3 months into our London360 reporter traineeship and our new and exciting challenge had been set to us:- to develop and pitch a newsworthy idea to BBC Radio London (94.9) which had the potential to be broadcast on drivetime presenter Eddie Nestor’s show. Following an initial meeting with Eddie in the comfort of the London360 office, the 6 of us set to work refining our topics, trying to make them as specific and relevant to a London audience as possible.
This, as I came to discover, was no mean feat! I knew I wanted to develop a story related to trends on social media. It was something I was passionate about, having completed my dissertation on the subject at university. I came across the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion and it immediately stuck in my mind. With such a brash headline, I was compelled to find out more. It turns out it was a hashtag started by two feminist activists to encourage women to speak out about their abortion experiences, following a decision by the US government to cut funding to clinics offering family planning services, including the termination of pregnancies.
Most topics have been discussed time and again, but the BBC always intend to move the conversation forward in some way, by creating a new angle for an existing story or by finding unique and diverse contributors to speak on the shows. Although the issue of abortion is an age-old debate, I wanted to bring it up-to-date by asking the question: should we be shouting about abortion (whether pro-life or pro-choice) publicly and on social media?
Immediately the first question I had to ask was “how does this relate to London?” for the brief that we had been set. It was something that continued to play on my mind as we were sat in one of the BBC studios with Eddie and BBC London reporter Anna O’Neill. This, along with “how would this appeal to our target audience?” were two of the key questions that were posed to us as, one by one, we were invited to present our first insights and findings. It may seem like common sense, but it can be all too easy to think about the wider context and the impacts of the issues on a worldwide scale, rather than focusing on the conversations and stories that are unfolding in London and are generated by Londoners.
One reporter, who was pitching a story related to gentrification in London, looked somewhat in doubt as to whether their story would get the green light, after hearing that BBC London was airing a story about gentrification and whether it is good or bad for London later that day. Eddie simply said “that story isn’t going away”. Issues of housing and homelessness continue to be hot topics of discussion and, providing a reporter shows that either new regions of London or fresh voices can be uncovered, it seems that Eddie and his team are keen to hone in on them, particularly if they cater to the show’s demographic (listeners are predominately over 45).
Ultimately, whether or not a story is taken from inception to delivery is in the hands of the media “gods” – or the editors – who meticulously scrutinise each idea and opinion down to the bone. In our meeting, Eddie and Anna gave us their undivided attention, listening as we delivered our pitches in full before offering constructive feedback and ways in which we could tweak our ideas to ensure they were more focused and relevant to the listeners. In an official BBC editorial meeting, however, it is likely that there would have been less of a detailed discussion of the idea and more of a “yes” or “no” response to a quick-fire pitch as to whether it would be suitable to be broadcast.
After getting so absorbed in my #ShoutYourAbortion story, and having received several emails and replies back declaring interest in talking through my idea further, I was confident that this revitalised version of an old debate had the potential to be translated onto a radio platform. But, after discussing it with Eddie, Anna and the London360 team, it seemed that my story (which originated in America and not London) in its current form may not be suitable for the show on this occasion. I had also been keen to get an influential male voice on the show. He had received a great deal of backlash in the press and on Twitter for his comments regarding the hashtag and, in light of his personal experience, had quite a bit to say on the issue. Perhaps including a male voice (not to speak directly about abortion but about the conversation that was generated fron the #ShoutYourAbortion hashtag) could give this story a fresh angle. However, as raised in the pitch meeting, it was important that a male perspective, while largely undocumented in this highly gendered debate, didn’t take presedence over the issues that women themselves have faced with regards to abortion.
Nonetheless, passion and conviction in your ideas really can take you forward. Eddie suggested that, while it may not work as a radio feature for his particular show, it would definitely be worthwhile for me to do a write up about it. It could have been easy to see my first BBC pitching experience as a “rejection”. Instead, it is much better to think of how you can convey your message in a different way – or on a different platform – and to just get it out there. Pitching doesn’t have to be perfect – if your message is clear, simple and would resonate with the audience you are trying to “sell” it to, even just a few lines of a description and a few contacts you could speak to about the issue, it is usually sufficient to be presented to the editors.
Even if your idea doesn’t get picked initially, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s useless. It just may not be suited to a particular audience or organisation at a particular time. But what’s to stop you from showing it to others or trying to get it onto different platforms, be it radio, TV, online or written? With social media proving to be a powerful journalistic tool, sometimes the best platform to channel your views and stories is your own. So what are you waiting for? Set up a blog, or a YouTube channel and get producing! A huge thanks to Anna O’Neill and Eddie Nestor for giving up their time to listen to our pitches. It’s great to receive tailored advice from established broadcasters such as yourselves and we will no doubt take on board what has been discussed for future meetings! I believe next Monday is in the diary…
Suna Yokes BLOGS 