How is MA News Reporting and Writing different from MA Journalism?

MA Journalism is the broader postgraduate degree, covering print, online, broadcast, podcast, longform and dissertation work. MA News Reporting and Writing concentrates almost all teaching time on the daily news desk — writing, reporting, courts, council, shorthand. Choose this if you know you want to be a news reporter.

Does MA News Reporting and Writing include shorthand?

Yes — Teeline shorthand to 100 wpm is an examinable strand alongside the MA, sat through the NCTJ. It is included in the standard programme and not an optional extra. Most regional and many national news employers expect shorthand at this standard.

Can MA News Reporting and Writing be done part-time?

Yes — over 24 months part-time. Online and distance routes are designed around working reporters, with evening tutorials, weekend court-reporting sessions and remote council meetings (most are streamed) for distance students.

Will I sit in real courts and councils on MA News Reporting and Writing?

Yes — on-campus students have sustained sittings at magistrates' and Crown courts in central London and at council meetings across the city. Online and distance students attend remote council meetings and complete court-reporting exercises with tutor review.

Is MA News Reporting and Writing recognised by UK national newsrooms?

The MA is a UK Master's degree taught in London, structured around the editorial and shorthand standards UK news desks recruit for. As with any journalism credential, your portfolio and published work sit alongside it at recruitment — which is why every graduate leaves with a substantial news portfolio.

MA News Reporting and Writing in London | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The MA News Reporting and Writing at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a one-year UK postgraduate degree built tightly around the daily news desk for graduate and trainee journalists. You will file across print, online and broadcast formats from Week 1, train in shorthand to NCTJ standard, sit in real courts and council meetings, and finish with a substantial portfolio of news-desk work.

Where MA Journalism is the broader postgraduate route, MA News Reporting and Writing is the specialist one — designed for students who already know they want to be a working news reporter and want every credit hour spent on the news-desk craft.

Key Features

NCTJ-aligned core in news writing, media law, public affairs and shorthand at postgraduate depth.
Daily live newsday programme — file to fixed deadlines from Week 1 to working publication standard.
Court and council reporting module with sustained sitting at magistrates', Crown and council meetings in central London.
Shorthand to 100 wpm (optional Teeline) taught alongside the MA and sat through the NCTJ.
Industry-led masterclasses from working news reporters and news editors at UK national titles, the BBC, ITN and online national publishers.
Substantial news portfolio — twenty published or publication-standard news pieces, ready to show editors at interview, with a short critical reflection serving as the final assessed piece.

What You Will Learn

The MA News Reporting and Writing is structured around the daily disciplines of the news desk at postgraduate intensity — find a story before the press release lands, write it tight, file it on time, and stand by it under challenge. You graduate able to walk into a UK national or senior regional newsroom and be useful from day one.

News writing at postgraduate standard — intro, structure, attribution, the second-day write-through, the longer feature.
Reporting craft — finding stories, working contacts, doorstepping, vox-pops, on-the-record management.
Court reporting — magistrates', Crown, civil and tribunal hearings; reporting restrictions; contempt risk.
Council reporting — local authority meetings, devolved governments, scrutiny committees.
Public affairs — Westminster, Whitehall, the courts at NCTJ standard.
Shorthand to 100 wpm (optional Teeline) alongside the MA, NCTJ-examinable.
Online news production — CMS work, SEO-aware writing, social-first distribution.
Advanced media law — defamation defences, contempt risk, privacy, harassment under the NCTJ syllabus.

Who This MA Is For

Graduates of any discipline moving into news reporting at postgraduate level.
Working junior reporters wanting a UK-recognised Master's to support progression to senior or national roles.
International journalists relocating to the UK and needing a UK postgraduate credential focused tightly on news.
Career-changers from teaching, the civil service or related fields entering news reporting formally.

Career Pathways

MA News Reporting and Writing graduates move into news-desk roles across the UK news ecosystem — national newspapers, online national titles, broadcast newsrooms, specialist trade titles and the press offices that recruit former news reporters. Typical first or next roles include:

News Reporter (national newspaper, online national, BBC regional)
News Desk Editor (production role at a regional or online national title)
Local Government Reporter (regional press, hyperlocal publisher)
Crime Reporter (regional press, online national)
Wire-Service Reporter (entry to mid level at PA, Reuters, AP)
Broadcast News Reporter (BBC local radio, regional ITV news, commercial radio)

The MA also supports progression to NCTJ Senior Examination standard alongside the first newsroom role.

Entry Requirements

A UK 2:2 honours degree (or international equivalent) in a related subject, OR a 2:2 in any subject with two years of relevant professional experience.
IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
Personal statement (max 1 page) outlining your motivation, relevant experience and intended specialism.
Two academic or professional references.
Applicants without a related undergraduate degree may be considered with significant industry experience and a written sample.

Why Study at LSJHML

The London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London. Our programmes are designed in dialogue with working professionals — journalists, translators, civil servants, academics, broadcasters, editors, publishers and policy researchers — so what you learn in seminar on Monday is what your future employer is using on Tuesday. We deliberately keep cohorts small, give every student named tutor support, and treat employability as a structural part of every programme rather than an optional add-on.

London is the work — politics, courts, capital markets, theatre, broadcasting, publishing, public service, the global press. Your studies are taught in the same square mile where the stories you read about happen. Whether you join us on-campus, online or by distance learning, the city is your classroom and our industry network is your launchpad.