February marked the launch of ‘Breaking into News’, a nationwide initiative run by Media Trust in partnership with ITV News, to discover the next up and coming ITV broadcast journalist and promote diversity in broadcast journalism. Now in its eighth year, ‘Breaking into News’ will once again be fronted by ITV’s award-winning news broadcaster Charlene White along with Ria Chatterjee for ITV London.
The competition is open to everyone of all ages and backgrounds across the UK and offers those with little or no media experience, the opportunity to break into broadcast journalism, reporting on a subject important to them. ITV London Journalist, Ria Chatterjee who is leading the initiative for ITV London is encouraging local aspiring journalists to apply.
Ten applicants will be shortlisted, representing one for each of the ten ITV regions across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Those who are shortlisted will be paired with an ITV journalist, based in their region, and over the course of 6 weeks will be mentored on all aspects of broadcast journalism, including writing, reporting, production and how a newsroom works.
The competition is now open and can be accessed via Media Trust’s Breaking into News microsite www.breakingintonews.co.uk. Applications are open for eight weeks until the closing date on Friday 5 April 2019.
ITV Ambassador Ria Chatterjee for ITV London says, “Breaking into News is your opportunity to dive into a world of storytelling; to be part of a team of reporters, producers, camera operators and editors who work tirelessly to tell the stories that matter.”
The overall winner will be selected by a panel of influential judges including Roohi Hasan (ITV News, Senior News Producer), Kate Watkins Tutor (Head of TV News Training, School of Media and Communication, Leeds University), Margaret Emsley (Head of News at ITV Calendar) and Jasmine Dotiwala (Head of Youth Engagement at Media Trust) and will be awarded with £400 worth of journalistic equipment and the chance to have their local news report aired on ITV. The overall winner will be revealed on Weds 24 July 2019 at a special award ceremony in London.
Charlene White says “I’m proud to be a part of the Breaking into News competition. A newsroom is only strong if it reflects the audience it broadcasts to. Everybody has the right to tell stories they’re passionate about – irrespective of who they are or where they come from. And BiN helps to facilitate that.”
Su-Mei Thompson, CEO at Media Trust added: “At Media Trust, we’re really concerned about the erosion in local reporting and the impact of this on the voice of local communities, the accountability of local institutions and ultimately, Britain’s ability to function as a proper democracy. That’s why Breaking into News is so important to us, with its emphasis on local news in ten different regions across the country and the nurturing of diverse local reporting talent. We’ve also been so heartened by the success of our previous participants, many of whom are now working in newsrooms across the UK and contributing their insights and perspectives to what will hopefully lead to a more participatory and representative approach to news reporting in this country.”
A quote from ‘Breaking into News’ finalist for ITV News and 2018 winner – Hadeel Elshak: What I’ve enjoyed most is making connections with members in the community and hearing their stories. I’ve learnt it’s a privilege for someone to open up and let you in on their lives and their everyday reality.
The ten ITV regions include: ITV London, ITV Central, ITV Calendar, ITV Meridian, ITV Border & ITV Tyne Tees (combined regions), UTV, ITV Wales, ITV Granada, ITV Anglia and ITV West Country.
The full list of ten ITV ambassadors include: Donovan Blake (Anglia), Pam Royal (Tyne Tees Border), Otis Holmes (Calendar),Sameena Ali-Khan (Central), Anna Youssef (Granada), Ria Chatterjee (London), Sangeeta Bhabra (Meridian), Rob Osborne (Wales), Alex Beresford (West Country) and Natasha Millar (UTV).
All applications for ‘Breaking into News’ must be submitted online via the microsite www.breakingintonews.co.uk
Run in partnership with ITV News, ‘Breaking into News’ encourages those wanting to become journalists to conceive, write and create their own news story with help from the newsroom team. The programme would suit those who have recently finished education and have limited media or broadcasting experience and want the chance to be mentored by top journalists and produce their own local news report on issues that they are passionate about.
The prize consists of items of journalistic equipment (for example, audio or photographic equipment) of the Winner’s choosing which are readily available for lawful purchase in the UK from reputable suppliers, up to an aggregate retail price of £400 (including VAT). ITV reserves the right to reject any item selected by the Winner if ITV considers that the purchase or award of such item may reflect adversely on ITV] or the Media Trust. If the Winner does not select suitable items within 30 days of being requested to do so by ITV, then ITV reserves the right to select the items at its discretion. ITV shall not be responsible for any increase in retail price of any item between selection by the Winner and purchase by ITV.
About Media Trust: Media Trust believes in the power of the media to change lives. As a charity, we work in partnership with the creative and media industry to give marginalized groups a stronger voice. We do this by promoting skills-based volunteering, empowering young people from diverse backgrounds to work in media and encouraging constructive dialogue and collaboration with the media sector.
By bridging the gap between the media and creative industries and charities & under-represented communities we are contributing to a more responsible, representative and connected media sector and ultimately, a more socially cohesive Britain.
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