The new generation of journalists lack the confidence to carry out traditional tasks such as phone interviews or cold calling, journalism tutors have warned.

The NCTJ has announced it is taking action to tackle a lack of confidence and resilience among new journalists after feedback from trainers.

It follows a meeting last week at which members of the NCTJ’s safety and resilience advisory panel noted a lack of confidence had been exacerbated by mobile phone usage, online abuse, lockdowns, home working, and tensions between police and journalists.

The NCTJ’s action plan includes a free safety and resilience e-learning course while a new training course on developing core skills to communicate confidently is due to be launched later this year.

Photo: Josh Caius

Lisa Bradley, pictured, course leader at the University of Sheffield, said young people were highly anxious and fearful of “getting it wrong”.

Speaking at the panel meeting, she warned failure to address and overcome the issue could lead to a significant impact on journalism.

Said Lisa: “It is important that journalists starting out understand the impact of NOT developing the confidence to speak to people.

“Journalism is about giving people a voice and representing people in their communities. If journalists struggle to speak to people, there is a danger that people won’t have a voice, which could negatively affect the long-term sustainability of journalism.”

Laura Adams, head of the NCTJ’s Journalism Skills Academy, said: “We are proud of our work with the employer-led safety and resilience panel to tackle safety and resilience issues.

“It is important that we continue to explore meaningful ways to support the industry, educators and learners, and we will carry on doing this through the NCTJ’s safety and resilience action plan.”

The advisory panel was set up in 2023 to help the NCTJ gain an understanding of the online and physical threats to journalists’ safety and what it can do to help journalists.

It includes representatives from the BBC, Reuters, Financial Times, Iliffe Media, National World, Newsquest, Sky News, SWNS, and talkSPORT.