Not only is Jessica Bland studying hard for her Broadcast Journalism degree, she is also filling in her application to send off to The University of Wisconsin-Madison where she has been offered a place to study abroad for a year in August and on top of this she is Head of News for Leeds Student Radio. Her Campus Leeds caught up with her to find out more about Leeds Student Radio and how she got involved.Â
How did you become Head of News for Leeds Student Radio (LSR)?
Last year I was a fresher and throughout the year I was involved in the news team for LSR. This meant I read the morning news bulletins and was also on the Newslink team which I really enjoyed. When it came round to the radioâs Annual General Meeting the current Heads of News were looking for people to carry on the role and said that any of us would be suitable for it. I decided it was something that I really wanted to do so I went to the meeting and gave a two minute speech saying why Iâd like to be Head of News and what kind of things I would do in the role. I was voted in by the members of LSR and am now Co-Head of News alongside Helen Hoddinott.
Jessica with her co-Head of News, Helen Hoddinott
What does the role of being Head of News involve?
There are two strands of the news team of the radio; first we have news bulletin readers and also a weekly hour long show. As Head of News I have to organise when people are reading the bulletins and fill out the schedule making sure that people are doing it right and also stepping in when people canât make it for whatever reason. For the weekly show Iâll present it every other week, bring my own news report to read out and also lead the discussion part of the show. We have a really great team so itâs just about making sure people are doing what they should be and organising them so the show runs smoothly!
We also do live events throughout the year which are news related such as covering the Leeds University Executive nominations and Leadership race which I have to head up and organise.
What have you got planned for this semester?
One of the most exciting things weâll be doing is covering the âExec Electionsâ where the six roles of the executive are up for renewal and all students cast their votes for who they want to represent them. We at LSR have got priority over broadcasting the election live when the results are announced so Iâm going to be exec producing that. Itâs a really exciting time as during the weeks building up to the results weâll be bringing the students of Leeds information about the candidates and what theyâre promising if they get elected. Weâre trying to cover it in a way that when it comes to voting the students will be making an informed choice because weâve brought them all the details they need to know.
For the news in general weâre taking more of a student angle on all the stories that weâre producing. Obviously we are a student radio station and itâs very easy to fall into the trap of doing news like we see and hear around us, but as we are a university station weâre going to try and embrace that to bring news to the students that affects and interests them. Weâre hoping to do some more investigative pieces on big issues that affect students such as problems with taxis and landlords.
Why should people get involved with Leeds Student Radio?
There are so many ways you can get involved so even though Iâm part of the news area if thereâs something you have an interest in theyâll be a way you can show that. If youâre thinking about a career in radio or broadcasting itâs a great way of gaining experience and it looks great on your CV. Itâs a really social society and you always come away from LSR feeling a part of it because everyoneâs so welcoming. I would definitely recommend being involved and especially as part of the news team!
Leeds Student Radio website – http://www.lsrfm.com/
Join the Society – http://www.leedsuniversityunio…
Image Sources:
1. and 2. Jessica Bland
3. http://www.lsrfm.com/