Harbingers’ Magazine kicks off its summer newsroom in Oxford

By Tharushi Weerasinghe

Academic director Tatev Hovhannisyan leads a session on opinion writing in Oxford, United Kingdom, July 2024

The Oxford School for the Future of Journalism (OXSFJ) commenced its second pop-up newsroom for this year in Oxford in its series of summer programmes for students from across the world.

The annual Oxford Summer Newsroom, which is happening for its third consecutive year, is a dive into the nuances of journalism, under the guidance of a team of experienced and award-winning journalists from British and international media.

This year’s programme also features special guest lectures by the BBC’s Lucy Ash and Reuters’ Ayo Awokoya, among other veterans in the field.

The newsroom is happening in Keble College, University of Oxford from July 27 to August 7. During the residential course, students receive lectures on news writing, opinion writing and feature writing. Following the lessons, each student, with individual assistance from their tutors, writes a news piece, an op-ed and a feature on a topic of their choosing. Students engage in fieldwork within the city limits, chaperoned by their tutors. Their pieces from this newsroom can be read in Harbingers’ Magazine.

Apart from their coursework, students can explore the city and visit popular locations as part of the programme. This year’s special visits include an open-air performance of Hamlet at Oxford Castle and Prison, and a day trip to Cambridge.