CLASS OF 2017: Mollie makes national headlines before graduation


National newspaper coverage of her articles is an early career boost for one Journalism (NCTJ Accredited) graduate from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).

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Mollie Mansfield started working at Caters News Agency, an international independent news and picture agency, two months before graduating and has already had her work featured nationally in publications such as The Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and Daily Express.

The Junior Features Writer, who graduated with a First on Saturday and won the Leicester Mercury Journalist of the Year award, said: “Securing a job before graduation is something I’m very proud of.

“My role is really exciting and I get to work on a mixture of news and real-life stories for women’s magazines. I cover broad subjects that can literally be picked up anywhere, so it’s a great feeling sending out a story and seeing it gain momentum throughout the day.

“Getting my byline in so many different publications is definitely helping to establish me as a diverse journalist.

“It’s also been a very rewarding experience so far. Especially interviewing women who have transformed their lives and hearing how my features have helped boost their confidence.”

Mollie lists the NCTJ accreditation, enthusiastic lecturers and creative environment, among her reasons for choosing to study at DMU.

“My course definitely prepared me for the real-life sense of journalism, and built my confidence in talking to anyone and finding a story in a variety of ways,” said the 20-year-old from London.

“It’s a very hands-on course and exactly what you would expect when studying journalism. Also, the tutors are absolutely faultless. They have a very open-door policy and encourage you to see them as much as possible, which is something that I took advantage of.”

The opportunity to spend part of her final year focusing on arts and entertainment journalism played to Mollie’s strengths as an established music journalist.

Since the age of 16 she has tirelessly pursued freelance and work experience spanning publications such as the NME, DIY, clash, Record Collector, Kerrang!, Uncut and the Leicester Mercury.

She said: “Interviewing Tyga for the cover of tmrw magazine has been my biggest achievement to date. It happened at the end of 2016 and is something I will never forget, considering it was my first cover story for a magazine, and with such a super-star.

“DMU’s arts and entertainment journalism module not only allowed me to put all of my freelance experience to good use, but it also pushed me to do more. It strengthened my review-writing style across a number of different arts and entertainment topics.”

Mollie also benefitted from #DMUglobal, the university’s international experience programme, which enabled her to gain valuable media industry insight in both Prague and New York.

Posted on Monday 17 July 2017

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