Is Teeline shorthand difficult to learn?

Before I started my journalism diploma I remember being terrified about learning shorthand after my older sister told me it was really hard to learn.

The thought of remembering all those lines and squiggles, dots and curves, then being able to write them in some coherent order at speed gave me nightmares, not to mention the thought that I'd be unable to read a word of what I'd written!

But at that time I didn't realise the type of shorthand I'd be learning was Teeline and not Pitman, which my sister had been taught at secretarial college back in the '50s.

Compared to other systems Teeline shorthand, which is widely used on UK journalism courses (in the US it tends to be the Gregg shorthand system), has got to be one of the easiest types of shorthand methods to learn once you have mastered the Teeline alphabet.

In fact, the chap who developed Teeline, James Hill, was himself a teacher of Pitman and devised this 'easier' type of shorthand system in the late ‘60s due to the fact that he knew just how difficult Pitman was to learn and write at speed.

However, just as some people learn to drive a car in no time at all and others take a bit longer to pick it up, learning shorthand is no different.

The main issue people face with shorthand though is not so much learning the Teeline alphabet or the outlines but getting their shorthand speed up to the standard 100wpm.

If this is you don’t get down about it. You will not be alone and I for one was perhaps the slowest shorthand learner the world has ever seen!

That is why I’ve written many posts on how to learn Teeline shorthand and tips on practising shorthand to help you write at speed so do have a read through them. You'll find them listed under the Teeline shorthand label on this blog or just key shorthand into my search bar to get them that way. 

But if you are struggling with your shorthand at the minute then you do have my sympathies.

It took me ages to get from 80wpm to 100wpm and it was a huge relief when I finally managed it and was actually able to start enjoying the job of being a reporter without having to practise my shorthand every night!

Perseverance and practise is the key to learning shorthand and improving your shorthand speed, so you just have to keep plugging away at it and hold firm to the belief that you will get there in the end.

Is shorthand still relevant today?

Considering we live in a highly techno age when you can upload something to the Internet and have it zipping round the world faster than it takes to make a coffee, you might think that shorthand was a bit of an outdated journalism skill.

What's the point in learning shorthand when we have handheld digi things like iPads, laptops, smart phones, tablets etc to get it on the Internet as quick as it's being said?

Yeah, it sounds great in theory but in practise that's not quite how it goes in the world of journalism - even in broadcast journalism - where shorthand is still viewed as an essential key skill if you want to be or are a journalist.

Shorthand is still a major part of the NCTJ diploma in journalism and many editors would admit to preferring new recruits to have passed 100wpm shorthand over public affairs, law and any of the course's journalism examinations.

So what's the big deal about shorthand? Why is it such a sought-after journalism skill by editors? Why can't we just ditch it altogether and move with the times?

Well if you're struggling to do shorthand at the minute I can imagine that you’d think the last bit of what I've just written would be a brilliant idea. But hey ho, don't get too excited, it's unlikely to happen anytime soon. Not here in the UK anyhow.

Why? Well we might live in a fast-moving techno world but many of the places where you’ll be covering news stories are not quite there yet.

Take British law courts for instance. There is no way you’ll be getting into any court with a recording device of any kind so you’ll have to rely on your notebook and pen to take down proceedings.

In fact, few editors would allow you to cover a court case unless you have passed your 100wpm shorthand as they'd have to be confident that what you take down will be spot on accurate.

A journalist's shorthand notes are still admissible as evidence if you become tangled up in a libel case hence the wise journalist hangs onto their shorthand note books long after all the pages are filled.

Based on this fact alone you can see why passing shorthand would put you ahead of the competition if you go for a job interview as a journalist.

So no matter how painful it might be if you're finding it hard, do keep on plugging away and get that shorthand qualification under your belt.

But it’s not just in law courts that it will come in useful, especially if you’re planning on going into print journalism. Think about interviewing a person one-to-one, covering a public meeting or press conference.

How are you going to manage to get an accurate note of everything that is being said in longhand? Try writing down the TV news in longhand and I guarantee you’ll miss most of it.

And having your head down tapping away at a keyboard throughout the interview would look a wee bit, well odd if not rude!

So although most modern journalists have to juggle their workload on a number of multimedia platforms few would argue that they could get the job done properly without knowing shorthand.

It's okay to post a quick update to a website or blog - crucial even if you want to stay ahead of the competition online - but to get a full interview written up for broadcast, print or even the Internet requires journalism skills beyond tapping a few keys on a keyword.

