9.11.12
Tell us a bit about your earlier life and how you got to where you are now.
I didn’t really think about university when doing my A Levels as my parents hadn’t been, but one of my teachers at sixth form asked if I had thought about university and apparently I looked at him as if he was mad! They put me forward into the Oxford entrance exam and I got in to study Geography. So I pursued it from there.
Were you politically active at Oxford?
Not really, no. I was more into sport, particularly rowing, and set up a women’s group at my college. I used to contribute towards newspapers and magazines. In the holidays I worked for the local paper which is where I found my love of journalism, and was paid £20-25 for the week, which went quite far then. I then did a postgrad journalism course in Cardiff, which helped me to get my first job at my local paper, the Evening Gazette, in London for two years. Then I applied to do the BBC News training scheme.
How long have you worked for the BBC and how did you come to specialise in education?
About 23 years. I did general news for 10 to 12 years covering home and world news. I spent a lot of time in the radio newsroom, then specialising in education when the internet came along and I worked with people on the early website. I really liked the education issues and learning about social affairs. Young people interest me, especially now as I have three children of my own.
How many hits do you get on a good story?
A really good story can get up to a million hits as we don’t have as many as the mainstream headlines, but I’m happy with half a million. Our biggest hitters have been those surrounding the tuition fees and demonstrations.
What are your opinions on the rise in tuition fees and tuition fees in general?
When I went to university I went on a full grant, working in the holidays to top up my finances, so now I appreciate how lucky I was. I have to remain impartial so I can’t answer much more than that.
Do you feel that the media reporting of the demonstration in 2010 truly reflected the motives of students?
We do our best to show the different sides, but students could say more about that than me.
So finally, what advice would you give to people wanting to get into journalism?
The most important thing is to get into the workplace and have a go; See what really interests you. Find a specialism because that can end up being really satisfying and you can find yourself becoming very passionate. You need a degree of empathy and energy to get through the setbacks and get yourself to where you want to be.
Words: Sabrina Poole