Guest speaker series
At The School of Journalism your journalism studies are complemented by a whole host of guest speakers with a wealth of experience from across the industry. These vary course to course and are often related to the biggest news stories of the moment. Our speakers deliver sessions, run news conferences, host Q&As and much more! Here is a selection of our recent guest speakers and some of the advice they shared…
2025
April
Abigail Rabbett, London World editor
Conor Wilson, Daily Express reporter, David Averre, Daily Mail chief foreign reporter and Cyann Fielding, The Sun travel news reporter
Ollie Lewis, Sky News interviews producer
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March
Dave Woods, Sky Sports and former BBC commentator
Abigail Rabbett, London World editor
Miriam Walker-Khan, Sky Sports News diversity and inclusion reporter
James Gray, sports news correspondent at The I Paper
Tim Singleton, head of international news at Sky News
Sky News head of international news and our NCTJ industry advisor Tim Singleton spoke to our trainees about his career and pathways into the industry 🌟#TeamNA #StartedHere pic.twitter.com/0Nglfddh8a
— News Associates (@NewsAssociates) March 5, 2025
February
Sian Elvin, The Independent news editor
Ayaat Yassin-Kassab, MailOnline reporter, Madeline Sharratt, US reporter for The Independent, Amelia Stout, freelance reporter and assistant producer
Tom Earnshaw, LadBible trends and SEO editor
Sonny Jacobs, senior reporter for That’s TV
Hope Gallagher, engagement producer at Manchester Evening News
Hannah Robinson, Kennedy news reporter
Oliver Jervis, trainee sub-editor at Daily Mail
Stephanie Nourse, output producer at Sky News
Perkin Amalaraj, Daily Mail foreign news reporter
January
Amardeep Bassey, freelance reporter and lecturer at De Montfort University
Rizwana Hamid, director of the centre of media monitoring
Sophie Elsworthy & Justin Williams, Insight X co-CEOs
Rachel Blundy, AFP deputy head of digital investigation
Craig Chisnall, The Athletic development director
Sarah Lester, Manchester Evening News editor
Investigative journalist and senior lecturer Amardeep Bassey spoke to our Manchester trainees about reporting on race and religion 👏
Thank you to the @RelMedCentre for organising this!#TeamNA #StartedHere pic.twitter.com/p2rpgNB9eZ
— News Associates (@NewsAssociates) March 3, 2025
2024
December
Karen Edwards, freelance travel, lifestyle and entertainment journalist
Alice Reeves-Turner, Sky Sports assistant producer
Jack Zorab, freelance sports commentator
Aisha Sembhi, BBC video journalist
Alex Corns, freelance radio journalist
BBC digital video journalist Aisha Sembhi and freelance radio journalist Alex Corns offered tips to our trainees about opportunities and cracking into the industry 🎙️🌟
Both studied on our part-time @nctj_news course ✨#TeamNA #StartedHere pic.twitter.com/CYz2Udtogt
— News Associates (@NewsAssociates) January 23, 2025
November
Stephen Wright, Daily Mail associate editor (investigations)
Sam Blitz, Sky Sports football journalist
Matt Lawton, The Times chief sports correspondent
Ian Ladyman, Daily Mail football editor
Nesta McGregor, BBC Sport news journalist
Christopher Reidy, Sky Sports News reporter
Ronan Hughes, Sky News head of TV output
Lisa Valentine, Bury Times digital reporter,
Greta Simpson, Manchester Evening News community reporter and
Aisha Sembhi, BBC Sport digital video journalist
Three former trainees spoke to our part-time group on Saturday about juggling work with studying towards their NCTJ diplomas ✨ It was great to welcome back Greta Simpson, Lisa Valentine and Aisha Sembhi 🙌#TeamNA #StartedHere pic.twitter.com/PYQ7SeTG14 — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) November 11, 2024
October
Jessica Sharkey, The Times news reporter
Annie Gouk, Reach data investigations editor
Constance Kampfner, The Times northern correspondent
Alina Khan, FT Adviser senior reporter, Zoë Crowther, PoliticsHome political reporter and Soraya Aslam, Good Morning Britain producer
David Keane, Kennedy News and Media Poppy Lindsey, Global Radio broadcast journalist
Richard Amofa, The Athletic staff editor
The Athletic staff editor Richard Amofa spoke to our sports journalism trainees about succeeding as a sports journalist and developing your universal selling point in the industry 📰⚽#TeamNA #StartedHere pic.twitter.com/CefB8RNAQr — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) October 26, 2024
September
Ian Brunskill, The Times associate editor
Mat Kendrick, Reach head of regional sport
Richard Duggan, Newsquest north west regional editor
Tulsen Tollett, BBC World tv & radio sports presenter
Charlie Bennett, Sportsbeat executive editor, Tom Harle, Sportsbeat Olympics editor, and Megan Armitage, Sportsbeat multimedia journalist