TIPS: How to pass 100wpm shorthand

Sadly there is no magic formula to passing your shorthand. You've just got to learn the outlines and practise, practise, practise!

I can't stress enough how important shorthand is going to be throughout your career as a journalist especially when covering a court case or doing an interview where you only get one hit at questioning.

In both cases you have got to be able to write at speed and to be able to accurately record what you’ve written when you come to write your story.

And in a court of law especially there is no margin for error. You can’t make up quotes or guess what people have said just because you haven’t been able to write it down fast enough.

So what’s the best way to practise your shorthand?

Attend shorthand classes: If you're doing a degree or diploma course in journalism make sure it includes shorthand (in the UK an NCTJ accredited course is preferred) and attend the lessons on the course. I wouldn’t advise you to skip any of your lessons but missing the shorthand classes is not the same as missing a textbook-based class that you could catch up with at a later late. And lagging further and further behind your classmates in shorthand is likely to make you feel demoralised and not wanting to learn. So no skipping shorthand, however dull, repetitive or hard it seems!

Online shorthand recordings: Youtube has loads of recordings to practise your shorthand. Make sure you are using a credible recording though and one that matches the speed you require for your current level. If your shorthand is only 40wpm but you’re practising with recordings aimed at people whose speed is 90wpm, you may struggle and could easily get disheartened. On the other hand, you might find a faster speed easier I know I did, so soldier on and keep on practising at the speed you feel you can achieve.

Record and watch TV news: I always found that watching the TV news was good practise, especially the BBC news where newsreaders tend to talk in short bursts, have a clear voice and speak at a steady, realistic speed. If you record the news you can re-play it to see how much of it you managed to get down before having another go to see if you can improve your ‘score’.

Go to court and public meetings: Similar to listening and recounting TV news in shorthand, you could attend a public court or meeting to get some ‘real life’ practise. Always make yourself known to the court usher or chairperson of the meeting though, tell them what you want to do and that it’s only for your personal practise and not for publication. They’re likely to be okay with that and happy that you have opted to attend the court or meeting as part of your studies. It will be good practise watching a real court or public meeting in full swing too.

Read outlines: Visualise the outlines for words as you read a newspaper, book or magazine etc. Get a notepad and pen and try to transcribe a short passage into shorthand. Say the words out loud as you are writing them in shorthand. Put the shorthand version aside for an hour or so before seeing if you can translate it back into words. Done right, this is a great exercise for practising how to write shorthand outlines so they end up being something you can read and not just pages of squiggle.    

Should I do a journalism degree?

So you've reached that point when you have to decide if you get a degree in journalism or do another degree subject (or subjects) and take the journalism post-grad route?

First off, there are pros and cons to both routes and no one rule for all either. You have to do what is right for you. Do you have the money to do a degree then a post-grad course in journalism? Do you want to do further post-graduate studies? Only you can answer these questions.

Pros of getting a journalism degree

Specialising in journalism as a degree will give you an all round solid foundation in the fundamental skills of the trade including a range of multimedia skills that are now essential to the job.

Many journalism degree courses also include NCTJ exams - the UK industry standard entry exams - meaning you can by-pass post-grad journalism studies and apply straight for reporter jobs once you leave college or uni.

Journalism degree courses tend to be run by former journalists or editors who have real knowledge and expertise in the trade so you can usually pick up some good journalism skills and techniques.

The tutors can usually pull on their real contacts to come into class for students to interview. A real police officer for instance might take part in a fictional press conference in class or you might have to interview him/her one-to-one about a fictional murder, child abduction, robbery or so forth.

Journalism degree courses usually take three years to complete so give you plenty of time to learn and master the key skills of being a reporter. Interview techniques, how to find a news story, writing news articles etc; the sort of things you'll be doing daily as a journalist. 

Cons of getting a journalism degree 

One of the biggest criticisms from those in the media business is that what you learn on a journalism degree in three years you can learn in less time than that working for a news organisation.

There is also the argument that learning on-the-job is far better than in a classroom where the setting is cushioned and not real.

Doing a degree in another subject then doing a post-grad course in journalism is broadens your knowledge and could equip you better if you wanted to specialise in a particular subject as a journalist. Having a degree in economics might be more useful if you wanted to be a business reporter for instance. Likewise, a degree in a foreign language (particularly a Middle East or Far East language) would be useful if you had ambitions to be a foreign news correspondent.

