Exciting changes are being made to the syllabus of the Foundation Course in Newcastle as we seek to keep pace with the developments in the industry.

The course already includes a number of elements of web journalism, including several exercises where material is published online, as well as being prepared for print.

However, our plan from this autumn is to embed online journalism more fully into the overall syllabus, while retaining the principles of finding and developing great stories which lie at the core of our programme.

Much of the additional content will be blended into existing sessions rather than being developed as an add-on, something that fits well with what is happening in newsrooms across the country.

On the autumn course beginning on August 28, the following additional elements are being introduced:

The fundamentals of online journalism
Online story-telling techniques
Adapting print stories for online
Adding interactive elements to online stories
Generating news stories online
Editing and proofing online material
Writing and editing blogs
An awareness of how video is being used by newspapers

From the Spring Course 2008, which starts on January 28, 2008, all delegates will be offered an additional one week of intensive video training.

This will be provided in a five-day block at the end of the 16-week course and will cover:

Effective camera techniques
Audio
Interviewing online
Presenting and questioning techniques
An introduction to video editing

From the spring course, trainees who stay on for the additional week may be entered for the new NCTJ preliminary qualification in online journalism.

Anyone interested in learning more about this NCTJ accredited course, how it can help you bring the very best trainees reporters into your newsroom and how you can ensure you get at least three years service from them should contact Tony Johnston on 0870 837 6471 or email tony.johnston@pa-training.co.uk