Bournemouth University: BU hosts BBC Young Reporters event

Bournemouth University hosted young people from across Dorset to take part in its BBC Young Reporters event.

The event starts a month of activity to celebrate the BBC’S Centenary, with 81 students from Sixth Form institutions coming to BU’s Talbot Campus for a reporting masterclass with BU staff and BBC experts.

Sarah Farmer with young reporters
BU journalism graduate and BBC South Today reporter Sarah Farmer was among the team showing reporting techniques to students, who then had a chance to put their new-found skills into practice in BU’s state-of-the-art radio studios.

Students were taught how to develop their critical thinking, had a chance to try out journalistic techniques and skills and even try their hand at creating some digital animations and podcasts, all under the watchful eye of industry experts.

BU’s Dr Karen Fowler-Watt, Associate Professor of Journalism and Global Narratives, said, “It was wonderful to welcome so many students from the local area to BU and to engage them in critical thinking about news with the BBC Young Reporter team. The event was a great success, with an interactive session on the importance of talking about ‘real’ news rather than fake news, a carousel of practical storytelling workshops and a careers panel including past and present students from our BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism course.

“Our thanks to the BBC for making this a great day for all involved and for raising awareness about the crucial role played by trustworthy, accurate and verified journalism in a healthy democratic society”.

The BBC is celebrating its 100th year of broadcasting in England this year, and Bournemouth University are organising a host of events to celebrate the milestone, and the links that BU has with the BBC, from alumni to research and practice.