Letter: Reporters can learn without inky fingers

We were bemused by Chris Blackhurst's attack on us and "media studies" ("First, ask the right question", 8 June).

In fact this centre has no plans to teach media studies, which is a respectable but largely theoretical discipline. The new and very practical MA in investigative journalism will be a sister course to our successful three-year BA in broadcast journalism. When that started in 1992, TV and radio hacks queued up to say how you can never teach anyone that sort of thing; they just have to do it. Now that the majority of our graduates have good-quality work with broadcasters and, we're told, four have moved on to do work for ITN - that's in their early twenties, mind you - you don't hear that call for "inky-fingered apprenticeships" so much among broadcast journalists.

Like our BA, the new MA will be vocational and is being developed with a raft of industry supporters, including ITN, Carlton/Central Television, BBC Midlands and GWR/Radio Trent. Roger Cook of The Cook Report, has just been appointed as visiting professor, joining Jon Snow from Channel 4 News and Radio 4's Sue MacGregor.

Our students, many of whom will already have had bylines, will work with experienced journalists. They will indeed discuss and, where possible, practise just the sort of field crafts Chris lists so incredulously and much more besides. Unlike some of us older hands, young journalists these days don't get to pick up these skills so easily in their factory-like newsrooms.

Frankly, I don't know if better training would have saved a vulnerable source such as Mordecai Vanunu or whether it would always fend off hoaxers. But I am convinced that someone with the benefit of being educated and trained in these areas will generally perform better than someone without.

Julian Ives

Nottingham Trent University