The place was the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, where I trained as a vocalist on a one-year diploma, having completed my BA in Development Studies at the University of Sussex in June 2009. The time came when I muscled my way onto a work experience mailing list within the school, normally reserved for students on the degree programme. An unpaid radio broadcast assistant position was posted at Tony Marks’ New Music Show on local station Brighton Juice FM and looked like an exciting combination of music editorial and hands-on experience with bands in the studio. I applied immediately, and had my interview booked by the end of the day. Time to brush up and start listening to the show, huh?

My first task was to research and write up a nine-question interview for new LA band, Girls, before I’d even met Tony. That night I heard my own words crackle over the radio and felt the kind of excitement that’s recently pushed me towards finding work opportunities in the music industry, and world of media in general. Fast forward a few days: I’d managed to get through the interview and was in the studio for my evening shift. Each week I was responsible for setting up the main sound-bites for the show’s highlighted tracks, as well as for preparing interviews with bands on nights when I wouldn’t come in. Alongside great research and editorial experience I was given free gig tickets where I could blag them with friendly Brighton bands, and learned how to think fast and find solutions under the time pressure of the ever-ticking clock in-studio.

Right place, right time and a great insight into the world of small-scale radio broadcasting: so sums up my time at Juice.

Tshepo Mokoena

photo: ohpleasepeas - photobucket

IT LOOKS as if the journalism industry might be going through a similar crisis to that of the music industry a few years ago. With so much available on the internet for free, nobody wants to pay for content at a time with an increased number of aspiring journos. Something has to give. The widely believed theory of if you work hard enough for something then you will achieve it simply cannot work for everyone, no matter how brilliant nor hard working you are.


That’s the bad news. The good news is that if you are looking for a creative, varied job where you meet lots of people, there are many different types of role out there. You can have a fish for various different media internships and practical experience here via the search on the homepage.


Whatever area of journalism that’s for you it’s becoming more and more likely you will now need a vocational qualification from the NCTJ (The National Council for the Training of Journalists).

Here’s there site – http://www.nctj.com/. Checking out their website should be your first stop in taking your career in journalism seriously. Even if you decide not to go for a post grad NCTJ course it’s a great place to get information about getting into the industry and the skills that look attractive to employers.

General Tips:

- DO work experience. If you can, try to get some work experience before you leave university when funding is less of an issue.
- DO speak to people in the industry you want to work in. BUT be very careful, specifics of how to get into the industry may have changed. A lot of people will say they didn’t need a qualification for example but the media industry is changing at a dramatic rate.
- DO lots and lots of writing. Start a blog and write as often as you can. Carry a notebook around with you and be thinking of ways to write about the things you see or inspire you.
- DO when you hear tips that could help… actually do them. Force yourself to write AND keep it up, you are guaranteed to feel the benefit. Thinking of ways to improve is one thing, doing it is another.
- DO become an expert in a chosen field. Whether it’s politics or fashion, expertise in a specific area is valuable and will make you more employable.

Where famous gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson wrote his best

But of course as you know, there are different types of journalism. Here are some great places to start to develop your interest.

Newspaper journalism
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/newspaper_journalist_job_description.jsp

Broadcast journalism
http://www.bjtc.org.uk/

Magazine journalism
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/magazine_journalist_job_description.jsp

Speak to other students about anything (we love this site). Whatever you want to talk about, you can discuss it with other students.
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42986

Here’s another article with some great tips, but have a look around, there are lots. And when you find them post them up here for all to share!

http://www.studenttimes.org/st_career/article.php?article_id=423

Give us your own tips or tell other people about your experiences. We love to hear your comments.

Last summer I was lucky enough to be accepted for work experience at Golf Monthly magazine, which I have a subscription to.  The whole process of obtaining the placement was rather difficult - I ended up sending letters to eight different companies and Golf Monthly were the only one that responded. This goes to show what a fantastic service WEXO offers, as all the companies on the site are ready and waiting for applications!

When Golf Monthly responded positively to my letter, I secretly worried that I would just be making tea and re-reading old magazines.  How wrong could I have been?!

 
On my arrival they explained all about how they publish the magazine and they then set me various interesting tasks including writing online articles, researching golf abroad (a regular section of the magazine) and choosing pictures to go on the website.

 
Not only was it great fun doing work experience at Golf Monthly, but it will also look fantastic on my CV and prove to future employers that I’ve been interested in writing since school and am determined enough to have already tried it out in the real world.  I hope that one day this head start will help me get my dream job in the fast-paced world of journalism.

by Arthur Fane (arthurfane1@hotmail.co.uk)

If you would like your work experience or internship review to be featured in the WEXO Blog, simply email 200-300 words (plus image/video) to info@wexo.co.uk