As he retires from his role as newspaper director at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, David English, reflects on his 38-year career which has seen him teach more British newspaper journalists than any other person. Here he’s interviewed by by the head of Cardiff’s School of Journalism and former director of news at BBC Global, Richard Sambrook, (also one of his first students) about his career, his observations, and his outlook for the future of print journalism.
What made you make the move from journalism to training?
At the time, there weren’t enough editorial people going into management roles in training, so Thomson Regional Newspapers were keen for me to take a management track. I really got excited by training as I loved seeing the students develop. I remember my first students to be very bright and hopeful, and I enjoyed teaching them the basics of news writing, covering councils and politics.
You started training journalists in January 1977, 38 years ago. Have you noticed a difference in the students over that time?
Students are much more focused now. Those who come for interview have clearly thought through what’s involved and know a lot more. In the early days, when I was at Thomson, we’d get people who’d considered probably 10 other careers as well. I remember one young man we enrolled who’d also considered a career selling tractors! Now they are much more motivated and prepared, and have a stronger work ethic. Of course, they still need a bit of training – but they seem to accept this work ethic far more readily.
Have the core skills of newspaper journalism changed?
The staples of newspaper journalism absolutely haven’t changed. Learning how to get the news and generate a coherent narrative remain the key core skills – that will never change. I suppose now there are issues like writing with search engine optimisation in mind, but essentially, once you’ve got the information and you can write, you’re there.
What about online journalism, with its emphasis on immediacy. Has this impacted quality?
Again, the fundamentals have remained the same; holding fast to the traditional standards of evidence-based reporting and checking sources. We still maintain that you’ve got to have two sources before we let something go into the paper here, so that it’s not someone just flying a kite! But I think there can sometimes be a lot of pressure on journalists to come up with a scoop by an editor who’s probably also under pressure themselves. I’m never that impressed with speculative reporting to be honest, it just smacks of sensationalism.
What about jobs at the end of the course, what are students’ employment prospects now?
With squeezed resources, employment in journalism has got a lot tighter. Journalists are having to be far more multiskilled, and we had to move the course in a different direction to make sure that’s something we’re on the front foot with – but this has paid off. Our students are noticing that when they join regional newsrooms, that they’re far more developed. There were more jobs in the 80s, so graduates could afford to be picky and choosy, whereas now if they get an offer we encourage them to go straight in.
Newspapers are in your veins, aren’t they, but they’ve changed a lot, what are your observations on their future?
I think the design and even the size has changed, a lot for the better, but I still think there are a lot of people who enjoy the feel of a paper, as opposed to just looking at it on a tablet, so I can’t see them dying altogether. And I’m told that regional papers are also starting to stabilise in terms of circulation, which is positive. There’ll be a crossover with digital at some point but I really don’t see them dying. Of course, one or two more regionals might go to the wall, or become weeklies, but I still think that papers will exist. So we need to continue training newspaper journalists, but we do need that cross-fertilisation of being able to do many other things – like data journalism or video - as well.
You’re renowned for several things; including your incredibly tough current affairs entry tests! Why so tough?
We see so many students who write on their application forms that they’re passionate about news and current affairs, and I’m saying to them no, you’re not, you’re not looking professionally at the news. For example, I ask them about mortgage rates, about the Bank of England’s lending rate, as they’ll be writing for people who need to know about these things. I suppose I’m trying to encourage them to realise that they can’t just stay in their cocoon of what they’re interested in.
So, as well as sorting the wheat from the chaff, it’s about making them look differently at the news?
Yes! The test frightens them and makes them think, right, I’ve now got to go and look professionally at news, which is what it’s all about.
And what about the famous red pen? It’s always been red, I remember it being red when you trained me several decades ago, is that a conscious choice?!
I suppose it just stands out when you give copy back. If you circle a spelling/factual mistake in red ink, the fact that’s it’s in red makes them think, “Crikey I’ve got to improve”, so it brings it home a little more!
What’s the biggest scoop a student has ever had?
One of the best scoops we ever had was the year that Tony Blair held a European summit in Cardiff, followed by the rugby world cup the following year. We encouraged students to go to PACT [Police and Communities Together] meetings in Grangetown, where police said to one [student] that they were going to create a “prostitution tolerance zone” off Penarth Road, and he came back to me and asked “Is this a story?” I remember replying, “Is that story?! That’s dynamite!” We got him to write it for Wales on Sunday and, within a few hours, the international media, including in Australia and New Zealand, were on to him to do a version. He made a fortune from it!
When you look back, what are you most proud of?
I’m proud of instilling a puritan work ethic into students who arrive and don’t necessarily understand that ethic. I’m also proud of those students who didn’t realise how hard it was going to be, but end up saying “By god we enjoyed it”. I always say that until around September they’re still undergraduates in their mindset, by about November they become post-grads, but then by February they become journalists! It’s at that stage that I always say to them “You’re really thinking like journalists now” and there’s no higher praise to be able to hear that. And then on production days you hear them talking in journalistic jargon and you think, great, that’s it, job done! Over the years I have trained some truly outstanding people – many of whom now occupy some elite roles in British journalism, and are better journalists than I ever was!
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