Broadcast journalists are responsible for investigating, gathering and reporting on news and current affairs. They are expected to present this information in a fair, balanced and accurate way through news bulletins, documentaries and other factual programmes for radio, television and online broadcast.
Skillset (Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries) (http://www.skillset.org) defines broadcast journalism as 'the collection, verification and analysis of events which affect people'. The work of a broadcast journalist shapes people's perceptions of the world in which they live and therefore has a far-reaching impact.
Broadcast journalists can fill a number of roles within the media including editor, reporter, presenter/news anchor, producer and correspondent.
Typical work activities
Although exact duties and responsibilities will vary from role to role and between radio, television and the internet, broadcast journalists will generally be involved in many of the following duties, on a daily basis:
generating ideas for stories/features and following leads from news agencies, the police, the public, press conferences and other sources;
pitching ideas to editors and commissioners;
researching and collating evidence and information to support a story using relevant information sources (internet, archives, databases, etc);
writing scripts for bulletins, headlines and reports which adhere to legal and contractual guidelines;
selecting appropriate locations, pictures and sound and exercising editorial judgement on the best angle to approach a story from;
identifying necessary resources and deploying/managing technical crews for location shoots, including sound operators and camera crew;
providing directorial input, advising crews on what to film or record;
using portable digital video (DV) cameras and other equipment to record material and appropriate editing software to produce complete packages for broadcast;
preparing and presenting material 'on air' for both pre-recorded and live pieces;
identifying potential interviewees, briefing them, preparing interview questions and conducting both live and recorded interviews;
preparing timings for each news item and monitoring these during broadcast;
deciding on the running order for bulletins and making any necessary changes during broadcast;
developing and maintaining local contacts and assuming a public relations role.
Skillset (Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries) (http://www.skillset.org) has developed a set of national occupational standards which details the responsibilities expected from broadcast journalists.
Work conditions
Range of typical starting salaries: £13,000 - £22,000. Starting salaries vary significantly between local and national broadcasters (salary data collected Feb 09).
Range of typical salaries at senior level/with experience (e.g. after 10 - 15 years in the role): £22,000- £52,000 but can be over £100,000 in exceptional cases (salary data collected Feb 09). Wages differ widely depending on the employer and the location. The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk) estimates that the basic average salary at this level is approximately £30,000.
Pay tends to be higher in television than radio. Independent local radio posts tend to offer the lowest starting salaries. Additional allowances may be paid for shift work and unsocial hours and a London weighting may be available. Freelance reporters are often on individually negotiated contracts.
Working hours typically include regular unsocial hours. Shift work is common, starting early to cover regional news on breakfast radio/television shows or working mid-morning until late evening for afternoon/evening bulletins. Weekend work is often required and most broadcasters do not take public holidays. On-air presenters are less likely to go out on location to cover stories and their working hours may be more predictable/social.
The media is a volatile industry, characterised by short-term contract employment. Many broadcast journalists may be freelance and may have to relocate or travel according to availability of work.
Diversity in the media is still an issue. The 2006 census from Skillset (Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries) (http://www.skillset.org) estimated that only 38% of the workforce were women, 7% from minority ethnic groups and employees with disabilities accounted for only 1% of the workforce. However, initiatives such as BBC Extend (http://www.bbc.co.uk/jobs/extend/) , Cultural Diversity Network (http://www.culturaldiversitynetwork.co.uk) , Journalism Diversity Fund (http://www.journalismdiversityfund.com) and George Viner Memorial Fund (http://www.georgeviner.org.uk) . are attempting to address this concern and according to the Office of Communications (Ofcom) in 2007, the proportion of people from minority ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities employed in broadcasting appeared to be gradually increasing.
Job opportunities can be found across the UK. Work for network stations will tend to be London or regionally based. There are usually more opportunities at local level, through regional stations. Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) has opened many new opportunities across radio and television.
The work can be stressful and pressurised; broadcast journalists always work to strict deadlines and need to react as and when a story breaks. The work sometimes involves interacting with people at moments of crisis or tragedy which can be emotionally challenging.
There is frequent travel within a working day and absence from home at night. Overseas work or travel is occasional but more common for specialist correspondents.
Entry requirements
There are three main entry routes into broadcast journalism:
direct entry into a traineeship (though positions are scarce);
moving across from print journalism (usually for those with several years' experience);
'pre-entry' by completing an accredited degree or postgraduate qualification (most popular route).
Although this area of work is open to all graduates, a degree in journalism, or business, finance/economics or government/politics may increase your chances, particularly if wishing to pursue a career as a special correspondent. The industry is divided over the value of undergraduate journalism and media studies degrees, so it is worth investigating which courses have industry recognition or recommendation and studying the success rates of their alumni. Details of relevant courses can be obtained from the following accrediting bodies: National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) (http://www.nctj.com) ; and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (http://www.bjtc.org.uk) .
Entry is not usually possible with an HND only.
Postgraduate entry is the most common route to this profession. The BJTC and NCTJ also accredit postgraduate courses which offer both theoretical and practical training. Information about funding for postgraduate study is available from Broadcast Journalism Training Council (http://www.bjtc.org.uk) (BJTC) and from the journalism department at City University (http://www.city.ac.uk) .
In recent years, the media has introduced a number of initiatives, such as the Journalism Diversity Fund (http://www.journalismdiversityfund.com) , to encourage applications from traditionally under-represented groups. Support is, therefore, available for those who may not have studied in higher education. Details of many schemes are available through the Cultural Diversity Network (http://www.culturaldiversitynetwork.co.uk) .
