journalism – Olivia Preston

Visit To City and The City

June 24, 2017January 31, 2019Olivia PrestonOtherLeave a comment

City, University Of London Open Day 24 June 2017

Waking up at 6am definitely was not music to my ears, but I knew getting up early and being ready for my day visiting City, University Of London would be worth it.

The quick journey from St Pancras Station to Angel was one that I hoped I would soon become familiar with. The short walk from the tube station to Northampton Square took my parents and I through the streets of London – this was something that I wanted to make a daily occurrence for me. The quiet bustle that I could hear from outside the university building coming from the London traffic was everything that I wanted.

The amazing journalism facilities were industry standard and I felt as if I was in a real newsroom, walking around university I was more than ready to work as hard as I could to ensure that I spent my three years training to be a journalist at City.

My parents and I went on tours around the campus and the accommodation close by. As we neared the end of the open day it was clear that the university ticked every box: location, degree content, atmosphere.

I left with my head filled with motivation to succeed in my studies, all in the hope to get into a university like City.

(Thank you to Tom Felle, the lecturer I met who was so welcoming and to all the student ambassadors who made me feel so comfortable!)

Why I Picked English, Sociology And Media At A Level

June 17, 2017January 31, 2019Olivia PrestonAdviceLeave a comment

From the age of around 12, I had the idea of becoming of journalist in my head. After working hard at GSCE, I knew that I needed to pick the right subjects in order for me to obtain the necessary skills needed for me to progress to university and pursue my dream.

I chose English at A Level after achieving two A’s in the subject at GSCE. After enjoying it prior to post 16 study, I knew that choosing it would mean that it would be a whole lot harder than before. I chose the Language course instead of Literature or combined as I knew that Language would prove more beneficial in regards to my career path in the future. Every journalist needs a good foundation of English and there was no better course than this, to equip me with the expertise needed for me to succeed in the field. My course actually includes a coursework piece that is to be written in a journalistic style – ideal for me! I am finding the course very enjoyable especially with the textual analysis and specialist terms that I have learned this year. After completing my first year mocks, I am on track for getting an A grade overall.

I decided to take Art, Craft and Design as I loved the subject before I started my A Levels, however in the first two weeks of starting the course I did not find it in anyway similar to how it was at GSCE. I was not doing well in it, due to lack of interest and motivation I had. Sociology had always intrigued me so naturally, I knew I needed to change to that. In the second half of the Autumn term of my first year, I swapped to Sociology which proved to be a great choice for me to have made as after taking my mock in the subject I obtained a B grade – which I am more than pleased with. I think that Sociology is more appropriate for me to study as every journalist needs to a good level of understanding of wider societies to ensure that they can see other sides to stories concerning other cultures. A sociologist Peter Berger once said that “the fascination of sociology lies in the fact that its perspective makes us see in a new light the very world in which we have lived all of our lives.”, this is very true of journalism too.

Media Studies has always been a definite choice at A Level for me as it would help me to get a deep understanding of the media industries including film, social media and television. The coursework in this course is especially useful for my future profession as I produced and edited my own CD cover, which helps me to build on my IT skills which are vital. This knowledge is essential the becoming a journalist as after all the profession is media and digitally based. I have found Media to be the most interesting subject by far, as it has relevance in many parts of not only many studying but day to day life. I took my real exam for this and I am hoping for a B in this subject.