Videos showing peeks behind the scenes, career advice, and ‘how to’ guides are a great way to pick up new journalism skills. When thinking about videos, the platform you’ll most likely have in mind instantly is TikTok. Previously mostly used for leisure by billions, TikTok has in the past few years seen a drastic increase in the number of newsrooms and journalists using it. It has become a great place to connect with your peers and find insights to current events, alongside tips to boost your career.
These are some of our favourite journalists to follow on TikTok for career advice. Who are some of your top accounts to follow? Let us know, and we’ll add them to the list.
Sophia Smith Galer
Sophia Smith Galer is an author and VICE World News Journalist. She previously worked for the BBC and is seen as one of the frontrunners in utilising TikTok for news gathering and publishing in the UK. Her videos include a mix of news — national and international, videos on different languages (and benefits of multilingualism), as well as lots of different videos where she gives advice and words of encouragement towards those still looking to get into journalism.
https://www.tiktok.com/@sophiasmithgaler/video/7191948173802212613?
Leanna Byrne
Leanna Byrne is a Senior Presenter for Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service. She frequently (and candidly) shows glimpses behind the scenes of what it is like working in radio and audio production, including videos in which she gives practical tips on techniques for interviewing and job hunting.
https://www.tiktok.com/@lbizjournotok/video/7215629250185956613?
Monika Plaha
Monika Plaha is a journalist, reporter and presenter for the BBC. She regularly shows her reporting and investigations, South Asian news and history, as well as behind the scenes videos of her work which are great to get a glimpse for anyone hoping to get into broadcasting.
https://www.tiktok.com/@monikaplaha/video/7202205338928516358?
Emma Bentley
Emma Bentley is a camerawoman and journalist at The News Movement. On her TikTok channel, she regularly shares insights about her daily life as a camera journalist, her take on news, as well as tips on news consumption and other practical advice, as well as lots of funny videos.
https://www.tiktok.com/@justemmawithacamera/video/7212692063723310341?
Charlotte Gay
Charlotte Gay is Cornwall Reporter for ITV News West Country. She regularly shares news from her patch — with some beautiful shots of the scenery — as well as insights into her daily life, and hacks for journalists (we loves her newest video
https://www.tiktok.com/@charlottegay_/video/7214179107519679750?
Laura Garcia
Laura Garcia is a multimedia journalist currently working for BBC Mundo, where she tells Spanish language stories. She regularly shares videos about current news, her life — both in Spanish and English — and her cat (which we love). She just as regularly shares videos containing helpful advice and tips for anyone to do video journalism — one of videos shows how she changed her whole flat setup to take an explainer video from home, as well as important insights into disinformation and fake news in journalism.
She also previously did a masterclass as part of our online training series, PressPad Remote, on how to be a mobile journalism wizard — a great way for you to launch your TikTok/ mobile journalism career if you’re looking to get started!
https://www.tiktok.com/@lauragarciarb/video/7098267574722481413?
