Media Future#2 - Why Do Regional Journalists Not Make It To Nationals?
July 30th, 2008 by Mark Hanson 
According to a national news editor ….”We no longer see the regional newspapers as a source for staff. We find that training graduates ourselves produces better journalists.” (Hat tip Joanna Geary)
That means even less incentive to slave away on a regional paper to earn peanuts. It also says a lot about the future of national newspapers where door-stepping and grassroots investigation are becoming less part of the job, exactly the sort of things that regional journalism is a great training ground for.
Does this mean that journalism will have a North/South divide, where only those folk living within the M25 with generous parents who can afford to sub them their rent and student loan repayments can afford to work the odd night shift at a national to get a foot in the door?
I suppose the City of London journalism course will become even more highly prized as its much easier to build contacts and be a dogsbody for a national.
Tags: future of journalism, joanna geary, journalism training, regional journalism
July 30th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Interesting post especially your north / south divide argument. Do you think that this will filter to other parts of the media? with editors more likely to take on cheaper grads rather than a journo who did their apprenticeship at a regional?
July 31st, 2008 at 8:26 am
Hi Paul, welcome to the blog! Yes I think exactly that.
I think it will be interesting to see how regional papers adapt over the next couple of years as margins get squeezed. Do they start to compete downwards, using journalists as wire copy-tasters and editing press releases or do they innovate?