Top ten tips from our journalism masterclasses

Phone is set up on tripod also attached to video camera. Filming a woman sat at a desk in front of a computer. There is a houseplant to the right of the woman, and the tripod set-up is in the foreground to the left.

At the School of Journalism, we held a series of journalism masterclasses for sixth form students during October half term. Here is a breakdown of the top ten tips we learnt from our talented guest speakers.

Mobile journalism with multimedia journalist Laura Garcia

Mobile story-telling is becoming increasingly important for journalists, and for the first of our journalism masterclasses Laura took us through her own experience and her best tricks of the trade. Here is what we took away from the session:

  1. As a journalist, you should become a transmedia storyteller by telling stories across multiple digital technologies. You are a newsgatherer of content that goes everywhere – from print and online websites to multimedia content on social media, YouTube and more!
  2. Some golden rules for visual storytelling – always script plan, remember that audio and composition are very important, hold every shot for 10 seconds, and always make sure to shoot all your B-roll when on location.

  1. There are so many gadgets out there to assist with mobile journalism. These include physical kits such as mini phone tripods as well as loads of fun apps which help you script plan, record audio and edit videos. Some examples of great video editing apps include Kinemaster, Quick and Adobe.
  2. If you want to be a journalist, you can get out there and do it now! You have everything you need in your pocket – your mobile phone.
  3. There are so many reasons to love journalism – you’re on the front row seat to history, you get to travel and experience new things, and every day is different. And sometimes, you get to meet people’s pets.

Entertainment journalism with magazine editor Beth Kirkbride

From film and TV to music and theatre, the possibilities of what you can cover in entertainment journalism are endless! Beth is the editor of The Indiependent, an entertainment and culture magazine, and she gave us loads of great tips for breaking into the industry:

  1. A good review should compare the strengths and weaknesses of the subject and should inform the reader whether it is worth their time and money.
  2. You should start a review with your most interesting point to draw the reader in, and you should avoid clichéd phrases.

  1. Always adapt your writing style to suit the publication you’re working for – you can usually find their style guide online, so consider this when pitching your ideas too.
  2. When reviewing films and books, don’t spoil the ending!

  3. There are loads of great publications out there which accept pitches from young aspiring journalists, including The Indiependent, Empoword Journalism and Gal-dem.

If you want to find out more about our journalism masterclasses or about getting into journalism, read our blog posts here!

There is still time to apply for our BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism degree. If you have any questions you can email us on [email protected] or call us on 0203 026 3781.