ALICE WASS
Exploring Media

Gareth Owen is the Lead Correspondent for ITV Midlands News. This role has dramatically changed over time, becoming much more demanding. Previously there was a male lead who was on screen all the time, given loads of resources and lead stories, and key lines. Now, the role is much more varied and involves a lot of multiskilling. Lead Correspondents are expected to self-shoot and self-edit most of the material they use, whenever they are not doing live broadcasts, they have to be a Presenter, News Editor, Producer, Programme Editor, Reporter and manage off-screen projects.

 

Gareth explained how he got into ITV. He studied History at Cardiff University and after graduating wondered what to do next. He started a radio show, which he loved doing and wanted to turn this into a career. The station let him switch to reading the News and he worked 18 hour days managing the shows. Gareth felt he lacked specialised qualifications, so applied for a bursary to train at ITV. After 6 months training Gareth never left. I am also part of a team running a university radio show. Like Gareth I love doing the show but feel I need to be more specialised to enter that industry. I am weighing up whether I would prefer to work in radio or TV. Gareth’s move from radio to TV suggests that it is a career move I could consider later. At ITV Gareth started as a journalist and has continued moving up the ladder.

 

Gareth explained the are two routes into media. The first is specialism, which is when an individual becomes hyper niche. This is high risk but there can be high rewards. It requires learning the specialist knowledge and starting building up a brand online, to increase the chance of success. Gareth stated he did not have the nerve for this and I feel this career route that would not suit me either, as I prefer trying out various different things. Maybe I could specialise later in my career, but not at the start.

 

The other route into media is multiskilling. This is when an individual tries out multiple roles, not just one specialism. This requires developing many technical skills and having awareness of all areas of production. This is the route I am currently working on and I have developed skills in: filming, video and photo editing, social media and radio production. I hope to continue improving my current skills and developing more skills. Gareth explained that multiskilling requires keeping up with technological developments. Technology has made journalism cheaper allowing companies to try out new areas, however, this resulted in many journalism jobs disappearing and the industry is still in flux.

 

This talk was my favourite so far and taught me much about the TV industry. Although I do not want to become a journalist, several skills the TV industry requires, I am already developing. I will continue to develop my multiskilling and find opportunities to practice and add to my portfolio to showcase the skills I have.