My radio placement was over the other side of MediaCity with the Real and Smooth network. For a radio fan like me this was a great to work in a news hub that served a network of three stations, Smooth Radio (national), Real Radio (North West) and Real XS (Manchester). As is the unpredictable nature of news, during my time on placement a lot stories that got massive national media coverage broke on our North West patch.

As you’ll know from my post about my placement with BBC North West Tonight, this is a reflection of the work I did on placement rather than a recount of the news – you can access that in many places on the web, I’ll link to the stories. In these posts, I want to offer a different perspective through my eyes as a reporter…

MICHAEL AND HILLARY BREWER SENTENCED FOR SEXUAL ABUSE AT CHEETHAM’S SCHOOL OF MUSIC 

I got my first taste of a media frenzy outside court after the sentencing of Michael and Hillary Brewer, who were charged with sex offences, mostly occurring while he was a teacher at Cheetham’s School of Music in Manchester. This case had got attention because of of the victims, Frances Andrade, took her life during the trial. Atmosphere outside of court was tense as the media eagerly awaited the statement from the Crown Prosecution Service.

The cameras were in place well before but radio reporters have to think quickly to get in a good position when speakers come out so that they can be in range to get good quality audio on the microphones. I did well to get right at the front, which not only meant that Real Radio got good brand placement for the cameras but also that my hand was seen on all the TV news channels that day. I’m now in a strange situation where my purple coat is more famous than I am!

DOG ATTACK THAT KILLED JADE ANDERSON IN ATHERTON

No matter how much training you have beforehand, nothing can prepare you emotionally for some of the stories that you will have to cover as a journalist. The day started out like any other, I was out vox popping a light story in the morning but then I got the call to go on to Atherton, near Wigan, to cover the story on Jade Anderson – a 14 year old girl who had been mauled to death by pitbull type dogs. Like the flick of a light switch, the tone of the work had changed and  was now incredibly sombre.

When I got to the crime scene I had never heard a silence like it; despite there being so much activity from media attention to people coming to pay their respects – there was no noise to be heard on the estatem other than a lone dog barking in the distance. Very haunting.

STEPHEN SEDDON GIVEN A LIFE SENTENCE FOR MURDERING HIS PARENTS

I had been following the Stephen Seddon trial while working with BBC North West Tonight and was in court reporting on his sentencing. Sedddon was  found guilty for murdering both his parents. The  judge, Mr Justice Hemblem, said the motive was for their inheritance money. Seddon’s sentence also included attempting to murder his parents earlier in the year by driving them into a canal.

Courtrooms feel very theatrical, maybe I have been watching too many legal dramas, but the atmosphere really was intense. To look directly at a man who has been sentenced to life imprisonment from the press box is a rare opportunity to have. It’s dramatic enough hearing about such cases on the news, but to actually be there to hear him sent down in person is something else. I was absorbing the atmosphere of the court proceedings happening around me while scribbling down notes as fast as I could – no recording devices are allowed in court. However, the judge’s words were so powerful, alongside Seddon’s own outbursts and last pleas of innocence, that I can still remember much of what was said in there verbatim, even now.

I covered lots of stories during my time on placement with Real, from the abolition of Legal Aid in some situations to Stockport being voted the second happiest place to live in Britain. (Yes, really!!) By far those that I’ve mentioned in this post are the news stories that stick in my mind most potently though. It was a joy to work with the team whose bulletins I’ve listened to for many years on a network of stations that I am a fan of. Not only was that an amazing experience in itself but I learnt so much while I was there too and my copy writing skills are well up to broadcast standard. Hearing scripts I had written be read in bulletins was amazing  – I loved working in such a buzzing newsroom! My placements have given me the taste of what working life will be like when I graduate from my masters and I take all those valuable experiences forward with me now I’m applying for freelance work.