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.
My first radio package
It’s been a long-held dream of mine to work in radio, and to create my own radio packages from overseas was probably beyond what I thought was possible.
I’d tried - and failed - at pitching radio shows over the years. They'd like my ideas but to them I was just a random person, even though I've worked as a journalist for 15 years and write for BBC Online. But as soon as I walked into the BBC building in Manchester in June having started a freelance producer role, opportunities jumped out. Within an hour or two I was chatting to a BBC World Service editor who’d seen my Amsterdam circular economy piece online and asked for story ideas. I pitched him a day or two later. This BBC World Service package on one of my favourite subjects - sustainability (and travel, so make that two) - is the result.
The package, which broadcast about a week ago, featured on a programme called The Newsroom; it was supposed to feature on another show for starters but apparently this non-business programme nabbed it first, which my editor was super pleased about as it’s a “massive” programme). I'll be finding out more about the programme when I freelance at BBC World Service in Manchester over the next few months.
The three-plus minutes may sound easy but there were hours and hours of work involved as unbeknown to me at first, the reporter actually produces it too, injecting sound and editing it into shape (with final edits by the editor). A huge learning curve and hopefully just the start of this side of my radio career.
Here’s a link just in case you’d like to hear my radio voice.
Friday night in Amsterdam's Red Light District
It’s 10pm on Friday night and I’m in the Red Light District (RLD) working. No, not scantily-clad behind neon windows, but interviewing residents and business owners about the proposal to move the RLD out of the neighbourhood. As the hours roll by, the area becomes more boisterous. In some areas, where there’s lines of red-lit windows down narrow streets, it's overbearingly congested. Noisy. Drunken men leer at the women behind the glass. Some walk out like they’ve won a prize. Most, though, are just there to gawp. I go from business to business - coffee shops to bars to tattoo parlours and restaurants, looking for people to interview. I don’t know how many I go in over the hours but I soon understand how difficult reporting like this can be.
While you might come across vox pops (a series of short interviews, usually with members of the public) in a paper, on TV or on radio, what you don’t see are the attempts to get people to talk. Here in the RLD, most don’t want to chat. Either they don’t have authority from their boss, or it’s Friday, they’re busy. “It’ll only take one minute,” I almost plead after countless knockbacks. They shrug their shoulders and shake their head. I can’t help but think our whole conversation just took a minute. One more. Many are nervous and when they find out it’s for radio, they back out. I find a case study via a WhatsApp group, which then leads to a neighbour next door being open to being interviewed. We end up having a good chat. She wants to be off the record, though. At this stage, I can cope with it. I try more places. No, no, no.
I come across two friends sat drinking wine outside a fashion store. The woman is vocal and passionate about the RLD remaining where it is. She’s a good find. But when her friend starts his tirade, it’s littered with swear words. “Sorry, no swearing, like I said.” This angers him immensely. “Fucking hell, why can’t I swear?” Followed by more expletives. Sigh. I wonder if he can be edited. Coming up to 11pm, with enough interviews captured, I call it a night.
Beyond expectations: My first rodeo in radio
While I adore print and online and will continue to work in those fields, I’ve yearned to move into radio for years (so much so it even made an appearance on my one and only mood board in 2020). Last week, to my amazement, there I was up Salford, Manchester helping produce BBC Four’s prestigious Today programme and Radio 5’s Wake Up to Money. I absolutely loved getting stuck in, thrashing around ideas for the next day, finding and briefing guests, and learning first-hand how a radio show is produced. I was only in for two days for a test run but it made me realise how much I love being part of a team. I used to freelance in-house at magazines and at the Guardian but apart from volunteering at the food bank, winter shelters, and Crisis and so on, I haven’t worked as part of a team for years.
Like most people facing a new challenge, I’d had pangs of self-doubt before entering Quay House so I was taken aback when the editor told me how impressed they all were with me and that he’d already shared his thoughts about me with the two bigwigs above him. To have that level of feedback obviously made my heart sing, especially as I’d spent the last six weeks worrying about how it might go. At the end of my last day, he said they’d like to properly train me up.
After longing to move into the format for so long, I'm surprised by how quickly doors have opened. On the first day the editor asked where I lived. “Margate, and actually, kind of also Amsterdam now,” I replied. Ears pricked up behind me. “Did you write the piece “Can Amsterdam make the circular economy work?” asked the BBC World Service editor sat behind me. I nodded. “We were just discussing you yesterday. Would you be open to pitching me ideas?” This was exactly the situation I wanted to be in – reporting on the radio from overseas. I discussed some ideas. This is exactly the stuff we want, he said. We’ve been in touch since and I’m thrilled to say (and I'm still in full pinch-me mode) that he’s commissioned me my first audio piece for BBC World Service (well, as long as there's no tech issues).
While there's a huge learning curve ahead of me and as self-indulgent as all of this is, I wanted to share this as I thought it might help any readers who are faced with barriers when it comes to achieving their ambitions. I never thought this chance might happen, even though I knew I could definitely I'd give it a good shot if it ever came my way. Now, hopefully, I’m at the start of the journey and a new chapter in my career. Of course, it’s all new and anything could happen, but just to get a foot in somewhere I was starting to think was impossible feels like a huge milestone.
What this means for my current mode of semi living in Amsterdam I don’t know, although I’m hoping that the opportunities with BBC World Service means I can get my foot in the door and report from overseas in a different way and more than I currently do.
As for yourselves, obviously I’ve only worked there for a few days so far but it’s been super useful in making me understand how businesses and PRs can pitch radio producers. My learnings will come through in another post, or as part of my course/workshop soon. When I’m working regular shifts, I will let you know what kind of pitches I’m open to and how best to pitch.