How to train your student journalists into becoming kick-ass content creators

From left to right: Hiran Adhia, Alex Ekong, Beth Hurst, Tasha Okeke and Christine Wong, part of the Debut Student Publisher Network

Writing. It should be as simple as putting pen to paper, right? Wrong.

In an age where page views are the currency du jour, aspiring journos need to be sharper than ever to catch a Facebook user’s attention.

Print isn’t dead by any means. But the reality is digital journalism is the new king, and to compete in this excruciatingly competitive industry, young writers need to prepare.

The challenge

Creating a programme that will teach the necessary skills and tricks that’ll catapult student writers into full-blown content creators. Limited resources. Limited time. A lot of ambition.

I have had previous experience in setting up programmes like this, but here are a few things I got wrong:

1. Not paying the writers. This is something I regret pushing for to this very day, and I’m not ever making that mistake again. Labour is labour, and should be justly rewarded.
2. Assuming deadlines will be met on time. Working with experienced freelancers is one thing, but we’re dealing with young, fresh writers who may have never even seen or dealt with an invoice in their life. Remote management is a difficult thing I’m still getting to grips with, but I’m wiser now.
3. Working with an enormous roster of writers. I oversaw nearly 200 different writers, and was unable to provide them with the support or guidance necessary to really help them grow.

If you read our piece on creating a careers content revolution, you’d understand why we at Debut felt it important to include authentic, innovative voices in our publication. (If not, we’ve placed it below for you to have a look):

Why we need a careers content revolution, and how we’re going to get one

Taking all of my previous experience into consideration, I devised the Debut Student Publisher Network to look like this.

1. A 2-hour training session for each writer at our London HQ, comprising of on-boarding and an interactive editorial workshop.
2. Training in Wordpress for each writer, for them to be able to tick ‘CMS experience’ off for their CV.
3. Use of the task management system Trello to organise the editorial calendar, and a Facebook group for discussions, pitch prompts and digital high-fives.
4. Each writer will be paid £25 per published article.

“I thought the student writer training sessions were informative and engaging, but also enjoyable. We were encouraged to be as creative as possible with our tasks, which could be translated into potential pitches. I liked that it felt casual but productive at the same time, and as my training session consisted of multiple members it was great to have the discussion element in there too.” — Christine, Debut Student Publisher

We’ve had our first round of student writers publish some amazing pieces. Take a look at our highlights below:

The ultimate student guide to creating a personal brand

8 reasons why second year of uni is both the worst and the best

11 things being on a university society exec teaches you

“I really loved the training session, it was such a chill and informal environment but really got the mind juices flowing. 10/10 would go again.” — Charlotte, Debut Student Publisher

Interested in joining the team? Shoot me an email with your portfolio and a cover letter at brenda@debut.careers with the subject line “I want in.”

“It really challenged and inspired me — because of my previous experience as a student journalist I was somewhat familiar with the tools but the sessions taught me how to use that knowledge productively. The pitching exercise really pushed me out of my comfort zone. All in all, I’d say it improved my skills as a writer but more so as an overall creative.” — Alex, Debut Journalism Intern

Let’s see where this takes us.

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