Week 1:

09/02/2017

The class was split into our final three groups. Then everybody in my group took on their individual role, I became ‘Outside Broadcast Producer’. I also set up a group chat on Facebook to help us organise things. Finally we were tasked with creating a trial and error show for LBC, it had to be 15 minutes in length, we each had to find a story and create a cue for our Presenter Simon to record.

Week 2:

16/02/2017

This week for some homework we chose to listen to talk radio shows, TalkSport’s ‘Sports Bar’ and BBC Radio One’s ‘The Surgery’. We also had guest speaker Dave McMullan, talking about the working environment. We listened back through too our first test show so that we could discuss our mistakes. In our case we needed to balance the voices more accordingly so neither Simon nor Eliza is not heard for too long. We also needed to choose our wording more precisely so that it felt more conversational than news. And we needed to choose better stories so that each story remained relevant to our stations demographic (LBC).

Week 3:

23/02/2017

We all discussed our views about the stations we listened to. Then we were tasked within our groups to find stories that suited the style of our designated target audience. Our actual demographic being comparable to GLR, before it became the now BBC Radio London. In a style that is similar to BFBS’ show ‘SITREP’. My task was to record some vox pops and to write myself a cue and question according to my  story. Next week we will all receive David’s feedback.

Week 4:

02/03/2017

For homework we listened to each group’s second attempt at a radio show and Iain Lee on Talk Radio and PM on Radio Four. We later discussed our shows as a class, critiquing each other’s work, enabling ourselves to have a better understanding of our shows style and target audience. We also spent a whole day learning the basics of UK media law, this gave us an insight into the legislations that must be followed to ensure our show abides by the UK regulations. And we gave a first attempt at using the Tieline devise, to familiarise ourselves with the machine.

Week 5:

09/03/2017

As homework we all listened to Jane Garvey and Peter Allen on Radio 5 Live and H&J on talkSPORT. My group discussed potential stories that could be included in our show and then had a one-to-one chat with David about these topics of choice. We also had guest speaker Sal Ahmad, who came in to talk about the working environment. And we gave a second attempt at using the Tieline machine, to reinforce familiarity with the device.

Week 6:

16/03/2017

Again my group discussed and narrowed down our potential stories for our actual show. As a group we spoke with Matthew about our ideas so that he could give his opinion, we came to the conclusion that we must now decide what technique is best to use according to each topic. I have also began to consider what essay question I would like to pick and made a start on some reading.

Week 7:

23/03/2017

Today we were set the practical task of creating a 15 minute show, with each person taking on their individual role. This meant that I had to head to London bridge to use the Tieline machine for the first time outside, this was a chance for me to familiarise myself with the device once again but this time by using the 3G element instead of the Ethernet cable. I also started contacting companies associated to the ‘Cheester Egg’ and wrote out appropriate questions and cue.

Week 8:

30/03/2017

Today we were set the task of creating our first half hour program, with each person taking on their individual role. Myself and Bernice tried using the Tieline to conduct another OB, however I made a mistake and forgot to connect the Ariel, so the Tieline didn’t work. We ended up using our mobiles instead, after realising my error, I made sure to not make the same mistake twice. The creator of the Cheester egg contacted me back and we eventually conducted a pre-recorded interview with her that evening, which we later used during our pilot show and she confirmed her availability as a studio guest during our actual show. I also found potential film critics for our ‘Remaking the classics’ element and passed over the details to Abbi who is leading the story.

Week 9:

06/04/2017

Today was our critically assessed half hour pilot show. During the week I edited the pre-recorded interview and wrote the cue for the package. I also wrote a new cue and questions for our new OB interviewee. On the day of the pilot show, myself and Bernice headed down to Waterloo to conduct our OB. Unfortunately we experienced some minor issues with the TieLine device, this time we connected through to the studio but Bernice would struggle to hear Simon clearly, so we ended up using our mobiles again. As a result of this, my group have decided to try using it again on the Tuesday before the actual assessed programme.

Week 10:

13/04/2017

Today was our critically assessed half hour programme. In preparation, I reassured myself one last time with the Tieline, making sure that I knew exactly how to connect the device to the studio. I final tweaked all the written aspects associated to the Cheester Egg story and the Garden Bridge OB i.e. questions, cue, back anno. Myself and Bernice travelled back to Waterloo to conduct the OB interview, this time the Tieline worked absolutely fine with no technical difficulties.