My NCTJ fast-track course in newspaper journalism ended on Friday, with a 70 wpm short hand exam, which I flunked. Unfortunately I have been forced to abandon this blog in recent weeks, due to the overwhelming volume of work.
In the past couple of weeks I have submitted a NCTJ portfolio and sat exams in law, public affairs, news writing and short hand. The Tee Line was the big disaster. I failed to get grips with this subject, which was a shame. I will be re-taking my short hand exams later this year. In terms of everything else, who knows? Apparently 50% of candidates fail the news writing exam, and no one seems to know anything about the portfolio. I think I passed law and pa.
The course was really tough, particularly in the last few weeks. The last couple of days were stressful, anti - climactic and a little sad. There were quite a few people I did not get chance to say goodbye to, due to timetable variances.
A few people have been offered jobs on local newspapers, which is good. Also, only a handful of people reached the required speed at short hand, so that makes me feel a little better.
The one thing I am sure of is that Liverpool is a great city. It wears its crown lightly, and it is the perfect contrast to Manchester’s self-obsessed vanity. Liverpool is currently being re-built, and I fear that its future may be similar to Manchester’s – the city centre will become a playground for outsiders with money. If that does happen, it will be a shame.
Although my course has ended, this blog will continue. I now have the time to collect some decent content, and I am planning to put together a photo gallery of Liverpool later this week.
