2
The popularity of broadcast journalism as a career remains undiminished despite the growth of Internet services and online news. Almost every halfway literate youngster, it seems, wants to be in ‘the media’. If that’s not being a part of the web, then it means television and ideally on screen. Television is seen as a glamorous occupation, with the dual prospect of fame and salaries in telephone numbers for an increasingly youthful band of personalities. Even many of those who start in radio and come to like the sound of their own voice develop a hankering for the visual medium, and to ‘graduate’ from the older discipline to the newer is seen as a natural career progression. To say television simply is more influential is not to downgrade the importance of radio, which has its own continuing attraction as a pure and spontaneous medium for information.
Not that an increase in the competition ‘out there’ is the only factor to bear in mind in any effort to succeed. Getting started in television for the beginner remains as hard as ever, despite the swing of the pendulum in the industry which means that some services contract as others expand. There was a flurry of opportunity in the late 1990s with the launch of Channel 5 and the BBC’s 24-hour domestic television news service, News 24. Sky News was always there and always alert as a UK and international competitor to the BBC, CNN and ITN. There were also jobs at Bloomberg Television which established itself as a growing force in television. Agencies such as Reuters, and companies like GMTV, also remained fertile places for journalists to gain regular work. On the other hand there were takeovers within the terrestrial commercial television companies and plenty of local cable news services came and went within a short period. This led to some rationalization and a continuing trend towards casual shift work for journalists. Freelance working and short-term engagements – i.e. contracts of 364 days or below – became the norm.
The outcome is a limited market at entry level and a premium on experience. Those coming into television are frequently people with backgrounds in other forms of journalism. They already have the basic skills to offer and need only to be introduced to the intricacies of television before they can be contributing to programme output.
What qualities for the beginner?
Those undeterred by this scenario and still intent on making their way in a difficult, precarious, notoriously unsocial (and not always well-paid) occupation should first of all be aware of the qualities they need if they are to have any chance of getting beyond the front door.
Broadcast journalism is not an exclusively graduate occupation, but it does still help. That is because the completion of a degree course suggests the possession of an ordered mind and a developed intellect. (A good school record plus a few years on a local newspaper, with some good cuttings to show for it, counts for just as much, though.) When it comes to higher education, the question of the subject then arises. Any specialist course of study which includes the word ‘broadcast’, ‘journalism’, ‘communications’, or ‘media’ in the title seems to attract sufficient numbers of students to make it viable. Some, though promising, are more abstract than practical in nature. In general, students should make a judgement of a degree course on the level of practical skills included. You will be of more interest to a first employer if you know how to use a microphone. It is of little use if your degree was dominated by a study on the social implications of docu-soaps.
The often-expressed concern of employers is that some courses are more concerned with the theory and sociology of broadcast journalism rather than with the practicalities. The result is that some students come away with ideas which, though laudable in their way, are irrelevant to the grind of daily news programming. Employers considering the academic background of novices are inclined to give as much weight to the proven educational virtues of economics, politics, history, geography and – increasingly – science and a language, or indeed of any subject likely to be of practical use to a journalist. First-class honours are no guarantee of employment.
An insatiable interest in news and current events
Proving tenacity and curiousity are all. The burning desire to ‘find out’ what is going on and to tell as many people about it as possible is something the journalist never loses. Deep knowledge of and interest in one specialist subject is helpful, but at this stage not nearly enough. What potential employers are looking for is a good all-round awareness of current events, domestic and foreign. A passion for wanting to know what’s going on and why will really impress an employer. Healthy scepticism is another virtue in every journalist, but while it is all very well to have strong political opinions and a highly developed social conscience, remember that as a television journalist doing a professional job you will have a duty to be impartial.
Michael Buerk, one of Britain’s leading television journalists, is on record as being quite clear about it: ‘There is a difference between being a reporter and a campaigner.’1
Evidence of a commitment to journalism
Some evidence of a genuine commitment to journalism is essential. Contributions to school or college magazines, involvement in college, hospital or community broadcasting, voluntary or otherwise, would be regarded as the minimum indication of real interest. But the experience does need to be relevant. A couple of terms reviewing plays or being a disc jockey are not likely to suggest a lifetime’s ambition to become an investigative journalist.
Journalists come in both sexes, all ages, shapes and sizes, and with many different temperaments. But whether you are inherently outward-going and happiest in company or a quiet loner, you are, in television, inescapably a small part of a machine. Any television news or current affairs broadcast represents the fusion of highly developed production and technical as well as editorial skills, and unless you have the ability to recognize the importance of teamwork, any other admirable qualities you might possess will not be enough.
