training
professional Training courses Non Members
Members*
To book a place on any of these courses or if you would like some advice or have any questions, please email training@nuj.org.uk or telephone 020 7843 3730.
Members
NUJ training
Weds/Thurs 11/12 May
Writing for the Web
£255
£405
£133
Fri 13 May
Multimedia Storytelling
£80
£110
£60
Tues/Weds 17/18 May
Introduction to InDesign
£265
£465
£133
Sat 21 May
Getting Started as a Freelance
£80
£110
£60
Weds 1 June
Reporting the NHS
£125
£250
£62
Fri 3 June
Social Media For Journalists
£80
£110
£60
Weds/Thurs 15/16 June Introduction to Sub Editing
£265
£465
£133
Thurs/Fri 16/17 June
Build Your Own Website
£275
£495
£137
Tues 21 June
Develop a PR Strategy
£145
£205
£109
Mon 27 June
Making Internet Journalism Pay
£80
£110
£60
Weds 29 June
Business For Journalists
£140
£250
£70
Thurs 30 June
Economics For Journalists
£140
£250
£70
You can view course outlines at www.nujtraining.org.uk
may - june London
The NUJ offers a wide variety of short courses in professional subjects. Whether you want to learn the best way to video blog or sell your services as a freelance, you can get to grips with the techniques you need over one or two days. The courses will help you increase and refresh your skills whether you’re at the start of your career or further along the professional path.
Lost Your Job? If you’ve lost a staff job you could be entitled to a free course. Bookings must be made within three months of losing a job and are free at the union’s discretion and subject to availability.
my course
*For Students and members in their first year of employment
Introduction to InDesign CS3 Frank Prenesti A photo of a banjo stared at me from the screen defiantly. It was taunting me. “Go on,” it seemed to be saying, “see if you can stick me in the middle of a three-column page and get the text to flow around me.” The difference between an onion and a banjo? No-one cries when you cut up a banjo. Fortunately for me help was at hand in the form of Megan Trudell, a top-notch designer who also tutors on the NUJ’s ‘Introduction to InDesign CS3’ course. Banjo jokes aside, the offending picture was duly dealt with in short order. That’s the beauty of the system; it’s so versatile that even someone like me who hasn’t stared at a blank page grid for more than two decades (having spent the intervening years
scribbling as a political hack) could be revelling in some basic design. It also means that a few simple skills can take you a long way, and if you’re really inquisitive, then there’s a whole world of nifty tools that you can play with to create any visual effect you want. Like most of my course colleagues, I found the myriad rulers, grids, pasteboards, drop-down menus and library folders a little daunting at first, but the structure of the course had us at our ease early on and basic page design was soon within reach. Subbing and layout design may have moved into the electronic age, but the basics haven’t changed much. Columns still need to be measured up and gutters placed between them. There was a moment of nostalgia when Megan referred to the old ‘ems’ and ‘picas’ measurements in the days
when a ruler and chinagraph pencil were the only things in the toolbox. I went misty-eyed at the memory. However, in the hunt for shifts you are still going to be asked that (new) age-old question. ‘Can you use our system?’ InDesign is the system of the moment and more newspapers are looking to implement it, so even a rudimentary grounding in it should at least get you a foot in the door. If you suddenly find yourself back on the jobs market and are contemplating freelance subbing or design work on anything from a newspaper to a magazine to your own newsletter, then you could do worse than taking this course and have your own duel with the banjo. Frank Prenesti is a freelance political and business reporter based in Westminster
28 | theJournalist
648_JOURNALIST_MARCH_P28.indd 2
6/4/11 16:02:22