1. What are the different responsibilities of presenters and producers?
Fiona who is a producer is in charge of making sure that the callers sound perfect - meaning no swearing, no brand mentioning and no offensive comments. There is a music team for Radio 1 who are in charge to make a playlist for each day from 4am to 7pm to make sure that the same songs are not playing in the same order on every show.
2. What preparation goes into each programme?
The show starts at 6:30am but the team will start at 5-5:30am to check emails and social media to ensure that everything has been covered. Everything for next days show is planned once they have finished the programme for that day. A script is written for each show however it is highly flexible so that it doesn't sound staged and stiff and then Nick can add in any bits that he feels should be included. When a script is written they do not have a set session to write it, except from when the guests going on the show are very famous, big names. They also have a Whatsapp group chat so that whenever they see something funny or interesting they can share it with each other to see whether it should be a part of the show. The timings and placement of each bit is sorted out on the day of the show as they can then make it much more organised. To get the guests they can choose who they would like to invite, so they look at TV guides and what films are being released to determine who will be on and when, in order for them to promote their film or TV show etc. Often, a big name will be brought on if they have a new album or film to advertise.
3. Whats most challenging and most enjoyable about working on the show?
The most enjoyable part is getting along with the team and having fun together doing the show, Also knowing that someone's morning has been made better by the show is a very important part of the joy. A challenging part is when the guest is very difficult - being boring, offensive or rude etc. If the person is too boring or strongly offensive their time will be cut quite short. However if they are only mildly offensive then they can be subtly told to remember where they are - this can be quite a struggle.
4. What are the team dynamics like?
They are like a very dysfunctional, intimate family who trust each other very much. It feels as though they are a mother and father working together as a team to make sure everything is going to be alright. The whole crew understand each other and what other people need in order to grow. Guiding each other to learn more and develop skills whilst learning as much about the job is also a very important part of their close knit team. Having new producers brings in new and fresh ideas which can be very good.
5. How can you break into radio?
You can do things to gain experience such as going into a local radio station and helping out for free. But to pick up more skills you will have to practice communicating, how to express yourself and how to be very organised. You should directly approach people in the industry and ask to get involved but will have to be persistent and cannot be disheartened by rejection emails, because something will come around. Try and do student radio so that you can make mistakes and learn from them without a wide audience listening to judge you. Finally, when listening to radio find what you like about other producers and apply it to yourself and find out what you like talking about to make it sound more confident and relaxed.