Book launch – Digital Journalism Practice: Skills for Now and the Future
- Date: Wednesday 14 October 2026, 16:00 – 18:00
- Location: Clothworkers North Building SR (1.17)
- Cost: Free
A reception to mark the launch of Digital Journalism Practice: Skills for Now and the Future (Bucknell, I. and Painter, L. 2026) including a conversation on the changing newsroom with industry insight
Join us for a reception to mark the publication of Digital Journalism Practice: Skills for Now and the Future (Bucknell, I. and Painter, L. 2026) including a conversation on the changing newsroom with Rachel Parkes (News Editor – Digital, Channel 4 News) and Jacob Tomlinson (Senior Journalist on BBC News Socials).
Digital Journalism Practice: Skills for Now and the Future (Bucknell, I. and Painter, L. 2026) is out now and is aimed at helping students and tutors tackle the fast-paced world of news in the digital era.
Breaking new ground in the teaching and learning of digital journalism practice, this book lays out the enduring principles of social media and online reporting. The authors’ approach focuses on prevailing story formats, core skills, audience insights and future proofing through innovation.
Their approach is a response to the competing demands and possibilities that digital media affords journalists. Opportunities for reporters to share their stories have never been greater, but the supply routes are controlled by third-party tech companies. Audience insights are available in real time, allowing newsrooms to see what subjects and ways of covering them are working. How is that pursuit of popularity balanced with the normative role of journalism to scrutinise power and inform the public? News employers now seek ‘content creators’ to help them reach young audiences, but does the content they create reach the standards expected of professional journalists? And how will newsrooms and the role of journalists shift with increasing use of AI technologies?
The reception will be an informal event where you can meet people from industry and academia who are passionate about the present and future of journalism. The authors will open the discussion by introducing their book and how it contributes to the challenges faced by journalists, media students and their teachers, followed by insights for our industry guests into how they are experiencing and coping with unprecedented change.
Ian Bucknell is an Associate Professor of Journalism with over 20 years' experience of working as a news reporter and factual TV producer for the BBC, after starting his career as a researcher at The Guardian. His teaching and research focus on digital journalism practice and long-form TV production.
Layla Painter is a lecturer in Journalism Practice at the University of Leeds and programme lead of the BA Journalism course. She spent nearly 20 years with the BBC as a reporter, producer and editor working online and in radio.