A degree in journalism is very specialised and if you get to the end of the course and decide you don't want to be a journalist you could find your career options limited.

NCTJ training is key to becoming a journalist

Be warned! If you want to train to be a journalist and are looking around for a suitable UK training course in journalism, then make sure it's an NCTJ-accredited course.

I’m writing this after spotting yet another stream of short courses on the Internet claiming to give you ‘all the essential skills to be a journalist’ – once you hand-over a hefty fee that is!

But unless the course includes the industry-standard NCTJ qualifications (or is accredited to the Broadcast Journalism Training Council if you want to do the broadcast journalism equivalent) it’s likely to be useless in helping you get a foot in the door – even on a small weekly newspaper.

I’m not knocking the credibility of any non-NCTJ accredited course – there might be some great courses out there for all I know - but if you’re an un-trained wannabe journalist you need to get yourself on a proper industry-standard training course.

Sure, if you have spare cash lying around or just looking to brush up on your skills then you might not be bothered if it’s an NCTJ course or not but as with all privately run or independent courses, I’d always advise you still check out the course, tutors, their qualifications, experience, expertise etc before handing over any money.

But trust me, there’s no easy shortcut. Journalism apprenticeships are very thin on the ground these days. Gone are the days when you could be taken on at your local newspaper and train on-the-job.

Nowadays the industry expects you to have NCTJ training regardless of how many A-levels, degrees or diplomas you may or may not have in journalism.

So if you want to be a journalist make sure you get yourself on a proper NCTJ-accredited course that offers those vital qualifications. There are several at various locations across the UK including short courses or run as part of a degree, diploma or postgraduate course.

Essential journalism qualifications are key to success

Journalism is a highly competitive industry, especially at entry level, so good grades in relevant qualifications are a key tool to getting that all-important first job in the industry whether it be print, broadcast or digital media.

The qualifications needed to be a journalist will be different from country-to-country so it's worth contacting your local careers service or school/college careers adviser to find out what qualifications are essential to being a journalist where you live.

In the UK editors will be looking for a good first degree coupled with a nationally recognised qualification in journalism gained through an accredited National Council of Training Journalists (NCTJ) course.

The NCTJ-accredited course will provide you with the core foundations needed to become a journalist including shorthand, law, public affairs and essential writing and reporting skills.

It is the benchmark qualification used by editors when taking on new recruits and is the standard qualification required to do the NCE, which is a further course of study provided by the bulk of media companies on entry to the profession.

Many UK colleges and universities offer NCTJ-accredited courses and it is possible to complete a course of study on a distance learning or short course basis.

Often a first degree in journalism will include the standard NCTJ qualification or you can do what I did and study for a degree then complete a one-year postgraduate course in journalism.

The disadvantage to doing a separate degree and postgraduate journalism course is that it takes four years to complete instead of three. But, in my opinion, it does allow you to gain a better-rounded education than just doing a course geared toward the job itself.

I studied business, communications, media and cultural studies for my BA (Hons) degree and these subjects have been useful throughout my career as a journalist as they have provided me with a good understanding of people, different cultures, business and economics and the general workings of the world.

If you have ambitions to be a foreign news reporter for the BBC for instance a degree in Arabic or Chinese could be a good asset before doing an NCTJ-accredited postgraduate course. Likewise, if you want to be a business correspondent a degree in economics is likely to be useful.

As well as recognised qualifications editors are increasingly looking for a whole range of multimedia skills such as photography or video filming and editing and often favour candidates who can demonstrate use and understanding of social media.

So whether self taught or gained through a course of study keeping yourself up-to-date with the workings of new technologies and the potential new media has to the industry will give you an edge in the new-recruiter job market.
  

Benefits of work experience or an internship in journalism

Despite being a very demanding job that often includes long and unsociable hours and a salary that isn't huge compared to other professions, there are usually a lot of applicants for jobs in journalism.

So if you want to be a journalist you're not only going to have to work hard for good exam grades and brush up on your technical and personal skills, but you're also going to have to get some work experience under your belt.

As I've said, being a journalist is something many people want to do, so an editor can afford to be picky and recruit the crème de la crème for journalism jobs, especially those at trainee or junior level.

Therefore, doing a stint of work experience or an internship with your local newspaper or even a national newspaper or a broadcast media that particularly interests you, will give you some real industry experience to add to your CV or resume when applying for jobs in journalism.

