By Online sub-editors are facing a necessary evil in the newsroom: SEO. And it’s draining the creativity out of headlines. In the never-ending race to the top of Google’s results pages, click-hungry journalists are trading in the wit of a deft headline for searchable keywords that boost search engine optimisation. If more newspapers
By Ex-City student misses out on Oscar for Best Documentary Short
An ex-City magazine student missed out on the Oscar for Best Documentary Short at the 88th annual Academy Awards. Adam Benzine, who completed his PGdip in Magazine Journalism in 2005, wrote, directed and produced the nominated film: Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah. The self-financed film, which took four years to make
By The 12 weirdest freebies journalists have been sent
PRs have been bombarding journalists with freebies since the dawn of time. But sometimes the attempts to win favour get nothing but confused looks. With hacks being handed everything from giant blocks of ice to life-sized cut-outs of rugby players, we’ve listed the strangest freebies given to journos: 1. An
By The 4 types of hack we all know
Journalists are an odd bunch. But as frantic, tired and weirdly obsessed with the inner workings of local councils as we seem to others; we look even stranger to each other. Each tribe of journalist has its own stereotype that all other hacks secretly associate with them. Stereotypes like: The Newshound Otherwise
By The 8 strangest onscreen depictions of journalists
This weekend, hacks around the world will be rooting for Spotlight to clean up at the 2016 Academy Awards. After all, a film about how great journalists are makes us all feel a little more significant as we Google around for gifs. Especially since accurate onscreen depictions of journalists are a
By 6 listicles older than the internet
17 Things That Are Too Real For People Who Always Drop Their Phone. Three Ways TTIP Will Violate Your Human Rights. 20 Reasons for Middle-Aged Men to be Cheerful. In 2016, no topic is too banal – nor too big – to be listicled. If you’re an online journalist you’ll likely be asked to churn them out:
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By Old News: XCity 1994’s thoughts on the internet
As XCity reaches the ripe old age of 30, we thought we would delve into the magazine archives and republish some of the magazine’s finest content. Warning: words and images may provoke severe nostalgia for the past. Here’s our first installment, where Andrew Johnson, now assistant news editor at The
By Anniversary poll: Which XCity cover is best?
This year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the City Journalism department. Much has changed since its beginnings (the staff, the students, the technology), but one thing that has remained constant during the last 30 of those years is XCity. Since its 1986 debut, XCity‘s covers have featured everything from an advertless Leicester
By Interview etiquette: Where to take each type of source
The right location for an interview is essential to putting your source at ease and getting the most out of them in the least time possible. Pick the wrong dining spot and you’ve blown it. But, choose the right site and they might just give you the lead you need
By Quiz: Guess the journalist’s first tweet
Creating the perfect tweet has become an art form. And like all art forms it can take a long time to get any good at it. Way back in 2008, when Twitter was just beginning to take off in the UK, some of the biggest names in journalism were… um…
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