Journalists associations
Unlike the situation in other countries such as Italy, journalists are not formally required to pass a special exam or to be a member of a professional body. Two organisations oversee the accreditation of training courses and degrees – the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC). Recognition of press/media credentials is managed by a voluntary scheme administered by the UK Press Card Authority. The Press Card scheme is owned and collectively controlled by the UK's major media organisations, industry associations, trade unions, and professional associations. Journalists are issued with a card by one of the nineteen members who act as ‘gatekeepers’. Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) are required to sign up to the NUJ’s code of conduct and agree to adhere to a set of professional principles overseen by the NUJ’s ethics council. There are several associations representing the interests of specialist journalists including the Foreign Press Association; Society of Women Writers and Journalists; and the British Press Photographers association.