Star Journalism Role for College Alumni

East Sussex College Creative Media Alumni, Mollie Quirk, has landed a contract with the Daily Mirror as US Entertainment Reporter following her previous role at the Daily Star.

Mollie studied Level 3 Creative Media at East Sussex College’s Eastbourne campus between 2014 and 2017. During her time at the College she helped lead the student-run Tag Magazine as an editor and produced many examples of exceptional work that made clear she would reach the heights of the industry.

Following her studies at the College, Mollie has gone on to be a huge success in the journalism industry with roles in national newspaper outlets and has now embarked on a journey writing about US showbiz for the Daily Mirror.

Speaking to the College about her new role with the Daily Mirror, Mollie said, “I am so excited, and very much enjoying it so far. I'm a US Showbiz reporter for the paper (online), and it's incredibly fun. The US team is quite small at the moment as it's only just starting, but it's an honour to be part of such an exciting new project that will likely grow and develop into something huge.”

Mollie’s new role is the next step in what has already been an exciting journey in the industry since leaving ESC in 2017.

“I left college in spring 2017 after completing the Tag Magazine project and being an executive editor for the annual publication,” said Mollie. “This project was so fun to work on and definitely primed me for a career in journalism. After obtaining a D*D*D* (the highest possible grade), I received an unconditional offer from Uni of Brighton for their Journalism degree. I had originally wanted to go into fashion journalism, and this was my aim throughout uni, but things changed after the pandemic and I believe they changed for the better

“I started freelancing in journalism in November 2020, while finishing a module of my degree which was impacted by the pandemic, and I haven't stopped since. My first commission was a personal essay for Metro, with my second being for Stylist and my third for The Telegraph. It wasn't long before I was writing for Cosmopolitan and shifting at GLAMOUR Magazine, Daily Mirror, Cosmo, Metro and more. Having ticked off many of my goals and aims in a matter of months, I had now finished uni, graduated with a First-Class Honours degree in Journalism and was looking for more stability. I was super lucky and ended landing shifts with Daily Star Online, on the showbiz desk, which is where I remained freelancing from June 2021 until July 2022 when I was taken on permanently.”

Mollie added, “Writing about showbiz and working with the Daily Star showbiz team was all a dream and to have done so for almost two years is the biggest honour. I have learnt so much about the industry from Daily Star and although I never thought I'd be a tabloid journalist, I couldn't be happier or more proud of how my career turned out. I then got the opportunity (only three weeks ago!!) to go on a placement at Mirror (where I had already freelanced before) on their showbiz desk, but as part of the all-new US team.

“Having been there for around a week now, I can say it's incredible to be a part of something that's flourishing into something big and successful - because honestly, I believe it will be! Writing about US showbiz and TV news is very different to the patch I covered previously, but I love a challenge and I'm always open to trying something new, testing myself and being a part of something new.”

Mollie described studying at college as her favourite experience in education! When asked about how she found support at ESC, Mollie said, “Invaluable! Out of all of my education, college was by far my favourite experience for sure. I honestly had the best time ever. Saffron, Jon, Ian, Martin and Marcus (who were my tutors at the time) all taught me valuable lessons that I still remember and incorporate into my work today. I never felt more supported in education than how I did at ESC and I never learned as much as I did in an educational establishment than what I did on this course.

“From TV producing to directing my own film (which was shown at the now sadly closed-down Curzon cinema), to designing our own magazine spreads, writing articles, producing radio shows and so much more. I've kept in touch with some of my tutors and honestly class them as friends, and have had them help me with things even after leaving college.”

Mollie added, “I wouldn't have gotten into university to study Journalism without it. I had hands-on experience by doing the Level 3 BTEC diploma and feel as though I worked hard throughout, all while having fun. Doing a BTEC with ESC was the best decision I ever made. I know people who did the same courses at different colleges and they didn't do half of what my classmates and I did at ESC. Even when I attended university, I found it a little bland in comparison because I had more hands-on experience at college and felt as though I knew more about certain areas of media production off the back of my diploma. I honestly credit my career to this course, and probably will for years to come.”

The Creative Industries department at East Sussex College said, “Congratulations to our former Tag Mag editor and journalism student Mollie Quirk. She's just landed a contract as US Entertainment Reporter for the Daily Mirror! Mollie told us from day one that she would become a successful journalist in London!

“We still have her very first journalism file which Mollie allowed us to keep to show current students how to annotate research properly!”

If you’re interested in following in Mollie’s footsteps and excelling in journalism or media, please click here to find all relevant courses on offer at East Sussex College.

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