New online publication takes students into the beating heart of a newsroom
The newly launched Newsworthy initiative provides real-world journalism experience and practical publishing skills for UNSW students.
Published on the 18 Feb 2019
There’s a new player in Australia's news media industry. UNSW School of the Arts & Media (SAM) has launched a news website featuring writing, audio and video produced by media students.
Newsworthy will be based at the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences and will feature work from postgraduate and undergraduate journalism students, plus a network of contributors from across the faculty. The site will also house content from creative writing, photography and film students. It will run under the guidance of a former editor of The Sydney Morning Herald news app, Connie Levett.
Ms Levett, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, came on board as Newsworthy’s editor because she saw the value in students gaining practical experience in online publishing.
“Newsworthy is about student learning,” Ms Levett says.
“The experience of working in a high-powered digital newsroom ... it can be a brutal world. You need some basis before you get thrown into that.
“We made a decision to have a place where the students could publish their work, because one of the big things when you're leaving university is to have a portfolio and get that first job.”
Initially, the site will publish a couple of stories a week which will come predominantly from course assignments but can also be pitched by students and commissioned by Newsworthy. The publication aims to cover a range of editorial pillars including justice, society, technology and gender.
Newsworthy is more than the average student newsroom, Ms Levett says. What sets it apart from the rest is its focus on other elements of the news production cycle such as audience building and cross-platform distribution.
“It's not just about being published,” Ms Levett says.
“Her feedback and edits hold us to a rigorously high standard, showing us how to weave different people's stories together to create a clear direction and message for our pieces.
“I've learnt skills in editing, juggling multiple angles in one story and balancing quoting sources with the story that we, as journalists, have to tell at the end of the day.”
Ms Mukherjee, who has been writing stories and poems since she was three years old, learnt about Newsworthy when Ms Levett spoke to her class about plans for the publication.
“I loved that from the outset the team behind building the publication was interested in developing a quality news and opinion outlet that showcased students' voices at a standard that demands they are heard,” she says.
She hopes to further expand her storytelling skills and would like to pursue a career as a crime reporter after graduating.
“I would like to find a role that uses both my media experience and my belief in legal advocacy and justice.
“I've always been attracted to criminal law as a complement to my crime writing – and perhaps some investigative or court reporting could also be an opportunity I'll look into.
“I'm interested in social justice, and this publication has been a way for me to contribute stories that I believe celebrate brave members of our society who act with integrity, while challenging us all to consider how we can cooperate to ensure people don't suffer in silence.”