Diversification: The Financial Journalist Intern Project

Nearly 40 years ago, when I was just a teenager, my school fixed me up with a week’s work experience on the Hartlepool Mail. It changed my life. I was hooked on journalism. Over the next 20 years I wrote for most of the UK’s national newspapers and made radio programmes for the BBC from 21 countries. Today I run an academic and financial services PR company, working closely with journalists – most of them in London – and I'm still writing every day.

Local newspapers are a shadow of what they once were. The best opportunities lie in London, but someone from my background wouldn’t have had the resources to get experience there. The costs would have been prohibitive.

Diversification: The Financial Journalist Intern Project is designed to help. We’re looking to support at least 12 young journalists to spend two weeks working on a financial publication over the Summer of 2020. We’re reaching out to student accommodation providers to deliver free accommodation. We’re working with publications to provide placements, paying the living wage. We’ll provide travel bursaries. We’ll provide a programme of free teach-ins for each cohort with the help of fund groups and wealth managers. Bulletin will provide writing training.

We're looking to raise £5,000 initially (Bulletin PR will match-fund the first £2,500 of donations made through this site). We want to help youngsters from diverse lower-income households across the UK to learn about the industry and demonstrate their talent and ambition. We’re open to collaboration across the industry to make this project successful and sustainable. With these partnerships we can make your cash go a long way. Thank you for your contributions.

Martin Stott, CEO, Bulletin PR