Opinion: regional journalists aren't skilled enough for national papers

Posted by Alisa Zykova on July 22, 2008 at 12:45 PM

Regional papers don't produce journalists with enough investigative and writing skills, according to a London national paper editor reported Birmingham Post's chief blogger Joanna Geary.

"We no longer see the regional newspapers as a source for staff. We find that training graduates ourselves produces better journalists," said the editor.

"I had always been told that regional journalism was one of the best ways to cut your teeth in the trade and could - if you wanted it to and were good - pave a way for a career in the nationals. Now it seems national newspapers may regard themselves as an entirely separate industry," wrote Geary.

Roy Greenslade, a Guardian blogger, said one of the reasons why there is a divergence between the big cities and the smaller regions was due to the shut down of nationals' northern offices, which provided a link to the regionals.

Source: Guardian.co.uk