Our E-Books Library
Whether you are a student, a recent graduate or a seasoned journalist – these free publications will ensure you are up to date with the latest guidance in some of the key areas of our industry. Written by experts in their field, they are designed to provide you with the essentials you need to do your job properly.
Download, read, and absorb, knowing that you are learning from among the best in the business! The BJTC is delighted to offer them to you for free.
Former political journalist
The day I began writing this book, firefighters and police officers were combing the smoking wreckage of Grenfell Tower in London, searching for human remains. It was the UK’s worst fire disaster since 1988. In the aftermath, reporters were turning to those responsible for the tower. They did not have time to ask: “What is a council?”
- New for 2020 is a case study of Boris Johnson’s first year as Prime Minister, a primer on Brexit, the response to the pandemic and to Black Lives Matter
- Hyperlinks take students to real news conferences, parliamentary committee hearings and official documents
- How to turn inquiry reports, speeches and debates into powerful news stories so that when students do it for real, be it on a student newsday, on placement or in work, they will know exactly where to look and what to do
- Case studies include the Grenfell fire, the campaign for Scottish independence, the deaths of Baby P and Declan Hainey, the Rotherham child abuse scandal, tuition fee policies, terrorism, the Mid-Staffs Hospital scandal, abortion laws, Brexit, the future of Northern Ireland, the death of Lyra McKee and the reporting of South Yorkshire Police’s investigation into the allegations against Sir Cliff Richard
- To complement the teaching of court reporting, there is a case study on the impact of government spending cuts on the criminal justice system
- Includes the structure of the UK government and parliament & guide to government budgets
- Comprehensive guide to devolution
- Straightforward breakdown of council structures
- How to contact elected politicians and officials
Everybody In – A Journalist’s Guide to Inclusive Reporting for Journalism Students
By Bob Calver, Diane Kemp, Marcus Ryder, and supported by Birmingham City University School of Media
A thought-provoking and practical guide to help make sure your reporting includes your whole audience. With introductions by respected journalists setting out their personal experiences of difference – from race, gender and class to sexuality, age and regionalism – the book offers useful suggestions to help you bring Everybody In.
- How to tackle inclusiveness in day to day news coverage
- Inclusive thinking in your reporting and output during course newsdays and beyond
- Personal views from respected journalists and their suggestions for adopting inclusive thinking
- Includes unconscious bias, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, immigration, Islamophobia, older people, poverty, regionalism, religion, sexuality and younger people
Media Law, Regulation & Ethics: Student Pocket Guide 2023
By Tim Crook
Updated every year, this valuable guide explains UK media law in terms of primary (legislation and case law) and secondary (regulation and self-regulation in terms of Ofcom, BBC Editorial Guidelines and independent press regulation).
It is provided by a Creative Commons license with the conditions that users buy a copy of the published book UK Media Law Pocketbook, always attributing and crediting should it be quoted or used in teaching or training. Includes:
- Avoiding the six media law sins
- Overview of the legal system in England and Wales
- Impartiality
- Reporting court cases, court-martials and inquests
- News gathering, story finding and Public Interest
- Privacy
- Case histories – including Meghan Markle v Associated newspapers privacy and copyright case
- Defamation/libel
- Copyright/Intellectual Property
- Industry regulation
- Financial journalism
- Social media, online and blogginglaw and guidance about court reporting remotely during the COVID pandemic and perhaps afterwards
- Much more!
Accessing Documents, Images and Videos in a New System of Court Reporting
By Tristan Kirk, Courts Correspondent, London Evening Standard
Within the last decade, the courts in England and Wales have undergone radical reforms. Video technology is now ubiquitous in criminal and civil proceedings, huge programmes of modernisation are underway in court and tribunal buildings, and in large parts of the justice system traditional methods are being replaced by digital and virtual alternatives.
In the criminal courts, journalists have long had the ability to seek access to documentation, images, and video material deployed in open court. That power, from Section 5.8 of the Criminal Procedure Rules, can be used on application to the judge. However, the same power is now being woven into the fabric of newly-created justice systems, where events happen behind closed doors and access to documents is the only way to report on cases. It is increasingly important that court reporters have a solid grasp of what is available to request and how to get hold of it.
