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• Broadcast journalist/presenter: Karen Wight

Broadcast journalist/presenter: Karen Wight

This Case Study belongs to Broadcast journalist.

I did my BA (Hons) Media Studies at the University of Sunderland. During my degree I learned how to construct a news story and put a bulletin together, along with knowledge of media law and also production. My subject was entirely relevant to my position, although without experience to go hand in hand with the qualification it would have been much harder to get into the industry.

I was very interested in the media and in particular the immediacy of radio. I started out as a broadcast journalist after reading the news on student radio station, Utopia FM. This led to a career in radio presenting which started in 2001.

Experience is definitely the key to getting into this career. A qualification in media is simply not enough. There is a lot of competition in the industry and the more experience you have the better. I worked voluntary for Sun FM in Sunderland during the final year of my degree.

I used to present the breakfast news bulletins and contribute to an evening entertainment bulletin. Now I co-present a four-hour breakfast show for Galaxy North East. As a journalist, the role developed as technology developed. I learned to edit by cutting and splicing on reel to reel tape. Now digital editing is the norm, and the software is changing all the time so journalists need to learn new skills constantly to keep up. As a presenter the role is a lot less rigid and much more free flowing. However, a presenter does need a good working knowledge of media law, and this should be updated and refreshed regularly as once on air you are responsible for both what you say, and what you allow your listeners to say.

What I love about the job is that no two days are ever the same. When I get into the studio in the morning it totally depends what’s going on in the world as to what we end up talking about on the show. And of course you never know how a listener will react to what you say! The main downside of the job is getting up at 4am!

I would like to carry on for a few years yet, broadcasting at breakfast time here in my native Northeast. Eventually I would like to present a talk radio show, although that would take a lot of discipline and a great producer!

Case Study sourced by Claire Byron of Newcastle University, 20 February 2009.