Emily Horner

Digital Reporter at The Press York

I feel lucky to have had a place at Leeds Trinity and would recommend it to any budding journalist.

Why I chose to attend Leeds Trinity and my favourite memories

I was attracted to the variety of the course. I knew I wanted to do an accredited NCTJ course and was then even more impressed by the BJTC accreditation. I hadn’t considered broadcast journalism before, so the thought of giving that a go intrigued me. I feel lucky to have had a place at Leeds Trinity and would recommend it to any budding journalist.

Valuable lessons

The course taught me the valuable lesson of staying resilient and tenacious through challenges. I discovered a keen interest in politics through the Public Affairs module, and our cohort was lucky to have the chance of reporting on the 2019 general election ballot count for Radio Aire, and I loved the challenge of shorthand.

Placement opportunities

I had a placement with national news agency SWNS Leeds, where I achieved my first national bylines, which felt like a ‘bucket list’ moment. It helped me practice working to speed, and it was also my first experience on a news desk outside of University.

Early career highlights

After graduating I spent a few months freelancing – in which I enjoyed the variety and creativity of writing features for different publications. I then hit the jackpot in July 2021 and landed my first journalism job at York Press. In just two months I had ridden a hot air balloon and a helicopter, interviewed a 9/11 survivor and a German Jewish refugee turned RAF photographer during the second world war, met the Archbishop of York, and got my first front page and centre spread of the paper.

Being a digital reporter

This role involves writing for both online and in the paper – the digital skills we learned on the course have come in very handy as I’ve not had to learn anything from scratch. It’s a privilege to gain an insight into other peoples’ lives that I otherwise wouldn’t have done, and I love writing about a city that always inspired my imagination growing up.

My advice for a student looking at a similar career route

Remember that nothing will fall into your lap, so create your own opportunities. So regardless of how big or small, whether it’s for free or paid, it all adds up in your portfolio. Though for paid freelancing, I recommend signing up to paid pitching newsletters – they were a God send!