Final year Marjon Journalists making headlines in the regional press

Released: 04.07.19

Final year students from the BA (Hons) Journalism course are setting the agenda in the regional media scene by securing jobs in the industry before they’ve even graduated.

Several of the students are already working in graduate-level jobs in Plymouth’s thriving journalism scene, straight after finishing the course in May.

Abby Davies, who secured a job at BBC Radio Devon in her second year, is now producing The Breakfast Show as a Broadcast Assistant and Broadcast Journalist. Abby said:  “I have so many opportunities ahead of me, all of which would not have been possible without the help and support I received from Marjon and my lecturers. Sometimes I still have to pinch myself, because I absolutely love my job, I'm excited to go to work every day and on top of all that, I’m earning a healthy wage. I never imagined that I would be in the position I am in so quickly after finishing my degree."

Radio Plymouth is one of the biggest names in the Plymouth media industry, and Chris Baker has started his career as a Journalist there, reading the news and gathering stories for radio shows, as well as creating content for the website. Chris said: “It’s great to have a job straight out of university, I’m learning new things every day and all the skills I developed during my time at Marjon have been incredibly useful.”

The students’ success is a testament to the BA (Hons) Journalism course at Marjon, which trains students to create content for numerous platforms, including radio, TV and digital. The course scored 92% for student satisfaction in the 2019 National Student Survey and recently announced a deal which sees it take over the former BBC headquarters in Plymouth from September 2019, enabling students to work alongside BBC staff.

Clara Ceballos Soriano, worked as a Freelance Journalist on several local projects after finishing the course and ahead of moving back home to Spain. She said: “Since leaving the course I’ve worked for Radio Plymouth, creating content for their website, and I also freelanced at Plymouth Dinghy Regatta. Having the skills necessary to work independently as a freelance is something I developed on the course, and I’m so thankful for having gained these skills at Marjon, I now feel prepared for the what is to come.”

Peter Chapman, now works as a Community Reporter for Plymouth Live. He spoke about the learning environment he experienced when he was studying journalism at Marjon: “Working in journalism or any creative field requires you to be confident in your skills and to be ready to make mistakes and learn from them. This is the atmosphere I learned in at Marjon, and it’s been the best preparation for the working world and the challenges it brings”.

Since finishing at Marjon, Connor Mountford has gone on to secure a job as a Reporter at The Swindon Advertiser, where he’s responsible for writing articles for the website and for print, something that the course has prepared him for.

Connor said: “I’m really lucky to have gained a job so quickly. The work we did on the journalism course with the lecturers, Mike Baker and Sarah McAdam, has been hugely important in transitioning into the working world with ease. The work-based modules when we practised real-life skills were essential for me in the job-hunting process.”

Another member of the Class of 2019, Alex Green, is a month into his new role as Marketing Intern at Plymouth Marjon University. Alex said: “It’s so surreal to be working less than a month after my final deadline for the journalism course.”

He continued: “Having had such great contacts in local press organisations like BBC, ITV, and Plymouth Live, to name a few, has been essential for me starting my new job here at Marjon. The lecturers make it a priority for each student to undertake work experience as often as possible, and that has given me a great start to my career.”

Alex replaced Stephen Dixon in the Internship role. Stephen graduated from the Journalism course last year and at the end of the Internship secured the role of Communications Officer at Exeter College, taking with him the wealth of experience and skills he developed at Marjon.