In a rare collaboration, various professionals came together to introduce young children to a world they may never otherwise encounter – local media.
Journalists, editors, reporters and broadcasters volunteered their time for the inaugural Inspiring the Future of Local Media showcase event at Washacre Primary Academy. All to help children discover new and varied roles involved in local media and hear first-hand from people working in the sector.
The event is part of a pilot delivered by Inspiring the Future, as part of the Government’s Discover Creative Careers programme. Funding is provided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the News Media Association (NMA).
Introducing children to jobs they haven’t seen before
The aim of the day was to help children see beyond the jobs they already know and realise how many different options are out there.
Charlotte Thurston, Director of Programmes at Inspiring the Future, said: “This pilot brings to life the simple idea that you can’t be what you can’t see. Activities like this one at Washacre are so important because they give children the chance to meet real people from their local community and see first-hand the wide range of roles behind the stories we see every day.”
Children got interactive, taking part in interviewing role play, a ‘what’s my line’ type job guessing game, workshops where they were set media challenges and small group chats with the volunteer role models. This range of activities kept them engaged and gave them breadth and depth of knowledge – with the chance to ask questions and find out what they really wanted to know.
Who took part
The event brought together professionals from across the local media sector, including representatives from:
News Media Association
Newsquest
BBC North West
Blog Preston
The Northern Media Company Ltd
NLive Radio
UK Community Radio Network
Theo Bamber, Chief Executive, News Media Association, said: “The future of journalism, and of local news, relies on a strong pipeline of young people wanting to enter the profession. For this to happen, they need to be given the chance to understand the industry and the role it plays in local communities across the country. That is what the pilot scheme is doing and why we are so pleased to support it alongside DCMS and Education and Employers.”
Find out more
This showcase is the first in a series of activities taking place across the North West as part of the Inspiring the Future of Local Media pilot.
To find out more about the project and how it connects schools with professionals working across the local media sector, visit the Inspiring the Future of Local Media page.
If you work in local media and would like to inspire the next generation by volunteering at a school event or virtual activity, we’d love to hear from you. You’ll find all the information about the project in the link above, and you can apply to become a volunteer role model here.
If you’re from a school, find out more about inspiring your students or register your school for free here.
For an initial chat, please contact enquiries@inspiringthefuture.org.
