A PANORAMA presenter and BBC News reporter paid a visit to York College to give an engaging talk on his experiences of working in journalism and TV reporting to students from the Sirius Group.

Richard Bilton shared his knowledge of journalism as a BBC News reporter for the past 25 years, having worked as an environmental and foreign correspondent covering major stories including the 2001 Foot and Mouth outbreak, 9/11 and the Iraq War.

Now focusing mainly on presenting BBC’s Panorama, Richard also delved into the journalistic techniques used when reporting on emotive stories such as the disappearance of Madeline McCann and the aftermath of the 2016 Orlando shootings.

The Sirius Group is made up of students with intellectual curiosity and ambition and allows them to develop higher level skills such as debating and discussion in order to prepare for study at top universities.

The talk gave the students insights into the realities of pursuing a career in journalism and broadcast reporting with Richard sharing his opinions on current topics of controversy such as Donald Trump, ‘Fake News’, Twitter as a news outlet, and the importance of unbiased and balanced reporting following the recent Westminster attack.

Following the talk, Richard, originally from Morley, took part in a question and answer session where he offered advice to students wishing to embark upon a career in journalism.