I interviewed Greg Truscott (the chief reporter at the South London Press.
I've spent thirteen years in this industry and to tell you the truth, I decided to pursue Journalism when I split up with my girlfriend in Barcelona. Previously I had always felt there was a glass ceiling and I didn't take it any further. I applied for a job at a newspaper over there but I got accepted at Nottingham, studying a pre-entry NCTJ course. Later I worked at a local newspaper in Cardiff called “The Daily”.
Getting the job was a stroke of luck as I was only supposed to be at the paper for a week long placement. Whilst travelling by black cab with a friend in Cardiff the driver noticed I wasn't Welsh. He spoke to me about local gangland cab wars and also introduced me to a contact whom I met at an industrial waste land to discuss the story. The next day it was the splash on the front page and they gave me a full time job.
My advice to budding journalists would be the industry is all about getting the job done. It's not like medicine or law but more like a trade. There is no point studying for three years when you can do it in one. Get the NCTJ, similar to a driver's license for the journalism industry it’s all employers are looking for.
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