Mail looking for trainee subs and reporters

This year's reporting course at the PA offices in London

The Daily Mail is now recruiting trainees for its autumn schemes for reporters and subs. The successful applicants will probably be on a post-grad journalism course and have a fair amount of newsroom experience. The deadline for applications is January 11. The courses, which involve several weeks training followed by placements on regional newspapers, begin in September. If you are interested send CVs and six examples of your work to Sue Ryan at sue.ryan@dailymail.co.uk. The subbing scheme has been running for ten years and many of the senior subs on the paper - in both news and sport - are graduates of the course. The reporting course has been running for five years. Its graduates include Matt Sandy, who won young journalist of the year in the British Press Awards last year, and Fay Schlesinger, joint winner of the investigation of the year award at the British Journalism Awards earlier this month. If you are applying for any of these courses you might want to take a look at my advice on how to prepare for an interview. Good luck. More details on Hold the Front Page. 

Must-watch film for journalists

If newspapers die, who will conduct investigative journalism, who will hold public officials accountable? Black and White and Dead All Over, a film about the viability of the newspaper industry, looks like essential viewing for everyone, not just journalists. Great trailer here.

German FT slips into black

The Financial Times Deutschland closed yesterday - 12 years after it began. The journalists certainly marked the demise of their paper with style - and with a dark sense of humour. The front page went from pink to black with letters from the titlepiece tumbling to the foot of the page. The headline roughly translates as 'Finally black'. Inside there was a photograph of the staff bowing out (scroll to the foot of the page here).  

Nothing to cheer - except the front pages

There isn’t much to cheer us up on the covers of today's newspapers … except, perhaps, the front pages themselves. There is certainly a strong and varied range of covers on the autumn statement. 

The pick, and bleakest, of the bunch is The Independent which will jump off the news-stands. Promoting one of its greatest assets, cartoonist Dave Brown, to the front is a bold move. The yellow titlepiece is brave too ... a cross between a Watchmen cover (hat tip to @MrJamesMcMath) and the front of a Gothic Batman comic. 

The Times also uses its cartoonist, the equally excellent Peter Brookes, on the front. A simple and direct message illustrating the Chancellor missing his targets. Bold, if not quite as bold as the Independent.

I really like the Daily Telegraph's approach too, combining the snow picture with Osborne's grim assessment that there is a long, hard road ahead. The blurbs are wiped away, the titlepiece imposed on the photo and Benedict Brogan's analysis is promoted to the front.

The Guardian also uses an excellent picture, by the Press Association, of a hysterical Osborne and David Cameron with a smart and pertinent headline.

The Daily Mirror decides Stuart Hall’s arrest is far more important but uses a variation of the giggling Cameron and Osborne. It’s headlines are, as you’d expect, more broadsword than The Guardian’s. 'The grin reapers: Six more years of cuts and they think it’s funny'. Good tabloid stuff.

On the other hand, the FT wins the bizarre front page headline of the day award by a country mile. 'G-Dawg splashes out tax cuts like P Diddy with Dom Perignon in his blingiest giveaway'. Really?

  

The Daily Mail presents a more traditional front … one that makes it clear the paper is struggling to offer even lukewarm support to the Chancellor.

The Daily Express also offers a no-nonsense headline and makes sure, of course, that the weather is still prominent.

The Sun, like the Mirror, decides Stuart Hall means more to its readers. And, on a pretty bleak day, tries to offer a little light relief with the Australian radio hoaxers.

And finally the Daily Star ignores all that economic stuff and goes with its exclusive interview with Frankie Dettori on his drugs shame.

In the regions things are a little more uplifting. This wrap from the Eastern Daily Press, celebrating the Light Dragoons' return to Norfolk, is a great example of what regional newspapers do so well. 

Overall, though, a day of pretty grim content ... but all neatly wrapped up in some first rate pages. Well done the designers.

Thanks as always to

 Nick Sutton @suttonnick 

#tomorrowspaperstoday