Robyn Walford
This weekend, Impact Magazine hosted their annual media conference and whilst things looked a little different to normal, it was still a huge success. Over the course of the two days, there were a number of webinars offering top tips and insight into the diverse range of media platforms.
The weekend kicked off with an introduction talk with speakers who began their careers by participating in The University of Nottingham’s media outlets – URN, NSTV and Impact.
It is just as important to figure out what you don’t like as it is to figure out what you love doing
Emily Casey spoke to Giles Gear (Programme Manager for Union JACK radio), Sophia Hazari (Transmission Lead at Discovery) and Emma Heasman (Trading Strategy and Implementation Manager at Cancer Research UK) as they discussed their career paths following University.
Although Emma was not directly involved within the media industry, her role as Editor in Chief at Impact Magazine helped as the wider implications of the role, such as marketing and increasing brand awareness, allowed her to figure out that editing and writing wasn’t her main interest. She stressed that it is just as important to figure out what you don’t like as it is to figure out what you love doing!
The three speakers stressed the importance of the skills you can learn through these media outlets and the need to focus heavily on your contribution to media outlets when you go to interview.
Top tips of the hour:
- Show off your skills – be sure to take copies of your work to interviews.
- Get on the committee of your chosen media outlet at UoN if you get the chance, it’ll teach you so much about the industry.
- Don’t try and emulate presenters on Radio One. Be bold and do your own thing.
The way to improve is through practice and gaining experience in any way you can
The second webinar focused on Radio broadcasting. Panellists included ex-UoN students Annabel Rackham (BBC Radio One Newsbeat) and Jack Maclaren (Producer at LBC), as well as Sarah Julian (BBC Radio Nottingham) and Basak Erten (Presenter and presenter for the Beat London.)
The discussion focused around the importance of building your own voice and style, highlighting that the way to improve is through practice and gaining experience in any way you can. There were also key discussions about the changing landscape of the media industry with there being a big push towards online media and podcasts.
Impact’s Media Conference radio talk with Jack Maclaren, Annabel Rackham, Basak Erten and Sarah Julian.
Top Tips for the hour:
- Take lots of opportunities to know where you fit in at the beginning of your career. The road is pretty choppy.
- Try to study outside of London if you are doing a postgraduate course as there will be more opportunities.
- Create content that you are passionate about and share this.
Robyn Walford
Images courtesy of Lauren McGaun. No changes were made to these images.
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