Claire’s Newsround Placement: End of Week 2

So, having been working for CBBC’s Newsround for a fortnight now, one thing I have learnt is that shoots take a LOT of organisation and a LOT of time to set up. Aside from filling in Risk Assessment forms online, there are also Assignment Sheets to fill in so that the presenter and AP (Assistant Producer) involved can know exactly what the VT is about and exactly where and when it’s happening. As well as this you have to organise all of the logistics such as hiring a car, booking a train, finding a hotel for an overnight shoot – this is all done by the same person.

I’ve really enjoyed working in Planning though. Thinking of stories to pitch and then helping them materialise is improving my understanding of Newsround and the types of stories that kids who watch it are really attracted by. Sometimes a story which can seem really irrelevant to me can actually make it as a top-liner on the website; other times something I think is obviously newsworthy for kids doesn’t even get a mention. I thought last week they would definitely mention the news that A levels are apparently going to be made harder; just because, although the show’s target audience is only 6 to 12-year-olds, this story clearly affects them. But perhaps this story didn’t get broadcast because it is too ‘adulty’ (a new word I am becoming familiar with). On the other hand, the TV producers at NR have made a smashing attempt at explaining some of the most complicated headlines this week, such as the rocket in North Korea and the Burma story.

I was lucky enough to be the first to spot the story about the American kids who stopped their school bus (Wednesday afternoon) and that made the morning bull on Thursday, so I was very pleased about my contribution –  I also spotted the ‘Two Directions’ story on Twitter first. Just going to show that the social network can be as important a journalistic tool in the professional world as any news website.

But the highlight for me this week has to be Friday, when I got to go out on the shoot for the story I pitched about wild baby rabbits! The RSPCA keep getting wild baby rabbits handed in to them because people think they’ve been abandoned – in actual fact the mother rabbits are just around the the corner and the reason they’re left alone is to help them adapt to living in the wild by themselves. We went to the RSPCA in Nantwich to film them and boy oh boy were there some cute sights to see. As well as the cute baby rabbits we also saw some fox cubs and ducklings. Check them out…

The shoot went smoothly and the VT is gonna be on NR on Tuesday, so if you read this in time check it out! Working for CBBC has been a really exciting experience so far and I expect this week will be even better.. more stories to plan and on Thursday I am going to be checking out the Blue Peter studios when I go and do some shadowing with them in the afternoon. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes next week.

Until then, it’s ciao from me!

Claire