Media Work

My first news job was as researcher on the UK's flagship daily news and current affairs show - BBC Radio 4's Today. The BBC presented a unique career opportunity to work across many interesting programmes and projects. I had work attachments with the central research unit - News Information, Equality Unit and the Millbank Political Research Unit.

My second assignment was as producer on Newsbeat, Radio One's news programme, a fast paced, bite-sized show. I wrote stories, edited bulletins, conducted interviews and voiced news packages. Newsbeat was as a great launch pad and introduced me to a load of digital technology, which was being introduced into the newsroom environment.

TV news was a different beast all together... Long nights (14 hour shifts), great stories, amazing contacts and the opportunity to develop things for the visual medium. I worked on Breakfast News, One, Six and Nine o'clock bulletins on BBC One. Ocassionally, I acted as Day Editor for Breakfast News, which often required nerves of steel.

While working in the newsroom, I started a post graduate degree at the University of Westminster. A few months after passing my MSc in Interactive Multimedia, I was employed as a 'Web Watcher', to help introduce Internet research skills to the newsroom. This led to working for Radio 4"s World at One and PM news programmes.

I then moved on to BBC News 24, the "rolling news" channel, where I worked as Media Manager, handling the news and content management system - Omnibus, as well as producing on several programmes.

My final and probably most formative stint at the BBC was with the 'News 24' Features Unit. It offered the flexibility to develop ideas outside the newsroom environment and to approach stories in a more versatile way. I trained to use digital video camera's, edit on several online computer systems and became a multi-skilled producer/director. Some of my favourite projects were filming and crewing on the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race and the Burning Man Festival in Nevada.