The Politics of Socialisation: Recruitment and Training for Journalism

The paper demonstrates that the provision of formal training in journalism, as possibly in any other industry or occupation, is not solely determined by a specific range of ‘necessary’ skills. On the contrary, politico-cultural factors may be equally, if not more, important. The paper finds the ‘professionalisation’ hypothesis insufficient, however, as an explanation for the emergence of a national system of compulsory training. It notes that the character of training has been greatly influenced by the requirements of a specific sector of the industry, on which, significantly, the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) has been heavily dependent for financial support and legitimacy. Ambiguity in this sector's approach to graduate trainees created a vacuum which was one factor that encouraged the development of university and polytechnic based journalism and communications courses. More fundamentally, potential competition for authority in training has developed from the establishment of an Industrial Training Board for Printing and Publishing (PPITB) with statutory responsibility for training in journalism. These developments inspired survival/adaptation responses from the NCTJ, including the formulation of a broader structural and financial base, a more positive attitude towards graduate training, a wider range of functions and a reappraisal of alliances. These in turn have had consequences for training content. Analyses of training in terms of ‘socialisation’ or ‘professionalisation’ which fail to take into account such aspects of industrial structure and political rivalry may be misleading.