Born and raised in Singapore, Afiq is a data journalist at Reuters covering financial markets and corporate finance. He previously worked in the New Statesman’s data unit where he covered UK politics, international affairs, and technology.

Afiq will be mentored by Dr Maryam Ahmed, senior data journalist at the BBC.

Ahmed is currently an assistant producer for Al Jazeera English. He began his career fixing and translating rushes for international crews in Libya, and was among the first cohort of the BBC’s Future Voices traineeship.

Prior to news, Ahmed worked in documentaries, including as a lead researcher/translator on the BAFTA-award winning Once Upon in Iraq.

Ahmed recently won an FPA award for his report on the Syrian government’s PR partnership with foreign travel vloggers, which he produced and presented for Al Jazeera’s weekly media analysis programme, The Listening Post. 

Ahmed will be mentored by David Bowden.

Aishah is a journalist at Sky News, currently producing the Breakfast and Early Rundown programmes. 

Her journey at Sky started in 2021 when she was selected to be part of the Content Academy graduate programme where she worked across online, audio and digital platforms. 

She also has experience in producing for television on location, having covered the Platinum Jubilee, local elections and court cases. 

She studied Multimedia Broadcast Journalism at the University of Brighton before producing and presenting her own radio show.

She has a particular interest in telling stories that represent diverse audiences. 

Aishah will be mentored by Oruj Defoite, ITV.

Alicia is a Multimedia Producer for ITV News.

Based in London, she previously worked at Reach PLC.

She graduated in Politics from Newcastle University in 2020, before going on to complete a Masters in Multimedia Journalism. She hopes to hone her focus and make City Hall and politics her main beat. 

Alicia will be mentored by Flora Hunter, Deputy Foreign News Editor at ITV News.

Alix is a journalist and podcast producer working for BBC News. For the last three years she has worked on award-winning news podcasts such as Newscast, as well as helping to launch Ukrainecast and relaunch Americast.  

Previously she worked at BBC Radio 5 Live in Manchester on live radio programmes and digital videos.

She is interested in long-form audio, international news and open source investigation. 

Alix will be mentored by Nic Keaney.

Andrew is a political journalist at POLITICO Europe, where he has spent the last two-and-a-half years – following an internship whilst studying for his journalism degree at Edinburgh Napier – as part of the team working on the London Playbook newsletter. He also covers Scottish politics for POLITICO, reporting on stories including the collapse of the ferry system in the Outer Hebrides, the political response to Scotland’s drug deaths crisis and  Scottish independence. 

Andrew will be mentored by BBC Chief Political Correspondent Nick Eardley.

Andrew is the Daily Record’s Westminster Reporter, covering UK politics from a Scottish perspective. 

Born and raised in Paisley in the west of Scotland, Andrew’s first flurry into journalism was when he reached the final of a football commentating competition aged 12. He was then a presenter on hospital radio before studying History and Italian at Glasgow University. 

After completing his undergrad, he was lucky enough to win the Nick Lewis Memorial Trust scholarship to study an MA in International Journalism at City, University, London. He worked at the News & Star and The Cumberland News in Carlisle as a trainee reporter before starting on the Telegraph’s trainee scheme in January 2022. 

Andrew will be mentored by award-winning investigative journalist Mark Daly.

Ashleigh is a journalism apprentice on the Fast Track journalism programme with BBC Scotland. She is based with the online team, and has also worked on TV news with The Nine and radio with Good Morning Scotland, Lunchtime Live and Drivetime with John Beattie and Fiona Stalker. 

She has a passion for radio and, as a student volunteer, won Newcomer of the Year at the 2021 Community Radio Awards for her work with Heartland FM.  

She is keen to move into politics or investigative journalism. 

Ashleigh will be mentored by Andrew Browne at STV.

Azmia is a News Reporter for the Irish Independent covering local Dublin stories. She was one of the six journalists chosen for the publication’s new Emerging Talent programme.

Before she moved to Ireland, she worked with The New Indian Express, an Indian newspaper. As Senior Reporter, she spearheaded the first local edition of their Education magazine, Education Express, in her hometown. 

She has worked with the community radio station Dublin South FM to present and produce Green Radio – a programme that covers local sustainability initiatives.

Azmia will be mentored by Jon Williams, formerly of RTE.

Bankole was a journalist intern at the Irish Times and is studying for a Masters in Sports Journalism at the National University of Ireland. He has previously held the position of sports analyst at Splash FM and news reporter at the Galway Pulse. 

Bankole is ambitious and passionate, striving to change negative perceptions about journalists by upholding the highest level of journalistic integrity.  

He has a strong interest in news and sports features. He believes just a few stories dominate public discourse, holding the belief that journalists should search for the most compelling stories rather than pursuing those commonly found in the public eye.  

Bankole will be mentored by Francesca Comyn, journalist at The Currency.

Beth is a broadcast journalist with BBC News. Her articles, audio reports and television work have featured on BBC World News, Radio 4 and World Service. She has undertaken journalism alongside academic research on-the-ground from Mongolia to the Falklands, exploring stories about environmental problems, economic issues and cultural heritage. Prior to this, she freelanced for Reuters and current affairs documentaries.   

