It’s been another busy few weeks for BA and MA Sports Journalism and Journalism students, with a range of extra activities, events and industry-focused learning.

Students from the courses welcomed Ruby Moore, Communications Lead for the Brighton Marathon Weekend, who came in to talk about this hugely popular local event and her wider role as Communications Manager at London Marathon Events.

Ruby explained how the events sector works, with a focus on how students can utilise their journalism skills to transfer into related industries such as comms and event management, and provided practical advice on moving from study into the workplace.

“I was delighted meet the students,” she said. “We’ve been working with the University of Brighton as a partner of the Brighton Marathon Weekend and this has included finding ways students can use our event to learn new skills and apply them at one of the UK’s biggest marathons. The students I spoke to were all really engaged and asked thoughtful and insightful questions and made me really excited about the new talent soon to be joining the industry.”

Students on the courses will have the opportunity to work on the Brighton Marathon when it takes place next month.
The importance of fact checking in journalism was the centrepiece of a special L6 workshop with Sophie Nicholson from news wire Agence-France Press (AFP).

Nicholson, Deputy Editor in Chief, Digital Investigations at AFP, gave students valuable professional insight into one of the most important challenges facing the media today, aligning her expertise with course teaching that focuses on the vital importance of accuracy and confronting the issue of ‘fake news’.

Following this, students from across the year groups ventured out of the classroom into the wild (of sorts) with a special field trip to the British Wildlife Centre near Lingfield in Surrey.

The were given tours of the centre which features the finest collection of native species in the country, with over 40 different species on display. Students were provided with inspiring ideas for their multi-media content that will aid them with their assessments and their practical portfolios.

BA Journalism Course Leader Lidia Pedro Sole said: “The trip came after a masterclass by Mike Unwin who captivated the students with his stories on conservation and environmental issues. During the guided tour at the British Wildlife Centre, students had the opportunity to take pictures, record videos, ask questions and look for the story within the story. All critical skills for the journalists of the future.”

Finally (for now) Elise Wells, a specialist in consumer journalism, production and sub-editing, came into the courses’ Professional Practice module to further help students with preparing for their assessments and passing on expert guidance and advice on working in the industry.

Find out more about studying Journalism at Brighton.