The House magazine unveils political journalism fellowship

The House magazine has partnered with broadband provider Openreach to run a paid political journalism fellowship this summer. The move follows a successful pilot scheme last year, organised with the support of Labour MP and Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier.

The scheme saw

Hackney school student Bahar Dag enjoy a fourweek stint at the magazine, where she learnt about news writing, media law, investigative journalism, policy formation, social media and video journalism. The pupil spent time at an MP’s constituency surgery, watched a select committee hearing, met a select committee chair, was brought along by a reporter to meet sources and interviewed Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

The fellowship will once again be open to applications later this month. The successful candidate will also spend time at Openreach to get an understanding of policy and politics from a different perspective.

Alan White, editor-inchief of The House, said: “Improving access to journalism is something I feel passionately about, and I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve announced this scheme. I’m extremely grateful to Openreach for their generous support.”

He added: “I also want to give my sincere thanks to Meg Hillier MP, without whose efforts this scheme would never have got off the ground. She and her office have been beyond generous with their time.”

Michael Salter-Church MBE, director of external affairs, policy and sustainability at Openreach, said: “Openreach is delighted to support this scheme as scrutiny by the media is a vital component in good policy making and democracy.

“Through spending time with Openreach, the budding journalist will be able to understand the ramifications of political decisions on our business, and we’ll provide a different perspective on what they learn in Westminster.”