Celebrating 20 years of Mail training

It is 20 years since the Daily Mail graduate training scheme began. Early in 2003 Pat Pilton, who I had worked with at the Daily Mirror where he was managing editor, asked if I thought it was possible to take trainees straight from university and turn them into national newspaper sub-editors. Pat was working for the Press Association and had been asked by Associated Newspapers to look at setting up a subbing scheme. I, of course, said I would give it a go.

We ran the first course at PA’s Bishop’s Manor offices in Howden in Yorkshire. Pat and I were joined by PA’s chief sub Mike Watson and we spent four weeks with six bright-eyed youngsters, teaching them Mail style and the craft of sub-editing. 

At the time many senior journalists were sceptical that it could work but we delivered some first-class subs, who have gone on to be big players. In 2008 it was decided to roll out the scheme for reporters and Sue Ryan was brought in to recruit and manage it.

The scheme then came in-house and was run at Northcliffe House in London instead of at the PA offices. The MailOnline scheme began in London in 2013 and was launched in New York and Sydney two years later. 

In 2016 a scholarship was started to provide opportunities for talented students from diverse backgrounds. There have been 13 journalists who have passed through the programme.

The Mail's scheme is the largest run by any national newspaper. The training has been delivered by me for 20 years and, along the way, I have been supported by other trainers including Mike Brough, Fiona Webster, Amy Iggulden, Lara King, Jennifer Ryan, Phil Swift, Andy Drinkwater, Robin Thompson, David Williams and Adam Tinworth.

Nick Enoch delivers the Content Creator system training for the onliners and many of the Mail’s senior journalists and lawyers contribute sessions.   

There have been more than 500 trainees who have graduated from the scheme since it started – 283 for the London papers, 143 for MailOnline in London, 44 for DailyMail.com in New York and 29 for Daily Mail Australia in Sydney. 

Some of those we have trained have inevitably moved on and are editors, broadcasters and well-known writers on other publications. But many of those who started on the scheme are now in senior positions at Associated Newspapers including the editorial director of MailOnline, the group digital editor, the head of production, the Femail magazine editor, the digital head of sport and the assistant editor (politics) in New York. Training manager Sue Ryan, who looks after the recruitment and oversees the programme, says: 'The scheme has an outstanding reputation, attracting huge numbers of highly talented students every year. I love seeing their enthusiasm.' 

I have to say I have enjoyed every minute, met some amazing people, watched brilliant careers grow and been supported all the way by the Mail’s management, editors, journalists, admin staff and IT team. A big thanks to them all … there are too many to mention but they know who they are. 

Have a crack at the newsquiz

The top solo scorers in last week’s newsquiz were Jayme Bryla and Toby Brown both with 20.5. They were just ahead of George Mann on 20, Thomas Godfrey on 19.5, Johnny Jenkins on 18, Robert Rea on 17.5 and Marguerite Turner on 17. The top team was Bruce and Sarah Hayward with 21, ahead of Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 18.5 and Playden Oast drinkers Pete, Stacey, Les, Thom and Amanda on 18. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score. 

A selection of today's front pages

1. Government ministers and the Metropolitan police appeared to be at odds over whether the use of which word was an incitement to violence?
2. Israel called for the resignation of who, saying he had lost 'all morality and impartiality'?
3. Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, was photographed making what 'remarkable gesture'?
4. Which country's queen condemned Western media coverage of the war in Israel and Gaza, saying there is a 'glaring double standard' in how it covers attacks on Palestinian and Jewish communities’?
5. Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan cancelled a visit to Israel and said Hamas was not a terrorist organisation but a '__ group'. What is the missing word?
6. Tory MP Crispin Blunt, who had the party whip suspended, was arrested in connection with allegations of what two offences? Half a point for each.
7. What is the name of the small US city in Maine where a gunman shot dead 18 people?
8. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a speech that he was generally 'optimistic' about the potential of what to transform people's lives for the better?
9. A Just Stop Oil activist was arrested after spraying orange paint over what at London's Natural History Museum?
10. Retailers, including John Lewis, Tesco and the Co-op, agreed to pay almost £800,000 over two years to fund Project Pegasus to tackle what?
11. A report by the NHS ombudsman warned that what is still killing too many patients due to the same hospital failings that happened a decade ago?
12. One person died and four are missing after a British cargo ship called what sank following a collision in the North Sea?
13. An off-duty pilot was accused of trying to shut down the engines of a plane from which airline during a flight?
14. Police received a complaint after a girl was arrested in Leeds for saying a female officer looked like what?
15. Which country’s prime minister joined tens of thousands of women on a one-day strike in protest at the gender pay gap and gender-based violence?
16. Bobby Charlton's death at 86 means there is only one member of England's 1966 World Cup winning team still alive. Name him.