Although it's unlikely that you will be paid for your internship or work experience as a journalist, the experience you will get out of it has a number of key benefits:

• It will give you a taste of the industry and the job so that you can decide if you are really cut out to be a journalist and if the career is really the right one for you

• You will get relevant work experience in a real life setting so that you can see what being a journalist is going to be like when you enter the career

• It is a good way to put into practise all of your personal and technical skills and allows you to see which ones you might need to improve or gain in order to be a good journalist

• It will give you a chance to observe the key roles other professionals play in the media such as photographers, sub editors and advertising sales reps for instance. The sort of professionals you will be working alongside throughout your career as a journalist

• If you show that they are very good, keen and determined to be a journalist, it is very likely that you will be remembered by editors and could even be offered a job as a journalist for that media once you have completed your journalism qualifications

• Your period of work experience will give you a chance to gain real and valuable contacts both inside and outside of the newsroom

Therefore rather than seeing work experience or an internship as 'free labour', as many do, see it as a good way of gaining some real life experience doing a job that you want to do.

Journalism as a career is what you make of it, so view work experience in this way - the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.

Also remember that your work experience or internship in journalism is not only a good learning curve but it will stand you in good stead when you are applying for jobs in journalism and could put you ahead of the competition.

Yipee! I'm a journalist.. Now all I need is a story

Finding stories is the main job of being a journalist whether you're working for a newspaper, magazine, radio or TV news channel or writing online.

So before you even begin to start researching a story or trying to figure out whether it'll make page 1 or page 21, it's fairly obvious that you're going to need to find something to report.

Just as you can't bake a cake without ingredients, you're not going to be able to write an article without an initial something that will make a story.

And this is when the fun stuff begins as you're going to have to do a bit of digging and snooping around to come up with something newsworthy.

Now don't confuse the term newsworthy with a story's news value. A newsworthy story is one that will be of interest to your readers, listeners or viewers whereas the news value of a story is more to do with the amount of words or airtime it gets and its positioning in the scheduling.

So how do journalists find stories?

Well, from all sorts of places is the quick answer! And below I've put together a brief list of the obvious sources and a few of the not so obvious too.

Also, if you keep checking my blog, I'll go through some of these in more detail in future posts as there's several that are worthy of a bit more explaining. But if I do that here this is going to end up being the size of War and Peace!

I'll also dig out some newspaper clippings from my old news stories to give you a better idea of how you can find stories from all kinds of places.

So here we go with that brief list and as I've said above, I'll add a bit more detail in posts to come, so keep checking.. 

• Press releases: this is a 'tool' used mainly by press officers working in public relations to alert the press to something that might be newsworthy to them. They are usually delivered via email to a journalist or newsroom or in the mail and are a simply a written note about what has happened, is happening or is being planned.

• Press conferences: this is a meeting usually called by a group or public body to get all interested members of the press in one room to deliver the news personally, in one hit. It is not a general meeting so usually doesn't include members of the public but can include reporters, photographers, camera crews and so forth.

• Public meetings: these can be anything from a council meeting or a general meeting called by a public authority, charity or group. Unlike a press conference that is solely for an audience of press, members of the public who have an interest in the meeting's agenda can attend a public meeting

• Court hearings: these include law courts that a journalist is allowed to cover under the law of the country or state governing that court.

• Emergency services: the police, fire and ambulance services are often a good source for news and each division usually has its own ways of informing the press about any calls or shouts that they've been on. When I worked as a small town reporter, the local police would let journalists call them direct or wander down to the cop shop to find out what had been happening the previous day/night. But in large city police stations this is something that might be done by the division's press officer (eg)

• Public notice boards: whether it be a church board or a notice board in a post office or outside a shop or shopping mall, if it's for the public to read then read it as you might find a good story sitting there among the notes about the date for the next local council meeting or a missing dog or cat

• Contacts: these are very important to get and to keep. A good contact is basically someone you can rely on to give you a nod in the right direction, throw you the odd 'exclusive' bit of news or gossip and basically be your eyes and ears when you're not around 

• Calls and emails: anyone who calls a newspaper or sends an email or letter about something that might be of interest

• Other media sources: always keep an eye on rival newspapers or other news media as they may have published or aired something that you could follow-up as a story or even find news out of something that they have missed eg, the death of a community leader that is sitting at the back of the paper as an obituary

• Local gossip: basically keep your eyes and ears open and don't be shy to listen in on other people's conversations when you're out and about or waiting in a queue at McDonald's for your Big Mac and fries!
  