Not every broadcast journalist finds him or herself in front of the microphone or camera, and many organizations have established clear dividing lines between journalists who ‘perform’ (reporters, correspondents and presenters) and those who do not (editors, producers and writers). That is definitely changing, and although not being a broadcaster need be no bar to success in ‘backroom’ and managerial jobs, there is no doubt that an acceptable voice and appearance will improve opportunity.
The ability to operate a keyboard and mouse will be taken for granted. Journalists are increasingly being expected to train in the operation of other equipment, including sound and vision desktop editing and digital portable cameras. Any technophobia is likely to be a drawback. Possession of a full, clean driving licence is assumed (but see the section ‘Catering for special needs’ later in this chapter).
Finally, you must be able to write. That’s why you want to do the job! You might have great personal style, a great voice and loads of personal charm, but if you cannot write – you’ll be rumbled within a week! Signs of natural ability are easy enough to spot, but what employers want is an indication of a journalistic approach, and they will not be convinced by examples of notes, journals or academic papers.
The first piece of advice for any would-be broadcast journalist is to have an idea of what you want to do, and while no one would expect you to be able to reel off exact titles or categories, a general desire to be ‘in/on television’ is not enough. Examine your own instincts. Are you by nature inclined to be a ‘fire-engine chaser’? If so, you are more likely to be interested in daily hard news than the deeper, investigative journalism associated with documentary programmes. And if you are interested in documentaries, then remember not all fall into the category of news/current affairs. They may be part of scientific, historical or other strands produced by different programme areas.
Once you have an idea of the kind of programme which interests you, the next step is to decide what part you would like to play in it, given the opportunity, and to focus your efforts accordingly. But at this stage it is also essential to be realistic. If your ultimate goal is to be a foreign correspondent, don’t expect to achieve it at once. Indeed chances are there will always be better, more talented people ahead of you. Nevertheless it is essential not to be deflected or sidetracked into an entirely unsuitable area from which it would be difficult to move.
Among the poorest advice given, in particular to young women wishing to become journalists, has been to take a job as a secretary and move on from there. Of course there are examples of secretaries doing just that and rising to senior editorial and managerial posts, and training schemes exist to net potential journalists in whatever department they may be found. But in the main, despite the size of the organization and the opportunities it offers, good secretaries quickly find themselves categorized as … good secretaries, unable to make the leap into production without considerable difficulty. Similarly, think carefully before you go into research. In broadcasting it is usually a lower-graded occupational area, and not always considered part of the mainstream journalistic family. Far better, for example, to consider starting in a local radio newsroom, and aim to work your way across.
Between keeping a close and regular watch for advertisements for beginners, nothing is lost by writing in to employers on spec. An informal survey of eight senior journalists who recruit or strongly influence the recruitment of staff for television news programmes in the United Kingdom showed anything up to twenty unsolicited letters a week landing on their desks from potential young journalists, and all indicated their preparedness to offer interviews even if they had no immediate vacancies.
Unlike the United States, where applicants are encouraged to send a show-reel videotape, most of the British editors based their decision about whether to see one person rather than another on the strength of the CV and covering letter. Too few’, according to one of the eight, ‘incorporate show-reels, audio cassettes or cuttings.’ Several stressed the need for the covering letter to be tailored to the employer – ‘not an obvious photocopy of a standard application sent off to as many people as possible’ – and to know something of the programme to which they were applying.
And if an interview is granted, what then? On average, those hard-pressed editors mentioned above were prepared to spare between ten and twenty minutes of their precious time talking to an on-spec candidate. With such a limited time available, it is essential to make a good first impression. Among the most consistent advice: ‘be punctual’, ‘dress appropriately’, ‘have intelligent questions to ask’, ‘offer suggestions for stories’, ‘demonstrate awareness of the output’ or, as one editor put it succinctly, ‘Do homework’.
Finally, of the few basic qualities which would influence an editor’s decision to put someone on a file for genuine future reference, three were most evident: originality of thought, ideas and tenacity (also defined as persistence, determination and commitment). Other important factors included experience and evidence of an ability to broadcast. The rest is down to intuition on the part of the editor, plus luck and timing. As one of the eight added: ‘I found a presenter who happened to send in a video just as I was looking for someone.’
