Darcey Haynes and Zoe Thompson tell us about the inspiring placements they did as part of their degree.
Darcey Beth Haynes – BBC South East Today
“As an aspiring broadcast journalist within the field of political correspondence this experience was invaluable. The placement reinforced what we have learnt within our degree, – the running of a media newsroom was reflected accurately on the course and, because of this, I felt really well prepared.
“During the two-week placement, I was fully immersed in the production and running of the newsroom. Each day was different, which, though challenging, encouraged me to rely on my initiative. I spent two days “in the field” with broadcast journalists, set up many of their interviews and watched them perform their live pieces to camera. I spent a lot of time on the planning desk, and have learnt new means to source stories – which I won’t be sharing as a journalist never reveals their sources!
“I sat in the gallery to watch the Six Thirty News live broadcast every day which was exhilarating experience. I was so impressed with the ease in which producers resolved running order problems and other last-minute issues while keeping a cool head. It was incredible to watch and a skill that I aspire to gain.
“I spent a morning at BBC Radio Kent. This was wonderful as radio is a passion of mine and I have my own show on the university station. I was surprised to meet so many young people working for the BBC and it has given me hope that my goals are achievable. Two radio employees I met have offered me opportunity for freelance work with them next year, which is overwhelmingly exciting!
“Being immersed in the fast-paced, demanding world of news production was at times challenging, but positively reinforced my confidence in my journalistic abilities and confirmed my belief that this is what I want to do. I have learnt that there is no one path to reach my goals and I’m thankful for the opportunity – it has been invaluable in terms of networking.”
Zoe Thompson – Juice FM
“My placement was three weeks at Juice FM 107.2 in Brighton. I chose Juice because I wanted to experience working in commercial radio – I have also done work experience at the BBC, hospital and student radio.
“When I arrived, I met who was my line manager at Juice who assigned me an ongoing project for the three weeks. I would be creatings sweepers and jingles for their 00s/90s show, making three jingles for every year between 1991-2009 using voxpops I collected.
Some of them were generic, others more Brighton-relevant. I had a fantastic time on my placement and was so grateful for the opportunity. It wasn’t easy but I have quite a bit of experience in radio and working on solo projects for radio so it was a nice challenge for me.
“In his feedback, Alex said he offered me the placement because he knew of my experience and my capabilities – and I think that was what I enjoyed the most, doing something new that I had never done before. This meant I learnt a lot from my placement.”
Visit the Multimedia Broadcast Journalism BA(Hons) course page.
