Glad to see on journalism.co.uk that Hannah Waldram has been appointed one of the Guardian's new beatbloggers, writing a local news blog covering Cardiff.I interviewed Hannah last year for an article in MediaGuardian about how tough it is for journalism students to get jobs.
A postgrad at the Cardiff Centre for Journalism, she told me: "The situation is dire. People are applying direct to local newspapers but there is a massive recruitment freeze. Papers aren't even taking on people to do shifts...People are trying to stay optimistic but they are wondering 'What are we going to do?' We are ready and raring to go, we have got the multimedia skills. We are trying to stay upbeat. Newspapers will become staid if they stop taking on fresh people."Really pleased she's got this new job. Tom Allan and John Baron have been taken on by the Guardian to be beatbloggers in Edinburgh and Leeds. The blogs are dueto start in the first half of this year.
Thanks Jon,
ReplyDeleteNever thought I'd see 'Hooray for Hannah' in a headline.
Things have definitely picked up since I spoke to you last summer.
Nearly everyone who did the diploma in newspaper journalism at Cardiff Centre for Journalism Studies last year has now got a job on a regional, national or online publication. We had a reunion this weekend and the mood was very positive - the recruitment freeze is beginning to thaw and persistance job searching for many has paid off.
Thanks for your post, it's nice to see such a wealth of support for young journalists.