Your Noon Briefing: John Beattie, NUJ media training qualification, etc

THE BBC Scotland presenter, John Beattie, is to receive an honorary degree tomorrow.

Beattie – who played rugby union for Scotland on 25 occasions, and also toured South Africa (1980) and New Zealand (1983) with the British & Irish Lions – is to receive a Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Abertay.

He played in the Scotland team that last beat England at its Twickenham home, in 1983.

Says the university, in a media release: “After injury in 1987, he started broadcasting for the BBC and has covered several Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cups for both radio and TV, as well as presenting programmes including Rugby Special and Sport Nation.

“He currently presents the BBC Radio Scotland lunch time news show five days a week, is involved in BBC ALAB’s English-language coverage of domestic rugby, and commentates for BBC Scotland at international rugby games.”

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FASCINATING read on the website, pressgazette.co.uk, headed, ‘Why we were wrong about the internet killing off print journalism’.

It has been penned by editor, Dominic Ponsford, and can be read, here.

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AND a guest blog on pressgazette.co.uk – by Shruti Sheth – begins: “More women than ever are training to be journalists.

“According to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), there are more women than men studying journalism on full-time undergraduate courses.

“The figures, measuring numbers from 2007 to 2014, show that women on these courses outnumbered men every year except 2008 when the numbers were roughly equal. But women remain a minority in the top journalistic roles.”

Read more, here.

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A BUSINESS manager is being sought by The Church of Scotland magazine, Life and Work.

The vacancy is being advertised on the allmediascotland.com media jobs board – here.

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NEWS noted yesterday in the allmediascotland Noon Briefing (here) – that Scot, James Naughtie, is stepping down from presenting BBC Radio 4’s Today programme – takes up most of page three of today’s Scotsman: here.

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MEMBERS of the National Union of Journalists are being invited to take part in training that will lead to a qualification as media trainers.

The training – being delivered by Glasgow Clyde College – involves three days of ‘training the trainers’.

It is taking place on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a third day on the 21st of this month.

Says the NUJ, applicants must be prepared to attend and complete all three days.

For more information, contact Joan Macdonald, NUJ Training Scotland, on 0141 248 6648/7748 or joanm@nuj.org.uk

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SEEN anything you think readers of www.allmediascotland.com should be made aware of? Then just send the weblink to here and we’ll do the rest. All suggestions gratefully received. We’re back at noon tomorrow.