The End of an Era: City St George’s University Retires Iconic Newspaper Journalism MA After 44 Years

By Editorial Staff

In a move that signals the final transition of the British press from its ink-stained roots to a digital-first future, City St George’s University has officially retired its long-standing Newspaper Journalism MA. The decision marks the end of a 44-year chapter for one of the most prestigious journalism training grounds in the world, replacing the historic course with a modernized, consolidated "Journalism MA."

For decades, the City Newspaper Journalism programme served as the gold standard for aspiring reporters, producing a steady stream of talent that would eventually ascend to the top of the British media establishment. Its retirement, while framed as a necessary evolution by university administrators, has prompted a wave of nostalgia among alumni and a broader discussion about the changing nature of the trade in the 21st century.

A Legacy of Excellence: Chronology of a Training Ground

The journalism department at City, now part of the University of London, is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. Its inception dates back to October 1976, when the first cohort of 13 students—selected from a competitive pool of 120 applicants—arrived for a postgraduate diploma. Led by the legendary Tom Welsh, a former Guardian journalist and co-author of McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists, the course was designed with a singular focus: rigorous, street-level reporting.

At the time, City’s primary advantage was its proximity to Fleet Street, the historic heart of the UK newspaper industry. Students were immersed in the worlds of law, public administration, and shorthand—the latter of which has now been relegated to an optional extracurricular activity. They were trained to cover the "beat" in its traditional sense: courts, council meetings, and the corridors of Parliament.

The course evolved into an MA programme in the years that followed, surviving the seismic shifts of the 1990s and 2000s, including the migration of newspapers from Fleet Street and the collapse of traditional advertising models. However, the decision to shutter the specific "Newspaper Journalism" title was not made lightly. According to faculty, the university began formal discussions to update the programme approximately 18 months ago, seeking to align the curriculum with the fragmented, multi-platform reality of contemporary media.

Industry Shift and Pedagogical Evolution

The transition is more than a mere change in nomenclature; it reflects a broader industry trend. As digital consumption has overtaken print, the term "newspaper" has become increasingly archaic to younger cohorts of students and employers alike.

Paul Solman, who took over as course director in 2024 following the tenure of Jonathan Hewett, explains the rationale behind the pivot: "The decision reflects the trend in the industry. For many, the word ‘newspaper’ still has connotations of a paper product. And we know that newspapers are online things these days. We’re very keen in the university to ensure students know what they are getting."

The new Journalism MA is a direct response to this demand. While the core syllabus retains the fundamental pillars of the profession—newswriting, features, editorial production, media law, and ethics—the method of assessment has shifted dramatically. Where previous students were judged on their ability to design a physical newspaper page using Adobe InDesign, the new cohort will be assessed on their capacity to edit a live, dynamic news feed.

Furthermore, the university has introduced a cutting-edge module titled "AI, Journalism, and the Future of News." In this component, students are challenged to critically analyze AI systems currently deployed in newsrooms and demonstrate their ability to translate raw datasets into accessible, high-engagement video content for social media platforms.

Supporting Data: Applications and Enrollment Trends

The university’s gamble on modernization appears to be paying off in terms of sheer numbers. The new Journalism MA has seen a surge in interest, recording triple the number of applications compared to the previous year’s Newspaper Journalism MA. Currently, 56 students are enrolled in the new course, nearly doubling the 30-student intake of the final Newspaper Journalism class.

This enrollment boom suggests that while the "newspaper" brand may be fading, the prestige of a City degree remains a powerful draw. However, this shift comes with a price adjustment. The former Newspaper Journalism MA cost £11,930 for home students and £24,440 for international students. The new, consolidated MA now commands a fee of £13,000 for domestic students and £26,680 for those arriving from overseas.

City, which prides itself on being the largest journalism school in the UK, has maintained its influence despite the market-driven pressure to consolidate. Solman notes, "When you’ve got a course that’s successful like that and has that reputation, I think no one is in a hurry to change it."

Perspectives from the Frontline: Alumni and Current Students

The closure has drawn mixed reactions from those who built their careers on the foundation of the original diploma. Jon Slattery, a veteran journalist who was among the original 1976 cohort, views the news with a sense of melancholic irony.

"I can see why City have made the decision; but I suppose it is an irony celebrating fifty years of the course this way," Slattery told Press Gazette. "For me, it is a bit like the last days of Fleet Street. Something was there and then suddenly it disappears. You have just got to accept that in the media."

Slattery, who began his career at the Lincolnshire Echo, points to the structural decline of local journalism as the primary driver for these changes. "I just don’t think you’ve got the manpower or the number of journalists to cover things in the way they used to," he added, recalling a time when local papers were robust, multifaceted operations with dedicated staff for every municipal beat.

Conversely, current students view the change through a lens of pragmatism. Ezra Izer, an MA student at the university, suggests that the distinction is largely academic. "From where I stood, I couldn’t see much difference between that programme and the new one beyond semantics," Izer said. "What mattered to me was the prestige, the connections and the graduate prospects that come with a City degree."

Izer’s sentiment highlights a broader shift in how students perceive their own education. For the modern journalism student, the "newspaper" label is less important than the adaptability required to thrive in a volatile, AI-driven landscape.

Implications for the Future of Journalism Education

City is by no means an outlier. The industry-wide abandonment of the term "newspaper" in educational contexts has been underway for nearly a decade. Cardiff University rebranded its course to "News Journalism" in 2015, while Sheffield University dropped the word "Print" in 2017. Nottingham Trent followed suit in 2019.

The implications for the industry are significant. By folding specialized print training into a broader, tech-heavy curriculum, universities are effectively acknowledging that the "generalist reporter" of the 20th century—who spent their life mastering a single medium—is being replaced by the "multimedia creator."

However, critics argue that in this rush to modernize, there is a risk of losing the deep, foundational reporting skills that characterized the traditional newspaper course. The challenge for City St George’s, and indeed for all top-tier journalism schools, will be to ensure that in their pursuit of "AI literacy" and "social media optimization," they do not sacrifice the rigorous legal and ethical training that once defined the City experience.

As the university moves forward with its updated curriculum, it retains its place at the top of the hierarchy of influence. With an alumni list that includes luminaries such as Tony Gallagher, James Harding, Faisal Islam, and Helen Lewis, the institution’s footprint on the British media is indelible. Whether this new iteration of the course will produce the same caliber of editors and reporters remains to be seen, but the intent is clear: the university is betting that the future of journalism is no longer in the paper, but in the process.