I am a 21 year old aspiring music producer and blogger/writer studying Music Culture: Theory & Production at the University of East London. I first heard about BBC Outreach's Programme when I applied to work on a radio project with the Roundhouse. The Roundhouse got back in touch with me and invited me along to the “Programme Maker for A Day” experience the BBC was offering – and of course - I jumped at the chance!
I was one of a small group of young people who had arrived at the BBC studios for the programme. We were greeted by staff at the BBC and introduced to Radio 1 & 1Xtra producers Ahmed and Rob, who talked us through our itinerary for the day.
Young people at a Programme Maker for a Day workshop.
In the morning, we met 1Xtra's Twin B and Yasmin who'd just finished presenting their breakfast show and had kindly agreed to share their stories with us about how they started out in radio. Their producers also joined in the brief Q&A and gave us an insight in to their daily routine (involving early starts and at least three cups of coffee before noon).
Ahmed and Rob then took us on a tour around the floor, where we met people working in various departments from social media to sound editing to radio production teams for Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network– we were surprised at just how many people there were working behind the scenes for each show.
After we'd settled in, we were given our task of the day – to produce our own radio programme. We were given around half an hour to discuss content, map out our ideas, and play around with the different sounds before recording our show. Actually creating a programme ourselves was an extremely insightful experience and gave us all a real feel for what both the producer's and presenter's role entails – keeping timing, setting the tone for the audience and being able to improvise when the unexpected happens!
A workshop group recording a radio programme.
I found the day to be an immensely enjoyable experience that has given me a much greater understanding and appreciation for radio. We were even asked to provide our own thoughts on new ideas for BBC3 programmes and the iPlayer, which made me feel as though the BBC really valued my input as a young person. I left feeling inspired by the positive advice we had been given by everyone we'd met in the day, and it has motivated me to get involved in even more creative projects. What struck me the most was the advice to get stuck in wherever possible, because any experience you gain is valuable and could end up getting you your dream job.
*Programme Maker for a Day is a partnership between BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility and Radio 1 & 1Xtra. It puts our staff directly in contact with their target audience while helping young people understand more about careers at the BBC and the various roles available in radio.
