After introducing its own distance learning sports journalism course at £95 a go, the National Council for the Training of Journalists is offering a new qualification, the National Certificate examination for sports reporters.
The qualification is open for registrations from trainee journalists who will be able to take the exam for the first time in March next year if they have at least 18 months experience.
A trial of the exam was managed this month by Dave King, NCTJ chief examiner in sports journalism and editor of the Swindon Advertiser, with the help of Gary Wright, group editor of Kent on Sunday.
The new qualification mirrors the long-established NCE for reporters, consisting of
sports report, sports interview, a logbook of published sports copy and newspaper practice for sports reporters. The qualification has been designed by the NCTJ in response to the growing number of trainee journalists who are joining sports desks sooner than in the past, many while still trainees.
King, who was previously sports editor at both The News, Portsmouth, and the Southern Daily Echo in Southampton, said: “At preliminary level, the sports journalism exam is an add-on; students wanting to work in a newsroom have to pass all the elements of the reporters’ exams, including shorthand, and rightly so.
“However, once sports journalists enter the profession they can now target the sports NCE, including the logbook and the three-part exam on the day. Law is still included as part of the newspaper practice exam, where sports journalists today are expected to be able to understand accounts, how businesses work, and possess a strong news sense.”
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