Figure 2.1
Direct-entry training opportunities
Apprenticeships, formal or otherwise, seem to have gone by the board, and the humble, once-classic old entry level jobs of copy-runner, tape-room messenger or gofer have to all intents vanished in the interests of economy, coincident with the arrival of linked computer systems and self-operated drinks machines. (There is a parallel in the development of non-linear editing, which is leading to the disappearance of junior assistant posts and, in turn, a lack of opportunity for new generations of picture editors to acquire the visual literacy previously learnt in part by watching skilled practitioners at work.)
Figure 2.2 Some of the main basic qualities expected of those trying to get into television journalism, as identified by eight senior journalists responsible for hiring or influencing the employment of entry-level editorial staff in the United Kingdom.
In the United States, there is an established principle of ‘internships’, whereby graduates from college courses have the opportunity to test their newly acquired basic skills in professional surroundings as a forerunner to a potential career.
The British model is different. For a few there is the heady prospect of direct entry through full-time training contracts offered annually by the main employers. These schemes, which last anything up to two years, usually combine formal instruction with working attachments/placements to news programme areas. Guarantees of posttraining jobs are rare, but sensible employers, conscious of the investment they have made in recruiting trainees in the first place, are inclined to look on them favourably when vacancies arise.
The schemes and the number of places on each are always going to fluctuate according to the likely employment prospects – there is, after all, no point in going through an expensive recruitment and training process only to find there are no jobs available to the participants at the end of it. Even the oldest, the BBC’s prestigious News Trainee Scheme, which has produced a roll of some of the most distinguished editors, producers and reporters in the country over more than twenty years, had to be suspended at various periods in the 1990s when likely opportunities dried up.
Such direct training schemes, run not just by the BBC but also by ITN and several of the commercial TV companies, attract literally thousands of applicants, representing an enormous headache for those at the receiving end of the process. A deliberately difficult application form for the BBC News Trainee Scheme was constructed in an effort to deter the increasing numbers of entirely unsuitable candidates (cruelly dismissed in some quarters as ‘the dog-handlers’) and to ensure that only the potentially outstanding progressed to interview. Even so, sufficient numbers survive to keep the odds against success extremely high. That fact alone is enough to put off the faint-hearted, but remember someone has to make it: why shouldn’t it be you?
For those already disadvantaged in some way, the barrier to success in broadcast journalism has been unfairly high.
Some ethnic minority groups have been under-represented in proportion to their percentage within the overall population of the United Kingdom. The mainstream broadcasting organizations were often seen as bastions of the white middle class, but efforts to change that perception are having success, with ‘positive action’ training projects aimed at the recruitment of black and Asian journalists in particular, and the emergence of role models in the shape of many international, national and regional presenters and reporters. In addition, the Multicultural Media Centre for the Millennium project started in 1999/2000 to put potential journalists from ethnic minorities through a series of fasttrack training courses organized jointly by BBC News Training and ITN.
The attitude towards people with disabilities is also beginning to change. The sensitivity has extended to deleting the reference in some advertisements for journalists to the mandatory holding of a driver’s licence, which implies full mobility. Confinement to a wheelchair should not presuppose an inability to think, write and speak, and employers who take the trouble to ensure that their buildings are properly designed to cope with such impedimenta are delighted to find they have tapped a rich seam of talent. Neither deafness nor blindness is necessarily a bar to a career in broadcast journalism. Several examples exist of journalists with severe hearing or sight difficulties who have made the grade in television as well as radio in the United Kingdom.
An additional fillip has come with the availability of bursaries provided intermittently by the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation, enabling a limited number of people with disabilities of various kinds to attend recognized courses in journalism, including broadcasting, with a view to employment.
The modern recruitment process embraces any number of techniques aimed at ensuring the right candidate is selected, and that applies as much if not more to trainees than to other potential employees. Lengthy psychometric testing, handwriting analysis, ‘team-building’ and group exercises, all designed to bring out character traits and deficiencies, may play their part, but a considerable weight – some say too much – continues to be put on the face-to-face interview. For the applicant this can be an intimidating experience, especially as the appointment process may call for large panels of interviewers sitting jury-like for several days in succession.
It is also worth being aware that every interview panel has its own group dynamic, with members as concerned with their own performance as with the candidate’s. Some may be reluctant participants with other pressing responsibilities; some may be short-tempered for personal or professional reasons; others might be more interested in scoring points off their colleagues than anything else.
