Hollie Clemence

Name: Hollie Clemence
Employer: GTI Media
Subject: BA English literature and cultural criticism, Cardiff University

I studied English at university and was keen to work in the media because I’ve always enjoyed writing and speaking to lots of different people – and I especially liked the idea of working in a creative environment. Since graduating, I’ve done work experience with local and regional newspapers, and I’m currently working in magazine publishing on a year-long contract. In the long run I want to get into journalism and I think that all of this experience should help.

My job

As an editorial assistant, I write for our websites and also work on a range of paper titles. I especially enjoy getting to edit some of my own titles; it’s satisfying to be given responsibility and to be in charge of a whole project. I commission articles, carry out interviews, write features, work with colleagues in other departments (such as design and sales) and basically make sure that the publication comes together looking good and to schedule.

One of the biggest challenges is keeping the editorial balanced and neutral: the people I interview are sometimes keen to plug their companies or products, but readers respond much better to text that’s objective and unbiased. I have to be diplomatic and assertive when explaining this to contributors!

What next?

At the moment I work on annual and quarterly magazines, but in the future I’m keen to work on daily or weekly publications because I enjoy the fast pace. The experience and training that I’ve had so far has been invaluable, and should help me to get into newspaper journalism, but I also plan to do an NCTJ-accredited qualification as I’ve heard that this can be a real advantage. Before I start the course I’m going to go travelling for a year – I’m especially excited about spending time in China, where I’ll be working on the entertainment section of an English language newspaper.