Potential candidates will need to show evidence of some or all of the following:
an interest in news, current affairs and a good general knowledge;
excellent written communication;
good oral communication, with an authoritative voice, confidence in front of a camera and an 'on air' presence;
an understanding of appropriate technical equipment and relevant editing software;
ability to work under pressure, both within teams and individually;
outstanding analytical skills and ability to absorb, extract and present information in a clear and understandable way;
an interest in people/building rapports, able to handle interactions with sensitivity, empathy and diplomacy;
an eye for a story, with an ability to generate original ideas and the confidence to pitch to senior editors;
resourcefulness and creative problem-solving skills.
Work experience, whether paid or unpaid, can be a useful way to develop these skills. The BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk) and Independent Television (ITV) (http://www.itv.com) regional news both run small sponsored news traineeship schemes. Competition for both traineeships and unpaid work placements at larger network stations is fierce. Making direct approaches to individual editors or producers may therefore prove more fruitful than applying via recruitment departments, as may focusing on local stations. Local press, hospital radio and community media (Community Media Association (http://www.commedia.org.uk) ) are excellent training grounds, as is any involvement in student media (largely magazine, newspaper or radio). Applications, even for work experience, will be stronger if accompanied by demo tapes or cuttings and student media is an ideal place to start building a portfolio. Make yourself known to as many people as possible, be flexible and available at all times. Volunteer to get involved wherever you can and do not be afraid to be pro-active.
There are no age restrictions for entry. Skills, experience and qualifications are the main criteria for selection. It is illegal for employers to discriminate against candidates on the grounds of age, gender, race, disability, sexual orientation or religious faith. For more information on equality and diversity in the job market see handling discrimination.
For more information, see work experience (www.prospects.ac.uk/workexperience) and find courses and research (www.prospects.ac.uk/pg).
Training
If entry has been via an accredited course, it will be expected that the necessary basic training needed to practise in the profession will have been covered. For those who have not come via this route, gaining an understanding of media law and health and safety is normally considered an immediate training need. A substantial amount of training will be informal and 'on the job'. It is usual for trainee journalists to initially be assigned basic tasks such as working autocues and fetching tapes, gaining an insight into the whole process, before they move into more specific and responsible roles.
As budgets are stretched, multi-skilling is becoming more prevalent in the media. Many broadcast journalists find that they can now be responsible for recording and editing their own footage. Acquiring knowledge and understanding of technical equipment and relevant software is, therefore, currently a key training need and many employers will require/support training in these areas.
The media is a fast-paced, ever-evolving industry. Its professional bodies (Skillset (Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries) (http://www.skillset.org) , National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) (http://www.nctj.com) and National Union of Journalists (NUJ) (http://www.nuj.org.uk) ) recognise the need to support journalists in their continual professional development in order to stay ahead of the game. Short courses include: negotiating contracts; public relations; sub-editing; interviewing skills; as well as new technologies.
The Media Courses and Multimedia Courses Directory (http://www.bfi.org.uk/education/talkscourses/mediacourses/) , compiled by Skillset and BFI, lists over 6,000 available courses. Others can be found through Journalism.co.uk (http://www.journalism.co.uk) or BBC Academy (http://www.bbctraining.com) including some free online courses.
Career development
Broadcast journalists who start in television will often begin as newsroom assistants or researchers, before moving into a reporting role. As experience is gained, there is scope to specialise; some may choose to focus on pursuing a senior broadcast journalist role with responsibility for managing news staff and budgets while others may prefer to become a studio-based news anchor or presenter. Another route may be to specialise to become a correspondent. The ultimate aim for the latter may be to secure a position as a senior correspondent on network news, though these positions are highly coveted and few and far between.
Investigative journalism or documentary journalism are also possible career development options. Those who wish to move behind the scenes may aspire to become programme editors/sub-editors or producers.
Radio differs slightly in that trainees are normally given greater responsibility earlier on. Depending on the size of the station, they may even find that they have sole responsibility for a newsroom from the outset. Progression would normally be to positions with larger commercial or network stations or across into television and then as above.
Typical employers
Employers of broadcast journalists include:
BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk)
Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com)
ITN (http://www.itn.co.uk)
Independent Television (ITV) (http://www.itv.com)
Channel 4 Television (http://www.channel4.com)
Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C) (http://www.s4c.co.uk)
Five TV (http://about.five.tv/)
independent production companies
international news agencies such as Reuters (http://today.reuters.com)
digital, cable and satellite networks.
Competition for jobs with network broadcasters is extremely tough. However, digital broadcasting has created new openings for broadcast journalists, with the arrival of 24-hour news channels and niche programming and increased opportunities in ethnic broadcasting.
Employers from the radio sector include BBC national and regional stations, as well as local and national commercial radio stations, (see The Local Radio Company (http://www.thelocalradiocompany.com) or RadioCentre (http://www.radiocentre.org) for contact details).
Sources of vacancies
Search graduate jobs (www.prospects.ac.uk/links/jobvacs).
BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk)
Broadcast Journalism Training Council (http://www.bjtc.org.uk) .
Broadcast (http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk) and Broadcast Freelancer (http://www.broadcastfreelancer.com)
Campaign (http://www.campaignlive.co.uk)
Guardian Jobs (http://jobs.guardian.co.uk) - Mondays and Saturdays
Hold the Front Page (http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk)
The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk)
ITV Jobs (http://www.itvjobs.com)
Journalism.co.uk (http://www.journalism.co.uk)
Media Week (http://www.mediaweek.co.uk)
Press Gazette (http://www.pressgazette.co.uk)
There are a small number of recruitment agencies specialising in journalism, including The Media Network (http://www.tmn.co.uk) . Some presenters may use an agent.
See also job hunting tips (www.prospects.ac.uk/links/jobhunt) and applications, CVs and interviews (www.prospects.ac.uk/links/appsinterviews).
