This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

See update below Newsquest, the UK’s third largest publisher of local and regional newspapers, is charging students £120 for the chance to have their work published in its titles.



Colleges with journalism courses have received letters inviting students to write articles, for free, in what it calls “an exciting and unique chance to experience working for a local paper”.

The initiative has drawn fire from the National Union of Journalists, which says it has received complaints from colleges about the letter.

It was sent by Diana Jarvis, who coordinates the young reporter scheme for the south London division of Newsquest, the publisher ultimately owned by the US company, Gannett.

She explained the scheme enables students to build a portfolio of work over a period of eight months before they graduate.

In order to take part, the university or college must pay a “registration fee” of £100 and each individual student is required to pay £20 .



Jarvis’s letter says students would “work as journalists for an online newspaper, writing one article per month for a period of eight months”. Those articles would then be “uploaded on to our local online paper, which covers the whole of Greater London”.

She continues: “At the end of the scheme all students who complete all eight articles, receive a letter of recognition from the editor, which they can use as a reference with their CVs and their names go into our award ceremony brochure, which is distributed around London”.



But the NUJ is appalled at the scheme. Its general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, said:

“While Newsquest is sacking professional staff on its titles, it is charging journalist students for writing articles for them. The unpaid intern has become the scourge of the media profession - now Newsquest is asking for journalist students to actually pay for a byline. The company’s cynicism beggars belief and preys on young people desperate to get a break in a competitive industry”.

She reported that college lecturers contacted by Jarvis have told her they are outraged about the initiative. Stanistreet continues:

“We also know that Newsquest is using students to do shifts at its subbing hub in Newport, after sacking sub-editors on its newspapers across the land.

“Where is the integrity in this? Where is the commitment to quality journalism? They should be providing journalist students with a meaningful work experience and if their articles are good enough to be published, they are good enough to be paid for”.

At the time of writing, Jarvis had failed to reply to phone and email messages.

NB: I note that Graduate Fog, the website that offers job advice to university leavers, has also picked up on the iniquity of Newsquest’s plan. Its founder, Tanya de Grunwald, writes:

“This cash-for-bylines story comes just weeks after we wrote about a think tank charging its former interns £300 for a reference. Graduate Fog is now wondering… are we witnessing a trend for employers finding new ways to cash in on young jobseekers’ desperation?”

Update 7.30am Wednesday: I heard from Newsquest late last night. Gary Kendall, managing director of Newsquest South London, wrote to say the scheme has been running for seven years with local schools.

Each one pays a single registration fee of £100, and each student wishing to take part contributes £20. The charges cover the costs of running the scheme, including an awards ceremony at the end of the year.

The new aspect is that the scheme has been extended to colleges and universities.

Kendall wrote that the project “offers young people who might wish to enter the media an opportunity to get a taste of journalism and experience involvement with a real newsroom. To suggest that this is in any way an attempt to replace professional journalists is nonsense”.

He pointed to praise from educational establishments, quoting Dan Townend, associate professor of journalism at Kingston University, as saying: “The Newsquest school journalism scheme has been a tremendous effort to get youngsters involved in the industry and develop their skills and writing ability.

“I saw some of the winners last year when we ran a press day with them and the enthusiasm and excitement of the young writers was brilliant”.

Another testimonial was offered by Gumley House Convent school in Isleworth, which has been involved in the scheme for the past six years: “Given the skills benefit of this initiative, our students see this as a very valuable opportunity and the administration cost, a small price to pay”.

Careers adviser Anthony Fitzgerald said: “This is an excellent scheme that I have run with students in three schools where I have worked. It teaches students about meeting deadlines, creativity and builds confidence. It is often difficult for students to find placements with magazines and newspapers when they are of school age.

“At a time when the Government is encouraging employers to inspire young people about different career areas this scheme gives them both an insight into journalism and builds important employability skills. There is inevitably a cost involved in running a scheme such as this and we believe it is value for money”.

My comment: Three points. First, there is a difference between running a scheme for school children and for college students. It’s fun for the former. The latter, however, are on the ladder towards employment. It is not good practice to charge them anything.



Second, if Newsquest is publishing editorial content by journalism students in tertiary educational establishments, then they should be paid for it.

Third, it transpires that Diana Jarvis is a part-time employee, hence the failure to return my call and email. However, Newsquest’s track record on returning calls and emails from journalists for several years has been lamentable. I hope this will prove to be a turning point in relationships with the company.

Furthermore, according to comments on The Media Blog, the NUJ was correct in stating that some college heads find the notion distasteful. And there is clearly no unanimity at Kingston University because its head of journalism, Beth Brewster, tweeted: “I advise my journalism students not to give away their skill, creativity and labour for free. Asking them to pay for bylines is outrageous”.