PA Training launch Fellowship Awards

Announcing the Future of Journalism Fellowship Awards in association with PA Training and supported by Creative Access

Giving aspiring journalists from under-represented backgrounds training, work experience and mentorship to help them enter newsrooms and thrive

The Future of Journalism Fellowship Awards 2022

PA Media’s NCTJ Diploma in Journalism is the foundation on which many successful careers have been built — and in summer 2022, five new journalism stars will take that first step as recipients of a Future of Journalism Fellowship Awards.

These new awards, funded personally by a high-profile journalist determined that newsrooms should better reflect the people they serve, are intended to help aspiring journalists from under-represented backgrounds. Winners will study for their NCTJ Diploma in Journalism with PA Training, undertake work experience, and also receive mentoring via Creative Access to help them land their first job and succeed in their new role.

Each fellowship award includes

  • A fully-funded place on the prestigious NCTJ Diploma in Journalism course run by PA Media, the UK and Ireland’s national news agency.
  • Work experience with national news organisations and broadcasters including Channel 4 News, Sky News, and PA Media
  • Mentorship provided by Creative Access, the leading social enterprise specialised in diversity and inclusion,throughout the programme and beyond to help fellows find their first jobs and thrive.

PA Training is proud to partner with our sponsor because we believe that the media should reflect society. That’s why we particularly encourage people from a diverse range of backgrounds to apply for these 2022 Future of Journalism Fellowship Awards. 

The Fellowship Awards sponsor, who wishes to remain anonymous says: “Journalism has changed my life. But no newsroom I’ve been in properly reflects where I grew up or went to school. There are still too few working class or Black, Asian and ethnically diverse journalists — and that means the stories we look to tell, and how we tell them, are often too narrow. 

“Talk of diversity in newsrooms has become a bit of a corporate cliche but for me, it’s really only ever been about fairness, making newsrooms look and sound like the world we are reporting on. I hope by sponsoring the Awards, a few more people who feel — as I did — that journalism is not for them, might change their minds.” 

About PA Training’s NCTJ Diploma in Journalism

PA Training is the sister company of PA Media, the UK and Ireland’s national news agency. We’ve been training journalists for decades and setting high industry standards. The Diploma in Journalism is accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists and is qualification that many editors look for when hiring new journalists. 

About Creative Access

Creative Access is a leading social enterprise combining an unrivalled network of talent from communities under-represented in the creative economy, with progressive career support and development. Our mission is to enable people from communities that are under-represented to access, progress and reach leadership in journalism, as well as in the wider creative economy.

If you’d like to get involved with the Future of Journalism Fellowship Awards

If you are interested in offering work experience placements, mentorship or sponsoring future recipients of the awards, we’d love to hear from you. Please email us at training@pa.training