PA Media Centre Experience

overview

The Press Association Media Centre Experience gives young people the chance to learn more about news from the inside.

It is a unique chance to see behind the scenes of one of the UK's leading news, sports and information organisations and put new skills into practice by producing a real newspaper.

Students will write, design and put together a professional-looking, eight page, full-colour newspaper during a two-day course. This comes at the end of a six week project during which the youngsters write stories and take pictures for the product.

When they have finished, having hit the deadlines and decided on which stories go where, they will get thousands of the copies of the newspaper delivered to their school or college.

Aims:

• To introduce the student to the work of a modern, international multi-media organisation. Special attention will be paid to newspaper production. The six-week project will culminate in the students producing their own school newspaper over two days.

Educational benefits:

• Gaining an understanding of information and communication technology: Students will have a guided tour of the Press Association Operations Centre in Howden. This will include the Sports department, Teletext desk and Multimedia studio. They will then use the latest industry standard software to prepare their own newspaper.

• Understanding business: Students will be introduced to the way newspapers work. They will be involved in their own newspaper from the initial creative process to production of the paper and selling the product within their school – i.e. the complete business cycle.

• Communication skills: Students will appoint their own editors, decide on which stories to splash and which should be left out. They will negotiate for their own ideas to be used in putting the paper together. They will also learn how to write headlines and present stories.

• Visual communication: Students will learn what works on the page: how to use colour and photographs, and the importance of typography and layout.

• Entrepreneurial skills: schools will have the opportunity to sell advertising space in their newspaper

The course:

THE two days at the Press Association’s training centre in Howden, East Yorkshire, or in London is the culmination of a six-week project that begins with our initial visit to the school.

Teachers will be presented with a support pack full of ideas for possible stories and exercises for the students on how to choose news worthy stories, journalistic writing techniques, typography and an explanation of page design.

The six-week period allows the teacher time to prepare and plan the paper with the students. Forward planning and organisation are an important part of the educational and production processes and essential if the product is to be completed in the final two days.

The web site:

To find out more about the PA Media Centre Experience and to see examples of newspapers produced by past students please go to www.pa-schools-mediacentre.co.uk