Make no mistake! Learning shorthand is key to reporting

If you want to be a journalist you are going to have to learn shorthand, especially if you have ambitions to be a court reporter.

Shorthand is a writing system that allows you to write words quickly and Teeline is the preferred choice of shorthand for many journalism schools and journalism training colleges as it is fairly easy to learn.

It uses letters of the alphabet but excludes unnecessary letters such as double letters, silent letters and vowels in the middle of words.

For instance, bubble would become bl. The vowels U and E have been deleted and only one B is included. Similarly, hedge would become heg, thereby eliminating the silent letter D and the vowel E.

However, rather than writing bl or heg, Teeline uses symbols called outlines that make the shorthand even quicker to write.

If this is the first time you have heard of Teeline shorthand or think that you will never be able to do it, then don't panic! It is not as hard as it appears and trust me, if I can do it so can you!

And as most journalists will tell you, it is getting your speed of writing shorthand to the standard 100wpm that takes the time, not learning the shorthand outlines.

But it is vital to the job of being a journalist and a skill that you will be glad you have if you are in a public meeting or doing a spot of court reporting.

At the UK's Society of Editors' Regional Press Awards 2012 the five shortlisted candidates said shorthand was the one skill they couldn't do without.

You can read their comments here 

Technical skills needed to be a journalist

At one time just knowing your way around a keyboard and how to switch on a computer monitor were about all the technical skills needed to be a journalist.

In the days before Google, if you wanted to be a newspaper journalist the key skills were more about being an effective communicator, having good writing and grammar skills and knowing the basics of MS Word.

Today?

Strong technical skills coupled with the latter PLUS various personal skills are what editors will be looking for when appointing new recruits.

Now I'm not just talking about being able to use a search engine or knowing your likes from your pokes on Facebook - although being able to use the Internet and social media such as Facebook and Twitter etc is important too - but being confident at using a digital camera, video recording and editing, pod casting, RSS etc; will give you the edge over the competition.

Back in the 'dark ages' when I started out as a staff reporter (more than 15 years ago), a notebook and pen, a telephone and using a huge, clunky old Apple Mac were how things were done.

By the time I left the industry as a staff journalist in 2009, I was filming and editing interviews, managing the newspaper's website and heading up micro-sites.

These days, it is the job of the individual journalist to not only come up with the goods and write copy for the newspaper, but to write and upload to the Internet, conduct interviews and edit video footage for the company's website and take decent photographs. Being able to self edit them using Photoshop is a big bonus.

So in a nutshell, all those once established boundaries between broadcast journalism and photo journalism etc have been blurred and today's print journalist needs to be up to speed with as many new technologies, software packages and online resources as possible.

Knowing what I know, if I were starting out in newspaper journalism nowadays, I would make sure my CV or resume showed that I could demonstrate ALL of the traditional skills PLUS strong skills in the following:

• Video filming and editing

• Digital camera operation and photo editing

• Knowledge and use of the Internet and social media networking on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc

• Podcasting

• RSS

• Social bookmarking and media sharing

• Use of content management systems and blogs 

Teeline shorthand: learn the basics

If I could go back in time to when I was planning a career in journalism, I would try to learn shorthand before I went to journalism school.

No matter where you study to be a journalist, learning shorthand is going to be part of your course, so being familiar with the basics beforehand will come in very handy.

In the UK, and certainly on university or college courses which offer NCTJ examinations, the shorthand you will be expected to learn is Teeline.

It is a shorthand made for journalists and isn't that difficult to learn. I'm told it's also much easier than other systems, such as Pitman, although I've never put that theory to the test!

Teeline shorthand basically excludes all silent letters, double letters and vowels in the middle of words.

For example:

• know = nw 

• bubble = bl 

• have = hv

However, it does retain vowels at the beginning of words and vowels at the end of words if they are sounded.

For example:

• about = abt

• coffee = cfe

Got it?.. Great!.. If not, don't panic! Learning shorthand for these words and more is easier than it looks!

Have a read of the following shorthand sentences and see if you can decipher what they mean. Again, don't panic if you get stuck, you'll get to grips with it soon enough.

• Tln is vry esy to lrn and I wl mstr it  

• We shl go to Lndn nxt wk to do sm shpng and vst Bknghm Plc 

• It hs bn a brt and sny da tda bt rnd in th evng
  

Personal skills needed to be a journalist

If you are determined to have a career in journalism then there are several personal skills and abilities that you will need to have or be prepared to master.