17. US actor Richard Roundtree, who died aged 81, was best known for the ground-breaking portrayal of which black detective in the 1970s?
18. Bill Kenwright, the chairman of Everton Football Club, played Gordon Clegg in which television programme?
19. Lewis Hamilton was disqualified, losing his second-place at the US Grand Prix, after what part of his Mercedes failed an inspection? 
20. Why have Remembrance poppies, which went on sale yesterday (Thurs), been redesigned?
21. The Grevin Museum in Paris made what change to a waxwork of wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson after he complained about it?
22. How old was Bobi, the world's oldest dog, who died at his home in Portugal?

23. England’s cricketers’ World Cup hopes hang by a thread after their third defeat. Which country beat them by eight wickets this week?
24. What is the name of the actress who expressed her 'deepest regret’ at having to leave Strictly Come Dancing, adding that she 'did not come to this decision easily or lightly’?
25. Paul McCartney said he had used artificial intelligence to create 'the final Beatles record’. What is the song’s name?

Answers here

Time to enter the Regional Press Awards

Liverpool Echo editor Maria Breslin and her team after receiving the Large News Brand of the Year prize from presenter Zoe Lyons (right) in March.

I am delighted to be once again chairing the judges, alongside Alison Gow, in the Regional Press Awards. Last year it was a joy to see the standard of entries. It confirmed that, despite the challenges, the regional media is alive, kicking, innovative and still making a big difference. The closing date for entries, November 9, is fast approaching ... so let’s be hearing from you soon. Details are here. Look forward to catching up with familiar faces at the awards lunch in the spring.

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Ed Holt with 23, ahead of George Mann, Luke Power and Robert Rea on 21, Janet Boyle, Olivia Christie and Pieter Snepvengers on 20 and Jack Elsom on 19. Other regulars scored well below average. The top team was Neil and Jo Benson on 20, just ahead of Maura and Phil Parsons on 19 and Adam Batstone, David Kohn and the Spanish golfers and Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 18. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score.

