Trainees take poll position

TRAINEE reporters on the Newcastle Press Association course have been wearing out their shoe leather on the election beat.

Eight intrepid volunteers blitzed the marginal seat of Tynemouth which the Tories are hoping to win back from Labour.

In a mammoth effort the group carried out a straw poll of 900 people in a day.

It looked like the vox pop from hell but they were determined not to be beaten. Each trainee had a target of 100 people to stop and ask two questions of. Every one of them hit their target and two or three went well beyond it.

Pollster supreme Tom Bristow brought back 180 responses.

The survey was carried our on behalf of The Journal which published the responses on Saturday.

One of the trainees on the course missed out on the chance to meet everyone in Tynemouth. Morgan Sheridan was excused boots because she managed to get an interview with Eddie Izzard.

Morgan was doing a video of Eddie in a coffee house while the rest of the team were putting in the hard miles. But that’s showbiz. (PJ)

Parky feels sorry for young journalists

Sir Michael Parkinson, who started on a local newspaper when he was 16, has said he feels sorry for young people entering journalism today.
Sir Michael, presenting the National Association of Press Agencies awards in London last night, said: "I look back on 60 years now as a hack with great pleasure and great fondness because it was a very rich and different time for journalists.
"Today I feel sorry for the younger generation, not in a patronising way, but because we all know about how this industry has changed for the worst, with fewer papers and fewer opportunities." Nice piece by Jon Slattery on Parkinson's views.

Trainee lands first splash

Trainee Jack Maidment has scooped his fellow delegates on our Newcastle foundation course by landing the first splash story of the 17-week programme.

He managed to pull in an interesting story about pensioners fixing their own retirement dates which was made the lead in The Journal newspaper.

One of the things that sets our training course apart from many others is the chance the trainees get to work on real stories during their time with us.

We normally get dozens published in the three newspapers and associated NCJ Media websites during the life of each course.

Getting a story strong enough to lead one of the titles though is always an achievement.

Jack said: "It's a really big deal for me. The Journal is a leading paper and to have my byline on the splash is fantastic."

We are continuing to work towards the August 30 launch date for our sister course in the London offices of the Press Association which will mirror the Newcastle course. (TJ)