The Guardian Masterclasses, a shiny mix of commerce and culture, are proving to be a terrific resource for aspiring and established journalists to learn from the best writers of the day.
As much showman as journalist, George Monbiot shared his journalistic approach with a packed audience at a Masterclass last month. Known as a trenchant polemicist Monbiot has a weekly Guardian column, has written widely on the environment and social justice and is known for harbouring views which are probably further left than Jeremy Corbin’s. He is also a gifted speaker and a generous teacher, laying bare the minute details of gathering material for his Guardian column, expounding on the necessity of frugality for an aspiring journalist and the importance of expressing your ideals in your writing. Good straight stuff that showed that in-depth research is the basis for all decent journalism. No room for gimmickry here.