Outside of this work, she is a doctoral student at the University of Oxford, exploring the protection of cultural heritage in, and of, conflict; and teaches a cultural heritage in armed conflict course for Archaeology & Anthropology undergraduates at the university. She also volunteers producing audio interviews with charities, the Prison Radio Association, Art Box and The Hospice Biographers.   

Beth will be mentored by Sarah Whitehead, Head of Climate at Sky.

Bethany is a news reporter at Insider, covering a range of international stories through both breaking news and long-form features. Writing with a focus on disability and women’s rights, Bethany often writes about the plights of individuals through major news events. Since joining Insider in June 2021 she has followed the journeys of refugees from Ukraine, detailed how women access abortions in the USA when their state bans the procedure, and has highlighted the sexual assault problem plaguing Westminster.  

She holds a BSc in Politics and Sociology from the University of Surrey and was previously a freelance journalist writing for titles such as the BBC, The Times, Private Eye, The Independent, VICE and more. She also spent a year as a social researcher at the Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs as part of her studies. 

Bethany will be mentored by the BBC’s Tim Burke.

After completing a postgraduate course in Broadcast Journalism at Cardiff University, Cari earnt a spot on the ITV Traineeship and was placed at ITV West Country.  

She was kept on beyond the training scheme working her way up to being appointed Sports Reporter in 2018.  

She’s now a reporter and presenter at ITV Wales, after moving to her home nation’s newsroom in June 2022 she travelled to Qatar to cover Wales at the World Cup. 

She’s spending the start of 2023 on secondment to ITVX, working on news content on ITV’s new streaming platform. 

Cari will be mentored by Wyre Davies of the BBC.

Charlene is a writer, producer and reporter covering Yemen, Afghanistan and the Ukraine-Russia war. Currently a freelancer at BBC Digital and BBC World Radio, she has previously worked for Al Jazeera English in London and Doha. She has written for the BBC, The Economist, The Independent, Al Jazeera, British Vogue and others.  

Her reports on the daily humanitarian challenges faced by families in conflict zones aim to inspire hope and empower the victims by highlighting their strength and resilience in the face of adversity.  

She has written about the rise of child soldiers in Yemen, organ trafficking between Yemen and Egypt, how women and children became the silent victims of an Afghan drug crisis, unlawful drone strikes and women’s rights in decline in Yemen and Afghanistan, as well as her challenges of working as a journalist in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled areas.  

She speaks fluent English and Italian and has conversational knowledge of Arabic, Hindi and French.

Charlene will be mentored by Sky’s Alex Crawford.

Chloe currently works as a Newsreader and Newsdesk Editor for Radio Forth and Radio Borders.

After studying an MA in Broadcast Journalism at Cardiff University, she moved from her home in South Wales to Glasgow in October 2020 to join the Bauer Scotland News Team.

As well as working on-desk day-to-day, Chloe also works as a reporter covering international rugby union matches. 

Chloe will be mentored by Ciaran Jenkins, Channel 4’s Scotland Correspondent.

Clara is a data journalist at Raconteur, writing data-led features and business analysis.

She previously worked at Reach’s Irish titles including the Irish Mirror and Star, where she covered topics from sewage overflows to the Eurovision; and has also written for Vice, Huck and Insider.  

Clara recently graduated from a journalism MA at Goldsmiths and was a Google News Initiative fellow. She is particularly interested in writing about sustainability and the environment.

Clara will be mentored by Thomas Calver, Data Editor at the Sunday Times. 

Debbie is a Senior Regional Reporter for SWNS, in charge of coverage for the East of England.

She was previously Cambridge News’ first Community Reporter, specialising in increasing the representation of underreported groups.

She has also worked as a freelancer covering press freedom and LGBTQ+ issues in Turkey, representing British NGOs including the Guardian Foundation in Istanbul in the fight for press freedoms.

She currently co-hosts the weekly show Queer Cambridge on Cambridge 105 FM.

Debbie will be mentored by journalist Beth Colson.

Dionne is an NCTJ student and freelance writer with bylines in The Huffington Post, The Mirror, The SWLondoner, and Pride Magazine.

Having worked and volunteered in the charity sector for over 9 years, and with a background in sociology, Dionne is interested in using journalism to tell the stories of marginalised people, whose voices are often missed or ignored by mainstream media.  

Dionne hopes to achieve her NCTJ this year and secure her first journalism job, with the help of the John Schofield mentoring program. 

Dionne will be mentored by Ayshah Tull of ITV News.

Eamon is a reporter at Bloomberg with a passion for data-driven stories. He is moving around the newsroom jumping onto desks like commodities, breaking news and UK economy; and most recently helped expand the coverage of industrial disputes as Bloomberg’s strikes reporter.

Eamon graduated in Engineering from Imperial College London  and  transitioned into journalism reporting on oil for Platts, before finally joining Bloomberg. His background as an engineer drives his interest in data journalism and applications of scripting to elevate stories and visualizations. 

Eamon will be mentored by Sky’s Mike Kumar.

Elle is a technology and business journalist at Automotive World, providing technical breakdowns on high technology, autonomy, AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, software and hardware. She is also a presenter and host for Mobex, the leading auto–industry research and events provider. Typical coverage includes CASE (connected, autonomous, shared and electrified) mobility, engineering topics and regulatory issues. 
 
