Politics North, BBC Newcastle

In February 2022, I joined the team at BBC Newcastle assisting with the production of their Politics North programme. I’m responsible for the meet & greet and general management of guests, assisting with floor management and other production duties. (Not to mention the very important job of taking a picture for Richard to use on Twitter!)

AS SEEN ON TV

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Following previous success (see below) in producing a piece for Politics North, I was commissioned to lead another film looking at the evolving situation of swimming pool closures in Gateshead.

I particularly relished the challenge of explaining a complex process like community asset transfer in a specialist way for a non-specialist audience, and am particularly proud of my piece to camera here I explained it.

I was very keen to make this film visually attractive and played an important role in directing crew to help me get the best shots I could to show off the facilities I was visiting.

In December I was delighted to produce my first piece for the BBC. Featured on both Politics North and Look North, I spoke to students trying to make ends meet during the cost of living crisis and heard from many in the higher education sector call for more action from the government to help struggling students.

In addition to the piece, I also secured an additional contributor to join us on the sofa as a studio guest for the proceeding discussion off the back of the piece, who of course I was also responsible for managing when on set as part of my usual responsibilities as part of the Politics North team.

I was thrilled to have this opportunity and, having taken the story from the initial research and pitch through to completion, was delighted with the outcome.

What I’ve got out of my time at Politics North

How I've developed

I was so excited to land this role; one thing that I love about it is that I’ve had time to explore and network with colleagues. I’ve been able to learn about a whole range of disciplines that collaborate to produce a single TV show. I’ve been shown how to work cameras and autocues, and have sat in on edits and seen how packages are produced both from a technical standpoint and an editorial one. I’ve also been able to receive some invaluable anecdotal advice from BBC journalists on how to pursue a career in journalism.
I’ve also loved getting to know, and therefore building a network with, some of the guests that joined us for the show. I know maintaining contacts is a key skill as a journalist and I’ve already been able to make use of this network for my own projects.
What I've found challenging

Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects is the age-old issue of trying to get guests to do what you need them to do without compromising their positive experience on the show. The BBC must have a consistent and high-quality output, but to do so, we also rely on guests joining us week-in, week-out. So it’s essential to make guests feel welcome and ensure the experience for them is as pleasant as possible.
This is particularly difficult when trying to maintain covid-security on-site. The BBC’s rules are suitably strict, however, it’s difficult to give guests a warm welcome when wearing a facemask and asking them to check their temperature. To overcome this I’m simply making sure I’m ready to make good conversation with guests, ensuring I’ve at least checked their Twitter account to see what they’ve been up to and have thought about easy topics to chat about while the team get ready to welcome them into the studio.
My fondest memory

This one is amusing at my own expense, it was my first week in the role, having had 2 weeks of transition with my predecessor. One role I have is to apply any additional makeup to combat the glare of studio lights. I should admit, as a 22 year old male I’ve not had a plethora of experience handling make-up.
One high-profile regional politician was in need of powder applying to top of his head, (not the most flattering request I’ve ever had to make), however being unsure of how to use the powder I put way too much on the cotton pad, and spilled powder down the guest’s suit. A minor, but nonetheless mortifying accident.
It was very easily rectified with a quick brush down by the guest, but in my first week with 2 other guests, it’s sealed into my memory as “that time I threw makeup over [this person] in front of [the other guests].”