THE editor of The Scotsman newspaper and the head of training at the BBC College of Journalism have been lined up to speak at a journalism skills conference taking place in Glasgow next month.
John McLellan and Alex Girlis will be joined by Tom Happold, head of Multimedia at The Guardian; Gordon Macmillan, head of news with STV; and Margaret Strayton, group editorial manager, Newsquest; on a Question Time-style debate on the future of quality journalism at a conference being hosted by journalism training organisation, the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).
It is taking place on the third and fourth of next month, the first day at BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay headquarters, the second at Hampden Park football stadium.
The panel will be chaired by BBC Scotland presenter, Aasmah Mir.
She is a former BBC Radio 5live presenter and now works on BBC Radio Scotland’s news flagship, Good Morning Scotland.
Says McLellan: “Journalists need to display flexibility, not only because newsrooms are converging and demand for information to be provided in different ways is growing, but in an age when opportunities are more scarce than ever no-one can rely on one set of skills to provide them with a career for life. I am very much looking forward to the debate about how best to equip journalists for the challenges of the future.”
The conference is open to everyone involved in journalism recruitment, education and training and, say the organisers, “the discussions at the conference will play a large role in determining the future shape of NCTJ qualifications”.