A selection of today's front pages

1. What was the name of the hospital in Gaza where hundreds of people were killed in an explosion?
2. US President Joe Biden, talking to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attack on the hospital in Gaza, said: 'Based on what I have seen, it appears as though it was done by the other __, not you.’ What is the missing word?
3. Speaking in the Commons for the first time since the outbreak of war, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said how many Britons were dead after the assault by Hamas?
4. Which two-word phrase, borrowed from Sir Winston Churchill, was used by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Rishi Sunak in speeches during the PM’s visit to the Middle East?
5. After visiting Israel, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak travelled to which country and urged it to use its influence to support stability in the Middle East?
6. In a by-election, Labour overturned which Tory politician’s majority of 24,664 to win Mid-Bedfordshire, a seat the Conservatives had held for more than 90 years?
7. Labour candidate Sarah Edwards defeated Tory rival Andrew Cooper by a majority of 1,316 votes to win which constituency?
8. What did defeated by-election candidates, Festus Akinbusoye and Andrew Cooper, both do that broke with tradition?
9. Angus Council ordered residents in which Scottish town to evacuate their homes after a red weather warning for storm Babet?
10. Which MP was stripped of the Conservative party whip after he was found to have bullied and harassed a member of staff and exposed his genitals?
11. The covid inquiry heard that Rishi Sunak, then Chancellor, was referred to by what name over his Eat Out To Help Out policy by one of his top scientific advisers?
12. The Euro 2024 qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden was abandoned at half-time after what happened?
13. Berkshire couple David and Celia Barlow, who were on honeymoon, were shot dead on a safari in a national park in which country?
14. Former drug dealer Aine Davis, 39, who appeared by video link at the Old Bailey to plead guilty to funding terrorism, is suspected of being the fourth member of a kidnap gang know by what name?
15. Humza Yousaf, in his first conference speech as Scottish National party leader, announced that what would be frozen in Scotland next year?
16. Amazon announced it will start using what in the UK by the end of 2024?
17. Actress Haydyn Gwynn, who died aged 66, made her name in the 1990s when she starred as Alex Pates in what Channel 4 comedy, which earned her a Bafta nomination?
18. The Government said it was to scrap rules, inherited from the EU, and change the legal definition of what drink?
19. Cartoonist Steve Bell was sacked by which newspaper after a cartoon lampooning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was spiked?
20. Who revealed in her memoir, The Woman in Me, that she had an abortion while dating Justin Timberlake?
21. The BBC announced that who will be standing down after the next election after 30 years as Newsnight’s lead presenter?
22. Paul O’Grady’s husband told a memorial gathering that the TV star used what secret code for having a spliff?
23. Spain's 1-0 win over Norway meant that which country’s football team qualified for Euro 24?
24. Five sports will be added to the Los Angeles olympics including flag football, lacrosse, baseball/softball and which two others? Half a point for each.
25. The BBC announced a daytime series will end after 23 years and Channel 4 said a daytime programme would air for the last time in December after three years. Name both. Half a point for each.

Answers here

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorers in last week's newsquiz were Ed Holt, Toby Brown and George Mann with 21, ahead of Marion Fountayne and Robert Rea on 19, Olivia Christie on 18, Alesia Fiddler on 17 and Jayme Bryla on 16. The top team was the Queen's Head drinkers Pete, Stacey and Kevin with 21, ahead of Bruce and Sarah Hayward and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 17 and Maura and Phil Parsons on 16. I have just finished a great three weeks with the MailOnline trainees who are now off on placement. We finished as always with the newsquiz which was won by Ed Holt with an impressive 23, ahead of Luke Power on 21 and Pieter Snepvengers and Olivia Christie on 20. The report of their last week is here. This week's newsquiz is below. Give it a go and see if you can beat Ed's score. 

A selection of today's front pages

1. What was the name of the Israeli music festival - billed as a celebration of friends, love and infinite freedom - where at least 260 people were massacred?

2. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer took the BBC to task for not using what word in its coverage of the Israel attacks?

3. Which country's leader, in a televised speech, said 'we kiss the hands of those who planned the attack' on Israel?

4. Video footage showed which British politician running into a building in Southern Israel after a rocket attack alarm?

5. Which UK politician said his mother-in-law was trapped in Gaza with no food, water or electricity?

6. In his conference speech Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer promised to build how many homes as part of a 'decade of renewal’?

7. Asked by BBC Political Editor Chris Mason if he was a Yimby, Sir Keir Starmer replied: ‘Yes’. What does Yimby stand for?

8. Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney gave Labour his seal of approval and described shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves as a serious what?

9. After Labour leader Keir Starmer was confronted by a protester at the party conference, limited-edition t-shirts with what three-word slogan went on sale?

10. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said if she was walking home at night she did what for protection, adding that women had been 'doing it for generations’?
11. What was the name of the SNP MP who defected to the Conservatives because of a 'toxic and bullying' culture in her old party's Westminster group?

12. Holly Willoughby posted on Instagram: 'I have let ITV know today that after __ years, I will not be returning to This Morning. What is the missing number?

13. Presenter Fiona Bruce apologised to a Question Time audience member for identifying him as what on air?

14. Flights were cancelled after a fire ripped through a multi-storey car park, causing it to collapse, at which airport?

