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Week eight

So there you go then, my Â鶹ԼÅÄ blast placement has come to an end. The eight weeks have gone like a flash. Thinking about it properly, it does seem like I have achieved a fair amount in those eight weeks. I do feel a lot more clued up as to how a Â鶹ԼÅÄ journalist goes about their business then I did eight weeks ago.

The whole blast placement culminates with a presentation ceremony in London on Friday lunchtime. I’m looking forward to seeing all of my other colleagues who I met at the training in Bristol, and catching up with them to see how they got on.

A selection of our work will also be on exhibition, so I’ll be able to see how I compare to the others! I’m sure everyone will have been working at a good standard. You don’t get on this Â鶹ԼÅÄ Blast placement that easily you know!

Of all the different elements which go into a Â鶹ԼÅÄ journalist’s job, I have definitely enjoyed the audio production the most. I have taken pleasure out of trying to hone my print journalism skills and I think I have benefited from the practice, but for me the most fulfilling is hearing back a successful audio piece.

My favourite part of the placement was when I was conducting interviews with Sky Blues captain Scott Dann, Leamington manager Jason Cadden and Coventry Jets captain Mark Cohen. As rewarding as it is to nail a sharp 30-second audio update, there is nothing better to be directly conversing with a specialist, talking about their talent, trying as best as possible to appear knowledgeable, and then being broadcast doing it.

I can see myself aiming to be involved more with radio in the near future, and eventually as a career, and I’d love to cross-over into television if I can become an accomplished, well-rounded broadcaster. But I think that’s probably a while off yet!

What next for me? Well, I’m taking a well earned break to sunny Spain as of Saturday. This Â鶹ԼÅÄ business takes it out of you, you know. Then it’s back to uni for one last term of studying before I can spread my wings out into the journalism world in 2009.

My main dissertation project for my course was a documentary-style video on the summer music scene in Coventry, which was shot over the last few months. It documented the build-up to the Godiva Festival, including the G-Factor competition. We followed the eventual winners Shadowplay on their journey, which ended with them playing the main stage.

Well, anyway, all the accumulated footage still needs to be edited down into a manageable 15-20 minutes. It might even end up more like 30. So, that is a mammoth task which will take up a lot of my spare time over the next few months.

I’ve just been waiting for the final rays of summer to peter out (like there were any in the first place), before I’ll lock myself away in a dingy room with an imac and a vision, and see what I can bash together. I’ll even use my new Â鶹ԼÅÄ Broadcast voice to narrate it.

I’m also off down to Canary Wharf to work for the sports desk at the Independent newspaper for a couple of weeks in October as well. Burning out more of the money I have barely had time to earn, just to chase the dream!

You never know, I might even be popping back up on a Â鶹ԼÅÄ radio station or website again sometime. I’m sure you haven’t heard the last of Samuel Green yet!

Thanks a lot to Winchy and Hannah for helping me along the way, and all the kind and insightful words from all of the staff at Â鶹ԼÅÄ Coventry & Warwickshire. Blast has been a priceless learning experience and I’ve been proud to tell people I’m working for the Â鶹ԼÅÄ.

Wherever I end up in the media industry, I’m sure I’ll forever look back on the blast experience and remember the valuable advice, inspirational people and an incredible way to spend a summer!

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