News
Monday 5 September 2005
Broadcast Journalism reaches ten-year landmark
Nottingham Trent University is celebrating ten-years since it launched one of the first broadcast journalism courses in the country. But what of that initial cohort of budding journalists who entered the world of media when they graduated a decade ago? When the University decided to track a few of them down, its first port of call was Sky News anchorman Steve Dixon.
“It was the only course of its kind in the country and there was a real buzz and sense of excitement about the place - everything was so new and fresh. I even remember helping to unpack some of the broadcasting equipment as it was delivered to the University,” said Steve.
After graduating, Steve worked for Trent FM before moving to London to join ITN as a producer of the ITV Morning News and ITN World News programmes. A year later, when ITN launched the Five News service, Steve was asked to join the team as a producer of its breakfast show. By the time he left he had also worked as a reporter, VT editor, programme editor and daily presenter on the channel.
In 2000 he made the move to Sky News as a freelance journalist, presenting its overnight programmes. He made the move permanent about three years ago and has since become one of its main newsreaders, breaking such stories as the London bombings, the capture of Saddam Hussein and the suicide of Britain’s most prolific mass murderer, Harold Shipman.
Another student from the class of ’95, Sue Hines, took a different route and opted for a career in public relations after graduating.
On the day of her final exam Sue was offered a job as press officer at the British Safety Council. She later became a press officer for Thurrock Council in London and then PR Manager for telecommunications company Orange. For the last three-years she has been Account Director for PR agency Hallmark in Winchester.
Hannah Graydon took a similar route, where her love of travel saw her land a job working in the British Airways press office. She was responsible for distributing press releases, handling media calls and even helping to produce television pieces for BA’s internal news on items such as new aircraft orders and overseas charity work.
After two-and-a-half years with BA Hannah moved to PR agency work, looking after accounts as diverse as Disneyland, and the Sheikh of Dubai’s unique seven-star hotel in the United Arab Emirates. Now a full-time mother, she looks after the PR for an independent school.
She said: “The Broadcast Journalism course at Nottingham Trent University gave me a sound knowledge of the media and how it works. It made me think about the bigger picture and just how responsible a job working as a journalist actually is.”
Gill Moore, Director of the Centre for Broadcasting & Journalism, said: “The secret to our success is good team work and an exciting mix of talented staff and students. We’ve worked hard to build up strong working relationships with media organisations both regionally and nationally. They have helped support the course as it developed and made sure that what we deliver is always relevant. We’ve also been very fortunate in the support our visiting professors have offered – these have included Jon Snow, Sue MacGregor and Roger Cook.”
The Broadcast Journalism degree was developed in conjunction with key media organisations including BBC East Midlands, Central Television, ITN and the GWR radio group.
Stemming from that single degree launched in 1992 – the first broadcast journalism undergraduate course to be accredited by what is now the Broadcast Journalism Training Council – the University now boasts eight specialist postgraduate courses for television, radio, newspaper and online broadcasting and journalism. All are housed within its cutting-edge facility, the Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Dave Rogers, Press Officer, on Tel: +44 (0)115 848 2650 or via email: dave.rogers@ntu.ac.uk
Or Therese Easom, Press and Media Relations Manager, on Tel: +44 (0)115 848 6589 or via email: therese.easom@ntu.ac.uk
