Tuesday 14 January 2014

TheBlindJournalist: You & Yours Review

On Friday January 10 2014, I went to MediaCityUK in Salford to spend a day with the team at BBC Radio 4's consumer program You $ Yours. This blog post will be a reflection on my thoughts, feelings and expectations before I went and then my feelings looking back on the day.

Deborah Robinson who is a senior lecturer in broadcast journalism at UCLan, arranged for me to go and spend a day with blind radio presenter Peter White and the rest of the team at You & Yours. As a fan and regular listener of the program I was very excited to have the opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes to produce the live program. However, going on the day which Peter White was presenting was a ture honor. Peter White is totally blind and has worked in broadcast for decades. Peter is my role model and a huge inspiration, this is why I was so honored and humbled to have the opportunity to not only meet him but witness him doing what he does best.

Before I went, I was apprehensive simply because I was going to spend a day with highly skilled individuals who would be working and I didn't want to be in the way. As well as being very excited to meet Peter I was also nervous as I wanted to ensure I didn't embarrass myself or ask silly questions. I also felt a level of authority as I was not only representing myself but Deborah too so I felt I needed to make sure I was professional, and respectable. Although i had these anxieties before going, on the day I wasn't nervous at all. Waking up at 5.30am was a shock to the system but it was worth it! I loved every second of the day. I was genuinely taken aback by the level of professionalism at all of the team in the manner of which they went about doing their jobs. Peter was a delight to meet. He was very kind and welcoming and made me feel very comfortable. It was really nice to meet him and see him work his magic. Chas Watkin who is the director of the program was also a great individual to meet. I had many questions to ask and it was great to have them answered by the best people to answer them. The manner in which each member of the You & Yours team was extremely sufficient and as a spectator I would've thought to produce a live program, it would be a frantic rush before going live, but I couldn't be more wrong. Meeting Peter and seeing him work has only increased my admiration and inspiration to achieve the heights he has reached.

I really want to work in radio after Friday's experience and I am determined to achieve this goal.