The latest buzz around the MCIN office is that we’ve agreed a partnership with the BBC. The idea is to work together to develop new media talent in Manchester and Salford. We all felt that this would be a great thing, especially for our Community Reporters – we are now in a better position to offer them training, support and contacts -so I was very interested by the response of one of our Hulme-based reporters, Paul Ridyard.
I too am curious about this new partnership. The BBC are a notoriously hard organisation to get a job in – they require bucket-loads of experience, not to mention expensive qualifications – so their interest in getting involved with MCIN and the Community Reporters is encouraging, and I hope they are serious about it. It would be great to take the elitism out of the media.
One of the main reasons I am so enthusiastic about the Community Reporters scheme is because it gives the media back to the people, to let us tell our own stories. Most media nowadays – be it newspapers, telly, radio – all comes down to money, at the end of the day, and as such stories are judged according to their ‘worth’. Unsurprising, then, that most of what we hear about Manchester is sensationalist – murders, stabbings, celebrities and footie. Which isn’t actually what normal people deal with in real life. And as media organisations become increasingly dependent on advertising, this situation is only going to get worse.
And that’s what the Community Reporters are all about. When you hand the cameras over to the people who actually live here, the stories are so different. We’ve got loads of content on our website from people doing really interesting, really positive things in Manchester, which never make it into the news because they’re not going to sell, but they actually paint a much more realistic picture of what’s going on in our community. Whether its a young people’s anglers club in North Manchester, a refugee talking about their experiences, or a report of a local event, its real news and real issues from real people. And its not about profit, its about people.
We’re looking for more people to get involved with us, and talk about things happening in their lives and their communities. It doens’t matter what it its – working tax credits, public transport woes, environmental campaigns – we want to hear what you think and what you’re doing. Podcasts, videos, blogs – they all do the job, and we can offer you training on all of it.
If you’re interested, contact me (Jess) at jess@mcin.net, or ring me on 0161 230 1430
NB A really great organisation looking at how the demand for profit is distorting the news we receive from our media is Medialens
3 responses so far ↓
Ace // 7 July, 2008 at 10:56 pm |
I really hope that MCIN do a lot better than they have done with the eastserve site,Since MCIN took control of the website its fallen to a new low.People have totally abandoned it and the few who use it are really anoyed at the lack of interest in the site.This eastserve site must rate as one of the worst sites that ive ever been on for a long time.
Paul Ridyard // 8 July, 2008 at 1:04 am |
Here is the profile of some of North West Tonight presenters:
Mark Edwardson graduated from Edge Hill University in 1989 . Source – Facebook
Tony Livesey “spent 18 years with Sport Newspapers at which he was editor-in-chief and managing director of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport newspapers” – Wikipedia
Ranvir Singh “gained a degree in English and Philosophy at Lancaster University she then gained a postgraduate qualification in journalism at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston”. Source – Wikipedia
The latter two are new to NWT.
Is this the Blue Peter cat episode again? They may sound convincingly sincere and want to show that they want “new voices” & “not university clones” but can you teach a dinosaur new tricks?
I’ve nothing against the above and all the best to them. They’ve probably worked very hard to get where they are today. Ranvir and Tony bring the show more down to our level. But can we really trust the BBC on this? They tell us we don’t need to be university graduates to work at the BBC.. who are they kidding!
This proves our point though, that really we need to go to university to get into the BBC. I certainly don’t want to risk it. Mind you, they aren’t the only media house in town or this country. There are many more avenues to go down.
I love the BBC and I really want it to change for the better.. well, let’s be honest – I, too, would like to work there. I’m a bargain for the license fee!
Paul Ridyard // 9 July, 2008 at 12:56 am |
After writing the above, it suddenly occurred to me. Yeh, the last time I visited BBC Manchester there was evidence that they really do take on people who are not university graduates or have tonnes of experience. I was terribly wrong about old aunty beeb – of course they take on ordinary folk.. they need cleaners and bar staff.
They are taking on 16-19yr olds on apprenticeships starting in September. So, how about the over 20’s then?
I’m still convinced that I need to go to university, unless the beeb really decides to let it’s hair down, take a risk, give the RIGHT training/placements and actually give us, who are doing for free, a go!