There are many roles within professional media which I would be interested in pursuing a career within, however the most prominent of these areas would be broadcast journalism. My dream career would be working for a radio broadcaster with potential to branch out into other areas such as podcasting. An example of the type of company that I aim to work within would be Bauer Radio Limited (owners of stations such as Kerrang! Radio) and, in an ideal situation, I aim to have a role on a podcast published by an international company such as Spotify.

In terms of my personal reflection, there are skills I possess which would be important for this career path, yet there are also areas that I would need to improve upon and others which I would need to learn in their entirety. One skill of mine which would have value would be my communication skills, as I personally believe that my oratorical ability would give me an advantage in a field such as radio or podcasting due to these formats being based mainly on the listening experience. My ability to plan and structure topics for discussion would show employers that I am able to work to a professional standard (such as keeping each topic relevant, concise, and organised). Additionally, my passion for certain areas of broadcast journalism such as sports and popular culture would allow me to specify into less-generalised roles and would allow me to work to the best of my ability due to my personal passion for these areas keeping me motivated.

Whilst there are certainly areas which I feel are my strengths, a key area to work on would be technical skill. A prominent example of this would be my lack of experience within a radio/ podcast studio, which could lead to unwanted technical difficulty. To improve this skill, I aim to gain more experience within a radio studio environment, potentially by running an amateur podcast to give me a chance to explore what I am able to create and allow me to become more natural with the technology being used. Another area that I need to improve is my adaptability. I often find that I work best within a set routine, however in an environment as ever-changing as broadcast journalism, this will not always be possible due to situations such as breaking news or updated technology. One way I aim to improve this skill is through obtaining placements within multiple varied workplaces in order to subject myself to wholly different work situations and give me a wide range of experience.

In terms of areas that I need to develop completely, one of the most important would be the ability to network. Within broadcast journalism, it is important to know and communicate with people in many different roles and companies as this allows for a range of opportunities to arise. An issue here is that I have never worked in an area where networking was part of a career, and so therefore I have no starting point to further this skill with. To solve this, I am researching web-seminars on networking in order to give myself an initial understanding of the basics of this skill. After this, I aim to use these basics within my placements to gain contacts within broadcast journalism. Not only would this be valuable for finding a career post-graduation (as having contacts within companies could give me an edge in interview scenarios due to individuals having prior knowledge of what I can do), but this could prove beneficial pre-graduation as it could lead to further placements in either the second semester of my 2nd year, or my 3rd academic year.

Overall, a career in broadcast journalism, specifically radio and podcasting, would require a great deal of personal skill as well as technical and professional skill. There are areas of personal skill such as my ability as an orator, my ability to plan and structure, or my passion for research which would be key within these careers. Whilst I possess some of the skills required of me, there are still areas I need to improve upon. Experience is a common factor which I need, such as technical skill and working in a new environment, and as such I shall use opportunities such as creating a podcast in my spare time and looking for placements in order to gain the experience needed. Furthermore, I shall be looking to participate in web-seminars and watch talks from industry professionals in order to build professional skills such as networking as these will be essential within the career I am pursuing.