Foot in the Door 07

Hosted by: Shaun Keaveny, BBC 6 Music’s breakfast presenter

Trying to break into the radio industry? Think you want a career in front, or behind the mic, but don’t know where to start?

Foot in the Door is your chance to find out what really goes on in the world of radio… from the people who work in it every day.

Join us for a radio careers event with a difference: you get to meet the people who make UK radio happen, doing the jobs that you want to do.

Producers, presenters, journalists and backroom staff from across the industry are ready to talk to you and take your questions about working in radio and what you need to get your “foot in the door.”

The afternoon is loosely based on speed-dating! Groups of delegates will have the opportunity to grill 2 radio professionals on a table’s allocated topic before moving onto the next table.

Topics included: What do I put on a demo?, Who chooses the music?, Do I need to go on a course?, How do I get to be a producer? and more.

Work experience competition

Congratulations to Rebecca Heys and Tom Pearmain who won the Foot In The Door work experience competition at Somethin Else/BBC 6Music.

Rebecca’s idea was “Fill This Space” – Using the station’s website listeners are invited to make 30 sec clips using mobile phones/cameras and upload them. The theme of the clips will change each day, such as “morning routine”, “commuting soundtrack”, “office gossip”, and they will be described and judged by the presenter and will be rated by interactive listeners.

Judge, Ric Blaxill, thought this was a good fun idea for breakfast that visualises content, is fully interactive for contributors (creating content) and non contributors (voting). It will drive traffic online, create good talking points on-air and really good clips could be posted elsewhere (Youtube etc) so has the potential to raise awareness as well.

Tom Pearmain’s idea ‘The Festival Showcase’, the judges felt it was an original idea with lots of potential for listener interaction which would also work online and visually as well as on air.

What was learned

• Persevere, don’t give up.
• That production companies are commissioned by the BBC to make programmes.
• Do not say “general public”.
• Look at skills you have over everybody else and use them as an angle.
• Qualifications aren’t a necessity for a radio education career.
• Be very personal and specific in applications.
• The importance of engineering and the nature of production.
• The importance of multi-platform promotions and meeting people.