Magazine Journalism (NCTJ)
Do you have what it takes to be a magazine journalist? Are you looking for the challenge of working to deadlines, writing features, and designing pages for magazines?
You can now do a pre-entry magazine journalism course with NCTJ qualifications - online.
Our online Magazine Journalism course will give you one of the country's leading journalism trainers as your personal tutor and mentor - and the qualifications and experience needed to start a career in journalism. That could be on a magazine, a website, the feature pages of a regional paper - or you could work for yourself as a freelance.
This course has an excellent record of finding people jobs - and provides exactly the same qualifications offered by NCTJ-accredited colleges.
It is NOT for those who are just thinking about journalism. It is aimed at people who want to be working for a newspaper within the next 1-2 years. It is quite possible to complete the course in nine months - but you can take it more slowly if you have heavy commitments already.
Is this a proper course?
Yes, we are recognised by the UK Government and are fully accredited.
What does it cover?
You will cover these subjects from the NCTJ syllabus:
FOUNDATION JOURNALISM
The magazine industry, and the journalist’s job and the qualities needed
Copy presentation
Notebook discipline
Contacts book
What is news, and why it is essential for features.
Sources of news and features
Industry organisations
House style
Contacts and how to make them
Interviewing – face to face and by phone
Magazine terminology
News and feature writing style
The news intro
Story construction
Feature construction
Use of quotes
Ethics and the PCC Code of Conduct
Reference sources
Graphics
Working from press releases and handouts
Covering meetings and speeches
Sub editing and headline writing
Proofreading
Job finding
Your CV
Preparing for job interviews
JOURNALISM: SPECIALIST AREAS
You will be told the subjects for your Specialist area at the appropriate time.
Our Specialist Areas are:
Travel writing
Human interest writing
Opinion writing and reviews
Photojournalism
Sports journalism
Writing for the web
Education journalism
Political journalism
Freelance journalism
Investigative journalism
Fashion and celebrity journalism
LAW 2: GENERAL REPORTING
Introduction
Copyright
Confidentiality
Defamation
Children involved in crime
Sexual offences
Public Order Act 1986
Classification of crimes
Contempt of court
Ethics and the PCC Code of Conduct
Official Secrets Acts
Covering elections
Journalist’s sources
Freedom of Information Act
Data Protection Act
Bankruptcy law
PUBLIC AFFAIRS: CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
The UK constitution
The Monarchy
Parliament at Westminster
The legislative process at Westminster
Devolution
The UK Government
The political process
Elections
The European Union
The NHS
Social welfare services
Employment, training and economic development
Industry and commerce
The Utilities
The Treasury
The Home Office
Culture, Media and Sport
International relations and defence
Please note: this course does not cover desktop publishing. We recommend that students learn these skills at an evening class or an intensive short-course. Evidence of design and production skills will be needed for your NCTJ Magazine Portfolio.
Who is my tutor?
Your tutor will be Cleland Thom, who is recognised as one of the UK's leading trainers for the NCTJ exams.
Is there any tutorial support?
Yes, you can email your tutor any time - as often as you need to. This is really helpful in the run-up to the exams. We guarantee to respond within two working days, although it is usually much quicker. We will phone you if there is an issue that cannot be dealt with by email. In this course, you will get tutorial support for:
All aspects of your studies
Marking your assignments
Coaching for NCTJ exams
Marking mock exam papers
Finding work attachment
Finding work
Preparing for job interviews
Career guidance
