Community journalism training

Exeter Observer offers free community journalism training courses designed to help potential contributors quickly develop core journalism skills and produce publication quality content with support from our experienced editorial team.

The next training course will start in October and take place on six Saturdays between then and the end of the year in a large, well-ventilated city centre venue which enables effective indoor social distancing.

Core course sessions will be held in the morning and be interactive and practical. Participants will work up several short news stories over a few weeks and will learn from each other in discursive round table formats.

The core course will cover news writing, sources and the use of visual material.

Afternoon sessions will then include a mixture of story surgeries offering personal editorial support and specialist workshops tailored to suit participants’ interests.

Topics may include research methods, interviewing, ethics and regulation as well as Exeter regional politics, policies and practice and how to use Freedom of Information requests and other transparency legislation to hold local institutions to account.

There are short assignments to complete between sessions and learning support materials are provided.

Participants are expected to attend all six morning sessions and to complete all assignments. Priority will be given to those who can also attend afternoon sessions.

Participants must also be committed to supporting Exeter Observer beyond course completion.

This means joining the democratically-run community benefit society that publishes Exeter Observer and writing at least one publishable story each month, with editorial support, for six months after the course.

Participants must also possess a smartphone and laptop which they can bring to the course sessions. Attendance at team socials is optional :-)

If you’d like to be considered for a place please drop us a line to express your interest and we’ll take it from there.

Contribute to Exeter Observer

Exeter Observer welcomes contributions from aspiring or experienced writers, editors, photographers and film makers who want to help create and deliver our independent public interest community journalism.

We offer support to help regular contributors develop story ideas, learn core journalism skills and gain confidence.

If you are interested in holding wealth, power and influence to account and are prepared to put time into reporting on issues that matter to local people then we’d like to hear from you.

Please see our guide to pitching a story and take a look at the guides we have produced to help potential contributors on the journey from novice reporter to seasoned feature writer.

Contributor guides

Guides covering other Exeter regional policy and practice areas are also being prepared.

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