BBC Local Apprentices: Reporting on King Richard lll

BBC Local Apprentice Khadija Osman talks about her work on the coverage of King Richard III's reinterment for BBC Radio Leicester.

What was it like working on the story live?

Working on a story as big as this as it happened felt incredible. It was so fast paced and so many changes were made as it was all unfolding. I felt an immense amount of personal responsibility for all of the content that I was generating and wanted it to be a reflection of the best of my ability. The adrenaline that you feel is like no other. It’s definitely a distinctive feeling.

The atmosphere was electric –it was brilliant to see so many of my colleagues buzzing with enthusiasm. Some of them have been doing this job for more than 20 years and, seeing their genuine excitement towards this gave me a promising outlook for the future.

"Know that you have as much right to cover a big story as anybody else"

 What have you learnt?

The apprenticeship has benefited me greatly because it’s been so hands on - I’ve never done anything else like it.

I’ve learnt that sometimes you just need to go with the moment and if an opportunity comes up to just take it. Sometimes deviating from your plan of how things 'should be' and 'should work' is a good thing.

When I was putting a package together for the reinterment of King Richard III I had two days to come with up an idea, find all of the people that I wanted to speak to, record the audio and edit it all together.

Now, that doesn’t sound so daunting but not all of the people that I wanted to speak to live in Leicester and I was planning on speaking to them all on the same day. It was ambitious to say the least.

But by chance I heard from a colleague who told me that all of the people that I had in mind were going to be at an event that very same day. He was even kind enough to give me a last minute invite as it was a closed event. This meant that it’d be a late finish for me, but I thought to myself, “there’s no harm in taking a microphone with me and recording what I can”.

If I hadn’t taken this up I wouldn’t have had what I needed to put together a killer package.

What would you do better?

I would make an action plan of what I want to get out of the day and maybe put myself forward a bit more for projects. I’d also keep an energy bar with me for when my reserves are a little low.

What advice would you give other apprentices/trainees covering a big story like this?

I know that this is all new and may feel a little daunting but try not to worry. Know that you have as much right to cover a big story as anybody else. Don’t wait for somebody to ask you if you’d like to get involved.

Be proactive and put yourself out there! Speak to your colleagues and tell them that you want to get stuck in. Your boldness and enthusiasm won’t go unnoticed.

Also, and this is a big point to remember, don’t take constructive feedback too personally. It’s all too easy to take it as an attack on yourself or that your work isn’t good enough but that is not the case.

It’s tricky when you feel so passionate about something that it’s almost effortless to get lost in your work and that isn’t necessary a bad thing. But remember it’s just a job and you are not your work, your work is a product of your skills. 

Find out more about BBC Radio Leicester’s coverage. 

There’ll be more from the apprentices on the Academy website throughout the year. You can keep up-to-date with the latest via Twitter using #BBCLAS or via iPlayer Radio.