NCTJ Training · RQF Level 3
NCTJ Level 3 Diploma in Journalism
You don’t just earn this. You learn to use it, one-to-one, on your own real work.
- LevelRQF Level 3
- Total credits82
- Guided learning560 hours
- Units in this qualification23
Awarded by NCTJ Training · on the Ofqual register
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See how this course maps onto your role
Ten quick questions, one per Future Fluency, asked against this qualification rather than a generic one.
About 5 minutes · No card · Nothing to commit to
What you’ll learn
What each unit actually teaches you to do
These are the units NCTJ Training registers against this qualification. It is a catalogue, not a syllabus. Which of them you take depends on the combination the qualification requires, and that is set by the awarding body rather than by us. Every unit here is regulated, and every one you earn is yours to keep.
Broadcast JournalismReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Write clear, accurate and engaging stories of varying length for broadcast on radio and television.
- Accurately check, source and attribute stories.
- Present stories in different styles for different audiences; showing news judgements
- Compile items to broadcast standard for use on TV and radio.
- Understand how to prepare for an interview.
- Conduct a simple interview for both TV and radio.
- Set up an interview for others.
- Understand the technologies used for broadcast newsgathering.
- Understand the techniques used for broadcast newsgathering.
- Use “other” sources to gath
Broadcast RegulationReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Demonstrate and apply a working knowledge of the principles of broadcast regulation as set out in the Ofcom broadcast code.
Business and Finance JournalismReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the purpose of business journalism
- Understand the importance of the business and finance diary
- Understand the value of global, European and domestic business and finance news to competitive news organisations
- Understand how to identify information from a range of official and unofficial sources of business and finance news
- Understand the business and finance news cycles of different media
- Understand how to deal with contributed columns from external business and finance experts and contacts
- Prepare reports on major business and finance stories, highlighting the public and huma
Business of MagazinesReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Demonstrate an understanding of the magazine industry
- Understand the different requirements of audiences for business to business (B2B) and a range of consumer and specialist magazines
- Understand how magazines work as a business
- Understand magazine organisational structures
- Explain the magazine production process
- Understand the relationships between a print magazine and its digital/online presence
Data JournalismReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Source data
- Interrogate large data sets
- Find compelling stories
- Provide visuals
- Build engaging content based on an accurate interpretation of data.
E-portfolio for JournalistsReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Use the English language accurately to produce vigorous, well-balanced stories
- Apply ethical and regulatory principles to day-to-day journalism
- Identify and establish sources of news
- Understand the various types of news stories required for print, online or broadcast readerships
- Generate ideas for stories across various platforms, establishing how a potential story should be developed in an ethical manner and, where appropriate, is in the public interest
- Develop and create stories for a range of platforms that meet ethical guidelines 7.
Editing Skills for JournalistsReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Sub-edit and manipulate words and pictures in a desk top publishing programme
- Sub-edit a variety of different stories in newspapers, magazines or online
- Make certain stories are accurate
- Understand how typography communicates with the reader
- Write a headline for a newspaper, magazine or online
- Proof completed pages
- Design a newspaper or magazine page using a desk top publishing programme
- Understand how pictures and captions are used in newspapers and magazines
Essential JournalismReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Use the English language accurately to produce vigorous, well-balanced stories
- Apply ethical and regulatory principles to day-to-day journalism
- Identify and establish sources of news
- Understand the various types of news stories required for print, online or broadcast readerships
- Generate ideas for stories across various platforms, establishing how a potential story should be developed in an ethical manner and, where appropriate, is in the public interest
- Develop and create stories for a range of platforms that meet ethical guidelines 7.
Essential Journalism Ethics and RegulationReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the purpose and scope of media regulation for the purposes of journalism in the UK
- Understand the sector-appropriate codes of practice (Ofcom and Ipso)
- Recognise potential ethical issues as they arise in day-to-day work
- Recognise how their actions and work as individuals can reflect on their own integrity, on their employer’s standing and on the reputation of journalists generally
- Recognise that rights bring with them responsibilities
- Carry out challenging journalism in a legal, ethical and responsible manner, while serving the public interest
Essential Media Law and Regulation for JournalistsReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the legal system and court structure in England and Wales
- Understand the operation of the Contempt of Court Act and its relevance to reporting
- Understand the restrictions placed by statute and regulatory (self-regulatory) industry codes on reporting proceedings involving juveniles and sexual offences
- Understand the ethical obligation to be accurate in media reports
- Understand the general principles of defamation law
- Understand the operation of copyright law
- Understand how the law of confidence works
- Understand the law of privacy
- Understand other ethical consideration in medi
Introduction to PR for JournalistsReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Use professional techniques and tools to produce a basic PR campaign
- Create accurate and effective news releases suitable for publication in a variety of media outlets.