Ben McCrum, SPORTbible junior sports journalist
Sophie Alexander, Sky News foreign news producer, and Adele-Momoko Fraser, Sky News international news editor
Ethan Davies, Manchester Evening News Local Democracy Reporter, Ella Wilcox, Warrington Guardian trainee multimedia journalist, and Hannah Robinson, Kennedy News and Media reporter
Maya Dhillon, Pulse features assistant, and Ollie Lewis, Sky News interview producer
Oli Gent, The Sunday Times & TNT Sports freelance sports journalist
Tim Singleton, Sky News head of international news
News Associates graduates Maya Dhillon and Ollie Lewis answered questions and spoke to our fast-track trainees about their careers and experiences on the course ✨#TeamNA #StartedHere pic.twitter.com/NuMEgk0zW2 — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) September 10, 2024
August
Lauren Probert, freelance journalist
Jem Collins, Journo Resources founder
Carla Rosch, BBC News journalist
July
Isabelle Casey, HELLO! Magazine online writer
Hannah Lovejoy, Greatest Hits Radio digital editor
June
Charlotte Livia Hall, Manchester Evening News local democracy reporter
Kumail Jaffer, Daily Mail political correspondent
May
Alice Gould, IPSO head of complaints, John Davidson, IPSO head of communications, and Elena Richards Coldicutt, IPSO engagement officer
Jane Bruccoleri-Aitchison, University Hospitals Dorset senior communications manager
Pete Grant, Newsquest digital content, social and audience manager
Rizwana Hamid, Centre for Media Monitoring director
A massive thank you to Centre for Media Monitoring (@cfmmuk) director Rizwana Hamid for talking to our @NCTJ_news trainees about how the British media reports on Muslims and Islam. pic.twitter.com/wX41EoYJbF
— News Associates (@NewsAssociates) May 2, 2024
April
Adonis Pratsides, The Sports Agents executive producer
Steve Forbes, talkSPORT sports news reader
Vanessa Brown, Financial Times world news digital editor
Ben Snowball, Eurosport and TNT Sports senior digital editor
Jayne Pearce and Andrew McMenamin, Pearce InternationalFriends of News Associates Jayne and Andrew deliver regular workshops on crisis communications for our sports journalism trainees.
February
Asyia Iftikhar, Former PinkNews entertainment reporter, Tilly Pearce, Former Daily Express deputy TV and showbiz editor and Joy, Bauer Media entertainment reporter and content producer
Hannah Robinson, Kennedy News and Media reporter and Ethan Davies Manchester Evening News local democracy reporter
Freya Gascoigne, Sky News news desk editor and Kristina Wemyss, Daily Mail trainee sub-editor
Svitlana Morenets, The Spectator staff writer
Karen Edwards, travel, lifestyle and entertainment freelance journalist. Click here to see what we learnt from this talk.
The Times & The Sunday Times associate editor Ian Brunskill and trainee journalists Yennah Smart and Max Kendix joined our fast-track trainees for news conferences across our four Londoner sites yesterday… and it’s deadline day today! pic.twitter.com/1ablLFfKnm — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) February 24, 2023
January
David Keane, Kennedy News & Media editor
Jem Collins, JournoResources founder
Paul Hudson, Daily Mail Paul delivered a session on column writing
Ian Chadband, AAP sports journalist
Tum Balogun, MailOnline sports reporter, Fadumo Olow, Sky Sports News reporter, Alasdair Hooper, Formula 1 duty editor and Ben Parsons, bunkered content producer
Thank you to @tum_balogun, @Fadumo_oo, @adjhooper1992 and @_benparsons for sharing invaluable advice about the sports journalism industry! 🙌 #TeamNA #StartedHere They discussed networking tips, how to embrace every opportunity and the importance of having a diverse skillset 🌟 pic.twitter.com/LwaLT7jqad — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) January 30, 2024
2023
December
Craig Chisnall, The Athletic development editor
Paul Hudson, Daily Mail
November
Susie Rushton, The Telegraph Magazine deputy editor Susie shared invaluable advice with our third year trainees who were completing their magazine journalism project
Sarah Lester, Manchester Evening News editor
Alya Zayed, MyLondon executive editor and Unzela Khan, MyLondon race and diversity editor
A massive thank you to MyLondon’s executive editor @alya_zayed and race and diversity editor @unzela_ for talking to our trainees 🙌 They spoke about how to source stories and the importance of digital journalism ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/pY24QAjE16 — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) November 28, 2023
Mary Isokariari, BBC freelance senior journalist and social media journalist Mary delivers regular social media masterclasses for our trainees.
