60th anniversary tributes paid to the NCTJ by Alistair Campbell and Piers Morgan
Former Labour Party Spin doctor Alastair Campbell and Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton are among those who have sent birthday congratulations to the UK’s premier journalism training body - the National Council for the Training of Journalists.
The NCTJ was established in 1951 to deliver premier training for journalists, and media website Holdthefrontpage points out today that it is marking its 60th anniversary next month with a party at Devonshire Terrace in London which will be attended by a host of figures from the world of journalism.
Those who have sent birthday greetings include present and former stars of the industry who were helped onto the first rung of the career ladder by the training body. Many, many Scottish journalists launched their careers under the NCTJ umbrella.
Others who sent greetings included former Mirror editor Piers Morgan, who began his career on the South London News after studying journalism at Harlow College, reports Holdthefrontpage, which quotes him as saying: “It taught me all the things you need to be a good journalist: typing, shorthand, the law, story-getting, the vital importance of facts, and an ability to drink ten pints of Grolsch without falling over. Congratulations on the 60th birthday.”
And Society of Editors executive director Bob Satchwell said: “For more than half a century the NCTJ served newspapers and their journalists brilliantly.
“Over the past decade, responding to widespread recognition that journalists benefit from NCTJ approved training, it has broadened its role to set out the core requirements for anyone aiming to work across any or all platforms in the news media – in print, broadcasting and online.”