Journalism for a Digital AudienceReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the style and layout of websites.
- Understand different digital platforms.
- Use dashboard features to improve the performance of content.
- Use analytics to build strategies.
- Implement strategies to achieve agreed targets.
- Moderate content effectively.
- Ensure visual material is fit for purpose.
- Present in front of camera.
- Build a brand.
- Manage workflows.
Media Law Court ReportingReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the legal system and court structure in England and Wales
- Understand the operation of the criminal courts
- Understand the reporting restrictions on media reports of preliminary hearings in magistrates’ courts
- Understand the operation and requirements of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and its relevance to reporting
- Understand the restrictions placed by statute and regulatory (self-regulatory) industry codes on reporting proceedings involving juveniles
- Understand the restrictions placed by statute and regulatory (self-regulatory) industry codes on reporting proceedings involving s
News ReportingReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Use the English language accurately to produce vigorous, well-balanced stories
- Apply ethical principles to day-to-day journalism
- Identify and establish sources of news
- Understand the various types of news stories required for print, online or broadcast readerships
- Generate ideas for stories across various platforms, establishing how a potential story should be developed in an ethical manner and, where appropriate, is in the public interest
- Develop and create stories for a range of platforms that meet ethical guidelines
- Rep
PR and Communications for JournalistsReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Demonstrate an understanding of the potential roles of PR in any organisation from a multinational company to a local charity
- Understand the basic concepts of running a creative PR campaign, internal communications, developing corporate social responsibility policies, planning for/handling PR crises; and creating suitable content for a client, such as media releases, internal newsletters, video or social media
- Demonstrate knowledge of the different work environments in which PR practitioners operate and appreciate the different demands and pressures their roles place upon them
- Demons
Photography for JournalistsReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the photographer’s role in journalism.
- Use the technical and practical skills needed to take photographs suitable for publication from a variety of settings.
- Gather photographic material via social media.
- Work safely as a photographer.
- Manage own employment path and operate as a freelance.
- Write accurate captions and stories to accompany pictures.
- Operate ethically as a photographer and within the law.
Practical Magazine JournalismReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Generate creative and original ideas to source and tell compelling stories
- Pitch ideas effectively and succinctly to an editor or freelance writer
- Create a detailed picture of the reader of a particular magazine, identifying the key characteristics of the targeted audience
- Write engaging content in a variety of formats for relevant platforms
- Ensure all copy is well-researched, accurate and completed to deadline
- Write relevant heads and sells for different platforms.
Public Affairs for JournalistsReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Understand how power is exercised and controlled within local and central government in England and Wales
- Understand how local and central government in England and Wales is held to account
- Understand how information can be controlled and accessed
- Understand the sources and controls over public and private sector funding in England and Wales
- Understand how key public services are structured and delivered in England and Wales
- Understand the roles and responsibilities of local government in England and Wales in protecting and developing the environment
- Understand the roles and responsibili
Radio JournalismReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Research and write clear, accurate, compliant and engaging stories for radio; understand the techniques of interviewing for radio and can conduct a simple interview themselves; demonstrate familiarity with the basic techniques and technology of radio newsgathering, including the sourcing of material; have an awareness of the basic set-up of radio news studios and can operate simple radio equipment; show a good working knowledge of the key principles of broadcast regulation as laid out in the Ofcom Broadcasting Code; and be familiar with the language and terminology of a radio newsroom.
Sports JournalismReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Produce different types of sports stories for all platforms
- Work from various locations
- Understand the following sports in detail – football, cricket and rugby (union and league)
- Have a working knowledge of other sports
- Assist in the production process
- Comply with health and safety requirements in the workplace
- Operate as a freelance sports writer
TV JournalismReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Research and write clear, accurate, compliant and engaging stories for television
- Understand the techniques of interviewing and presenting for TV and can conduct a simple broadcast interview themselves
- Demonstrate familiarity with the basic techniques and technology of TV newsgathering, including the sourcing of material
- Have an awareness of the basic set-up of television news studios and can operate simple television equipment
- Show a good working knowledge of the key principles of broadcast regulation as laid out in the Ofcom Broadcasting Code
- Be familiar with the language and terminolog
Teeline Shorthand for JournalistsReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the principles of the Teeline shorthand system
- Use Teeline to take down material dictated at speeds of 60 to 120 words per minute (wpm)
- Produce an accurate transcript from dictated material
- Recognise quotes from dictated material at speeds of 90 wpm and up to 120 wpm
Videojournalism for Digital PlatformsReal unit · NCTJ Training
What you'll be able to do
- Operate equipment and software needed to produce video news reports
- Put together short, focused reports for use online or in a TV news programme
- Conduct interviews to gather material to be used in a video report
- Produce video news reports in compliance with the law and regulations
The honest bit
You’ve started things before
Most courses were built for a room full of people who aren’t you. A cohort moves on whether or not your week allowed it, and by the third week the thing you’re behind on becomes the reason you stop opening it.
