Thistley Hough student and budding journalist Bea McDonald joined the i-creation team for a week’s work experience.
During her placement she learned all about how a newsroom works and got involved in the planning and production of Daily Focus.
Here, she writes about her experiences and why she is looking at a career as a reporter.
“Prior to my work experience, I had very little knowledge about journalism but knew it was a field that interested me and I enjoyed seeing the many ways that different journalists and media outlets would present the same story. The week I have spent at i-creation has proved to be just that – interesting.
During the week I have attempted writing pieces and editing them based on feedback. This feedback has helped to improve the flow, structure, style, and reader interest of my writing.
As well as writing, I have also been shown the other elements that go into producing Daily Focus. This incorporates selecting stories (and photographs to pair with them), uploading the stories, headlining and page layout.
Alongside that, different members of the team have shown me other aspects of the work that they do at i-creation. This includes video production, website design, and digital print work.
During my week I visited Commerce House for a planning meeting between i-Creation and Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce about the next steps for Daily Focus, which gave me an insight into the business side of a news outlet.
For one of my reports, I visited the degree show at Staffordshire University. The work we saw varied from paintings and sculptures to animations and short films. Here I also got a feel for the type of work produced by journalism and media students.
This introduced one of the possible pathways available for getting into a career of journalism through higher education or diplomas.
Throughout the week I have been able to see the daily running of an office and the many features that go into that. This has helped to further my understanding of how a business operates day to day.
All the team have been very friendly and welcoming and have made my week thoroughly enjoyable. Having a glimpse into the world of journalism has secured my aspiration of wanting to pursue it as a career, and I hope that one day I am lucky enough to do so.”
During her stint with the Daily Focus team, Bea wrote, and provided additional reporting, on several articles, including a news feature about the rise of AI and its impact on business. Read the story here.
