Thursday 20 March 2014

Blog 45! Selfie with Sir Michael Parkinson! A huge day for Fly FM news!

Hi guys,

Yesterday was massive for both myself and my colleagues in the Fly FM (Nottingham Trent's student radio station) news team. It was the official opening of our brand new student union building which holds a new sports hall, 100 station gym, a dance studio and a 30ft climbing wall. Along with this it holds a 2,400 capacity nightclub venue, a radio station, meeting rooms and over 900 flats for students to live in. Obviously it was a major upgrade to the university and it was great to have Lord Sebastian Coe and Sir Michael Parkinson come to the brand new building to officially open it.

As part of the news team I was blessed with the opportunity to interview the legendary, Sir Michael Parkinson a massive figure head in the world of Journalism. Obviously this was a great honour for me and I could not help but be slightly star struck when meeting him. He was a lovely, welcoming guy who is very genuine and funny. It was an absolute privilege to meet him and interview him along side Capital FM East Midlands and East Midlands today.

As a team we also got an interview with Sebastian Coe who was also extremely friendly and interesting.

The interviews/ Tv package will be up shortly and I will post the links on my blog sometime this week/early next week so keep your eyes peeled. I will be playing the audio from my interview with Parkinson on my Fly through lunch show 1-3pm (Friday 21st March 2014) so tune in at: www.flyfm.co.uk/player to hear it.

It was by far the highlight of my journalistic career so far and a day I will never forget.

Until the interview here's a few pictures from the day including a selfie with the inspiring Sir Michael Parkinson.

Enjoy!

Cya Soon,

Alex :) x









Monday 3 March 2014

Blog 44! Week in the field! Capital FM East Midlands

CAPITAL FM EAST MIDLANDS

Last week (Week beginning: 24th Feb 2014) I made my way to Capital FM East Midlands to work as their second reporter for the week. I have to say it was one of the most incredible weeks and I learnt so much! 

Of course I was nervous on the Monday. Upon arrival at the studio I was greeted by the news team. Everyone was extremely friendly and I was chucked straight into the deep end, being sent out to Nottingham's Old Market Square to record Vox Pop's relating to the government debating the price of holidays during school holiday's. It was a great feeling to be holding a Capital FM Microphone and be associated  to the brand. I got back to the studio to be taught how to use Burli (The editing software used by the news team). I then met the presenters of the drive time show, Tom and Claire, which was amazing, as I listen to them regularly so to meet them was very exciting. 
 During the 5 o'clock bulletin my edited vox pops were played which was extremely cool!

The rest of the week was amazing and I was given some great interviews to do. Some highlights were: 

  • My interview with Team GB's short track performance director, Stuart Horsepool about his reaction to the winter olympics and his teams performance. 
  • My interview with Geoff Huckstep - Chief Exec of Nottingham Arena and the National Ice Centre. 
  • Interview with a local councillor about apprenticeships. 
  • My interview with Doug Skehan, a Consultant Cardiologist at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.
  • My interview with a Police commissioner regarding relationships between the police and young people in Derbyshire. 
All of these interviews were a huge privilege for me and gave me some real experience of writing questions and conducting a good interview. I learnt a lot whilst in the field and it has made me even more hungry for a career in Journalism. 

On the Friday I recorded a demo in the Capital Studio of a news read, having guidance and tips on my technique which was invaluable. I think I have improved considerably because of this help. 

Overall the week was incredible and one I will always remember. I have learnt so much and feel a much more confident and capable reporter because of the support, guidance and responsibility I was given whilst at Capital East Midlands. I would like to thank the news team for taking the time to show me the ropes and giving me the opportunities during the week. 

If you would like to hear my interviews or demo's from my week at capital they can be found on my Mixcloud by following this link : http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/

My interview with the councillor and the police commissioner will be going up very shortly as for legal reasons I had to wait for them to be aired on Capital before I put them up. 

I hope you enjoy listening to the work I did at Capital East Midlands and as ever feedback is more than welcome. 

I'll be back soon. 

Leaving you with some pictures of my time at Capital, mostly selfies :P 

Cya Alex :)