THESE are the finalists in this year's search by the Evening Press to find new journalistic talent.

This magnificent seven were being put through a series of exercises, including ones to test their spelling, their local general knowledge, their ability to go out and find a story on the streets of York, and their speed at unravelling the intricacies of a mock press conference following a fictitious crime in Rowntree Park, York.

They were all taking part in a selection exercise for the Evening Press Write Stuff competition, which has as its exceptional first prize the opportunity to take up a job as a trainee reporter with the paper.

The finalists will be whittled down to a shortlist and the winner offered a place on a Newsquest training course before joining our newsroom.

Assistant editor Bill Hearld said: "Our finalists this year were of a very high calibre and showed some real journalistic skills, even at this early stage.

"We are looking for someone who is the right stuff to be a journalist - someone with aptitude, enthusiasm and local knowledge, and we have a very good field to choose from."

Updated: 08:50 Wednesday, June 18, 2003