Journalism graduate secures job with Sky Sports

A Teesside University journalism graduate is reaching for the Sky after securing a job on a national sports news show one week after finishing her course.

Leanne Johnson, who graduated in MA Journalism, is now a permanent member of staff on the popular Sky Sports News show, Soccer Saturday.

After making a good impression at a work experience placement in March she was asked to return as a Junior Producer for the show.

Leanne said: ‘I decided to approach Jeff Stelling after a talk he did at university to ask him if there was any chance he could help me get a work experience placement.

‘I’ve done previous work experience placements at Sky in their PR department. I enjoyed it and really wanted to go back.

‘The work is so varied, from collecting and looking after studio guests to controlling the autocue in live shows. I feel like it’s the first step on the ladder to an exciting career.’

The dedicated 23 year old – who achieved a distinction in her Master’s degree – carried out various placements during her studies, including ITV and More Magazine.

Leanne added: ‘When I started at Teesside I knew that I didn’t want to go into newspapers and the staff helped us get experience in places where we really wanted to work. I was more interested in becoming a news reader so Sky was a great choice for me.

‘The fact the MA Journalism is a National Council for the Training of Journalists accredited course was one thing that helped me get the job too. Getting a first job means you have to stand out from the crowd and the course at Teesside really helped me to that.

‘From how to write tight and precise copy to how to utilise multimedia skills such as video and audio editing, I learned so much that is useful for my new job.

‘I am absolutely loving it so far. Everyone is so friendly and I get the opportunity to mix with people from all different departments to see where I would like to progress onto next.

‘I’m also enjoying living in London. It’s really exciting.’

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