Thursday 4 July was not only a momentous evening in British politics, but also a highly memorable career moment for PA Media Academy apprentices and trainee journalists covering the general election.
Former full-time and part-time NCTJ diploma trainees, some fresh from finishing their course the week before, worked in our London Paddington newsroom overnight. Their task was to record election results from each constituency accurately before submitting them onto the newswire.
Fuelled by pizza and sweets, they answered hundreds of calls from correspondents, mostly between 3-5am, who were attending counts up-and-down the country as Labour swept to victory.
PA Media’s election editor Matthew George said: “General elections are a big step up from the other elections we do, with the results flashing around the world immediately, and phones ringing intensively at the height of the results operation, between 3-4am.
“It is a high-pressure environment and I am sure that being able to cope with it so calmly and efficiently will help all the students wherever their careers take them.
“I believe they all enjoyed the experience of being part of what proved an historic general election, and their excellent contributions were a tribute to their training.”
Our apprentices from the BBC, News UK, Telegraph and several other media organisations also took part in covering the elections.
And it wasn’t just journalists who had their front seats in history.
PR and Communications apprentice Dolcee Freer-Gallagher was assisting with Tamworth Council’s media handling at its count.
She said: “Throughout the night, we spoke with the media, keeping them up to date with what was happening – the verification process, when this was complete, when the count began etc.
“We also had to make sure that media didn’t take photos of ballot papers up close, so if needed we could ask them to see what photos they have took.
“The verification process was complete at around 1am, and the count then began at 1.30am. We declared the results at 4.30am. MP Sarah Daniels, Labour held onto her seat with 15,338 votes, followed by 13,956 votes for the Conservative candidate ad 11,004 votes for the Reform UK candidate.
“It was a long but exciting night and a great experience to be a part of.”
