Gemma Q&A
Every week we ask a leading figure in digital news about their work, their career and what it takes to be a journalist in the 21st century.

Our guest this week is Gemma Mullin, online news reporter at Mail Online. She gives us insight into her role and her advice for aspiring web journalists.


What is your job title and what does that mean?

I’m an online news reporter, which means that I’m writing to an ongoing deadline for our website. Predominantly, I’m a home news reporter, so I write about current affairs in the UK, but occasionally I will work on foreign news, so I could be working on some of the biggest global stories happening in the world right now.

How did you get started in journalism?

I started out in broadcast by freelancing at my local Heart radio station in Exeter alongside my university course. I’d also done work experience at BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio Devon, The Sun’s TV magazine and my local newspaper, the Mid Devon Gazette.

When I came out of uni looking for a job, the Gazette was advertising for a trainee reporter, which seemed like perfect timing and I landed the role, eventually working my way up to business reporter and then crime correspondent.

What do you most look forward to at the start of your day?

It’s probably seeing my colleagues. As cheesy as it sounds, it’s the people that make the place and I work with some absolutely amazing people.

What does a normal day look like for you? In emoji.

gemma mullin emoji

What three tools or apps do you use the most for work?

If you told me when I was at uni that Twitter and Facebook would be 'must have' tabs I should have open at work, I would have never believed you. But it’s absolutely imperative we’ve got our finger on the pulse – and some of the best stories come from social media.

The other most important tool that our day couldn’t function without is our WPS system, for writing and publishing stories to the website.

What would you focus on if you were training as a journalist now?


We were always told how important the internet would be and the role of online journalism, but I wasn’t quite as interested in it then. Maybe I took it for granted as the generation that grew up with it, but now that I can see in which direction it’s going, I would definitely advise people to take heed of online news and its advancements, particularly on emerging platforms such as Snapchat.

What skills do you think are important to your role?

Being fast, flexible and thorough. I think it’s really important to be able to get a story done quickly but done well, so working well under pressure. And as news is 24 hours, seven days a week, you need to be prepared to work all hours.

What has your current job taught you about the industry?


The skills I mentioned in the previous question are the ones I’ve mostly adopted through my current job. But I think above all, you need to be passionate and love what you do.

What would you say to someone applying to work at your organisation?

Be prepared to work hard, know what’s going on in the world and flag up anything you think has been missed. Above all – enjoy it!

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Start by telling a story the same way you’d tell it to your grandmother. You get the simple, basic and most interesting points across first and then go into more detail as you go on.

Join us next week for a new look into the media industry – in the meantime, check out our other weekly interviews with digital media experts.

Free daily newsletter

If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).