Whatever the composition of the inquisition, the need exists for candidates to be adequately prepared. That includes conscientious study of the programme area for which application is being made (obvious, but it is surprising how often those professing an addiction to a particular broadcast fail to make a point of watching the edition closest to the interview) and the display of a dress sense which matches the occasion.
A test of editorial awareness can also be expected, usually separate from the interview. General knowledge, written exercises, the selection and ordering of items in a simulated news bulletin, and some sort of journalistic legal/ethical puzzle are among the favoured ingredients.
Failure, if it comes, is not always final. Unsuccessful candidates should make a point of contacting the person responsible for convening the appointment panel. Feedback may well be encouraging enough to suggest it would be worth trying again.
Although the qualities of youthful enthusiasm and the completion of a degree course are likely to be an advantage in competition for trainee posts they will, as we have seen, not necessarily turn the key to direct employment. At the same time, practical experience in the field is not easily attained, and there is a limit to the value of voluntary work. This perhaps helps account for the popularity of postgraduate courses in broadcast journalism. Several universities and colleges of further education now offer such opportunities, mostly of one academic year’s duration, for a diploma which combines the study of law, public administration and similarly useful subjects with practical training in broadcast journalism using well-equipped studios and other facilities.
Courses also include short periods of working placements to radio and television stations, and these provide excellent ‘shop window’ opportunities for students. The professional teaching staff are often complemented by visiting current practitioners willing to lend a critical eye to proceedings. Some of these visitors come from local broadcasting establishments, thus creating mutually beneficial links with the colleges. For the broadcasters it offers a way of spotting the raw talent on their doorstep, while students have the obvious advantage of rubbing shoulders with the professionals.
This mix of the academic and vocational is endorsed by the industry at large, which monitors standards through the Broadcast Journalism Training Council. The BJTC, made up of representatives from the main employers, union and colleges, offers recognition to courses which seek it and are willing to adhere to comprehensive guidelines. Non-recognition does not imply low standards, but as the number of courses in broadcast journalism grows, the BJTC imprimatur is a useful guide for students looking for industry-approved training which they usually have to fund themselves. Many local authorities are reluctant to give student grants for broadcast journalism courses, but limited opportunities do exist for sponsorship.
It is significant that recognition has been given to or is sought by a widening range of colleges offering alternatives to the one-year diploma. A particular advantage of these courses is that most do not automatically exclude late developers, almost certain failures in direct applications for jobs, but who are not deterred by the prospect of starting new careers as virtual apprentices, working to programme editors several years younger. As a result, something in the order of 300 students a year come on the market through this route, and although the successful completion of a course does not guarantee a job, sufficient numbers win contracts or freelance opportunities to suggest that this is a better way than most of making a start.
National Vocational Qualifications
Training in broadcast journalism in the future may, however, be bound up in National Vocational Qualifications, the development of which gathered pace during the early 1990s. NVQs and their Scottish equivalent, Scottish Vocational Qualifications, have come about in an attempt to define acceptable standards of competence for workers within every industry in Britain. More than 160 industries finished the process well before the turn of the century, with broadcasting – joined, for the sake of this exercise, by its cousins in the film and video occupations – well to the fore, with the creation of a set of standards for each of its sixteen or seventeen occupational groupings.
NVQs are based on the ability to complete a series of tasks (competences) in the workplace. Defining those tasks and the methodology for assessment represented a mammoth commitment on the part of industry practitioners over more than two years. Establishing the framework while trying not to lose sight of the creativity, writing ability and news sense inherent in journalists was slow and frustrating for those inexperienced in functional analysis and much of the ‘NVQ-speak’ considered necessary had an Orwellian ring to it, but the journalism standards are now in place, with the first candidates seeking certification. There are several levels of NVQs, the lowest measuring the most basic of skills and the highest, currently level five, being suited to senior managers and professionals. NVQs for broadcast journalists have been pitched at level four, comparable with those working on British newspapers and magazines, the typical successful candidate being pictured as the producer (with a small ‘p’) of a news summary for regional television or of a bulletin in local radio.
Inevitably, perhaps, NVQs are being considered suitable for entry level only, although opportunities are there for existing practitioners to apply their prior knowledge, and it will take many years before they are universally accepted. NVQs may come to replace other existing vocational and professional qualifications.
Overall management of the NVQs for broadcasting, film and video is the responsibility of the industry training organization, named Skillset, which is also engaged in a continuing process to monitor the needs of employers, fund the training of freelances and generally help maintain and develop skill levels.
1. John Dunn Show, BBC Radio 2, September 1994.