In addition to automotive, Elle also writes for Voice Magazine – where she was previously media sub-editor – providing political, international affairs, policy, and technology coverage. Outside of tech, Elle is an arts lover and was the Presenter of the ‘Best Newcomer award’ at the Brighton Fringe Festival 2021 & 2022, as well as holding position of editor at Culture Scoop.

Elle will be mentored by BBC presenter and reporter Alpa Patel.

Elizabeth is a journalist at BBC Sport on the Journalism Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme (formerly the Journalism Trainee Scheme). The scheme involves rotating between radio, TV, online and digital placements and results in the NQJ qualification. She worked as a digital presenter and a television reporter during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games for BBC Sport.   

Elizabeth previously worked as an online journalist for BBC Sport whilst a student at the University of Birmingham, where she studied Spanish and English Language. She also worked as a content creator for the Queen’s Baton Relay team as part of Birmingham 2022 and has presented at The Hundred and at Edgbaston Cricket Ground.   

She is also exploring TikTok as a form of journalism: her channel @elizabeth.conway_ has over 60,000 followers. 

Elizabeth will be mentored by Martha Kelner from Sky.

Elizabeth is a home news reporter for MailOnline, having previously worked as a journalist at MyLondon and LBC. She made her way onto the journalism stage by breaking national stories as a student journalist for Varsity. She specialises in politics and social issues at MailOnline, but is also a talented foreign reporter who speaks multiple languages. 

As well as breaking news and exclusive scoops, Elizabeth is experienced in digital and social media journalism. She completed her NCTJ with News Associates and is presently London-based. Native in English, she holds a degree in French and German and also has a basic knowledge of Dutch. 

Elizabeth will be mentored by Amanda Akass of Sky.

Elizabeth is a News and Sport Broadcast Journalist with Dublin’s FM104 & Q102, which are part of the Wireless Group. 

Prior to her current role, Elizabeth was the Digital Editor of AML Intelligence, a news organisation specialising in anti-financial crime and compliance.  

In this role, Elizabeth served as the presenter and moderator of the Women In FinCrime virtual summits, as well as a contributor to the Reuters Risk events in New York, and Anti-Financial Crime Summit in London. 

Elizabeth also worked as a Schuman Trainee with the European Parliament’s Liaison Office in Dublin as part of the press team. 

In her current role, Elizabeth is responsible for the compilation of on-air bulletins, as well as news reports and interviews. 

She is passionate about politics, current affairs and international relations. 

Elizabeth will be mentored by John Burke of RTE.

Emilia is a journalist at BBC Wales based in Cardiff, where she reports, presents and produces for the flagship national news programme Wales Today. 

She has an interest in politics and current affairs, and was previously on attachment reporting politics for Welsh and UK audiences. Her reports have focussed on topics including the housing crisis, the justice system and issues around gender, disability, race and class. Several of her stories, including on ‘IVF add-ons’ and on ‘topical steroids’ have reached global audiences and led to write-ups in publications including British Vogue. 

As well as creating a radio documentary, she’s previously worked for Welsh current affairs programmes and freelanced at Victoria Derbyshire. 

Prior to the BBC, Emilia has worked abroad from Thailand to Turkey and in entertainment TV. 

Emilia will be mentored by ITN’s Sarah Beale.

Emma is an Irish Traveller and a full time wheelchair user. 

She has a passion for exploring stories typically overlooked in the media, giving a voice to marginalised people – including those from a similar background to herself. She is also keen to explore multimedia journalism.

Emma’s work can be found at https://linktr.ee/emmaswritingoutlet 

Emma will be mentored by Jennifer Cosgrove at the Irish Times. 

Evan works as an output producer for ITV News London.

Graduating during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, Evan’s first job took him to the Channel Islands as a production journalist for ITV Channel Television in Jersey. During that time he planned and outputted news bulletins, produced a series on climate change and wrote various website articles and explainers.

Evan moved back to the mainland in May 2022 after accepting the job with ITV. He has since worked on various special programmes including the opening of Crossrail, the Grenfell 5th anniversary and The Metropolitan Police being placed into special measures. 

Evan will be mentored by the BBC’s Daniel Fisher.

Freya started working as a freelance journalist in 2020, and has since worked in a number of different news rooms including 5 News, Times Radio, Sky News and Channel 4 News. She’s worked in a variety of different roles across these newsrooms as a digital producer, guest producer and assistant news editor. 

Freya is now a multimedia producer for Channel 4 News’ podcast team covering international and national stories. She works on both of Channel 4 News’ podcasts: Ways to Change the World and the Fourcast. 

 In her current role she writes scripts, edits video and audio versions of the podcasts, produces all social media promotion and helps shoot the interviews. 

Freya will be mentored by Ruth Evans from the BBC.

Georgia is a newly qualified senior reporter working at the Hexham Courant in Northumberland, and The News & Star and Barrow Mail covering Cumbria, for a print and online audience.  

She was nominated for Apprentice of the Year 2022 at the NCTJ awards and completed her training while working in the newsroom after graduating with a first class degree in English Language and Linguistics from the University of York.  

Georgia started her career during the pandemic and is interested in producing and broadcast roles. She is a volunteer host for Radio Prudhoe. 

