Staff Profile

Hello, I'm Sarah Drummond, a journalist by qualification and career; and a staff lecturer at Newcastle University.

I have been teaching journalism with multi-media practice to undergraduates and post-graduates since summer 2018, and I am the admissions tutor for our BA Honours degree in Journalism, Media and Culture. 

In my journalism career I trained, qualified and worked in regional newspapers, then joined the BBC as a broadcast journalist. I worked in regional news for radio, TV, and online; and I worked in strategy, audience outreach and training; a 23-year BBC career.

I am a former managing editor of BBC Radio Newcastle and of BBC Radio York. At both stations our award-winning teams were recognised by the broadcast industry for their excellence in original journalism, community reporting, and live broadcasting. I co-ran the digital hub of the BBC Local TV pilot in Birmingham, and was a senior broadcast journalist in TV at BBC Midlands Today. I introduced mobile journalism through smartphone and tablet newsgathering to BBC English Regions in 2012.

In the digital era I believe it is important to empower students to grow their skills in direct interviewing, so that future generations of journalists retain and develop the art and purpose of journalistic interrogation of people's intentions and motives. 

My other concern is spin. I do not use the phrase 'fake news' because I observe the connotations of this particular description divert distrust onto ethical journalism. 

Representation and portrayal of people in power and authority - in and via journalism - are important, and our university is proud to be a BBC50:50 Equality Project partner.

My first degree is in the History of Art and Architecture (BA Hons), at the University of East Anglia. My journalism qualification is with the NCTJ.  In June 2022 I became a Fellow (FHEA) of Advance HE. 

I am vice-chair of Skimstone Arts in Newcastle, a former trustee of York Museums and Gallery Trust, and a former regional director of the Royal Institute of British Architects in North East England and Yorkshire. 

Subject areas and practice:

• Journalism
• Multimedia journalism & International Multimedia Journalism
• Mobile and smartphone journalism
• Broadcast journalism
• Journalistic interviewing skills - live and recorded
• Broadcast management & editorial leadership
• Employability 
• Broadcast regulation.

• MCH1031 - Introduction to Multimedia
• MCH1037 - Introduction to Multimedia Journalism
• MCH3089 - TV News and advanced video

• MCH8012 - Freelancing in media and communications
• MCH8170 - International Multimedia Journalism 

Association of Journalism Education

• Summer 2021 - research abstract to AJE online conference on preparing student and early-stage journalists to defend bad-faith attacks on their fair and accurate journalism.

• Summer 2022 - panellist at WJEC conference - Journalism education and inclusive society stream.