Back to teaching

15th November 2023

Today saw me back - rather to my surprise - working with students again. For 15 years I presented the BBC Radio Leeds breakfast show during the week. As if getting up 3.30 weren’t enough, I decided to extend my day by working with the journalists of the future. After six years at UCLan in Preston, I moved to Leeds Trinity University for a year (1999 to 2006). I then continued to work on a freelance basis giving guest lectures and helping with curriculum development. In recent years I’ve taught less but have continued to mentor students at Leeds Student Radio, as well as colleagues in the industry. Getting back into teaching was one of my goals once I left the BBC. However it’s happened rather more quickly than I expected! My final day in the office at Radio Leeds was only last Friday. I’d received a call a few days before from a friend and former colleague asking if I might be able to assess what are known as ‘news days’. These are a standard part of university journalism courses which have industry accreditation. Tutors need to have relevant professional experience, the facilities (eg radio and TV studios) need to be up to date and  the curriculum needs to cover important journalistic essentials such as how to write for the relevant medium, law, ethics and public administration etc. Simulating what you’ll be find, in my case, on a radio station is really important - working to tight deadlines, working under pressure, working in teams and broadcasting the 3pm news at 3pm, not 3.13pm! I’ll be working with the talented young people on the BA Journalism course for six weeks in the new year as they research, produce and then broadcast radio news bulletins and podcasts. It gave me a real buzz getting back into that environment, but did make me feel a tad old. Most of the students are younger than my own daughter. How did that happen with me, at least in my head, so young?!