Georgia will be mentored by presenter and  investigative journalist Layla Wright.

Gergana joined Metro.co.uk in 2021 as a news reporter covering domestic and international stories. 

She has a particular interest in migration, LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, and politics in Central and Eastern Europe. 

Before joining national media, Gergana was a trainee and later a health reporter for the Oxford Mail and Oxford Times. 

Her investigation into the housing crisis in the city pushed the council to pass a motion to stamp out discrimination against tenants on benefits. 

Prior to becoming a journalist, she worked as a post-producer for Netflix documentaries, short films, music videos and adverts in London. 

Gergana will be mentored by journalist Gabriel Gatehouse.

Holly is a producer for BBC Breakfast in MediaCityUK, Salford, bringing a vast variety of stories to air on the UK’s most-watched morning show.  

Prior to this she worked as a multimedia journalist for BBC South West in her home town of Plymouth for three years, covering stories for the BBC News website and reporting on TV and radio. During this time, Holly was often found running around in the rain with a camera, self-shooting stories and editing in the car to get them on air.  

Holly freelanced for local and tabloid papers while studying Journalism at university. During this time, she also made her own documentary. 

Holly will be mentored by Simon Vigar, Royal Correspondent for Channel 5 News.

Indigo Stafford is a Multi-Media Journalist currently working for STV News where she reports on a variety of local and national topics in the East of Scotland.  

She previously worked as a digital news reporter for Edinburgh Live and a television presenter for That’s TV Scotland. 

 Indigo is also an avid content creator and has a following of around 70k on TikTok where she creates videos about pop culture and trending news. She is passionate about the importance of using social media as a way to deliver news content to the younger generation in a format that is both entertaining and informative. Now, Indigo is using her experience to launch and present STV News’ first ever TikTok page. 

Indigo will be mentored by the BBC’s Lucy Adams.

Issa was born to a farming family in a tiny village without education or healthcare on the Syrian-Turkish border. As the village was Turkish-speaking, his family moved to Aleppo city for education. 

In 2003 when the war started in Iraq and journalists were reporting on screens from around the world, Issa was inspired to become a journalist himself. 

In 2011, the war started in his home country and Issa had to make the difficult decision to leave his country and his journalism course at the University of Damascus.  

In 2015 he became a refugee in the UK, leaving behind memories, friendships and home comforts to build a new life in a different land and navigate a new language.  

Five years later, Issa was a fluent English speaker, had completed a master’s degree in International Journalism at Cardiff University, and was offered an internship with the BBC World Service. Issa was awarded the RTS (Royal Television Society) Student Awards in 2020 for a film he produced and directed. 

In 2021 he was offered a role with ITV Wales as a trainee on-screen journalist. A year later he was shortlisted for The National Diversity Award in Liverpool and also travelled to Qatar for the World Cup as part of the ITV Wales team.  

Issa will be mentored by war correspondent Quentin Sommerville. 

Jack is an OSINT producer at Sky News. His primary focus is verification and open-source investigations, working on both national and international news stories. 

He is part of the Data & Forensics unit at Sky News that was nominated for a British Journalism Award for its work on the Ukraine War. Jack investigated multiple apparent war crimes and looked into how Russia moved stolen Ukrainian grain to international ports 

He has worked on big breaking news stories like the killing of Sir David Amess and newsgathering operations such as Sky News sourcing and translating a Spanish version of Prince Harry’s memoir before its release. 

He was previously a freelance journalist at Sky News, BBC Newsnight and The Sunday Times. 

Jack will be mentored by Paraic O’Brien, Foreign Correspondent at Channel 4 News.

Jamie is a freelance journalist and student living and working in London. He gained experience at The Daily Telegraph and publishing outlet Archant before attaining his foundation NCTJ in early 2021 and starting a journalism degree at the London College of Communication.

Jamie has covered consumer topics, culture and politics for a range of outlets including No Majesty, The Indiependent and GameGrin, using his background in creative copywriting to inject a sense of personality and humour into his work. 

Jamie also contributes to independent creative and journalistic projects, most recently reporting for queer culture magazine The Sewage Society and working as a researcher for true-story audio-drama 14 Stories. 

Jamie will be mentored by Neil Dunwoodie, Head of News Output at Sky.

Josh is an open-source analyst with the BBC’s Data Journalism team where he reports on conflicts, crime, disinformation and human rights abuses. 

He’s spent five years at the BBC, working on investigations with World Online, Newsnight and Panorama, among others. 

Josh started his journalism career covering shipping markets at Argus Media and is particularly interested in maritime stories – whether it be naval exercises in the South China Sea, or human rights abuses aboard commercial vessels. 

Josh will be mentored by journalist and newsroom strategist Fergus Bell.

Josh is a patch reporter for the Birmingham Mail and Birmingham Live. He joined in June 2021 and helped launch My Solihull, a local news brand telling the stories of previously under-reported communities. 
 
Before that, Josh worked as a freelance reporter for The Big Issue, The Guardian and The Observer. In December 2022, he was shortlisted for Young Journalist of the Year at the Regional Press Awards. 

Josh will be mentored by ITN’s  Romilly Weeks.

Kara is a bulletin editor at Bauer Media Audio UK. Based in Glasgow, she reads the news for Tayside and the North East of the country in the afternoon then takes over national bulletins in the evening.  

