How and why I got into radio as a newspaper journalist & women of a certain age - really?
Taylor Swift's 'Errors' book | Book of the Week by Roisin Murphy | Women in journalism mentoring scheme | Morpeth Book Festival | Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting
My dear wordsmiths,
My usual plea to consider upgrading to paid and supporting my work. Thanks so much to those who already have - it is very much appreciated.
In this week’s Write Reject Repeat:
I talk about getting into radio as a newspaper journalist & how YOU can too
News, opportunities and events in journalism and for authors
Book of the week: Nesting by Roisin O’Donnell
NEXT WEEK (reporting from Spain!) How to manage abuse online
‘Women of a certain age’
As a woman of a certain age - by which I mean I probably no longer qualify for Love Island or an Only Fans account (I wouldn’t recommend my feet) - I am suitably taken aback that a man in the public eye would pigeon hole us in that way. In reality I’m not exactly surprised because if you are aged over 35 - and female - you will have experienced this butt of joke, blame game, attempt to make us invisible, mentality so many times you have become immune.
I can’t even count the number of times back in the day I answered a news desk phone, for someone to insist they talk to the editor, not me. Of course, I WAS the editor but merely a woman. I really hope those particular days are over. I have many (many) much worse stories of course, but this is not the forum and while I still work in the industry I’ll spare you the details.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google Greg Wallace ‘Middle class women of a certain age’ and sigh loudly.
‘The girl from the paper’
This leads me nicely into my next subject. Radio. Many questioned my decision to, extremely belatedly in my journalism career and as a daily newspaper editor at the time, stick my toes into the heavily competitive broadcast world. The reality is I should have done broadcast journalism on day one, as though I loved to write, it was my dream. But the younger me lacked the confidence in a sphere dominated by beautiful, posh, women who were based out of London. I wasn’t any of those.
Things have changed somewhat since but this is still true of the majority of on camera roles for women. Looking back, I have no idea what I was worried about, but there are far more roles for an up and comers and more diversity now and even some - gasp, horror - not in London thanks to BBC/Channel 4/ITV offices further afield. But I went the traditional route and now will now always be known (however many roles I have had since and whatever I do) as the woman from the Lancashire Post or the girl from the paper.
Saying yes
So having finally gained the confidence I decided, as a sideline and approaching 40, to get involved in community radio - something which baffled many. In reality I had already done loads of radio and TV as a journalist, reviewing newspapers on multiple radio channels including Sky and BBC, appearing on various TV shows usually as a token northern woman or an expert in one crime or other (I was a crime reporter). I was even on Sarah Beeney’s Best Place to Live, BBC News and even, somewhat randomly as extra in a film. These opportunities came my way and I said yes (most recently Hold the Front Page on Sky Max) But my favourite was a regular news reviewer on the BBC Manchester/Lancashire Gordon Burns (former Krypton Factor/BBC NWT) show out of Media City, Salford.
‘Coming in your ears’ at Chorley FM (if you know, you know)
I started at Chorley FM (made famous by the comedian Peter Kay’s sketches) as an unpaid volunteer after randomly bumping into someone from the station while I was judging a photography competition - just one of random things you get regularly asked to do as a newspaper editor. In no time at all, and after some brief training on system (It was Myriad for the radio geeks), I found myself locked up alone in a small studio every Sunday for my three hour show. Suddenly I was a DJ and ‘Lie in with Nic’ was live. It was occasionally pretty awful as I do not learn tech quickly and many mistakes were made but I loved it. The talking, the interviewing, all came naturally and those in charge had somebody with legal training who was unlikely to upset Ofcom. I was even commended for a national award.
It’s not what you know
Next, largely due to my contacts and the pitch of a lifetime, I started a show (paid this time) at the local BBC station on Sundays from 2-4pm (2-6pm in lockdown) co-presenting with my friend and very experienced radio presenter Gemma Ray (formerly of Rock FM Breakfast - Gemma Dee). We were there a couple of years (with show name Grin and Tonic ;-) before being axed as the BBC started cutting shows and people after lockdown. A different set of systems and much stricter rules was a learning curve and I was very lucky I had the much more technically-minded Gemma with me, Ultimately we took it in turns ‘driving’ the radio desk and between us had most of the skills required though we also had an on the day producer through the glass and sometimes on air - the lovely Sophie - who averted many a crisis. Our favourite shows were outside broadcasts.