Kamal Ahmed, The News Movement co-founder and editor-in-chief
Claire Rowden, MTV Movies social producer, Neha Gohil, The News Movement correspondent, Helen Thomas, VICE senior social editor and Stefan Frost, Sportsbeat social media executive
Matt Lawton, The Times chief sports correspondent
Zoe Crowther, PoliticsHome social media journalist
PoliticsHome reporter Zoe Crowther, ITV News producer Soraya Aslam, and Financial Times Adviser senior reporter Alina Khan spoke to our part-time trainees about the course and their careers🏆 🌟👏✨#TeamNA #StartedHere pic.twitter.com/mTNAi3lQjq — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) October 15, 2024
September
Tim Singleton, Sky News head of international news Tim is one of our course advisors and will be a regular visitor to the centre. In September, he spoke about his career, how breaking stories develop and shared tips on how to network.
Adam Wareing, Kennedy News & Media
James Holt, Manchester Evening News senior reporter
Abi Curran, Sportsbeat multimedia reporter
Claudia Savage, PA Media reporter
Molly Pavord, Splash News reporter
Eve Bennett, Sky News TV producer
August
Derek Brown, News UK executive creative director
Aaliyah Harry, Grazia news and entertainment writer and Isabelle Casey, HELLO! magazine online junior writer
Thank you to News UK executive creative director Derek Brown for speaking to our remote trainees and sharing some fascinating advice 😃 He discussed how the future of journalism is in video and AI and what essential skills employers look for on candidates CVs ✍️ pic.twitter.com/1mGYkLpS7R — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) August 18, 2023
July
Paul Hudson, Daily Mail Paul delivers regular sessions to our trainees on column writing
May
Tim Singleton, Sky News head of international news In May, he spoke about his journey from print to broadcast journalism and reviewed our trainees’ news bulletins.
Matthew Dickens, director and photographer at business-portraits.co.uk and imagecomms.com Matthew delivers a masterclass in photography on our NCTJ courses and summer school.
April
Jonathan Liew, The Guardian sports writer Jonathan Zoomed into our Manchester classroom and shared advice on colour writing and gave our trainees feedback on their features.
Ronan Hughes, Sky News head of output In April, he ran a TV production workshop and reviewed our trainees’ video packages.
Inzamam Rashid, Sky News correspondent
Dharmesh Sheth, Sky Sports News presenter
Jo Wilson, Sky Sports News presenter
Jayne Pearce and Andrew McMenamin, Pearce International Friends of News Associates Jayne and Andrew regular deliver workshops on crisis communications for our sports journalism trainees.
Our @NCTJ_news trainees loved hearing from @SkySportsNews presenters @skysports_sheth and Jo Wilson 🤩 They shared advice on getting into sports journalism, their top tips for broadcasting and memorable career highlights ✨ pic.twitter.com/8nJ84x06yV — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) April 14, 2023
February
Ian Brunskill and trainee journalists
Yennah Smart and Max Kendix joined our fast-track trainees for news conferences across our four Londoner sites.
Karen Edwards, travel, lifestyle and entertainment freelance journalist. Click here to see what we learnt from this talk.
The Times & The Sunday Times associate editor Ian Brunskill and trainee journalists Yennah Smart and Max Kendix joined our fast-track trainees for news conferences across our four Londoner sites yesterday… and it’s deadline day today! pic.twitter.com/1ablLFfKnm — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) February 24, 2023
2022
December
Jem Collins, Journo Resources founder Friend of News Associates Jem Collins regularly visits to run sessions on freelance journalism and pitching.
Tom Barclay, The Sun senior football writer
Thank you so much to @journoresources editor @Jem_Collins for talking to our fast-track and sports journalism @NCTJ_news trainees today! 🤩 Jem explained how to successfully pitch stories and thrive as a freelance journalist ✍️ pic.twitter.com/ZstNB6nTbg — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) December 12, 2022
November
Doug Wills, Evening Standard editor Doug joins nearly every course to run mock news conferences for a super practical day-long exercise.
Tom Earnshaw, content editor LancsLive
Alex James, XS Manchester Breakfast Presenter
Ian Herbert, Daily Mail deputy chief sportswriter
Yesterday Evening Standard editor emeritus Doug Wills ran news conferences and helped our fast-track trainees produce mock newspaper pages 📰🗞 @wills_doug pic.twitter.com/e6ChX6s8RV — News Associates (@NewsAssociates) November 29, 2022
October
Victoria Derbyshire, BBC broadcast journalist Click here to see what we learnt from this talk.
Justin Menhenett, Solent News Agency editor
Tulsen Tollett, BBC News broadcaster
Rizwana Hamid, Centre for Media Monitoring director
Martin Lipton, The Sun chief sports reporter
Julie Etchingham, presenter and reporter for ITV News at Ten, ITV Tonight & Exposure
May
Joe Wallen, Telegraph south Asia correspondent
We regularly host free masterclasses, workshops and Q&As – sign up here.