And we're back!

Sorry for the delay in updates, I've just been really busy at work.

It was quite daunting being in the Red Rose Radio newsroom, surrounded by experienced journalists arguing over what stories to cover. They asked me if I would go out and get a `voxpop` in Preston town centre asking people what they thought about the launch of the national lottery. A voxpop is when a reporter asks anyone in the street for an opinion. I was a shy lad at the time and was quite scared to approach shoppers and ask if I could record their thoughts. Standing on Friargate I spoke to about ten different people.
I took the audio back to the studio and was shown how to edit it into a twenty second clip of audio for the news bulletins. Now it's quite straightforward using digital editing software, but then you had to physically cut the tape removing what you didn't want, and sticking back together the bits you needed to keep.
After all that was complete you then had to write a script. The newsroom was still using typewriters, and old ones at that. One had no `M` so you had to write them in! The scripts had to be really short, no more than three paragraphs with a local reference in the opening sentence. This was my first script that was broadcast on the radio...

"People in Preston say they will go on a long holiday, buy a big house and treat their friends if they win the first National Lottery jackpot this weekend. The draw is made around eight o'clock tonight, with the main prize said to be over a million pounds. These shoppers they're buying a ticket...."

By the end of the week, I'd learnt how to edit audio and write scripts. I asked the news editor if I could help out at the weekends to learn more. She said `yes, we do need a weekend receptionist` - I didn't care that I'd be opening the post and making the brews for free, I was given the chance to watch and learn more skills.