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Public affairs is becoming an optional subject for some journalism qualifications. Neil Merrick considers the implications for serious reporting and democracy


It’s a public affair


A


s we made our way into the council chamber, the doorman advised us we could sit in the public gallery only if we left our skateboards outside. Having assured him that neither I nor my


students were part of any defend skateboarding protest, we climbed the narrow stairs, took our seats and waited expectantly for local democracy to swing into action. The skateboard warning at least meant hopes had been raised. There was, it seemed, a reasonable chance of some interesting news coming out of what otherwise looked like a rather mundane council agenda, with the possibility of a ban on skateboarding in the main square. My visit to Southampton City Council with about 20


journalism students from a local university came just a few months after the National Council for the Training of Journalists confirmed that essential public affairs is no longer as essential as it was. From September, candidates taking an NCTJ diploma must


study public affairs if they hope to gain its national certificate in journalism. But, with public affairs otherwise becoming optional, it would not be a huge surprise if some candidates hoping to work in some types of magazine or online journalism opt to give it a miss. The NCTJ wants to show flexibility, acknowledging that


comparatively few trainees are likely to end up in a regional newsroom where the council or even MPs are important sources of news. At the same time, NCTJ chair Kim Fletcher believes most employers will still prefer newly qualified journalists to have studied public affairs, and that many trainees who decide not to study it would be “foolish”.


10 | theJournalist


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More than ever, local journalists need to understand how government works. Then they can explain it to people without dumbing down


What does the NCTJ’s decision say about the status of public affairs in 21st century journalism and, perhaps, in society at large? The subject has been a bastion of journalism training for as long as most people can remember. It means that, in theory, we can explain the difference between a planning committee and a select committee, or council tax and corporation tax. The university where I teach is not accredited by the NCTJ,


but requires undergraduates to study elements of politics or public affairs in the first and second years of the three-year degree course.


They are required to find out how local politics works.


Following the council meeting, the students had to write a 300-word story based around a topic on the agenda. After an hour, however, things were not looking encouraging. The skateboarding motion had been pushed to the end of the meeting and, instead, councillors were trading blows over housing, education and welfare cuts in scenes reminiscent of the House of Commons. The council’s pay policy was approved without discussion,


but its safe city and health and wellbeing strategies led to debate over whether Southampton was a dangerous city, and why there were so many people begging on the streets. Most students


looked bemused rather than bored, but I


was afraid their interest would not stretch long into the second hour. Even a comment by the council’s deputy leader, claiming some people earn £300 per day from begging, did not provoke any reaction. Ian Murray, editor of the Southern Daily Echo until earlier


this year, believes public affairs should still be compulsory for all trainee journalists. “The regional press has a role to play in the cohesion of local communities, part of which is policing democracy,” he says. Murray acknowledges that the introduction of cabinet-style local government more than 10 years ago means important decisions are more likely to be taken in private, away from the glare of the watching media or public. At the same time, there may be as many trained journalists


working in the council media department as there are in the nearest newsroom. But, he says, that makes it more important that all journalists have a reasonable grounding in public affairs. “More than ever, local journalists need to understand how


government works. Then they can explain it to people without dumbing down,” he adds. “If the people who are writing about it don’t understand it, we are on a hiding to nothing.” Fletcher points out that all NCTJ-accredited centres will


continue to offer public affairs, even if it is optional. “In an ideal world, they should make it clear to people on the courses that, if they choose not to do it, they’re closing off some options,” he says. The fact most NCTJ candidates choose to study court reporting, even though it is optional, suggests there will not be a huge drop in numbers studying public affairs, he adds.


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