BBC Local Apprentices: Covering an election

From arranging debates to pitching ideas, BBC Local Apprentices working in radio stations all over the UK told us what it was like to be behind the scenes covering the 2015 General Election.

Alex South – BBC Radio York

“The events before, during and after the election mark the shift in the next chapter of British politics – contributing to the build-up before is a gift to anyone interested in politics.

My individual high point would probably be covering Scarborough council; it allowed me to use my knowledge and skills to create interesting coverage - something which I was left in charge of.”

Fran Potter – BBC Radio Lincolnshire

“I was with two other colleagues covering the Louth and Horncastle constituency on election night.

My main role for the evening was to listen to BBC Radio Lincolnshire output to gather information from other constituencies where people were based that night.

Just to think - only a few months ago I didn’t understand how it all worked or what it was. Working with the election before the big night has really interested me, it is important and your vote does matter.”

Emma Geeson – BBC Radio Nottingham

“Before I started my BBC Local Apprenticeship I had little interest in politics and no idea what all the different terms meant. However, I now know nearly everything, from how an election works to the different periods leading up to an election.

I’ve faced some challenges along the way though, such as staying awake for almost 24 hours on election night to getting my head around all the election lingo. I was worried that I would find it boring but as I educated myself I got more and more excited and I’m now thankful I got to experience it.”

Katherine Ganczakowski – BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

I went on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire’s bed tour, where we took a double-bed around the county for a little bit of politics and an awful lot of fun. The idea behind the bed was to give the public the opportunity to snuggle under the covers as the politicians might have “jumped into bed” with each other after election night.

Robby West – BBC Radio Essex

One highlight was helping to arrange political debates across Essex. My first job was to arrange all the venues, research the areas for debate and provide stats and questions for candidates. During the debates I filmed the events for the website and interacted with the radio audience on social media.

Another highlight was during election night when I reported for BBC Essex in Brentwood, covering the seat of Eric Pickles. As a keen follower of politics I was thrilled to be asked to cover such a high profile candidate.

Chantal Hartle – BBC Jersey

During the build-up to the election I worked alongside presenters to help organise guest speakers and talking points. I also worked closely with the BBC News Channel in London to help monitor and log the election output.

I learned that I can actually tolerate political talk and that paying attention to detail is important.

Chloe Western – BBC Radio Suffolk

I made quite a few vox-pops surrounding the election. It was an interesting experience to speak to so many different people, especially the ones voting for the first time because surprisingly a lot of them were interested in what was going on.

It’s the best feeling in the world when you can create something that gets on air.

Lesley Ross – BBC Scotland

During the election period I worked with the BBC Generation 2015 team, based in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The 200 members (aged 18-24) of Generation 2015 were carefully selected from all over the UK.

One of my highlights was being given the opportunity to pitch a number of story ideas, using the Generation 2015 members, to BBC Scotland's national television news programme. I was a little nervous but I made sure I was well-prepared and the pitching meeting went very well. I was buzzing afterwards and I felt a real sense of being a valuable member of the Generation 2015 team.

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.