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Journalism graduate secures job with Sky Sports

A º£½ÇÖ±²¥ journalism graduate is reaching for the Sky after securing a job on a national sports news show one week after finishing her course.

Leanne Johnson, who graduated in MA Journalism, is now a permanent member of staff on the popular Sky Sports News show, Soccer Saturday. After making a good impression at a work experience placement in March she was asked to return as a Junior Producer for the show.

Leanne said: ‘I decided to approach Jeff Stelling after a talk he did at university to ask him if there was any chance he could help me get a work experience placement.

‘I’ve done previous work experience placements at Sky in their PR department. I enjoyed it and really wanted to go back.

‘The work is so varied, from collecting and looking after studio guests to controlling the autocue in live shows. I feel like it’s the first step on the ladder to an exciting career.’

The dedicated 23 year old – who achieved a distinction in her Master’s degree – carried out various placements during her studies, including ITV and More Magazine.

Leanne added: ‘When I started at º£½ÇÖ±²¥ I knew that I didn’t want to go into newspapers and the staff helped us get experience in places where we really wanted to work. I was more interested in becoming a news reader so Sky was a great choice for me.

‘The fact the MA Journalism is a National Council for the Training of Journalists accredited course was one thing that helped me get the job too. Getting a first job means you have to stand out from the crowd and the course at º£½ÇÖ±²¥ really helped me to that.

‘From how to write tight and precise copy to how to utilise multimedia skills such as video and audio editing, I learned so much that is useful for my new job.

‘I am absolutely loving it so far. Everyone is so friendly and I get the opportunity to mix with people from all different departments to see where I would like to progress onto next.

‘I’m also enjoying living in London. It’s really exciting.’

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