Big names in journalism head to University for back-to-back national conferences

Our MediaCity campus will play host to the Journalism and the Courts symposium on Wednesday 18 June for an event that will explore the future of court reporting before the Sports Journalism Educators Conference takes centre stage on Thursday 19 June.

The symposium is being run in association with the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and is a must-attend gathering of court reporters and journalism academics that will discuss the past, present and future of court journalism amidst a challenging outlook for the sector.

The conference will then see sports journalists, club media professionals and leading sports journalism educators engage in three live, town hall panels on how we teach, learn and work in sports media.

Both events are believed to be the first of their kind in the UK and will be succeeded by another key UK journalism event as dozens of programme leaders from across the UK descend on our campus for the Broadcast Journalism Training Council’s annual meeting and conference on Thursday 3 July.

The plethora of events for journalists across a range of fields reinforces the University of Salford’s standing as one of the leading centres for media training in the UK, that constantly churns out award-winning students into the sector whilst also being a place for innovation and cutting-edge discussion about the future of journalism in the UK – and how it is taught.

Dr Richard Jones, Director of Journalism, Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Salford, said: “We’re proud of the hundreds of Salford graduate already working in journalism and across the media industries. We want to play our part in not only supplying talent, but also leading discussions about the opportunities and challenges facing journalism at this fascinating time. 

"Working with top industry figures and accreditation partners, the NCTJ and BJTC on events such as these, helps keeps us at the cutting edge of journalism.”

Richard is the lead organiser for the symposium and the author of the recently published, Reporting the Courts, which chronicled the current level of court reporting in the UK and the challenges facing journalists who cover both the criminal and civil courts. The symposium will also serve as the formal launch of the book.

Sian Harrison, co-editor of McNae’s Law for Journalists and former Law Editor of the Press Association will be the symposium’s keynote speaker and will be joined by other leading industry figures in attendance, such as editors and reporters from major news publishers Reach, National World and Newsquest. They will be also be joined by journalism researchers from here at Salford and around the UK, who will each offer fresh perspectives on this fast-changing area of journalism.

The Sports Journalism Educators Conference has been pulled together by Taylor Umland, Programme Leader for BA Sports Journalism at the University of Salford, who devised the idea for the event as a way for universities and sports clubs to better work together and ensure that students are being trained to meet the ever-changing demands and practices of the sports industry upon graduation.

Taylor said: “There has never been a more exciting time for sports journalism, but for many years, universities and the sports media industry have not worked together enough to provide a future-focused, student-centered approach that better equips graduates for the jobs of today. We have the infrastructure, legions of eager students, and a thriving sports media industry but we continue to not make the most of it. How do we resolve this? By coming together to foster long-lasting structured collaboration.

“That is the crux of this conference – to build a platform where industry expertise can directly inform education. Where students, graduates, lecturers, journalists, can all come and discuss how we make this happen.”

The conference is comprised of three unique panels, representing journalists, sports media professionals and sports media educators.

• The journalist panel is represented by Alice McKeegan, Senior Editor (Football) at BBC Sport and former Football Editor for the Manchester Evening News, Craig Chisnall, Development Editor at The Athletic, Jonny Bentley, Producer & On-Air Pundit at the BBC & Natalie Pike, a freelance presenter and broadcaster.
   
• Representing the sports media professionals are Jordan Kligerman, Professor and Producer in Sports Media at the Newhouse School for Public Communications at Syracuse University, Lewis Redmond, Club Journalist at Aston Villa FC, Dan Hawkhead, Communications Executive at Leeds Rhinos, Harry Siddall, Media Manager at Salford Red Devils & Trudi Hannaford, Head of Education and Development at Guiseley AFC.
   
• And the sports media educator panel will consist of Olivia Stomski, Director of the Newhouse School for Public Communications at Syracuse University and Coordinating Producer for ProAngle Media, Will Cope, Head of Film and Media & former Course Leader for Sports Journalism at Southampton Solent University, Chris Lepkowski, Course Director of Sports Journalism at Birmingham City University, Rafaelle Nicholson, Senior Lecturer in Sports Journalism at Bournemouth University, Seth Bennett, Head of Sports Journalism at Sheffield Hallam University & Dr James Mahon, Freelance Reporter for ITN and Course Lead for Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland.

The Journalism and the Courts Symposium will run from 9.15am to 5.30pm. Tickets are free but are selling fast and must be booked in advance. A live stream will be circulated nearer the time for those unable to attend in person.

The Sports Journalism Education Conference will run from  9.30am to 5.30pm. Tickets are free but must be booked in advance.