So You Want to be a Political Journalist
eBook - ePub

So You Want to be a Political Journalist

  1. 304 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

So You Want to be a Political Journalist

About this book

In the wake of 2010's historic general election politics commands more column inches and air time than ever before. Yet most political journalists failed to foresee the consequences of a coalition government. And they are still struggling to understand and reflect the new political environment in their coverage. While there is plenty of debate about the current state of politics and journalism, aspiring political reporters receive little guidance. Are unscrupulous spin doctors simply spoon-feeding them stories? Do they push their own politically-biased agendas? This book aims to focus on helping to produce competent and confident journalists who report on politics without fear or favour. With chapters on starting out in the trade, where to find the story, how to report it, and how to deal with the political classes, this book is the essential guide for journalism students, trainee journalists and journalists looking to understand the mechanisms of Westminster and Whitehall. Edited by Sheila Gunn, who was a political reporter on The Times and spin doctor to John Major, So You Want To Be A Political Journalist features contributions from a wide range of current and former political journalists from print, broadcast and on-line media.- An essential resource for journalism students and the perfect refresher for seasoned reporters.- Author lectures on political journalism on City University's prestigious journalism course.- The National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) recognizes 63 journalism courses at colleges around Britain. In addition, there are hundreds of further colleges and organisations running media studies courses.

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Yes, you can access So You Want to be a Political Journalist by Sheila Gunn in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Languages & Linguistics & Journalism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Acknowledgements
  2. Part I: So you want to be a political journalist
  3. 1: The front page
  4. 2: The best job in journalism: political reporting
  5. 3: What it takes to be a political journalist
  6. Part II: The Westminster and Whitehall village
  7. 4: Early lessons
  8. 5: A week in the life of a broadcast political journalist
  9. 6: A week in the life of a PA reporter
  10. 7: A week in the life of an MP
  11. 8: Who’s who at Westminster
  12. 9: The committee corridor
  13. 10: Reporting the House of Lords
  14. 11: Reporting Whitehall
  15. Part III: Dealing with the political classes
  16. 12. Working with honourable members and peers
  17. 13: Reporting the less honourable members
  18. 14: Policing Parliament
  19. 15: Demystifying political reporting
  20. 16: Dealing with spin doctors, PRs and press officers
  21. Part IV: Political Specialisms
  22. 17: It’s the economy stupid!
  23. 18: The birth of a Bill
  24. 19: Changing the law
  25. 20: Writing a political sketch
  26. 21: Reporting opinion polls
  27. 22: Politics on TV
  28. Part V: Out of Westminster
  29. 23: It’s election time!
  30. 24: A senior politician is coming to your town…
  31. 25: Reporting the town hall
  32. 26: Another layer of government: the devolved administrations
  33. Part VI: The roads to Westminster
  34. 27: An unplanned journey
  35. 28: A winding road
  36. 29: Starting out early
  37. 30: The joy of writing
  38. 31: The future role of the political journalist
  39. 32: So you still want to be a political journalist