ALICE WASS
Exploring Media

I felt excited for the first week of my placement year, working as a Broadcast Assistant at UCB, as I had so much enjoyed my previous work experience and training in radio. I feel like I have settled into this company and their values quickly, through my first week of induction and I have completed the necessary health and safety tests.

 

The first week has included a lot of shadowing and learning about the different roles within the company and how they all work together. I have been working mainly alongside the presenting team and enjoyed shadowing their early morning breakfast shows and their lunch time shows, where one presenter let me announce the competition winner live on national radio. One way UCB functions differently to other radio stations is that there are not producers for every show, meaning the presenters have to also be their own producers. Learning about how they balance the work was very interesting. In my opinion this allows the presenters to get the best of both worlds, having the opportunity to plan and develop their shows and also go live on air to deliver them. Whilst shadowing the presenters I was shown how their radio system works, including how to use Zetta and the sound desk. I was also taught and allowed to try using Adobe Audition to do some audio editing of previous interviews. Also I learnt about and helped with the planning phases of their shows.

 

During my first week I also spent time shadowing and learning about the Marketing team. This was important as they have a close relation to and strong effect on the radio team. This is because the Marketing team is in charge of branding and making sure the same voice and messages are being presented across all UCB platforms: radio, TV and print. Also as UCB is a charity the Marketing team help the presenters during times of appeals and fundraising to make sure they are getting the right messages across. I enjoyed spending time with the team and learning about their job roles. I found sitting with the Graphic Designer very interesting and helpful in my understanding of how important it is to get the right visuals for all their marketing materials.

 

The final thing that I have been learning during my first week is how to use the Testimonies database to input information. This involved being taught how to use a new system called Raisers Edge and I practised inputting information. This was an important part of my first week as this will be a continuing part of my job role over my year at UCB and therefore it is vital I learn and understand how their systems work.

 

Overall, I have had a wonderful first week and I am excited for the rest of the year. I know I have one more week of induction, but I am looking forward to start getting my own tasks to work on and I hope to become an asset to the company.