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02 Nov 2023 7:04 PM
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Two 2 year contracts 
Two fully-funded NCTJ diplomas
Four days a week on Britain’s biggest entertainment news desk + one day a week in college to study for diploma
Exclusive interview opportunities with celebrities and talent

London, 2nd November 2023: The Sun - the country’s number one news brand - has partnered with MOBOLISE, the new talent and recruitment platform from the MOBO Group, to create two entertainment journalist apprenticeships aimed at diverse talent.

MOBOLISE, is the new talent and recruitment platform from The MOBO Group, home of the iconic MOBO Awards, that supports and connects diverse professionals with career opportunities. It has just launched its new mentoring offering, https://mobolise.guider.app/, which will match individuals with experienced professionals from leading organisations for personalised guidance. 

The new apprenticeship scheme is aimed at broadening diversity both in the newsroom and in The Sun’s showbiz content and coverage, with a focus on music and culture of Black origin.

The exciting new partnership will see two successful applicants each receive a two-year contract with a competitive salary above the London living wage. The two year apprenticeship will see the successful applicants receive coaching, mentoring and support from The Sun and MOBOLISE. The apprentices will be immersed in the exciting world of entertainment journalism, as well as studying towards a fully-funded NCTJ Diploma. 

Victoria Newton, Editor-in-Chief of The Sun, said:

"I'm incredibly excited by this new partnership with MOBOLISE. The MOBO Awards have led the way in diversifying the music industry, and I hope our new scheme will build on the terrific work we've already done bringing in fresh, new diverse talent to The Sun’s newsroom. 

“The Sun’s Bizarre column is the home of showbiz and music news, breaking the biggest exclusives with interviews with the UK's top celebrities, and this new initiative will strengthen that further, taking us to an even wider audience.”

CEO of MOBO Group, Kanya King CBE, said:

“At MOBOLISE, we recognise the crucial importance of fostering a diverse workforce in the media industry. MOBOLISE was created to address the persistent systemic inequality in the workplace and is committed to bringing about genuine, enduring, and positive change, one opportunity at a time. We welcome The Sun’s apprenticeship offering, which aligns perfectly with our mission to create a more diverse and equitable workforce in the media sector. This forms part of a longer term commitment we have with News UK, where we will be working together for the next two years and beyond.”

Applications have opened today to budding entertainment journalists who can apply here.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Elizabeth Morton, Head of Communications, The Sun
[email protected]

Indy Vidyalankara, Corporate Comms Lead, MOBO Group, [email protected]/ [email protected] 

About The Sun
The Sun was recently nominated for Diversity Initiative of the Year at the Press Awards. It follows a series of ground-breaking campaigns and initiatives involving Disability, Black History Month, its Menopause Matters campaign and coverage of South Asian Heritage Month. It was also awarded Silver in the Social Mobility awards 2022. 

The Sun has also invested heavily in early talent from disadvantaged backgrounds, delivering 24 apprenticeships, 12 six-month internships and more than 250 hours of work experience in the last 18 months. Of those interns, nine in ten come from Ethnic Minority heritage or are female. We have also developed specific apprenticeships and mentoring schemes with disabled talent. The Sun is also a proud founding sponsor of the Disability Journalism Forum, an annual conference aimed at developing disabled talent in the industry.

The Sun is the most popular newsbrand in the UK, reaching 27.1 million people a month across digital and print.
 
As The People's Paper, The Sun is at the heart of the nation’s conversation, blending serious investigations, agenda-setting campaigns, political scoops and celebrity gossip. 
 
More than a newspaper, The Sun is an instigator, an entertainer, a cultural reference point, a finger on the pulse, a daily relationship.
 
The people of Britain work hard for what they have and The Sun works hard to give them something memorable. That makes an impact, inspires a reaction, raises the pulse. It’s brave, bold and bawdy. Caring, clear and concise.
 
The Sun makes life simpler, richer and more sensational. Every single day.

About MOBO:  

MOBOLISE aims to create a more equitable industry by overcoming systemic barriers faced by Black professionals, which has seen them 15.4% more likely to be unemployed and nearly twice less likely to work in managerial positions, with only 1.4% of creative industry jobs being held by Black talent. The platform was created especially, but not exclusively, for Black professionals and is designed to work with a broad range of partners to provide a community for Black talent to thrive professionally, connect with each other through specially curated partner events, learn through industry leading mentoring and training resources, and directly access career opportunities.

MOBOLISE has launched an exciting, new mentoring offering aimed at empowering and uplifting early career, diverse professionals by providing them with more opportunities to progress in their careers. The innovative new platform will match individuals with experienced professionals from leading organisations such as Accenture, Disney, Salesforce and HSBC UK for personalised guidance, and is available at https://mobolise.guider.app/  

Since 1996, the MOBO Group has discovered and supported talent in music, film and TV. MOBO operates 365 days a year to create events, content, partnerships and opportunities for young people in the entertainment industries and beyond. For 25 years, the MOBO Awards has remained a significant cultural event in the British music industry, celebrating excellence in Black music. Its enduring legacy as the premiere outlet for recognising and honouring the artistic achievement of exceptional British and international talent in Hip-Hop, Grime, R&B and Soul, Reggae, Jazz, Gospel and African music has been unparalleled. Global superstars who have been part of the Awards include Janet Jackson, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Sade, Lionel Richie, Beyoncé, Jay Z, Diddy, Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Usher, Rihanna, Cardi B, Davido and H.E.R. just to name a few. The Awards has proudly been hosted all over the United Kingdom in over the years including shows in London, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow and Coventry, the UK’s City of Culture. Beyond the Awards, MOBO supports undiscovered talent in music via MOBO UnSung, and across the wider creative and tech industries MOBO supports and connects career opportunities for diverse talent with a focus on black professionals via MOBOLISE, a platform to empower diversity, excellence and transformation in the workplace. 

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