Community reporters course

Become a community reporter with East Side Story!

The friendly and informal course runs over six, weekly sessions and offers a friendly and fun introduction to writing articles, taking photos and interviewing – as well as offering wider help and guidance on everything you need to know to be a community reporter.

We can even help with spelling and grammar!

Our FREE course is aimed at beginners interested in telling the story of their community and runs over six, two-hour sessions at Chapel FM in Seacroft.

Over six weeks you'll be introduced to:

• Photography basics
• Interviewing skills and techniques
• How to structure a written news article
• Take part in mock press conferences
• Where to find news
• Ethics and how to stay safe legally

There will be refreshments, cake and biscuits – and it looks great on your CV as you will learn transferable skills you can take into employment or studying. We hope you’ll go on to contribute many articles for us.

At the end of it, you’ll become part of the East Side Story family of community reporters and gain increased skills and confidence.

The sessions are run by former Guardian journalist John Baron, who is the editor of community news website and newspaper West Leeds Dispatch.

Our latest course runs for six consecutive Tuesdays from 23 September 2025 until 28 October at Chapel FM in Seacroft.