My first journalism job as a news reporter

My first journalism job... news reporter graphic, with photo of Adam Wareing on the right

Now a news reporter with stories across national papers, Adam Wareing shares his journey since graduating from the School of Journalism last year.

What is your job?

I’m a reporter at the international press agency Kennedy News and Media. We produce stories for national papers, websites and social channels.

What do you do on an average day in your role?  

On an average day I source stories, mainly from social media, and pitch them in the group chat before reaching out to those involved for an interview.

I chase a number of stories at the same time to keep the conveyor belt of stories rolling, and once I’ve finished an interview, I’ll request pictures from the contributor before writing it up.

I prepare a picture package and then keep track of which news sites my story appears on and log them with the accounts team.

How did you secure your current job? What was the application process like? 

During my second year at the School of Journalism I sent one of my stories to Kennedy News and Media, who sold it to the national papers and websites.

In my final year I asked to come for a few days of work experience and I was offered two shifts per week as a result.

Once I’d finished my degree, I moved to working five shifts per week and then moved onto a full-time contract in October last year.

What was your biggest takeaway from your journalism degree with The School of Journalism?  

My biggest takeaway was figuring out that I didn’t want to write about one subject and wanted to cover all sorts of stories.

I feel like the breadth of stories I had the opportunity to report during the course meant I became a journalist versatile enough to cover pretty much anything.

The degree prepared me for writing about a huge range of topics – I would be covering gig reviews one day and a local election the next day, which really does give you a feel for a general reporter role.

Do you have any advice for people choosing where to study journalism? 

Having the NCTJ diploma at gold standard is key, so find out where gives you the best chance of getting there. This is what will get you a job in the industry, because that’s the goal at the end of the day.

Read about what the NCTJ is and why it is important for aspiring journalists here. 

Do you have any advice for current journalism students?  

Current journalism students should push themselves out of their comfort zone. If you love reporting on sport, try covering a local election.

A journalism course is the time to try things out and learn lessons that will stick in your mind when you’re in a job.

Have you written a story you are particularly proud of since graduating?

It’s really hard to pick a particular story I’m proud of, considering they’re all so different. But I love light-hearted stories with great pictures, so I’ll go with a story that made a page three exclusive in The Sun last month.

The story was about the face of the Honey Monster showing up on a baby scan. The story looked great in the newspaper and it’ll be great for the mum to show her kid when he’s older!

The School of Journalism graduates go into the industry prepared for life as a journalist. Read about Olivia Burke’s first journalism job as a world news reporter here.