‘We have big ambitions to make local journalism accessible for all’

I wrote a story last week about the achievements of a fantastic artist whose designs were selected to be part of a major national charity campaign.

That same artist completed a work experience placement with Bristol24/7 back in 2017 and went on to be commissioned to design two of our magazine front covers.

Her success has been entirely down to her talent and hard work but it’s still nice to think that we were one of the organisations to offer an opportunity – albeit a small one – to an artist early on in their career.

This is just one of a vast number of stories of people who have been through the doors of Bristol24/7 on a work experience placement, internship or editorial role who have gone on to way bigger and better things in the journalism and arts sector.

When I see the kind of people coming into the media industry and doing great things, I think the future looks bright.

Bristol is lucky to have a media scene that champions community and grassroots journalism, as well as the big players. In my experience, it is largely made up of journalists who are supportive and welcoming.

But there is still a long way to go before it reflects the city and wider society and barriers to entry remain firmly in place for too many.

Just this week, another person who completed a work experience placement with Bristol24/7 last year Tweeted about the inaccessibility of MA journalism courses for anyone who doesn’t have family financial support.

The cost of journalism training, expectation of unpaid work placements and lack of representation are just some of the issues that serve to keep the industry inaccessible for so many – and it’s those marginalised voices that are badly needed to properly reflect the society they are reporting on.

I didn’t have an easy journey into journalism. I left UWE in 2006 with a degree in politics, zero contacts in media and no clue how to set about realising my aspiration of becoming a journalist. I spent the next eight years working in various sales and hospitality roles, trying in vain to build up a portfolio on the side and getting knocked back before eventually signing up for a part-time NCTJ course. The advice at the time being I wouldn’t get far as a news reporter without this basic journalism qualification.

Doing the course meant taking out a loan I could ill-afford, getting the 6am train each Saturday from Temple Meads to London and using holiday to complete work experience placements. Seven years into my journalism career and I’m not sure I’ll ever quite shake the feeling of imposter syndrome but I recognise how incredibly lucky I’ve been. I had no dependents, a partner who worked full time, an aunt who lived near London and let me stay every weekend for free and a job that allowed me to go down to four days a week to complete my training. I’ve been able to get a foot in the door of a dream career and I want to open so many more to others, especially those who don’t have the advantages I’ve had.

A lot has changed in the last few years and there are now many more ways to access the industry with less emphasis on qualifications and unpaid experience. Last year, Bristol24/7 was able to take on a new reporter who is completing her NCTJ training while on the job as part of an apprenticeship scheme mostly paid for by the government.

But there are still far too many barriers to be broken down to get into the industry.

As an independent media company, Bristol24/7 is committed to breaking down those barriers and opening doors to a career that is exciting, challenging and has a vital role to play in providing information, telling people’s stories, holding power to account and more.

We don’t have all the answers and we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of improving diversity in local journalism and making it accessible for all. But we’re making headway and we have big ambitions.

Through our community reporters scheme, we have been able to employ people from different communities across the city who have been traditionally under-represented in the media. This has enabled us to uncover stories that wouldn’t otherwise be told and better reflect the city we love.

We have been able to provide paid internships in partnership with other organisations and universities in the city.

We are also overhauling our work experience programme in a bid to make it more inclusive and provide direct links to paid employment.

We already cover expenses for people who couldn’t otherwise afford to complete a placement and travel into our office, but the long-term goal is to make work experience the first step on the Bristol24/7 career ladder with at least two paid placements a year reserved for those who come through the programme.

We are reserving at least half of our work experience placements for people who aren’t at university and hope to work with organisations in the city to open up opportunities for those currently under-represented in media. We are working harder to provide support and mentoring for those who join us on a placement and encourage applicants with different skills and interests, be it writing, filmmaking, photography, podcasts or illustration. We want to run free journalism workshops.

This all leads me to why I’m writing about all this. Because Bristol24/7 might have big ambitions but it is also facing incredibly tough times and we desperately need support to continue the work we’re doing.

Since launching our campaign to reach 1,000 members, we’ve been overwhelmed by the support from people who value what we do. The cost of membership is £5 a month and having this support will genuinely make the difference between us realising our ambitions and not even surviving in our current form.

I’m passionate about the potential for change in journalism and do believe Bristol24/7 can be a catalyst to help drive this at a grassroots level. With next to no resources, we are already doing a lot but we could do so much more. It feels to me like we are finally making headway just as money is running out.

So, if you can, please think about becoming a member of Bristol24/7 for £5 per month and help us realise our ambitions to make journalism accessible and inclusive for all.

Find out more about becoming a member

Ellie, pictured with Ruby the dog, is passionate about opening doors in local journalism – photo: Ellie Pipe

Ellie Pipe is the Deputy Editor of Bristol24/7 and runs the work experience and internship programmes

Main photo of Sarah Dalton and Sanjani Idnani, who completed a placement with Bristol24/7 in 2021 – photo: Martin Booth

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