50 years time. To misquote Reggie Perrin’s boss: ‘I wouldn’t have got where I am today without UCLan’. And even now, without the current course, I wouldn’t have a source of future talent to employ on Granada Reports.

“The poly, as it was then, provided me with an excellent grounding for my career. And, being in my home town of Preston, I was able to study and enjoy the excellent amenities as well.”

Professor Geoff Timmins, who oversaw the work alongside project manager Debbie Williams, paid tribute the student team:  “Both Louise and Joe have put in a remarkable amount of effort not only into the research – Louise even journeying to as far a field as Berlin – but also into attending meetings, emailing questions and mounting the exhibition.

“The project was sponsored by UCLan’s Centre for Research Informed Teaching and the key aims have been to enhance students’ research skills, as well as to inform the research process by drawing on the perspectives of different subject disciplines.”

Journalism student and co-author Louise Steggles commented: “It’s been a really fascinating piece of work and comes complete with 22 hours of testimony. Everyone has different memories and by carrying out this research we’ve uncovered the history of journalism training itself. There have been so many ‘firsts’ in the department such as first degree, first master’s course and first digital journalism course. We’ve really uncovered the tip of the iceberg. In the future we would like to develop the history further so we can produce an even more complete record.”

All research information gathered during the project, including a video of the launch event,  is being loaded onto a web page here: http://historyofjournalismatuclan.pbworks.com/. Alumni are being invited to chat/upload photographs so that the journalism history can continue to evolve.

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The Sports Journalism BA (Hons) course from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has become the first undergraduate sports journalism degree in the UK to receive full accreditation from the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC).

The BJTC – a partnership between the major employers in the UK broadcast industry, including three BBC departments, ITV news group, Sky News and Channel 4 – gave unanimous approval for the accreditation following their visit to the School of Journalism, Media and Communication (JoMeC) this month.

The accreditation panel met staff and students from the course and viewed a selection of work, including live sports shows, news bulletins and recorded documentaries. The accreditation was awarded for the course’s high standards of delivery, quality of technical resources, tutor experience, graduate achievement in the professional world and its relevance to sports journalism as a whole.

Commenting on the accreditation, Course Leader Charlie Lambert said: “We are very pleased to be receiving the accreditation, which shows recognition of the quality of the course and its relevance to the needs of the industry.

“The popularity of the course is going from strength to strength as its reputation is established. Two years ago we had just fifteen students enrolled on the final year of the course but this year there are fifty, with applications for next year promising to be even higher.”

Mike Ward, Head of School commented: “The course is a great example of successful collaboration between two Schools (JoMeC and Sports, Tourism and the Outdoors) and our thanks are also due to Charlie and Academic Director of Sport, Adrian Ibbetson, for their important and continued support and contribution.”

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