An inspirational West Leeds Dispatch contributor has been awarded a Journalism Diversity Fund bursary to support his postgraduate journalism training.
Harry Ward, who is registered as blind, has been awarded a National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Journalism Diversity Fund bursary to support his MA Journalism training at Leeds Trinity University in Horsforth.
He has ambitions to work in regional television and radio.
The 22-year-old, who has already worked across local and regional journalism, will begin the course later this month.
Harry currently works across Yorkshire, with experience reporting for the Yorkshire Post, West Leeds Dispatch and Yorkshire Live. His work has included courts, local government, education, disability and transport, with a particular interest in public-interest stories and the issues affecting communities across Yorkshire.
He is currently receiving regular shorthand lessons from West Leeds Dispatch editor John Baron ahead of his MA starting at Trinity’s Brownberrie Lane campus.
Harry’s interest in journalism began in 2011, shortly after he was diagnosed with autism, when he watched a Louis Theroux documentary about the condition.
“Watching that documentary showed me how factual, ethical storytelling could inform, challenge and console,” he said.
“I realised that was something I wanted to do for other people. Journalism, to me, is about making the complex understandable and the unseen visible.”
Harry has since developed a particular interest in accessibility and the way the media represents issues affecting disabled and under-represented audiences.
His own experience has informed that work, but he says his focus is ultimately on getting stories right.
“I’ve always had to ask different or difficult questions to make things work for me, and I think that has made me particularly interested in asking those questions in journalism too,” Harry said.
“I want to make sure that people who are often overlooked are properly represented, but also that the journalism itself is good. The two things should go together.”
The bursary has helped cover his accommodation while he undertakes the MA and NCTJ exams, as well as giving him greater scope to pursue reporting opportunities and develop his keen interest in court reporting.
Harry says the award is an important step towards his longer-term ambition of working in regional television journalism.
“It was brilliant to know that I’d been selected,” Ward said. “It shows that the journalism industry is really committed to supporting disabled journalists right through training and a career. It was a real ‘YES!’ moment for me.”
WLD Editor John Baron congratulated Harry on his bursary.
“Harry is a constant source of inspiration with his tenacity and professionalism,” John said. “It’s been a please to see him develop as one of our community reporters become an invaluable member of the WLD team and I wish him well for his future studies.”
As part of his development within the industry, Harry has also been invited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists to attend the 2026 Inclusion in Journalism Conference at Sky News in London on 6 November.
He says he is looking forward to meeting journalists and industry figures from across the country and hearing how news organisations are approaching inclusion within the profession.
You can read Harry’s articles for West Leeds Dispatch here.
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Fantastic news, Harry. So well-deserved. Congratulations!