That One Time I Worked at a Radio Station

 Succeeding my time in print journalism, I moved on to radio journalism at Hope FM. As a community radio station, the team was significantly smaller and I found myself in the back office with one other student and the production manager. This environment felt more intimate than the newspaper and was definitely more vocal. For one, I was working in partnership with another Bournemouth University student so I was constantly communicating with her to share the workload and to make sure our broadcasts were ready to be conveyed on the hour.

Back office at Hope FM where I spent my time constructing the news stories to be broadcast.

As part of the Summer News Programme, it was essentially my job to source, write, produce and read the local news five times per day. The news bulletins had to be complete and ready to broadcast at 12.00pm, 1.00pm, 2.00pm, 3.00pm and 5.00pm. They also had to follow specific guidelines in order to fit into the show going out at the time and general news formalities. This meant the bulletins were not allowed to be more than 2 minutes long unless it was agreed otherwise and they had to include: 2 local ‘hard’ stories, 1 or 2 local human interest or sports stories and a minimum of 1 vox pop or sound bite where relevant. When there was time to spare, I was allowed to get involved in some of the shows and production work in order to make the most of my time there.

 Before arriving at Hope FM, I looked into the qualities I would need to demonstrate throughout my week there. Anne McNaught, Producer at BBC Scotland, stated that when working in radio journalism you need to be confident. The level of confidence someone displays can alter the outcome of a broadcast and provide an easier experience for the listener. What's more she noted that "regardless of the story, radio producers need engaging, fluent speakers on air. So rehearse your material thoroughly." With only little time to produce new content for each news bulletin, it was important to practice the script as much as possible before going on air. By rehearsing the material thoroughly, it also meant I was more confident in conveying my broadcast.
 

 I soon fell into a routine which saw me researching local news and writing up my own pieces before combining the stories for the final script. Fortunately, I had individual access to my own computer which allowed us to split the work evenly and work more efficiently to get the work done. I was responsible for telephoning appropriate sources, such as Bournemouth and Poole Council, in order to gain suitable sound bites. We left the studio on multiple occasions so we could incorporate vox pops into our bulletins and interact directly with the public.

 My time management at the radio station was vital as all my work was presented live. If the scripts were not given time and effort, mistakes were likely to be made on air. Unlike anything I have ever done before, my time at this placement is not one I’ll forget in a hurry!