After graduating from the University of Glasgow with a degree in English Literature, Kara worked in the arts before beginning her life as a journalist presenting a weekly show on Celtic Music Radio. Here she interviewed a range of artists from across the international music scene and broadcast live from Europe’s largest winter music festival, Celtic Connections, each year.  

During this time she also worked on a podcast series for Youth Music and built up her experience in the industry at both The Big Issue and Newsquest before moving into radio full-time. 

Kara will be mentored by Peter Smith, journalist at ITV News and ITN.

Katie is a Production Journalist for ITV News Anglia, working on programme input and output and on digital coverage. She regularly produces the lunchtime, evening and weekend bulletins, and presents Good Morning Britain and the lunchtime news on occasion. She is the youngest news editor in the Anglia newsroom. 

Katie’s reporting includes important and emotive topics such as mental health, and she is passionate about covering underrepresented communities.  

Before working at ITV, Katie worked for SWNS agency, writing for The Daily Mail, The Times, The Mirror and the Sun. She was also a reporter at The Hunts Post, covering court stories, inquests and council stories. 

Katie will be mentored by ITN’s Cait Fitzsimons. 

Katie is a Broadcast Journalist at BBC Breakfast and former Journalism Trainee at the Daily Mirror. She graduated from Oxford University in 2021 with a degree in French and German – the first member of her family to attend University.  

As a Daily Mirror trainee, Katie worked with the LGBT+ community in Rwanda to report on their experiences and interviewed Idan Roll, the former Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel. 

Katie has an interest in Eurovision and creates content for an independent Eurovision news website. She attended the 2021 Grand Final in Turin as a reporter and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live and National Television in Spain and Georgia as a ‘Eurovision expert’ and pundit.  

Katie will be mentored by Stephanie Oliver from Sky.

Kelly is a multimedia journalist and newsreader currently working for Premier Christian Radio, the UK’s largest Christian radio station. She reports on international and UK news stories from a faith-based perspective. 

Prior to joining Premier, Kelly studied an MA in International Journalism at City University. Kelly has worked as a journalist in English, Spanish and Catalan, including for RTVE, the Spanish national broadcaster. Born in Colombia and raised in Barcelona, Kelly is passionate about bringing diverse news stories to international audiences. 

Kelly will be mentored by BBC Mundo journalist Laura Garcia.

Khadija Kothia is an Assistant News Editor at ITV News where she news-gathers and produces across the national, foreign, politics, digital and local news desks. Her main interests lie in foreign feature stories and she aims to become an on-screen reporter

Khadija previously interned at Bloomberg and The Associated Press where she also freelanced as a video producer. She has studied History and International Relations at both SOAS and LSE. 

Khadija will be mentored by Sangita Myska of LBC Global.

Despite growing up in a tiny village in the far north of Scotland, Kirstin always had an interest in the going’s on in the world. After university she moved south of the border to work for the Hull Daily Mail, covering everything from crime and courts to breaking news around East Yorkshire. 

Kirstin then moved back to Aberdeen, where she had previously studied journalism at Robert Gordon University to take up her role as a reporter for STV News in Aberdeen – Scotland’s most watched news programme. Only on screen for a year, she has enjoyed delving into social issues in the city and making the odd trip back to Caithness to give rural communities a voice. 

Kirstin will be mentored by Stephen Jardine of BBC Scotland.

Leah is a business reporter who started her journalism career in the world of B2B, covering marketing news and freelancing for the Independent.

She then made the jump to City AM, helping the paper get back into print following the pandemic, and covering tech, media and telecoms.

After a stint at the freesheet, Leah now works on the City and Finance desk of The Daily Mail.

Leah will be mentored by BBC Senior Correspondent Darshini David.

Lewis works as a Senior Reporter for Bauer Media in Edinburgh with Radio Forth. This involves covering a variety of stories but Lewis particularly enjoys covering human interest, politics and crime. 

Prior to this Lewis started at Bauer’s Northsound station in Aberdeen, working through the pandemic and tackling massive stories like the Stonehaven train crash. He studied journalism at Robert Gordon University. 

He has worked on a number of projects I including the ‘So, you want to save the planet?’ podcast in the lead up to Cop26 in Scotland, a special look into Crohn’s Disease and an investigation into spiking by needle in Scottish nightclubs. 

Lewis will be mentored by STV’s Gordon Chree.

Madeleine is a freelance journalist and audio producer. She works with the BBC World Service, Newscast and Sky News with specialisms in climate, history and entertainment. 

Madeleine is based in London but also works across Yorkshire, where she grew up. She is ecstatic to be accepted onto the scheme and learn more about cementing newsroom relationships and honing her specialisms. 

Madeleine will be mentored by the BBC’s Eileen Murphy.

Marcia is a bilingual broadcast journalist working on daily news and current affairs at BBC Radio London. 

Last year, Marcia was one of five members of staff covering the Grenfell Inquiry for the award-winning Radio 4 podcast. And within her first year at the BBC, she worked across local, regional and international African news – stemming from her Angolan heritage – as a researcher, reporter, investigative and digital journalist, across TV, Radio and Online. She is also an alumna of the BBC’s Future Voices scheme.  

