Journalism MFA: Events and lectures

There are always interesting activities taking place at Kingston and exciting opportunities to take advantage of. Here are some examples of what you could be involved with if you study this course.

The Journalism department holds lunchtime lectures every Wednesday, delivered by accomplished professionals in their fields. Recent guest speakers include:

• Gill Hudson, editor of Readers' Digest and former editor of The Radio Times – on editing one of Britain's biggest-selling and longest-running consumer magazines;
• Danny Buckland, tabloid news and feature writer, former deputy editor of the Sunday People and Assistant Editor of The Sun - on what stories appeal to a news or features desk, story structure and how to avoid pitching disasters;
• Emma Burstall, women's magazine journalist, novelist and former editor of Woman and Family Circle – on writing for the reader;
• Natasha Courtney-Smith, founder of Talk to the Press, an agency that acts for individuals wanting to sell stories to the press – on the rise of real-life stories and how they are used in magazines;
• Stephen Hancocks, editor of The British Dental Journal – on writing for specialist and B2B publications;
• Simon Hattenstone, award-winning feature writer for The Guardian – on the art of the interview;
• Pascale Harter, BBC world service correspondent on reporting from abroad;
• Lesley Garner, life class columnist for The Daily Telegraph on the art of the column;
• Simon Kanter, editorial director, Haymarket Network – on the future of magazines;
• Julian Linley, former editor of Heat magazine – on how magazines are structured and the integration of brand extensions such as websites, radio stations and events;
• Harry Miller, Kingston University journalism graduate and reporter on the Croydon Guardian – on starting as a trainee journalist and what is like working as an embedded reporter in Afghanistan;
• Sue Matthias, editor of the FT magazine, former editor of Weekend in The Guardian and chair of Women in Journalism – on getting the most out of work placements;
• Joanna Moorhead, feature writer for The Guardian – on using personal experience in journalism;
• Tony Mulliken, chairman of Midas PR, specialising in press relations on behalf of authors on working with press officers;
• Leslie Skipper, veteran BBC news broadcaster – on his working life and covering key events live, such as the Kings Cross fire; and
• Adam Westbrook, multi-media journalist and founder of the Future of News Group – on eight ways to make money from journalism when you graduate.