Everything we learnt from our ‘Getting into TV Journalism’ panel

A screenshot of our panellists from the 'Getting into TV Journalism' event.

Ever wondered how to land a career in TV journalism? We spoke to three fantastic broadcast journalists about their pathways into their roles, their favourite stories and their best advice for any aspiring broadcast journalists. 

All three of our guest speakers completed their NCTJ at News Associates.

We spoke to Hayter’s TV head of women’s football Ayisha Gulati, BBC political correspondent Harry Farley and That’s TV senior news producer Sonny Jacobs. 

We asked our panellists what the highlight of their career has been so far.

Harry spoke about how much he enjoyed covering the 2024 general election with the BBC. 

He said: “One week I was on the Labour bus with Keir Starmer and the next week with Rishi Sunak!”

Sonny spoke about being invited to Buckingham Palace to celebrate regional journalists across the UK.

“Meeting the King was a highlight. I was delighted to be invited to that,” he said. 

“It also made for a great LinkedIn post!”

Ayisha told us she had been Lisbon covering Arsenal v Barcelona. 

She said: “I was reporting on the Women’s Champions League final. It was a proper pinch me moment!

“I was imagining telling myself that three years ago and it was so far fetched. It was a real moment that made me think ‘Wow, this was all really worth it’.”

We asked them about which skills from their NCTJ courses they use most day to day. 

Harry said: “I still look back at the public affairs module, especially when I was doing the local elections earlier this month. 

“The NCTJ gave me a really useful grounding in knowledge you wouldn’t otherwise come across, like what the difference is between a unitary and a parish council.” 

Sonny spoke about how his time on the fast-track course refined his newswriting skills. 

“It can be tricky to be precise but those skills were very much honed on the course,” he said.

Ayisha said: “It was spotting ‘What is the news story here?’

“Honing the skill of understanding exactly what I am trying to say here and how to be punchy with it.”

Read more about the NCTJ modules that we teach here. 

We asked them what their best advice was for anyone wanting to get into TV journalism. 

Harry spoke about the opportunities he took alongside his part-time multimedia journalism course.

He said: “I was asked to go on Radio 4 at 7am on New Year’s Day which killed any New Year’s plans I might have had.

“You have to take any opportunities you can get.

“You have to ask yourself how much do you want this to be your career and make sacrifices to make that happen.” 

Sonny also stressed the importance of getting experience in all areas of journalism.

 “Never think anything is beneath you. Just put your all into it and at some point that will impress someone,” he said.

During her time on the sports multimedia journalism course, Ayisha worked at Riverside Radio. She spoke about how posting her work with them online helped her grow her confidence and platform.

 

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A post shared by Ayisha Gulati (@ayishapresents)

Ayisha said: “I turned my personal Instagram into a professional one and started posting all my content. That has been an important tool for getting noticed and letting people know what you’re doing. 

“Any voluntary work, any community radio, any written pieces – put it up there. It is like your own mini portfolio, just in a less formal structure.” 

Did you enjoy our ‘Getting into TV Journalism’ panel? Join our next free journalism workshop here.