In 2021 she was selected to undergo a three-month investigative fellowship. She worked closely with organisations in Waltham Forest to examine the impact, of both the reality and the fear of knife crime on the community. That opportunity inspired her passion for community and social affairs 

She is the first person in her immediate family to graduate from University, where she obtained a multimedia journalism degree. 

Marcia will be mentored by Emma Thomasson.

Marnie is a digital video producer working at Sky News. 

Every day she produces, edits, scripts, and films video for a range of digital platforms, including web and app, and social media platforms, including YouTube and TikTok. 

Marnie previously worked at The Telegraph and before which she freelanced at the Associated Press, Independent and Evening Standard.  

She is passionate about a cross-platform approach to digital storytelling, recent example, of which is the story of abortion in America, following the overturning of Roe Vs Wade. 

Marnie will be mentored by Josie Verghese, BBC News Assistant Editor.

Marta is a multimedia journalist working as an output and set up producer at Times Radio Breakfast, where she covers domestic and international politics. As part of a small team driving forward the news agenda, she is constantly looking for ways to make policy debates approachable through warm and intelligent conversation. 
 
She has a keen interest in international affairs, with a particular focus on cross-border migration. Originally from Spain, she works in both English and Spanish and has travelled for long-term research and reporting projects across Spain, Cuba, and the Balkans. She previously worked for Spain’s news agency EFE and her writing has appeared in the Financial Times and Prospect Magazine. 
 
Marta was highly commended Young Producer of the Year in The Society of Editors’ Freedom Media Awards.

Marta will be mentored by ITN’s Esme Wren.

Megan Davies is a bilingual multimedia journalist specialising in radio and podcasts.

She’s worked at BBC Cymru since finishing her MA at Cardiff University in 2019.

She also has experience in print journalism and fashion. 

Megan will be mentored by Rob Osborne, National Correspondent at ITV Cymru Wales.

Megan is a Production Journalist for ITV News in the Channel Islands based in Jersey, following a traineeship with the broadcaster in 2022.  

She works across a wide variety of roles, from planning to regularly producing bulletins; and also presents lunch and weekend bulletins for ITV Channel. 

In the early stage of her career Megan covered a huge breadth of stories. She was part of the ITV National team for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral; was heavily involved in the coverage of Jersey’s general election in June 2022; and more recently, solo produced two special programmes after the devastating explosion in St Helier which killed 10 people. 

She has a keen interest in both National and Channel Island politics. 

Megan will be mentored by the BBC’s Rob Flett. 

Miriam is a sports reporter, presenter and writer. She has recently taken on the role of Sky Sports News’ first ever diversity and inclusion reporter.

Miriam worked at BBC Sport for nearly six years, progressing from trainee to senior reporter for younger audiences and digital platforms, as well as reporting on Match of the Day, Football Focus, MOTDx and being a quarter of the Question of Sport podcast. She has also freelanced for Premier League Productions and is SEASON zine’s editor.  

Miriam has written features for the New York Times, Guardian Opinion, Dazed and gal-dem magazine.  

In 2021, she was nominated for the Ones to Watch (on-air) Sports Journalism Association award. She was the only sports journalist to be nominated for the Outstanding Young Journalist award at the Asian Media Awards in 2018 and 2019.  

In her time at the BBC she was co-Chair of BBC Sport’s BAME Advisory Group and became the first BBC Sport representative to get a place on the BBC News Next Generation Panel. In 2020 and 2021 she was BBC Sport’s Editorial Lead for Black History Month. 

Miriam will be mentored by multi-award winning journalist Dhruti Shah.

Molly Innes is a features writer at Marketing Week, where she interviews CMOs and marketing leaders from some of the world’s biggest brands. She was previously a fellow at Business Insider covering influencer marketing and the creator economy, and worked at advertising trade title Little Black Book as a features writer in 2021.  

Molly graduated from Oxford University in 2020 with a degree in English Language and Literature. Whilst there, she started her journalism career when she wrote about her working-class background for The Guardian. She is interested in education, social mobility and representation in the workplace. 

Molly will be mentored by the BBC’s Dougal Shaw.

Nasaybah is a freelance Assistant News Editor at Channel 4 News, and also a Video Producer at Reuters, scripting, editing and producing global news stories for broadcast and digital platforms.   

She got her first taste of the newsroom when she won the Breaking Into News scheme, producing and reporting a story on whether your accent can hinder your opportunities which was later aired on the ITV national news channel.   

Before joining Channel 4 she worked on the planning desk at ITV News, looking for case studies to interview on upcoming news stories.   

Nasaybah will be mentored by Angela Clarke, Assistant Editor at BBC 5 Live.

Recently appointed in her new role, Niamh kicked off 2023 as a Breaking News Reporter at the Irish Independent.  

She previously worked for the regional papers the Drogheda Independent and Mid-Louth Independent where she developed her skills.  

She regularly covers a range of topics, with particular interest in political and social affairs.  

Before beginning her career in journalism, Niamh studied History at Trinity College Dublin, later picking up a Masters in Journalism from DCU.  

Niamh will be mentored by Bob Hughes, Executive Director of Local Ireland.

Nick is a journalist at Middle East news website The New Arab. He writes news articles and features about the region and its culture and politics. He also reports on related issues internationally. 

