Just doing my Best - My day at the Sky Academy

Long time no speak! I haven't blogged in a month as apparently University gets harder the longer you're there. Meaning that I have much less free time and when I'm not reading articles on Colombian Paramilitary Demobilisation or chapters regarding the Speech Act Theory, I do try to maintain some sort of a social life. However! Something has happened to me in the last week that I couldn't possibly go without blogging about!

Last Tuesday I took a trip down to London to take part in the Journalism Insight Day at the Sky Academy. For those of you who know me, please be extremely proud that I managed to get there and back safely. I got on all the right trains at the right times and I didn't even get lost (bravo, bravo).

When I arrived at Syon Lane station, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Rather than being nervous I walked into the room feeling excited, open-minded and ready to take whatever the day threw at me. The room was welcome, the staff open and the other young people and fellow students were exactly like myself.

It was refreshing to be around ambitious, like-minded people, people who I could definitely envisage in the competitive industry of broadcast journalism.

Firstly, we were sat down and told that we were very privileged to be there, as there were so many applications and so very few places. I couldn't help feeling extremely proud of myself, and the day had barely begun! After being told what to do in the event of a fire and various other formalities, we were given a talk from the legend that is Jim White. He told us riveting stories about his career to date and gave us his invaluable advice which stressed two main points - get contacts in the industry and learn shorthand. This was particularly useful information to me; it further consolidated my knowledge that in the industry of journalism it's ok to be bolshy, to build friendships and ask for phone numbers/emails and it also informed me for the first time that shorthand was an incredbly useful skill that could put you a cut above the rest.

(image from http://www.mainlinemenswear.co.uk/blog/2014/january-transfer-window-round-up)

The day continued with talks from Martin Stanford, Laurie Tucker and Mike Kumar - a deputy news editor. Martin highlighted the vast change in journalism with the growth of technology and reminded us that the industry we were looking at that day could change as quickly as overnight. They then led a workshop in which we created a 'mini news show'. We had to write headlines, an introduction, a piece to camera and then decide in which order the stories would be told. A challenging, but fun activity that was highly interactive and got those of the group who may have been slightly more quiet, right in the spotlight.

After lunch we were taken on a tour of the studios which was absolutely breathtaking. The feeling of being in a newsroom was indescribably exciting and (if it's at all possible) made me even more ambitious than I already was! This was followed by another talk concerning internal communications and more active workshops which taught me much more than I could ever learn sat in a lecture theatre.

The day was wrapped up with a "speed networking session" in which we met and talked to many people who worked in all different positions within Sky. They told us a great number of things about their careers and gave us advice on how we could enrich our own. The main thing that I took from this exercise was that education is important but experience is crucial. In order to succeed, we need to put ourselves out there, make our names and go from strength to strength as no one can or will do it for you, but you.

And this goes for anything, going to the Sky Academy taught me that in life it's ok to apply for a position that you may believe is slightly out of your reach, it's ok to ask that question that you might feel is a little risky and it's imperative take any opportunity that is thrown at you, whether expected or not. Because 99 times out of 100, you aren't losing anything, you're building your character and getting ready to jump over the next hurdle that you come across.

This is why after almost a week of reflection, I feel ready to go forth with my life confident that a career in journalism is within my reach if I work hard enough. I can't recommend the Journalism Insight Day enough to anyone aspiring for a career in the field. It has further encouraged me in a way I didn't think was possible, to continue to do my best in order to achieve. My best is all I can do and of course, it's what I'll do.