Apprenticeship training course

Journalist (level 5)

Find and tell stories and inform the public.

• Qualification level: 5 ; Equivalent to higher national diploma (HND).
• Typical duration: 14 months
• Apprenticeship category: Creative and design
• Maximum funding: £13,000 ; Maximum amount government will fund ; for apprenticeship training.
• Also known as:
  • Data journalist
  • Digital journalist
  • Journalist
  • Multimedia reporter
  • Reporter
  • Social media producer
  • Trainee reporter
• Skills:
  Skills an apprentice will learn

  • Undertake research before reporting to ensure that journalistic content/material published or broadcast is accurate, impartial, balanced, engages the audience and is verifiable with industry standard use of English.
  • Identify, select, and verify multiple sources of information, including people, reports, data and social media, cross-checking and corroborating when necessary.
  • Take accurate, relevant notes when and where needed, use shorthand where required by your employer.
  • Assess the strengths/weaknesses of available platforms and where and when journalistic content is likely to work best.
  • Assess and produce journalistic content in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements; ethical issues and organisational specifications, alerting senior managers when necessary.
  • Make decisions and judgements at speed and when under pressure, on the way stories are researched and presented, aiming to lead when breaking news.
  • Find and use contacts to create journalistic content and exclusive stories which meet the needs of the target audience. Verify information from contacts and critically review its short and long-term implications.
  • Use audience analytics to evaluate the success of the journalistic content and how that can inform future decision-making.
  • Monitor relevant social media on a systematic basis. Proactively seek, verify and curate sources of user-generated content that will help improve targeted content, grow the audience and the depth of engagement.
  • Produce journalistic content using language which resonates with the audience as measured by audience analytics, social media interaction and reach or other internal "tools" used by employers to understand audience sentiment.
  • Produce journalistic content in multimedia combinations as required which "draw in" the viewer/listener/user to tell the complete story.
  • Report live to the audience from the scene of an event using remote technologies.
  • Publish journalistic content, using all available tools to enhance the user experience.
  • Undertake different types of interviews to extract information, identifying and selecting the right interviewing technique to suit the interviewee and seeking to make a connection with the subject.
  • Evaluate answers from interviewees to inform further questioning, probing for detail and inconsistencies in replies given. If needed, identify other people to speak to.
  • Check and evaluate own work in relation to industry standards, adhering to employer guidelines. Ensure it is of a quality to maintain the organisation's reputation in the industry.
  • Seek constructive feedback from relevant people about your performance; taking action as required.
  • Consider the impact of equality and diversity practices on individuals and groups and ensure those practices are inclusive.
  • Locate, clean and interrogate datasets to inform content generation.

Full information on Journalist (level 5) is available from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

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