Nick was sent to Palestine in 2022 on his first overseas assignment. There, he covered the work of an animal rescue team and the pressures faced by local NGOs. He is also a former producer for The New Arab Voice podcast. 

Nick has been a journalist since 2019 when he began writing freelance for outlets including The Independent and the Byline Times. He holds a gold-standard NCTJ. 

Nick will be mentored by ITN’s Roohi Hasan.

Nuray is a freelance journalist at Evening Standard, based in the SEO team, she covers a range of national and international stories. Her career in journalism started off in entertainment, but she shifted gear to trends while working for Reach’s regional and national titles.  

Nuray’s passion lies in news, data, health and politics. Born in Turkey and raised in London, she has a keen interest in UK and Middle Eastern politics.  

She graduated with a MSc in Digital Journalism at Goldsmiths and has also written for the BBC, The Bookseller, The Stage and Stylist. 

Nuray will be mentored by Matthew Price, Data & Forensics Editor at Sky News.

Octavia is a Journalism Researcher within the BBC’s Long Form Audio Department. There she works on a range of flagship Radio 4 Current Affairs programmes, and narrative podcasts.  

Prior to working in radio, Octavia began her career in Digital Journalism. She produced and presented documentaries for BBC 3 and the BBC News website, regularly achieving over 1 million views. Octavia hopes to carry on focussing her journalism on underserved audiences and communities as her career progresses. 

Octavia will be mentored by Holly Jones, News Editor at Global.

Olive is currently an online news reporter at Sky News covering a range of domestic and global stories. She regularly writes for Sky’s Ukraine war blog, providing live updates and in-depth explainers on the latest developments. Her reporting often focuses on social issues and international politics.  

Olive’s features include the impact of the cost of living on domestic abuse survivors, inside the life of an exiled Myanmar beauty queen and the racism black students faced while fleeing Ukraine. She has also worked in TV and radio with other digital stories in outlets like gal-dem. 

Olive will be mentored by Monica Soriano of the BBC.

Olivia is an Assistant News Editor at 5 News, working across the newsdesk and planning desk for both national and international news coverage.  

Originally from Glasgow, Olivia has a keen interest in planning reports for the Scotland bureau to cover. She is also particularly interested in looking at major news stories through the lens of underrepresented groups and has recently worked with the planning team on a special report covering the impact of the UK’s cost-of-living crisis on people with disabilities.  

Olivia first began working at ITN in Autumn 2021 as a freelancer, working as a researcher for ITN Productions’ Jeremy Vine and later joining the newsdesk at 5 News and ITV News. She has had the opportunity to produce live TV segments, to field produce for breaking news coverage and to work on special broadcasts for major news events. 

Olivia will be mentored by the BBC’s Josh Parry.

Perisha is a BBC Advanced Journalism Trainee who is working with the World Service. After completing her NCTJ, she joined the BBC in 2022 in New Broadcasting House in London. 

She has worked as a reporter on a range of stories, including coverage on the Queen’s funeral, the hustings and Tik Tok trends. She has featured on BBC World Service’s news programme OS and is currently working on global news podcasts. 

Perisha is passionate about telling stories from all around the world and working across different platforms.  

Perisha will be mentored by journalist Barbara Serra.

Rhi Storer is a Local Democracy Reporter covering the West Midlands with Birmingham Live. Local Democracy Reporters, as part of the BBC’s Local News Partnership, aims to support public interest journalism – covering local government, health, police, and education – and regional investigations in the local news industry.  

Rhi has won two runner up awards with the Local Democracy Reporting Service since starting the role. Previously, she worked as a reporter for The Guardian under the Scott Trust Bursary scheme.

Rhi will be mentored by investigative journalist Vicky Gayle.

Rhiann is a Planning Producer at ITV’s Good Morning Britain, joining the team there in 2021. Prior to this she worked as a freelance Journalist at Good Morning Britain, Sky News and ITV’s This Morning. 

She has a keen interest in political stories that impact women and people from diverse communities within the UK.   

Rhiann will be mentored by Ravin Sampat of BBC News.

Rosie is a journalist and producer for The New Arab, an international news outlet with offices in London and Doha. She works on their news desk covering breaking stories from the Middle East and North Africa. She also co-creates the podcast The New Arab Voice, which offers an in-depth analysis of the biggest stories in the region. Past topics include Iraqi politics and the Iranian protest movement.  

Previously, she completed a Masters in Journalism at City, University of London and has written for leading UK publications including the Guardian.  

Driven by compassion and curiosity, Rosie wants her journalism to give a voice to those who are routinely muted and marginalised. 

Rosie will be mentored by ABC Chief Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannell.

Shona is a multimedia journalist at BBC News. During her time at the BBC she has created original content on a variety of important issues. She has reported on the continual impact covid has had on students for Radio 4’s Six O’clock News, and on the hidden difficulties young people with eating disorders face accessing help for BBC News Online.  

Before joining the BBC Shona worked as a reporter for The Scotsman Newspaper Group in Edinburgh where she published an array of original investigations. These include holding the Scottish Government to account over long covid support, revealing hidden failures in delivery of the Scottish Government’s vaccine rollout and highlighting fraudulent behaviour of Airbnb hosts in Edinburgh.  

