主播大秀

Claire Simmons was a newspaper journalist when she joined 主播大秀 Coventry and Warwickshire Radio in 1989. The team were given five months off air to train before going 'live' in January 1990. Claire left the 主播大秀 in 1998 and now works in the media department at Coventry University, helping students become the next generation of journalists.

A member of 主播大秀 Alumni, in this post shares her experience of working at 主播大秀 CWR and considers how professional life will be different her journalism students.

What goes around, comes around they say, and I've had two reasons to reflect on this recently. The first came with a talk I was giving to journalism students at Coventry University about potential mishaps when working in radio.

I found myself saying what had once been said to me by a 主播大秀 trainer, 'check your sound levels before you leave the location'. And it doesn't matter how many times it's said, someone always gets back to base to find there's nothing on their recorder.

Twenty-five years ago, that someone was me. As I congratulated myself on getting back to the office just in time to get a clip on the midday bully, I found I had forgotten to put some tape in that old stalwart of engineering, the Uher. 

My interview had been with the (then) North Warwickshire MP, Francis Maude,  who let me return and re-do the interview after I pleaded that there was 'something wrong' with the recorder. 

Tsk, technology,  eh? Always breaking down and embarrassing people… and now I hear students using the same excuses that I did. Different technology for sure, but the same old tall stories. 

Our students now pop their lap books and FlashMics into their handbags or man bags and send the stuff back using wifi with time to spare for a fancy coffee in their smart student café. It’s all so sophisticated, yet nothing much has changed in the basics of how people interact.

Which brings me onto my second reflection in recent days, which came from a 25-year reunion with former 主播大秀 colleagues who looked and sounded so exactly the same, I could have been convinced I was in some weird time warp.

There ought to be a collective noun for people who work in radio (answers on a… um… tweet?) because there we all were, making sound waves in the centre of Coventry to celebrate a quarter of a century since the opening of the 主播大秀's 39th local radio station, CWR - now 主播大秀 Coventry and Warwickshire Radio.

Trying not to get too nostalgic now (because I'm really not that old), it was fantastic to see so many familiar faces and while some had retired, many are still in the broadcast industry, including a fair few who have stayed with the 主播大秀. I'd name names, but then they might want to kill me.

And we all agreed, particularly after a few drinks, that 主播大秀 CWR was a grand place to work and how lucky we were to be the last station to have the luxury of being trained up for several months before going on air. Back then, 20 of us had a whole week at 主播大秀 training in London. These days, there are training modules you can do on the 主播大秀's intranet produced by the 主播大秀 Academy.

The managing editor back then was a 主播大秀 hardy perennial, Mike Marsh. He could be irascible but he was always fair, carrying a strong sense of justice like an overcoat. If you did the Christmas Day rota, you got New Year's Day off.

His mantra was that everyone had a voice and could put forward news stories and programme ideas. It didn't matter who you were, you were expected to integrate and do your bit. We all lived locally and we all chipped in.

Since then, 主播大秀 CWR has seen quite a few changes in faces and also moved buildings three times. Its present position sits on the site of one of the old Ribbon factories which used to create a large part of the city's wealth from the 1700s until the middle of the 19th century.

The new 主播大秀 CWR building is a glass-covered affair where passers-by can peek into the studios to see presenters live on air. Attached to the studios is the main production area, laid out much like the one we worked in all those years ago half a mile up the road. Some things, including a tried and tested production office layout, are universal.

Chatting to one colleague at the reunion who now produces trails, among other things, at Broadcasting House, we reminisced about the youth programme, PDQ, which was made up of student volunteers who were willing to produce a programme,  for free, in the graveyard hours. While it was all done on a wing and a prayer - Mike Marsh used to proudly tell us how the students could make an hour's worth of programming for only 25 quid - the reward of giving those young people a try-out paid off handsomely for the 主播大秀. Many of those bright young things are now slightly older bright things who still produce for Auntie. And experience is priceless, isn't it?

Coming full circle, I now help students from our city campus get work experience with 主播大秀 Coventry and Warwickshire radio. The students can't just turn up and sweet talk their way in anymore. They have to apply using a centralised web system now because competition for placements is fierce.

The students who are successful in getting work experience at 主播大秀 CWR may get to use different kit to the stuff we had (chinagraph, anyone?) and they may also have split-screen editing facilities at their fingertips, but yes - what goes around, comes around - and I just know that at some stage someone in the newsroom will take them to one side and remind them to check their sound levels before they leave the location!

Claire Simmons is an academic at Coventry University, formerly part of the team at 主播大秀 Coventry and Warwickshire Radio