There’s no cohort here, and no timetable to fall behind. Before anything starts, Zavmo asks when you’re sharpest and how long you can realistically sit down for, then builds the sessions around those answers. A bad fortnight changes your pace. It doesn’t put you behind.
And you only pay once you start learning. Searching and planning are free, and you can cancel any time — so the cost of finding out is an afternoon, not a year.
Your passport
Every credit is a stamp you keep
Level 3 credits are regulated. They don’t vanish when a subscription ends or a website closes. They travel to any employer, and Zavmo keeps the map of what you’ve earned and what’s next.
Each stamp is a real unit registered against this qualification.
Who’d teach you this
The Evidence Evaluator
Assessor
Helps you show what you can actually do, gathering the evidence that proves it as you learn.
Meet all twelve tutorsWhere this connects
Where these credits take you
A qualification is never a dead end here. See the jobs its credits open, the national occupational standards its units map to, and the future skills they quietly build.
- Comply with Broadcast Regulation on Commercial References and Related Matters
- Comply with Broadcast Regulation on Fairness
- Comply with Broadcast Regulation on Sponsorship
- Comply with Broadcast Regulation on the Coverage of Elections and Referendums
- Comply with UK legal and regulatory requirements when working in journalism
- Comply with UK legal requirements when working in radio and audio content creation
- Comply with advertising codes in broadcasting
- Comply with broadcast regulation of religious programmes
Where this can lead
PR Coordinator
Your journey starts as an Analyst, learning the crucial foundations. With dedication, continuous learning, and a proactive attitude, there's a clear and exciting path to becoming a leader in the privacy field. We're here to help you every step of the way.
See the whole journey →Showing 6 roles, drawn from 95 job records mapped to this qualification.
Skills it covers
What the job actually needs. These are the standards the units are built against, in the words employers and awarding bodies already use for the work itself.
How you’ll actually learn this
One-to-one, on your own real work
A qualification is usually something done to you: sit the class, sit the exam, hope it sticks. Here it’s the opposite. You learn it one-to-one with a companion, on your own real work, and you keep going until you can use it, not just recall it.
Applied to your work in any of these jobs
- Remember
- Understand
- Apply
- Analyse
- Evaluate
- Create
Built for NCTJ Level 3 Diploma in Journalism
23 units in this credential, in the order it lists them, awarded by NCTJ Training.
- Broadcast Journalism
- Broadcast Regulation
- Business and Finance Journalism
- Business of Magazines
- Data Journalism
- E-portfolio for Journalists
and 17 more in the full unit list below.
One to one, not one to many
No two people run this the same way
A course is written once and handed to everyone. This is assembled around you, and keeps changing as it learns you. Five things it reads, and what each one changes.
- Your actual work Every unit is taught against a live piece of your own work, not a worked example from a textbook.
- What you already know The first conversation finds your starting point, so you skip what you can already do and spend the time on what you cannot.
- The conditions you learn under Not a learning-styles quiz. The evidence does not support those. The dimensions the research does back, read once and used to shape the plan.
- How far you got last time It picks up mid-thought. The tutor knows what you said, what you struggled with, and what it asked you to try.
- Which tutor suits the moment Twelve of them, each for a different kind of thinking. The one who walks you through a first idea is not the one who stress-tests it.
See how you learn, free. Eight questions, no sign-up. A directional taster; the diagnostic inside Zavmo goes deeper and keeps adapting.
Why it sticks
Most courses stop at remembering
There’s a well-known ladder of how deeply you learn something, called Bloom’s Taxonomy. Most courses get you up the first two rungs: you remember some facts, you pass a test, you forget it. Real skill lives at the top. Judging, deciding, creating. And this isn’t a generic ladder: every rung has a named Zavmo tutor who walks you up it.
- 6CreateThe Creative Catalyst
- 5EvaluateThe Evidence Evaluator
- 4AnalyseThe Analyst
- 3ApplyThe Coach
- 2UnderstandThe Connector
- 1RememberThe Builder
Where most courses leave you Where Zavmo takes you
The value
Why the companion is worth £70 a month
You’re not paying for the units. They’re regulated, and the same wherever you earn them. You’re paying for the one thing that decides whether you actually get there: a companion that makes them stick, on your real work.
That is one-to-one on this qualification, every day, on the work you already do, for £70 a month. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it. Billed monthly, cancel any time and billing stops.
Earned on your own work, taught to the top.
Everything you just read, learned one-to-one on the job you already do. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it.
Build my plan, freeNo card. See how this qualification maps onto your role and meet the tutors who’d teach it, free. The learning begins when you subscribe. It’s £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.