A glimpse into the day of a radio producer
I’m writing this after a couple of weeks up in Salford. You all know how much I adore this (relatively new-ish) part of my career so I thought I’d give you a little insight into what goes on when I’m working at Quay House in MediaCity.
7am: Rise and shine. Although the programmes I mainly work on (Radio 4 Today and Radio 5 Wake Up to Money) start bright and early (5am and 6am respectively), I do not. There are early shifts available – starting at 4am, with a car picking you up even earlier, but I’ve politely declined those shifts so far. Though I hope to visit the studio at that time one day soon, with my intermittent insomnia, I know I’d arriving in a zombie-like state if I started that early. And so my morning starts at about 7am, with the shows running in the background while I have breakfast and get ready. There's always an element of nerves here – wondering will the guest turn up, will they sound ok on the radio – but generally it all goes to plan. Saying that, one recent guest failed to show up after leaving 'do not disturb' on their phone, meaning their alarm didn't go off and they didn't pick up when the team called. Oops.
8.45am - 9am: I'll arrive in the office and have a catch up with colleagues and quickly discuss how the shows were. I always make a round of hot drinks (and then throughout the day - I must consume about 12 cups of green tea), before reading the news across titles such as the Financial Times, Reuters, Guardian Business, and a handful of trade titles.
9.30am: Morning meeting. We’ll briefly dissect the morning shows before discussing what’s on the agenda for the next day. Here we'll chat through the backgrounds and stories of any already booked guests, any pre-recorded interviews the team have already have organised, and then discuss our story ideas.
10am: Post-meeting we’ll all assigned a story to work on. Recent pieces I've worked include a report on rising ‘priority debt’ – such as council tax, rent arrears and energy bills – and poor customer service with HMRC. For stories like these, I’ll scout out who might be best to speak to and put in bids (interview requests) with various organisations or individuals. For the tax one, I remembered a brilliant tax lawyer and barrister I'd worked with for a digital nomad piece for the Guardian. I may also fire out some #journorequests and scout around on the BBC contacts system to see who has been featured on the BBC before. If they come back yes and we’re still going ahead with the story, I’ll interview the person myself. This is called a briefing. For this, I’ll check they’re a suitable guest, prep them for the interview the next day, and try and draw out any interesting points that might be good for the presenter to focus on. There’s also organising the logistics of the interview for the next day. I’ll write up the notes and script for the presenter with background information about the sector.
1pm: Lunch. I’ll be honest, I hardly ever step outside the building. I’m terrible. Forget about vitamin D. Usually I catch up with some freelance work or with a colleague. The canteen is fantastic, with a decent selection of plant-based food. I usually opt for one of the colourful salads or soup. The hot meals are delicious and if I’m not heading out in Manchester that evening, I’ll have some kind of Mexican feast but need to be careful as I'll often feel like I want to just lie down rather than head back to the desk. (Just where are the napping stations?).
2pm: Colleagues on the late shift come in, and we'll have a team meeting to discuss the latest developments with our stories and any other stories that have emerged.
3pm-5pm: This really depends on where I am with the first story, but usually in the afternoon I'm juggling a couple of stories and am writing questions, researching another story, or interviewing another guest. There could also be a pre-record so where I interview the person in the studio over the phone or Zoom and this will be added to the programme. This also involves editing the audio and tightening up the interview so it's only two minutes. There might also be the chance for the journalist to create a quick package explaining something coming up on the show, or we might brief the economist or the whole programmes guest and fill them in on the news the presenter will want to discuss the next day.
6pm: I usually leave by about 6pm. It could be that I head upstairs to crack on with freelance work, or if the weather is good, I might walk into Manchester and have dinner with someone. Last week my pal from uni joined me for Burmese and Korean food in a buzzy foodhall near to MediaCity.
What Not To Do In A Media Interview
Photo by Austin Distel
Hi everyone,
I hope you're having a great week.
A while back I was interviewing a CEO for a profile interview slot. Let's say the person was the boss of a savings app. Towards the end of the interview, I asked her what her ultimate savings goal was. A very simple question. "Erm, erm,” she stuttered. “Well, nothing really. Maybe a holiday.” I pressed further but she was stumped. It was a dry answer to what overall had been quite a dry interview. There was no excitement at all.
Tip: It might be difficult to inject a sparkling personality into your clients, but please try and ask them to sound enthusiastic.
I'm bringing this up as I'm pleased to say that next month media trainer, podcaster and speaker Guy Clapperton will be joining me for a webinar on media training. During the session on July 16, Guy will explore:
how to deliver clear and engaging messages whether you're on TV, radio, a podcast or being interviewed for a print article
what kind of preparation you should do before an interview
how to talk about statistics in an interesting way
You'll also have the opportunity to ask Guy any burning questions (feel free to email me any questions below and we can include it in the session).
The webinar is aimed at both those who are new to speaking to the media, and those wanting to brush up on their interview techniques, whilst hearing first-hand about what works for a journalist. It's open to founders and PRs (and your clients) so feel free to swing them the link.
Those attending will also receive a special discount when booking any future media training workshops with Guy.
The webinar will be recorded so even if you can't make it live, you'll be able to watch it again at your own leisure whenever you like.
Tickets are just £19.99 – which is an absolute steal for media training.
For more info and to book, head here (do send on the link to anyone you think might be interested). The session is just £15 for paid newsletter subscribers (simply email me if you'd like to jump on board).
I'd be grateful if you could mention it on any social media sites groups you're on!
Thanks
Susie