Central Radio
This year I returned to radio again, this time with commercial DAB station Central Radio North West where I now present a Sunday show from 7-9pm. (back to Myriad again). I often pre-record this from home as technology made leaps and bounds during lockdown which means the possibilities are endless. It’s a different skill to live radio and my biggest challenge is not being tempted to re-record everything and get it perfect. You could literally be there all night. Tune in if you live in the North West of England - expect upbeat cheesy music and chat including books.
How can you get into radio?
It won’t come looking for you - go get it. The proliferation of new DAB community radio stations means opportunities in local communities are rife. They need volunteers. Hospital Radio always needs volunteers and more commercial stations like where I work at Central Radio also consider volunteers, although don’t expect to be on air immediately. There’s so much more to it and they need off-air volunteers too.
Podcast
These days anybody can publish a podcast and if you have a niche, a podcast could be perfect. I’ve transitioned into podcast now and recently presented Booky - but I’m involved more widely in conception, production and monetisation through my day job. Be brave but be reliable and plan carefully. Don’t expect a massive audience straight away - you’ll need to market it - again a key skill. I can talk more about podcast another day. It’s brilliant for authors and journalists.
Book of the week
Nesting by Roison O’Donnell (coming in hardback, Jan 30, 2025)
A debut novel by a short story prize-winning Irish writer, Nesting introduces Dublin based writer Roisin O’Donnell.
Tense, beautiful, and underpinned by an unassailable love, hope and resilience, this is the story of one woman’s bid to start over. On a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, Ciara straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe.
This was meant to be an escape. But with dwindling savings, no job, and her family across the sea, Ciara finds herself adrift, facing a broken housing system and the voice of her own demons. As summer passes and winter closes in, she must navigate raising her children in a hotel room, searching for a new home and dealing with her husband Ryan’s relentless campaign to get her to come back. Because leaving is one thing, but staying away is another. What will it take for Ciara to reinvent her life? Can she ever truly break away from Ryan’s control –and what will be the cost? Simon & Schuster
News, events and opportunities
Books:
(News) Taylor Swift’s book breaks records: Despite only selling in Target in the US, Taylor Swift’s book launch of her official Era's Tour book is the biggest of the year. More than 800,000 copies were sold in the US over Thanksgiving weekend, according to Circana but it’s getting a tough review by fans who are pointing out all the ‘errors’ in grammar and typography plus blurry pics.
(Event) Morpeth Book Festival (via Northumberland Gazette): 2025 is looming and with it a whole new diary of book events. One of the earlier events is Morpeth Book Festival in Northumberland. Mari Hannah, award-winning crime author, will lead the festival, joined by Alistair Moffat, Gervase Phinn and B. A. Paris, among other national and local authors. It takes place from 22-23 March, 2025.
(Opportunity) The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting (via BBC Writers): Now 20 years old, the largest playwriting competition in Europe searches for scripts that are original and unperformed, by writers of any experience over the age of 16. Every play is read anonymously and judged purely on the work alone. The 2025 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, which deadlines on January 9, 2025, is split across four categories. They are:
The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting – £20,000
The Judges Award – £10,000
The Bruntwood Prize International Award – £10,000
The North West Original New Voice Award and Residency
Journalism:
(Opportunity) Women in journalism mentoring scheme: The Women in Journalism network is made up of some of the most influential and supportive female print, broadcast and online journalists of our time, from rising stars to seasoned professionals. They are based in London, the regions and even overseas. The mentoring scheme matches them with women journalists in need of personal, one-to-one advice over a period of one year. If you would like a mentor, you can apply via the WIJ website. (linked above)
(News) Public Notice Portal gets Google funding: The local news media sector’s Public Notice Portal will undergo a second major phase of development with new funding from the Google News Initiative to deepen public engagement with public notices. Work has already begun on the new services which will see a fully searchable archive added to the portal and the creation of consultation functions to help public bodies and commercial entities engage with public more effectively. News Media Association chairman Danny Cammiade said: “We are delighted to be able to partner once again with Google to further improve the local news media sector’s public notices offering.
(News) Strike at the Guardian: Journalists at the Guardian and sister publication the Observer went on strike this week in protest at the proposed sale of the Sunday newspaper to Tortoise Media. The first strike at the Guardian in more than half a century comes after NUJ members passed a motion last month stating that selling the Observer to Tortoise would be a “betrayal” of the commitment made by the Scott Trust, the Guardian Media Group (GMG)'s owners, to the 233-year-old Sunday newspaper.
Thanks for reading, please like and share - until next week from hopefully sunny Spain! Keep writing..
Nicola x