The NME’s deputy editor, Krissi Murison, gave a superb guest lecture this week. The journalism students asked some good questions about possible advertiser influence in the NME (apparently it’s not a problem), role of women in music (it’s still an issue), the bust-up with Morrissey (no comment – the court case is pending) and a nice little anecdote about a boozy night out with Amy Winehouse (apparently she plays a wicked game of pool). She also spoke about the massive success of NME.com, which really begged further questions about how long the the paper product can last with its disappointing ABCs.

But most students were looking for tips about getting that first job in journalism. She had three main bits of advice: Firstly, Blog: Krissi revealed that the legendary music mag was seeking new opinion writers. Whilst they had their eye on a few established names, they were also actively searching out opinionated new talent. She said that running a blog was also handy for getting into gigs for free and generally getting noticed. We mention this to the students all the time, but it was good for them to also hear it from an industry person. 

Work experience: Really important obviously. It takes some early planning (the NME is booked up with workies until Jan 2009).  But she expressed disappointment with the attitudes of some students that got placements. Her advice – make the most of it.

Send in ideas speculatively via email: Writers that continually send in good ideas do get noticed.

All sound advice…