The BBC college of Journalism

Hot off the press, the BBC college of journalism (CoJo) has launched amid 'internal' fanfares today.

The reason why the launch didn't garner much attention to anyone outside of the BBC's 'Gateway' intranet site, is probably due to the fact that the college cannot be accessed by us mere mortals in the outside world. Its a bit like Hogwarts...

The new online facility aims to ensure that the standards are kept high (for BBC staff only) and this is reinforced by a physical facility too, (for the 'muggles' perhaps?) apparently over an Italian deli in London.

On a serious note. I find it interesting that in this age of mass-media and rolling news, the BBC are still interested in not only keeping a presence in what's becoming a fairly busy marketplace, but the Corporation clearly intends to reinforce the strong journalistic principles on which the NCA department was built. As such, I think this is licence fee money relitively well spent (easy on the deli takeouts though please).


As part of my teaching in schools. I have been asking the media students "what makes a good news channel on TV?" It's amazing how many get caught up with the bells and whistles before even considering the framework from which the actual content is gathered.

I am worried that the new Al Jazeera news channel, may fall under this banner. Yup they may be gearing up for HD broadcasting. And its pretty impressive to see a wall of reporters and correspondents waiting to 'bring us up to date' immediately, but I'm slightly concerned that there's an anti-Israel bias that has already crept in. Maybe its not in how the news has been reported as much as the stories that they are missing out.

In this day and age. The media is playing an ever increasing role in how we perceive or world and indirectly how politicians deal with things on our behalf. I hope the BBC's college is quick to remind its students of the ethical responsibilities which accompany their reputation as one of the most trusted news providers on the planet.

(You may read a more detailed mandate on this blog post from the CoJo Editor. should you wish. Or check out biased BBC. Maybe they could assess some of the coursework?)