MA Journalism students Will Cole and Grace McGrory were television presenters for the Global News Relay – an annual programme which involves students from various universities co-hosting and producing newscasts on a particular topic. Fellow MA students Charley Bergman and Phoebe Morton produced the show, whilst Ella Bicknell and Erin Carney presented Leeds Trinity’s section.

The series, Mind Matters, featured a number of stories and television features relating to the topic of mental health following the COVID-19 pandemic. It was hosted and produced by Leeds Trinity, with contributions from students at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai, India; Communication University of China; Coventry University; Hong Kong Baptist University; Kibbutzim College of Tel Aviv; Texas State University in the United States; and the University of the West of England.

Leeds Trinity’s segment focused on how gardening allotments, DJ sessions and running groups are helping people in the UK with their mental health.

Grace McGrory, MA Journalism student at Leeds Trinity University, said: “Co-presenting the Global News Relay was an amazing opportunity. It allowed me to connect with and interview other student journalists from across the globe and focus on such an important and relevant topic.

“It has definitely made me a more confident presenter, and I am so proud to have been part of such a dedicated team at Leeds Trinity, who collaborated to produce such a high-quality production.”

Charley Bergman, MA Journalism student at Leeds Trinity University, said: “I and another Journalism Masters student, Phoebe Morton, produced both Leeds Trinity’s Mind Matters submission and the entire Global News Relay programme.

“Not only was it a lot of fun, but I feel so proud to have produced an international programme over two hours long. It taught me so much about production journalism, what goes on behind the scenes, and teamwork.

“The support we got from Katherine Blair, Senior Professional Practice Fellow and Broadcast Journalism Programme Leader, and Mark Willett, Media Services Senior Technician, was amazing – they helped us loads but also gave us the freedom to do things ourselves which really let me put the skills I’ve learnt on the course into practice in a real working environment.”

Katherine Blair, Senior Professional Practice Fellow and Broadcast Journalism Programme Leader at Leeds Trinity University, said: “Students don’t always appreciate at first what a huge opportunity it is to be a part of an international programme like this until they’ve done it. Then they see how many skills they’ve acquired, how much knowledge they’ve developed and how much they have to offer to a potential employer as a result of working on the programme.

“It’s a real privilege to take the lead this year and be the main host and coordinate so many universities across 13 time zones and five different countries. This year’s MA cohort has really shown its strengths of organisation and understanding for television production. They’ve been an unbelievable team and without them and Mark Willett, the programme never could have happened.”

Mind Matters is available on the Global News Relay YouTube channel.