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31 Jul 2009 10:20:44
Russian journalism students had a taste of parliamentary life courtesy of a summer school run by the University of Bedfordshire.
A journalist who “sticks to Prime Minster Gordon Brown like glue” was the guest speaker at the University’s media writing summer school on Monday (27 July).
Jon Smith, political editor of the Press Association (PA) - the UK’s national news agency - gave the students a rare insight into the workings of Westminster.
Based in the Palace of Westminster at the head of a team of 14 journalists, Jon said he had never seen a Parliament “so despised and loathed” because of the recent expenses scandal which had engulfed so many MPs.
The ten students on the course from Moscow State University’s School of Journalism were given a fascinating eye-witness account of what happened when former Prime Minister Tony Blair fell out with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Jon, who has been the PA’s political editor for 11 years, has ridden shotgun with Gordon Brown in a helicopter in Afghanistan, come under fire in South Africa and been involved in a couple of serious road accidents while covering foreign visits by British prime ministers.
He praised the diversity of the UK media and said: “It keeps the Government on its toes”.
Clive Hedley, the journalism lecturer leading the media writing summer school, said: “It was a rare privilege to have Jon here to share his experiences. He really inspired the young writers present and showed them what a dazzling career journalism can be - something that may not be immediately obvious from reading the tabloids.”
Latest news» 2009» July» PA political editor speaks to Russian students
