Journalism students go behind the headlines at ITN HQ

Student journalists from the University of Northampton saw national television news in the making when they visited the ITN studios in London.

Isaac Warrington, Max Miller, Philippa Wimbledon and Jack Pinnock spent the day at the television production company’s Grays Inn Road headquarters, where they shadowed the production of the ITV Evening News

They were there after taking part in a news quiz at University, with overall winner Isaac enjoying the first prize of spending the day with programme editor Richard Frediani, shadowing him from the morning conference through to the post-show wash up. The three runners up, meanwhile, watched the evening show go out live from the studio control room.

Isaac said: “Richard Frediani was kind enough to show me around the ITV offices, and introduce me to the entire team involved in the production of the evening news – including presenter Alastair Stewart. This meant I got to experience the full range of work expected in such an environment, from the reporters who sourced the stories, to the producers who edited packages down for television, to the presenters who put it all together at 6.30pm.

“My role was to observe and learn from them, and after an introduction by Richard, I was given free rein to attend meetings where they discussed stories for the day, and fine-tuned each one to a specific angle and message.

“I also had the freedom to shadow any of these people, which gave me a real insight into the specific skills needed for each role, and into the idea that a skilled journalist should be able to take over any other role at a moment’s notice.

“It was absolutely relevant to our course work – it’s not at all surprising that lecturers on our course came from this exact environment, because the same core values they drill into us at uni, were the same ones I kept hearing at ITV.

“It’s one thing to hear in a lecture how necessary these skills are in the real world, but it’s another thing entirely to see them in effect right there in the industry.”

Isaac added: “I had a fantastic time. From the start there was a sense that everyone and everything had a real purpose in putting the day’s work together, so there wasn’t ever a quiet moment or wasted time.

“It didn’t seem like easy work for a minute, but I could tell from their faces at the debriefing just after the evening news, just how rewarding it could be.”

The academic Journalism team at the University of Northampton is packed with regional and national media experience, with staff having worked, or currently working, for the likes of ITN, BBC, The Times, Al Jazeera, CNN, Press Association and the Financial Times.

Pictured from left are Isaac, Philippa, Max and Jack.