Actively selecting students

The BA in Multimedia Journalism (BAMMJ) is one of Bournemouth University’s (BU) most popular courses, with hundreds of applicants applying for just 75 places. Many of them are top academic achievers. So how do they identify that elusive quality – the potential to become a top journalist?

“We believe it is important to assess people on more than just academic credentials,” explained BU’s Associate Dean for Journalism and Communication, Karen Fowler-Watt. “After all, being a good journalist is as much about people skills and the ability to communicate and tell stories to different audiences.”

After carefully combing through the application forms, noting writing style, enthusiasm and relevant experience, Karen and the course team invite 300 students to an activity day at BU. They take part in TV, radio and written assignments, as well as debating hot topics within the news.

“The activity days are a vital two-way process – it’s not just about us selecting students,” said journalism programme co-ordinator Dan Hogan.

“We invite them down for the day and get them to experience some teaching. That gives them a feel for Bournemouth. It works, because very few students drop out of our course – they know well in advance what to expect.”

Throughout the day course tutors get to know the prospective students, understanding them as potential journalists, not just as applicants. They can identify whether they have the right aptitude and whether they have the drive and commitment to succeed.

This recruitment procedure is so thorough that it has been held up as an example of best practice by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).

Head of Accreditation, Michelle Patient, said: “We believe that students should be selected on the basis of ability and the potential to succeed in a career in journalism.  We were impressed with the student recruitment process at Bournemouth University and the fact the course was the best performing undergraduate degree course last year shows this process is effective.”

The BAMMJ course, which is accredited by the NCTJ as well as the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) and the Periodicals Training Council (PTC), has a track record of turning out some top notch professionals.

Kimberly Middleton, who graduated in 2007, recently picked up two prestigious NCTJ awards. She said: “The Multimedia course was great. I learnt every discipline a journalist could need, including writing for a newspaper, magazine and online as well as radio and TV skills. Being competent at sourcing stories and reporting them across Multimedia platforms has definitely benefited me and made me more attractive to potential employers.”

Kimberly is now a reporter for Cornwall-based newspaper ‘The West Briton’, where she continually uses her BAMMJ-acquired skills: “I have sourced, shot and edited videos about students visiting Auschwitz and reported the local cathedral's Save Our Spire campaign for the newspaper's website www.thisiscornwall.co.uk. I have also recorded interviews with groups performing at Eden, including the Macabees and Razorlight, which have also featured on the website.”

Fellow graduate, Drazen Jorgic, is another inspirational role model for BAMMJ hopefuls. Drazen, who graduated in 2008, works for Citywire, writes a weekly column for the Evening Standard and has had articles in the Telegraph on numerous occasions.

Drazen said: “I think the BAMMJ course had installed a lot of confidence in me. The practical stuff, news and shorthand in particular, were very important. Moreover, being able to say I’ve done video and online journalism when going for an interview with a modern and technologically savvy company was very useful. But if truth be told, the most important aspects of the course were things related to it. For instance, all the work experience I was helped to attain through contact with lecturers and guest speakers. Likewise, The Wire (BU’s student newspaper) was incredibly important, and looked very good on the CV.”

Drazen continued: “Journalism is a strange profession in many respects because it is so difficult to teach it to people and everyone has their own modus operandi. But I suppose it’s important to have the confidence to go out there – regardless of whether we are talking about the City, Houses of Parliament or a glitzy showbiz event – and get the stories. BAMMJ can’t ‘teach’ that, but by selecting the right kind of candidates, it is increasing the quality of graduates who will be representing the university going forward.”

But the activity days are not just about assessing whether the student has the aptitude to be a journalist.

Karen explained: “We believe that the activity days give students an opportunity to see what we are about, who will teach them, how they will be taught and what multi media journalism really means. We hope that it encourages commitment and engagement from both sides of the selection process, beyond the UCAS form.”