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Darnell Christie

Profession
BA (Hons) Journalism alumni
College
London College of Communication
Person Type
Alumni
Darnell Christie

Biography

Darnell graduated from BA (Hons) Journalism at London College of Communication in 2021.

Interview

What was the most interesting project you worked on during your course?

The most interesting project was the Final Major Project. It was a great opportunity to put all the skills that I had developed over the course into action. The broadness of the project also meant that I had the freedom to write about the stories that I thought were worth telling. In addition, the fact that I wasn’t just limited to print-based media also gave me the scope to produce multimedia content which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Did the course provide opportunities to engage with industry?

I was provided with countless opportunities to engage with professionals from some of the country’s leading media companies including Bloomberg, Sky, and the BBC. I was even given the chance to have work experience with the Thomson Reuters Foundation where I got my stories published in top newspapers across the world. That was a real highlight!

Did you complete any work placements / internships whilst being on the course? 

I completed several work placements while on my course, all of which were useful in some respect and taught me something new about the media industry. My favourite placement, however, was at the Thomson Reuters Foundation where I worked as a reporter for four months. I covered an array of stories centred around human rights and climate change which were areas that I was really excited to explore. Getting the chance to pitch ideas at morning meetings and then have those ideas taken seriously and showcased worldwide, was a phenomenal experience and gave me so much confidence. I felt like a journalist at this point as opposed to just someone studying journalism.

What important piece of advice would you give to students thinking of studying this course?

Take every opportunity that is given (even if you’re nervous), you never know where it might lead you, or who you’ll meet.

What was the highlight of your LCC experience?

Getting to do the Erasmus programme in Denmark was so enriching. I got the chance to learn about TV and documentary filmmaking and from day one we were thrown into the practical elements of the creation process, which really helped me to learn.

LCC is also like this, the theory is a solid foundation but the added emphasis on the development of practical skills is what I have found to be most useful even up till now.

What was the most important thing you learnt from your course?

“Journalism is about people doing things” – when one of my unit leaders said this to me it really resonated for some reason –perhaps because of its simplicity. Journalism seems like a big scary world at times with so much going on and at record speed. It can be hard to find your place in it, but when you break it down, it mostly comes down to people and the stories that they want to tell.

What have you been up to since graduating?

Fortunately, I was given a call-back from the Thomson Reuters Foundation after my internship and offered a producer role for a few months. That really came in handy, and it was great to surround myself in a formal journalistic setting again.

Most recently though, I have been offered a job to work as a broadcast journalist in the Falkland Islands. It’s not like any role I have done before, but I am confident that it will also be an exciting and enriching experience.

Finally, how did you course support getting you to where you are today?

The course has supported me in many aspects, it’s hard to mention everything. But above all, having a personal tutor who really understood me, my goals and where I saw myself in the future played a very strong role in it all. If I didn’t get the direction, encouragement and resources I needed, I doubt that I would have gotten as far as I am today.

Related area

View the BA (Hons) Journalism course page.

Follow Darnell on Twitter.

London College of Communication

Contact

Telephone

+44 (0)20 7514 6500

Address

Elephant & Castle

London
SE1 6SB