Renowned rugby reporter Stephen Jones’ breaking into journalism mantra is certainly to the point.

Advising wannabe journalists at the News Academy Cardiff conference yesterday (Tuesday), the veteran Sunday Times writer said: “Make it your dream and keep on going.”

Jones, who has been with The Sunday Times for more than 30 years, added: “Grab people by the throat when you start a story. Then you get people’s attention, make it compelling.”
The award-winning Jones, raised in nearby Newport, revealed he wanted to be a journalist since he was SEVEN!

Whitchurch High School was the venue for 120 aspiring teenage journalists wanting to learn more about the industry in our CSR initiative. Whitchurch is the former school of Real Madrid football star Gareth Bale and Wales rugby union skipper Sam Warburton.

Jones took part in Q&A break-out sessions with the youngsters as did The Sunday Times associate editor Sean Ryan, The Sun City editor Rhodri Phillips, The Times Red Box reporter Natasha Clark, BBC Radio Wales journalist Louise Elliot, Alicia Melville-Smith from Buzzfeed and Cardiff School of Journalism lecturer Sian Morgan Lloyd.

Ryan, Jones, Phillips, Clark and Melville-Smith also featured in a debate on the impact of social media in our industry. The debate was chaired by academy director Duncan White.

Jones said: “Twitter has made the world of responses really immediate. It’s opened up a lot of things, but it’s easy to take it too seriously though.”

Melville-Smith commented: “It’s opened up a world for us. A lot of work at Buzzfeed goes into verifying material.”

Clark, who used to work at Twitter, said: “It has its dangers, but it’s also a really good tool for journalists. A great way to get in touch with people.”
Ryan cautioned: “There are still problems, you can be taken in. We prefer to have a reporter on the ground, that’s a great resource.”

He felt there was a trend for people to get news via their phone, “making news more digestible,” adding: “There will always be opportunities to be top journalists, providing real gravitas.”

Phillips echoed: “You will always need people to write stories, tell the narrative. There will always be a place for journalists whether online or in print.”

Plaid Cymru party leader Leanne Wood expressed concerns about the future of Welsh media when speaking to the conference.

She said: “I want to see a more plural media. With more news outlets, you would have a wider range of discourse. There is a democratic deficit with a weak Welsh media.”

The afternoon conference ended with a mock police press conference seeing News UK intranet editor Neal Harrington playing the role of a detective chief inspector. Students grilled the DCI for 10 minutes before writing up a story about a celebrity being found dead in his luxury flat.

There was a prize of a Google Nexus7 for the best tweeted story headline, won by 17-year-old Rebecca Bray of Bassaleg School in Newport with ‘Star Wylde shines no more’.

She said about the conference: “I made loads and loads of notes. I was really happy to attend.”