As I come to the end of my brief foray into the world of student media and aim to move into the world of actual media, I feel I must briefly look back on what have been, to say the least, some of the most infuriating, depressing, hard, pointless but ultimately rewarding experiences I have ever had. I’ve decided to start with the ‘Lows’ and move to the ‘Highs’ in attempt to leave a positive feeling before the end of this blog. However, make no mistake, it’s going to get angry before it get nice.
The Lows
The biggest low which I have experienced I guess in the last 3 years is the crushing sense of pointlessness. No matter what I’ve tried in the past few year it appears that at some point the proverbial excrement will collide with a couple of whirling blades. I have found that there is simply no way of producing an award-winning piece of work you can be proud of if there is a distinct lack of interest from those at the top.
I must make it clear at this point that I’m not talking about my fellow producers of student media- the struggling masses, as it were- I am instead talking about the people running our university guild, the majority of whom couldn’t see a good thing if it came up and smacked them in the face. The lack of support which I have received as a member of Guild TV and for 2 years as Deputy Manager of Burn Fm is astounding. Both of these media outlets are producing top quality talent, most of which will probably be working for the Beeb or other top class institutes very soon and yet they have been completely ignored.
I know what you’re thinking right now, I’m just being grumpy. Well, yes, you’re right. However, I think I have bloody good reason to be. Here’s a few examples:
- In October 2007 Burn Fm had to shut down operations due to the fact that our studio is located in a sweat box and our equipment was close to melting point. After 1 year, the problem was finally sorted out, but in that time we subsequently lost our listener base, DJ’s and all of the credibility we once had. During this year we pleaded with the guild to work faster and help us recover from an event which would have all but killed most radio stations but they simply weren’t interested. As a committee we did our best and I am ultimately very proud of everything we achieved despite the hardship that year but I felt then (and still do now) that with more support we could have achieved a hell of a lot more
- In the same year Guild TV had almost all of their equipment stolen. This event (caused by a receptionist giving out the keys to our studio to a stranger-note, not a member of the society but a member of university staff) left us with one handy cam and a broken computer. It took those in charge months to replace the cameras as they seemingly didn’t care we had a national awards ceremony to get ready for. As a group of just 10 we worked extremely hard and eventually managed to win 1 award and get 2 highly commended’s at the National Student TV Awards. Just think how many we could have won with the right equipment?
- In 2008 a Burn Fm DJ committed an act of libel on the air. The event was sorted out by our committee swiftly and everything was sorted. About 2 months later the story was printed in our uni newspaper (with a lot of inaccurate facts) and somehow ended up getting a quarter page article in the Daily Mail (with even more inaccurate facts). This was of course about 1 months after the Brand/Ross scandal and we were made scapegoats of by the uni (even though they didn’t mind how we handled it to start with…?) Since then Burn Fm has been under intense scrutiny for no logical reason despite us complying with every ridiculous request asked of us.
- In 2010 the GTV hard drive wiped everything produced over the past few years. Every piece of work myself and many of my friends had done for the station was gone all because we were given a computer that was built from bits which were most likely found in the bargain bin of a car boot sale. An intense hard work drive followed and we managed to pull together footage and programmes eventually winning 1 award and getting 1 highly commended again at the NASTA’s.
These are just a few of the events I have had to contend with and it begs the question- What could we have done with support and decent equipment? The talent in these media outlets is amazing but non of it is nurtured or supported. We wonder why Leeds TV win every award going, why other Uni radio stations win awards at the SRA’s but the answer is so obvious it hurts.
Their uni’s care! They get funding, support and feedback. Not bans, restrictions and ridicule!
After 3 years of working in these environments I cannot wait to get to a place where people care about what they are producing. Where people are able to grow and develop and where success is rewarded with praise and promotion, not given a slight pat on the back and a blind eye turned. Make no mistake, I know I am going to have to wad through several years of shit to get to that place, but after some of the student media experiences I have had, I can’t help but feel that it’ll feel like paradise when I eventually get there.
The Highs
This is easy. The highs are everyone who has read the above and knows exactly what I mean. John, Hannah, Frankie, Clare, Franky, Tom, all the Sam’s, Hailey, Jo, Maz, Flic, Fiona, Grace, Frank, Will, Michael, Steve, Ariane and everyone else (sorry I can’t fit you all on). Every one of us knows the struggles and the annoyance but in a way it has all been worth it to meet you all. I know we’ll be working together for a long time in various different fields and I look forward to bumping into most of you at the Brits/Oscars/Baftas in 20yrs and laughing about the shit storm we trekked through to get there.
So to finish off this intensely long rant, I leave you with a parting gift. The first thing I ever did for GTV.
http://www.facebook.com/reece.lipman?v=app_2392950137#!/video/video.php?v=9691096613
Until next time
Later Days
xxx
Reece's Pieces 