15. In a Talk TV interview with Piers Morgan, the daughter of Capt Sir Tom Moore admitted to keeping how much from books that the late army veteran had written?

16. Welsh rugby club Beddau RFC paid tribute to a 37-year-old woman who died while eating what at a fundraising event?

17. Ex-Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone admitted fraud at Southwark Crown Court after failing to declare more than £400million held in a trust in which country?
18. Why did the senior presiding judge for England and Wales, Lord Edis, order that sentencing hearings will be postponed - meaning some convicted sex offenders and burglars will be out on bail?

19. A new set of UK coins is to be introduced to reflect King Charles's love of nature with the tails of each one featuring animals or plants. What is on the back of the £1 coin?
20. The Grand National will reduced the maximum number of runners from 40 to how many to improve safety?

21. Scientists warned that the taste and quality of beer will deteriorate because what is being hit by global warming?

22. Former England captain Wayne Rooney was appointed as manager of which football team?

23. Who will co-host the UEFA Euros in 2028?

24. Which country failed to reach the Rugby World Cup knockout stage for the first time in its history?

25. Which celebrity married couple revealed they had been living separate lives since 2016?

Answers here

Ed wins the newsquiz champagne

From left: Carina Stathis, Freya Barnes, Alesia Fiddler, Poppy Atkinson Gibson, Ed Holt with the champagne, Luke Power, Olivia Christie, Olivia Day, Cameron Roy and Sam Lawley. Pieter Snepvengers, on the screen, did the last three days remotely. 

I said goodbye to 11 MailOnline young journalists this week. They had sessions with deputy head of video Olivia Bateman, audience development lead Nick Moar, global reporter Chris Pleasance and senior journalists Danny Hussain and Bridie Pearson-Jones. There was also a Q&A panel with some of last year’s trainees including Kitty Lawton, Hannah Mcdonald, Eirian Prosser, Nell Salvoni and Arthur Parashar. The trainees covered a breaking news story, created banners, wrote personality profiles and prepared newslists for their placements. Olivia Christie had four stories published. The first was about ‘green’ Oxfordshire council being accused of hypocrisy after it was revealed that 387 of its 420 vehicles are diesel-powered. Read it here.

Olivia also wrote a travel story about Barcelona banning cruise ships from its main port to help stop pollution. 

She continued her ecology theme by reporting on the University of Oxford's iconic Radcliffe Camera building being sprayed in orange paint. Her story went online and was a page lead in the Daily Mail paper too.

Olivia also wrote a Femail story about Spanish heir to the throne Princess Leonor turning 18.

Trainee Cameron Roy earned a byline on the banner on Tuesday. Cameron ran into the clashes in London between Palestine and Israel supporters and shot some amazing video. You can see it here. 

Last night Freya Barnes headed to Manchester to see S Club pay a tribute to ex-member Paul Cattermole as they started their reunion tour. Freya's story is here. 

Luke Power wrote a story about a £5,000 reward being offered for information on a human placenta being found in a Southampton park.

And Pieter Snepvengers followed up his story of last week with the news that indie-band Easy Life are to change their name after being threatened with legal action but easyJet's parent company. Read it here.

They are the first bylines of many and there are plenty more stories in the pipeline. On Wednesday the trainees had drinks with senior staff in the Greyhound. We finished the course, as always, with the newsquiz. The top scorer this week was Ed Holt with an impressive 23. Luke Power scored 21 and Olivia Christie and Pieter Snepvengers both scored 20. Ed was the top scorer over the three-week course and collected a bottle of champagne. The trainees now head off to their placements at the Mail in Dublin and Glasgow, the Liverpool Echo, the Press Association while some go to the MailOnline news and sports desks. They are a bright and likeable bunch who will undoubtedly do well. I wish them all the best of luck.  

*An updated version of the newsquiz will be posted on Friday. 

