The scheme, which was launched in 2019 as a partnership between the NCTJ and Meta (formerly Facebook), aims to support quality local journalism and improve the diversity of UK newsrooms.
And it is expanding this year with £6 million of funding from Meta to create new community reporter roles, including one post serving the Lower Annandale and Eskdale border area as part of the DNG team.
Commenting, DNG Media editor Fiona Reid said: “Local news is our lifeblood and we work extremely hard to ensure all the communities in our locality are covered and represented – and this project will allow us to do that even more.
“The new community reporter, who is yet to be recruited, will be tasked with keeping readers well informed at this time of huge change for the south of Scotland border area, with both the forthcoming Borderlands investment and the ongoing issue of Scottish independence and what that could mean for this part of the world.
“We look forward to finding the right person to take on this exciting challenge and helping them to develop both themselves and this patch to its full potential.”
All recruits on the scheme will receive NCTJ training to achieve a professional qualification, either the Diploma in Journalism or the National Qualification in Journalism (NQJ) depending on experience. Sarah Brown, head of local news partnerships, Northern Europe at Meta, said: “We look forward to working with the NCTJ and our publishing partners in onboarding a new cohort of trainees who will share stories and viewpoints that don’t often get told.”
Joanne Butcher, chief executive of the NCTJ, said: “This brilliant project continues to be a success story for the industry thanks to Meta’s ongoing investment and the support of the publishers involved in the scheme.
“Those who were successful put forward the best proposals for recruiting, training and qualifying people who will benefit their communities.”
