Some thoughts

In terms of specifics it is hard to say what I have learned this year in radio. That may sound daft coming up to the end of third year, but the whole City Vibe show was an experience of so much variety and something so different to the two years of radio before it. My goal coming into every show was always the same: do what the team and the show need me to do. I have never really adapted to some of the selfish attitudes needed in journalism, and in a show like this with everyone working really hard all day, and days beforehand, I just wanted to make sure I was contributing to balance with everyone else’s endeavours. There were things I did not want to do that I had to and things I would like to have done that I could not. However, with an hour show to produce it was never about what I wanted as far as I was concerned, and those things were always forgotten after we put out a good show. Specifically, I was disappointed not to be able to present. I am not sure how well I would have fared, but its certainly a challenge I would like to have faced. With the illness I have I will miss certain things, and sadly I missed my day to present. Other people in the group were keen to present either for the first time or a second chance as the week’s progressed, and I was happy to see them go on and achieve within that role. In this respect I have gained two insights from the year, neither technical nor what I imagine was the aim of this year of teaching, but important to me. Firstly, I need to be more confident in my own ability to cover a story because other people will be, and they will be the ones in the spotlight. Equally, I found happiness in watching others do a good job, and whether or not they remember the support I gave or other options I chose to do to let others try certain things does not really matter come six o’clock in the evening. Unlikely it was a learning objective, but I really enjoyed it.