Ian Tapster

I’m the Course Leader and Principal Lecturer for BA (Hons) Journalism, BA (Hons) Journalism with Media Studies and BA (Hons) Journalism with Creative Writing.  My specialist areas of teaching cover politics, ethics, current affairs and financial journalism.

I studied a degree in History and Politics, which helped me land my first job as a medieval archaeologist in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for three years. After this, I was a curator for the Department of Oriental Antiquities (as it was known then) at the British Museum, where I helped computerise the collections. 

After three years at the BM, I secured a job at the Financial Times as a financial journalist.  After 18 months, I became the editor of my section. providing one of the first subscription-based screen services with financial reports before the launch of the Internet.  During this time, I also wrote on the financial markets as a freelancer for the European Newspaper. 

After five years working with the Financial Times, I set up my own company that provided real-time reports and analysis based on financial market activity and economic data. 

After 15 years running the business, I moved to Portsmouth where I carried on with my work remotely before being offered the chance to  work as a PTHP lecturer delivering a module on politics to Journalism students. In 2008, I was offered a full-time position and have been at the University ever since.

In my spare time, I’m an actor, writer, director and Chair of Trustees with a local amateur dramatic group.  I am also regularly taken for walks by my two rescue dogs.

As Principal Lecturer and Course Leader for the suite of BA (Hons) Journalism courses, I don’t like to think of my role as ‘lecturing’ students, but more as an open conversation. I hope that students remember their university experience as a time of enjoyment and learning, and where they gained lasting friendships.

Being a vocational course (twice awarded best Journalism course by NCTJ), I hope to guide students in becoming confident individuals with industry-standard skills who go on to have interesting jobs that fulfil their potential.  Our Journalism Newsroom facility emulates a real working environment where students use industry-standard software to write copy, edit and upload videos in the practical hands-on element of the Journalism course. 

For three years, I was part of the Ethics Committee in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and I teach an ethics-related module for first-year Journalism students, as well as a workshop for MSc Aquatic Biology students.

My teaching reflects the nature of my journalistic background as I deliver units that encompass British politics, foreign affairs and financial issues.

I also provide some historical context to journalism’s role in society, as well as taking an in-depth look at the importance of ethics in contemporary journalism.