She has won several awards for her work in newspapers, including News Reporter of the Year at the NCTJ Awards of Excellence 2021. 

Shona will be mentored by Elaine Willcox of ITV.

Sophia Alexandra Hall is the content editor for Classic FM where she covers the biggest stories of the day, with an arts focus.

In June 2022 she traveled across America, from the White House press briefing room to the Sonoran desert, on a reporting tour bringing back exclusive stories for Classic FM’s digital audience.

A gold-standard NCTJ diploma journalist, Sophia won ‘Exclusive of the Year’ at the Excellence in Journalism Awards 2022 and was named on the 2021 PPA 30 under 30 list.

She is currently creating a media toolkit on trauma-informed practices for journalists working with the care experienced community. 

Sophia will be mentored by Katie Razzall, BBC News Culture Editor.

Sophie is the North West reporter for GB News, covering all manner of stories from across the region. 

Since being in role she has covered major stories such as the high-profile court cases of Ryan Giggs and Lucy Letby, as well as highlighting key issues for her patch such as knife crime and the cost of living crisis. 

More widely, her reporting has also included coverage of the Queen’s death, the Conservative leadership race, and England’s progress through the 2022 World Cup. 

Sophie will be mentored by ITV’s Lucy West.

Stephen Holland is a freelance multimedia journalist from Sligo, Ireland. Previously a reporter with The Sligo Champion, he covered everything from local politics to human interest features. Notably, his stories highlighted the ever-worsening Irish housing crisis, the socio-economic and political barriers faced by those with debilitating illnesses, and the humanitarian efforts to support refugees and address homelessness in rural Ireland. 

While completing his MA in Journalism at NUI Galway he received the award for Radio Production of the Year at the Student Media Awards (SMEDIA) for his documentary ‘Nun Left Behind’, which explores Ireland’s complex relationship with religion through the lived experiences of religious sisters. 

Stephen was also nominated for the SMEDIA Radio DJ of the Year award for his music podcast series ‘Sound Thinking’, which dives deep into the cultural and social legacy of modern popular music, enigmatic cultural icons, and underrepresented genres. 

Stephen will be mentored by Mark Wray, formerly of PA Training and the BBC Academy.

A multimedia journalist recently graduated with an MA in Journalism, Sylvia has worked for Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE, on one of their flagship shows, Liveline. She has also worked across local newspapers in Galway and Rouen, France.  

Sylvia has developed a keen interest in human rights, social issues and humanitarian actions; and has written a range of topics that highlights social issues, arts and cultures, including sharing stories of people from different backgrounds. 

She is interested in investigative journalism and current affairs, and keen to explore journalism through documentaries, television, podcasts and everything in between. 

Sylvia will be mentored by Lisa McNally, Ireland Producer at Sky News.

Thomasina is a freelance broadcast journalist, producer and news editor, working predominantly with Channel 4 News.  

She graduated in BA Honours Journalism from London Metropolitan University.  

Since joining ITN in 2018, Thomasina has worked in a number of newsrooms as a researcher, assistant news editor, planner and interview producer.  

She contributed to Channel 4’s Black To Front news programme which went on to be nominated for a BAFTA in the Best News Coverage 2023 category.  

Thomasina is passionate about diversifying the coverage of national and international news.  

She will be mentored by Rich Preston, presenter at BBC News. 

Tom is a producer working in live radio and podcasting. Mainly freelance producing and editing for BBC Podcasts ‘Hometown’ and ‘Clever about Cash’ with others releasing later in 2023. Alongside freelance, he works full-time as an audio engineer for the media group PHMG in Manchester. 

He is an experienced presenter having worked at XS Manchester presenting their New Music Show and covering Drive and Weekends. He also helps produce at ATP Tennis Radio, recording, voicing, and editing packages for their live output and podcasts for socials.  

He has a passion for music, audio production, and storytelling. He aspires to link all these passions together to create podcasts full-time.  

Tom will be mentored by Ciaran Tracey, Executive Producer and founder of Big City Nights independent podcast studio.

Victoria is a multimedia journalist on Sky News’ Forensic Unit.  

She has produced original investigative reporting on a range of international stories from the war in Ukraine to illegal deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.  

Before joining Sky, Victoria worked at foreign affairs think tanks in London and Delhi. 

She was shortlisted for the Young Journalist of the Year award at the London Press Club in 2021.

Tor will be mentored by BBC News Middle East correspondent Anna Foster.

Zahra Lee is a broadcast journalist and Output Producer on ITV’s flagship breakfast programme, Good Morning Britain. 

In 2021, she had her first foray into the world of journalism and television when she became an NCTJ apprentice with ITV, after seeking a complete change in her career path. Her time working as an apprentice saw her source fascinating stories on the news desk, book interesting guests, while pitching and producing original story ideas. For Black History Month 2022, Zahra produced the ‘Black Pound Day’ film as part of GMB’s ‘Black History Makers’ series, which delved into the lives of Black Brits who are currently making history in their respective fields. 

Equipped with the skills and experience of the newsroom, she qualified with a distinction in her NCTJ apprenticeship and made the jump to Output Producer in November 2022. 

Zahra will be mentored by BBC senior journalist Hewete Haileselassie.