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Teesside University International Business School

Journalism graduate to make national headlines

05 October 2017

 

Nathan Lee secured a job in television and made his first live appearance as a news presenter before even completing his journalism degree at Teesside University.

Multimedia journalism graduate Nathan Lee
Multimedia journalism graduate Nathan Lee

He is now about to embark on a new role as an assistant news editor with ITN News in London on the national ITV evening news.

Nathan, 25, of Peterlee, was already working as a video journalist with regional television station Made in Tyne & Wear before graduating from the BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism.

Three years on, his role with the regional television channel has involved presenting live updates and news packages which Nathan films, edits and prepares for broadcast to viewers watching the channel on Sky, Virgin and Freeview. Nathan also presents a live daily news update on the station, which broadcasts 24-hours a day.

He said: 'Working at Made in Tyne & Wear has really taught me the skills which bigger employers are looking for.

'Employers in television news expect their reporters to be able to do everything, from news gathering and production, to conducting interviews, filming, editing and everything else which goes into a news package.

'My interviewers at ITN were really impressed with what I've learned and offered me a full time, permanent position in the national news room.'

One of his first jobs with Made in Tyne & Wear involved joining a North-East fundraiser on a mercy trip to Greece to distribute aid to stricken refugees, with an exclusive broadcast he made from Greece nominated for a Royal Television Society award.

Since then he's reported on some of the biggest court cases in the country, conducted exclusive interviews ahead of the major news channels and hosted live general election debates with candidates in constituencies across the North East.

Employers in television news expect their reporters to be able to do everything, from news gathering and production, to conducting interviews, filming, editing and everything else which goes into a news package

Multimedia Journalism graduate Nathan Lee

Nathan says it was a combination of the teaching, course content and locality which brought him to Teesside University to study multimedia journalism.

He said: 'The media facilities at Teesside University are really good, with teaching by media professionals who have worked in the industry. It was also important too that the course involved the NCTJ professional journalism qualification.

'The degree taught us every aspect of multimedia journalism and the need in the industry today to be equipped to do everything from gathering the news, to filming, editing and packaging content ready to be distributed to the audience.'

Nathan had initially considered print journalism while completing his degree and completed work experience at regional newspapers which broadened his media experience and helped him to decide that broadcast journalism was for him.

He said: 'I was still a student at Teesside University when I saw a tweet from Made in Tyne & Wear who were looking for freelance video journalists. After a trial period I was offered eight weeks of freelance shifts.'

As a result of those shifts, Nathan was offered a permanent full-time role while still completing his degree. He is now looking forward to his role as an assistant news editor on ITV national news.

He added: 'Studying at Teesside University certainly equipped me for a job in the media industry, which wants graduates who can hit the ground running.'


 
 
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