JOURNALISTS of the future gained an insight into the multi-media industry at a Journalism skills taster day held by Darlington College in The Northern Echo's training newsroom.

Prospective students from across the region came together to learn more about the industry-accredited NCTJ Journalism Diploma delivered by the college in partnership with The Northern Echo.

Students are based at the Echo’s training newsroom one day each week of their year-long course.

Charlotte Crowther, 17, from Darlington’s Polam Hall School said: “It was a really informative afternoon and has given me lots of opportunities to consider.”

The journalism diploma trains students in reporting, law, ethics, shorthand, video and mobile journalism, public affairs and offers an optional sports journalism module.

Many well-known journalists started their careers on the course in Darlington, including former BBC reporter John Sergeant, NBC reporter Ian Sherwood and ITV News correspondent Juliet Bremner.

At the taster event students carried out interviews, wrote a news story, met Northern Echo editor Peter Barron and took a tour of the multimedia newsroom.

Prospective student Daniel Allon, 22, from South Shields has a degree in journalism but is now looking for NCTJ training.

He said: “Having a degree is great and has given me lots of practical experience but six months on I’ve found that employers are looking for an NCTJ qualification.”

Darlington College’s next course starts in September and anyone interested in applying can attend upcoming taster days on March 1 and April 12 by emailing marketing@darlington.ac.uk