TRAINING

With the rapid expansion of new skills and new tools, the training of journalists has never been more important. It is an essential element, not just of the production of new media, but of the journalist’s ability to work. This is not just an industrial issue but part of the union’s perpetual campaign to maintain high standards of journalism. Every journalist should be trained in as many skills as they need, to the highest standards possible.

Demarcation between NUJ members with different skills, who have done different jobs, will become increasingly blurred and the NUJ will need to deal with this. While most are likely to concentrate on one sector or skillset, everyone will need a wider range of skills. As well as writing for various media, these are likely to include:

• taking and editing photos (and uploading them)
•  recording and editing sound and video
•  laying out and editing print pages
•  laying out and editing websites
•  producing graphics, including moving graphics
•  producing html emails
•  managing editorial processes in multimedia.

 The Commission has found that at present there is a real gap between what journalists are expected to do and the training they are receiving for carrying it out. The survey responses give a mixed picture:

•  45% reported that staff were trained to carry new roles “as and when required”;
•  22% reported “systematic training for designated staff”.
•  7% reported “across the board”training for all journalists.

This suggests that most employers recognise that staff will need upskilling for online working, but that they will only pay for it when they have to, rather than looking to upskill their entire workforces in new technologies. They will claim that costs are too high, yet evidence collected by the commission suggests that when selected staff only are upskilled, they are likely to leave for better paid jobs elsewhere.

The biggest area of training currently being undertaken by NUJ members appears to be video reporting among staff journalists on newspapers. There is, again, a huge variation in the quality, quantity and content of the training being provided.

Some Newsquest employees reported being sent on five-day long courses with broadcast professionals and felt that the standard of training was good. However, those who attended the courses were then expected to “cascade” their knowledge down to other staff – meaning not all staff taking videos have been properly trained.

At some Northcliffe titles, emails have been sent to reporters asking them to think about doing video reports, in advance of any training. One email leaked to the NUJ says: “It’s simply a case of pressing the red button and pointing it at what is going on.”

At one Archant title, only 2 out of 12 reporters have been trained in online working. Training consisted of an 18-hour course at a local college. It had no health and safety element. Staff there say this lack of training and experience shows up in the quality of video, which is “shit”, and “embarrassing”.

Some groups are training reporters to use video cameras, some are training photographers and others a mixture of the two. It would seem to make sense for photographers, with their trained visual sense, to be trained in video reporting, although photographic staff at one Trinity Mirror title were keen to point out that taking still pictures for print was a different job from shooting video footage.

The NUJ should be gearing up to negotiate training clauses in agreements, and to utilise the statutory position of Union Learning Reps (ULRs). The union already has a programme of selecting, training and supporting ULRs and has produced a draft Union Learning Agreement, which could be negotiated in every workplace. Company training committees (established under the agreements) must review annually the skills needed for future developments. Chapels could draw up lists of training requirements for staff and offer to implement key stages of a convergence plan, working in different new media, on completion of the relevant training.

The NUJ’s Professional Training Committee (Profcom) insists that multi-skilling must be to as high a standard as possible. At present many newspapers that insist on National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) qualifications, for example, are prepared to accept much lower standards of training for such website material as video. In the case of what are essentially broadcasting skills, both college and workplace training should meet the standards of the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC).

JOURNALISM EDUCATION

Multimedia training for students is becoming a vital area of concern. The vast bulk of pre-entry journalism training is done in universities and colleges (incidentally saving employers a large cost). There is a slow shift towards multiskilling but this needs to be speeded up. All courses should provide print, broadcasting and online training, rather than separate magazine, newspaper and broadcasting courses. But experience at universities suggests that many students are receiving and often indeed indicate a preference for vocational education focusing on precise areas such as TV production, reporting, music writing, or web development. Curriculum design is not yet handling multiskilling well, and very few journalism or media academics are capable of teaching multi-skill disciplines. Colleges are increasingly adopting modular course structures and team teaching approaches.

The NCTJ for instance is developing a magazine syllabus that drops many parts of the newspaper course, such as court reporting and public affairs, yet these areas are vital for most business magazines. Education should not be allowed to skip important areas: in law, for example, those currently in print need to know about the additional responsibilities and liabilities journalists face under broadcasting regulation and legislation.

NUJ policy is in favour of an end to the separate supervising bodies for print and broadcast and the establishment of a single accreditation body for all journalism training. The need for this is becoming more urgent.

And just as it is important for company training to meet the highest standards, so colleges must use the latest versions of hardware and software. The Commission has been told for instance that some students are learning Quark Express 4.0, while the current version is 7.0. This will mean increased expenditure by colleges and there is a need for a mechanism requiring employers to contribute to the cost. Multi-skilled courses will also need multi-skilled educators, which will mean retraining the trainers.

FREELANCES

In terms of training, freelance members stand to lose the most from the adoption of new technologies. With many newspapers operating their own content upload platforms, as well as other disciplines such as vid-casting, pod-casting and blogging, it is clear that freelances, particularly amongst those who shift regularly on newspapers, could fall by the wayside without the provision of training by employers.

Wherever possible freelances should be covered under company learning agreements. The Guardian chapel has secured a commitment to training for casuals and freelances in its new multi-media agreement. However, many freelances will have to fund their own training. The NUJ should make this training available to freelances, keeping up to date with the latest systems and skills used in the industry by a range of employers. The training department has successfully negotiated discounts for Apple Mac computers and some software. It should examine securing a wider range of discounts to enable more people to take up podcasting and video journalism as cheaply as possible.

 

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