There is a lot of competition for jobs in journalism and even on a small weekly newspaper, you will need more than great exam results or brilliant writing skills to convince an editor that you are the best person for the job.

Below I've put together a shopping list of personal skills and abilities that are particularly important when considering journalism as a career.

It is by no means an exhaustive list, nor written in any particular order, just as they came to me!

Personal skills and abilities include:

• An interest for news and current affairs - it stands to reason that if you want to report the news then you should at least be interested in it!

• An interest in people, places and events - let's face it, most news stories deal with people, places and/or events so if none of these 'float your boat' then perhaps journalism is the wrong career for you 

• A curious nature - journalists are generally not shy by nature, have a natural flair to be nosey and possess a healthy dose of scepticism 

• An ability to think outside the box - having the ability to spot a good story when it isn't handed to you on a plate is a great skill to possess and can often lead to exclusive news stories  

• Being a good communicator on all levels - not only do you have to be comfortable at speaking to people on the phone as well as face-to-face but you also need to be able to adapt your communication style to suit all. You could be giving the CEO of a major company some tough questioning one minute and taking a call from an elderly lady who has lost her dog the next. While both demand the same level of courtesy and respect, both demand different communication approaches too

• To be a good listener and speaker - having the ability to talk clearly, in a concise manner and to be understood is a vital part of the job, as is the ability to listen and avoid the temptation to jump in and fill every pause with comment or another question. Being both a good speaker and listener will ensure that you understand the topic you're writing about and are armed with a good selection of quotes to use in the final story 

• The ability to work to deadlines - all journalists have deadlines to meet so you need to be able to work fast and under pressure while staying calm and focused enough to get the job done accurately and within legal boundaries

• The ability to work under pressure to changing priorities - as well as working to deadlines journalists have to be able to multitask. You might be in the middle of writing a front page world exclusive when the phone rings and it's that quote you've been waiting for to complete another story on page 22. It's up to you to decide what to do and how much time to devote to both tasks while remembering that the clock is still ticking! 

• Determination and Persistence - the ability to be like a dog with a juicy bone in order to nail that great story!

• Broad shoulders - people are happy to give journalists praise and thanks when the news is welcoming but are often quick to verbally accost them or slam the phone down when a reporter is researching a story they'd prefer not to have reported. You just have to develop a thick skin and try not to take it personally. If a story is in the public interest and you are legally entitled to research and/or cover it, then you owe it to your readers to do so

• A good command of English, spelling and grammar - aside from understanding English and having good writing skills, a journalist needs to be able to write quickly, accurately and with good grammar

• The ability to know your audience - each newspaper has its own set of readers offline and a whole new set of readers on the Internet. It is the journalist's job to know what stories would be of interest to their readers and how to write appealing articles across all mediums

• A willingness to work irregular hours, weekends and public holidays - journalism is not your typical 9-5 job and often includes weekend shifts (highly likely if you are a sports reporter) and working on public holidays

So you want to be a journalist?... Then read on!

Journalism can be an exciting, challenging and very rewarding career but one that also demands a lot of hard work, long and often unsociable hours, low pay and working in an industry that is very demanding and constantly changing.

For instance, on the death of former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, on April 8, 2013, one of my journalist friends updated his Facebook status with the following: "Thatcher dies and so does my plan for an early finish" - now that sums up the reality of life as a journalist!

However, if you are cut out for a career in journalism - and that certainly isn't everyone - then there are many upsides to the job too and the more you put into it, the more job satisfaction you will receive in return.

But seriously, if you have ideas of newspaper journalism being a glamorous career where reporters spend lots of time wining and dining contacts in the hope of getting a good story, then dream on! 

Long gone are the days when a journalist could languish for hours down the pub schmoozing with contacts or spend hours out of the newsroom to cover various events and/or conduct interviews in person.

These days, especially as the print media tackles the new challenges and demands faced by the dot com era, a journalist's job is very much desk bound with most interviews conducted over the phone and outings only to cover specific stories, as agreed with the editor.

Now that might sound all doom and gloom but a career in journalism is very much what you make of it and is considered more a vocation than a job. Just don't be under any illusion that being a good journalist is going to be a piece of cake!

But once you've made sufficient impact on a local level you can progress to covering national news or even move into the realms of glossy magazines or broadcast media - the world's your oyster, as the saying goes!