Forum news
Archive - March
Tuesday 23rd March, 2010
Talent Match - Andrew's work experience at Sky
By Admin
We got in touch with the amazing talent resourcing team at British Sky Broadcasting and sent Andrew Bontiff, Edge Learner Forum member and Sport Journalism student, to British Sky Broadcasting for a 3 day work experience placement in February. Andrew talks us through what he learned from his experiences:
Hi my name is Andrew Bontiff and thanks to the Edge Learner Forum I completed a work experience placement at Sky News/Sports News.
My three days spent there was superb and extremely inspiring. Since finishing the placement I have had a real buzz and have just been eager to better myself and continue the positive energy I absorbed there.
The whole experience was fantastic, while all the staff were friendly and welcoming. Always willing to offer advice and share how they got into the industry.
I found that the placement was really beneficial and was what I call a ‘perfect match’. I am huge sports fan with currently studying Sports Journalism at the University of East London. Following my previous work experience placements at the BBC and with Channel 4, I always hoped I’ll on day get the chance to possibly go to Sky Sports and further my career, however never thought the opportunity would come so soon. This just shows that any aspirations we all have are achievable and are in reach. To be given the opportunity to shadow around and learn from industry specialist was just amazing and I will carry on using this experience as something to aspire to and hopefully one day I’ll be there again.
On my first day, throughout the hour and a half journey on the tube I was just packed with thrills along with the odd butterflies in my stomach. The nerves were soon dashed away when I finally stepped foot in the building and started recognising some of the faces you’ll usually see on the telly. That was when it sunk in and I realised that I was finally there and I was not going to let the occasion faze me.
After a brief tour around the Sky News studios I was soon in full swing, asked to get involved in the action. My first duty was to read the presenters script, followed by learning how to use the editing equipment. Working in the news room for a 24-hour programme means responding to any breaking news and delivering in out to the audience. My journalistic skills were soon put to the test when I was asked to write an article. Never did I realise it was actually for it to be published online. My initial thought was that it was just a task for me to undergo and a chance for them to see how I work. What a start that was. Already I was feeling like a part of the team. That was the highlight of my day and probably the whole placement. It would take something really special to take that away from me.
However I did get to sit on the desk next to presenters Ian Payne and Georgie Thompson, two of the household names of the channel, whilst they were live on-air, albeit off-screen. It felt so wired seeing them correspond to the whole nation with me just a whisker away. I had pair of headphones which was wired up to the show’s producers who were signalling information to the two presenters. If you ever thought being a presenter was nice and easy, think again. The job is much hard than it looks and they deserve full credit for responding to all pieces of information they are receiving and at the same time reading the auto-cue camera.
Other duties entailed working with the runner, searching for footage in the sports library, which would then be edited ready to use for the show. Much better than making cups of tea!
For all the fun and excitement working at Sky Sports News, I quickly observed how much of a demanding place it is to work there. I also felt as if I could have possibly expressed myself more over the three days but found it difficult as I was with a new team each day. Due to the timetable and rota of the staff at the impressive Sky Sports News complex I had to almost start all over again and introduce myself to people and get to grips with what roles they had at the company.
I fully acknowledge that there are some people who will look up to me and would jump at the chance to do the same things so therefore it is vital to take these opportunities with both hands when it comes and just enjoy it. Now I’ve had a taste of the action, it has only spurred me on to come back here one day. I can definitely see myself working here in some capacity in the future. This has given me much high confidence which can only benefit me.
My advice to anyone wanting to work in the media industry is to never lose faith and always be on the lookout for placement opportunities. Never be put off by the name of the company and feel that you’re not good enough to work there. If you have a passion for something then keep at it and the chance will come.
The unfortunate problem for young people is that we are often portrayed in a negative way. There appears to be a lot of focus on the youth doing the wrong things, when there are many of us who have dreams and always strive for success, doing the right things in life.
I without doubt would recommend this placement to anybody who would like to gain some experience in the sports media/journalism industry.
I am ever so grateful for all those at the Edge Learner Forum, who made this possible and would like to wish everyone involved all the best.
Andrew Bontiff
Talent Match – Making work experience work for YOU! If you, like Andrew, want to get your foot in the door and gain some work experience in a particular field, drop Lauren a line at: lauren@shm-ltd.co.uk explaining what your dream placement is, why you’d be suited to it and she’ll do her best to make it happen (see the homepage for more details).
Thursday 11th March, 2010
Feb 2010 Forum Meetings
By Admin
Nottingham Learner forum have two new leaders, Danniebelle who is the Forum Leader and Mandy who is the co-ordinator.
We also have a new venue at The Stone Soup Project, where we will be meeting for two whole days within the half term and end of term breaks.
The first meeting for 2010 was on 17th Feb when we met with the elders to discuss the responsibilities and projects for this year. Aaron, Leanne and Charlotte were keen to take on lead roles and to work with the younger members on the set projects.
On 18th Feb we met with all the members and discussed the projects for the year and who wanted to be involved in which project. Certain members are going to look at the face to face surveys, getting new members (full and associate) and role models. They will report back on any ideas they have at the next Forum meeting March with a view to getting started.
We have three members who will attend the Steering Group meetings and national events. These three also want to get involved in Edge Instead.
We discussed the Youth Commission on-line survey and will revisit this at the next full meeting.
We also discussed having t-shirts, caps and bags printed, with the Edge logo on. Mandy is looking into this.
We plan to meet with the elders before the next full Forum meeting so they can help with the planning of the meetings and to recap on the projects.