Trainee Ed wins this week's newsquiz

The MailOnline trainees had another good week in Kensington. They had sessions with deputy Femail editor Rebecca Davison, executive news-editors Neville Wilson and Marianna Partasides, senior reporter Mark Duell and history correspondent Harry Howard. Editor Emeritus Peter Wright gave guidance on the editor’s code and they spent an afternoon with the Mail’s lawyers. The trainees pitched news-stories to Amanda Williams and Neville, Femail stories to Bridie Pearson-Jones and travel stories to Ted Thornhill. They  wrote picture stories and the best headline award went to Alesia Fiddler. Peter Snepvangers was the first trainee to be published with a story about the owners of easyJet suing indie-band Easy Life for ‘exploiting its invaluable reputation’. You can read it here. 

As usual we finished with the newsquiz. This week’s winner was Ed Holt with 21, ahead of Olivia Christie on 18 and Alesia Fiddler on 17.
The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was George Mann with an impressive 23. Trainee Pieter Snepvangers scored 21, Janet Boyle and Marion Fountayne 20, Tony Smith, Toby Brown, Marguerite Turner and Luke Power all scored 19, Sam Lawley, Olivia Christie and Ed Holt 18 and Robert Rea and Jayme Bryla 17. The top team was Tom and Jen Savage with an amazing 24, ahead of Dominic Hurst with Karin, Joe and Lou and Red Lion drinkers Peter, Stacey, Les, Nicky and Kevin who scored 22. Neil and Jo Benson scored 20, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe and Maura and Phil Parsons scored 18 and Bruce and Sarah Hayward scored 17. Here is this week’s newsquiz. Give it a go and see if you can beat Ed’s score.

A selection of today's front pages

1. Home Secretary Suella Braverman told the Tory party conference: 'The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th century was a mere gust compared with the __ that is coming.’ What is the missing word?
2. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the Tory Party conference the high speed rail link to Manchester would be scrapped and that 'every single penny,' equating to how much, would be reinvested in transport projects across the North?
3. Conservative London Assembly Member Andrew Boff was kicked out of the Tory Party conference after describing Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s comments on what as ’trash’?
4. At the Tory Party conference, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said one of the biggest issues facing children and teachers was 'grappling with the impact' of what?
5. What was Labour leader Keir Starmer referring to when he told his team they had 'blown the doors off’?
6. Dale Houghton, 31, from Rotherham, appeared at Sheffield Magistrates' Court, where he pleaded guilty to a public order offence. What did he do?
7. A BBC Panorama investigation found that the ex-chief of which company and his British partner faced allegations of exploitation from men recruited for sex events they hosted?
8. Gavin Plumb, 36, appeared in Chelmsford Magistrates court charged with what?
9. Who said she was ordered to leave her office in the US Capitol by the new interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry?
10. Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, became the first person in the UK to be convicted of what since 1981?
11. Nursing staff, Catherine Hudson and Charlotte Wilmot, were convicted of drugging and ill-treating patients at a hospital in which town?
12. Eurostar ordered deep cleaning of its trains over concerns that an epidemic of what in France could spread the the UK?
13. Former gang leader Duane 'Keffe D' Davis was charged with the murder of who in Las Vegas in 1996?
14. Dame Sharon White announced she would step down from which company, making her the shortest-serving chair in its near 100-year history?
15. At least 21 people including children died after a bus crashed off a flyover near which European city?
16. A fire at a food waste recycling plant in which county started after lightning caused a gas explosion?
17. Footballer Francis Lee, who died, aged 79, scored 148 goals in 330 appearances for which team?
18. American Joe LaCava had an angry spat with which sportsman in a car park at the weekend?
19. Five Just Stop Oil protestors were arrested after storming the stage during a performance of which show in London’s West End?
20. Fiona Bruce wore a sling on her wrist and sported a black eye when presenting Question Time. How did she injure herself?
21. In a Netflix series, Beckham, Victoria revealed husband David was left 'clinically depressed’ after what?

22. What is the name of President Joe Biden's dog that was removed from the White House after biting staff?

23. The Princess of Wales scored while playing what game at an inclusivity day in Hull?
24. Who was the first celebrity to be eliminated from this year’s Strictly Come Dancing?

25. AJ Odudu and Will Best are the two new presenters of which ITV show?

Answers here