How to Get into the Media Industry

I’m Lea and I have had articles published in Elev8 and I run my own online blog amongst other credits in work experience. I was asked how I managed to get into the media industry and I am here to give you an answer. Getting into the media industry is difficult to do without experience, so you need the right stepping stones to get your foot in the door. Most available positions in the media are not advertised so the need for speculative letters to potential employers is a must. This is how I got my job as an Editorial assistant for the international Journal Transgressive Culture, where I have been working for nearly a year now.

My other successes through writing speculative letters have been; my work experience as a researcher for BBC East Midlands Today; I got to make enquiries myself and make appointments for studio interviews, I watched from the studio as the news was broadcast live; “switching to camera 3 in 4,3,2,1”. Listening to the countdown for the camera changes made me feel exited to be involved in the airing of the news. I researched news stories and went out on location shooting at Forest Recreation Ground where the pensions protest was taking place. I gathered people for interview and I was asked by the camera man to guide him whilst he was filming backwards (due to health and safety). To my surprise my contribution to the research and filming was shown on the news lunchtime, evening and night. I was contacted the day after my work experience and thanked by the shadowed researcher. I have been asked to go back in the summer, so the speculative letter worked.  I was so proud to be involved; it was a great experience.

I am the researcher and production assistant for a short promo film called The Feet of Angels which be up on YouTube in the next few months, so keep your eye out for that, I also met Ian Reddington, (Coronation Street, Shameless, Benidorm, Casualty, The Bill, Eastenders etc.) who is acting in the short film, at the location shoot so that was a great experience. You can find out more information about film and television on IMDB.com the internet movie database. I use this website all the time and it’s great for getting information on the media industry. You can also see what films are due to be made in the next few years. My next work experience was a shock. I had written to the Derby Evening Telegraph about 3 months ago and whilst I was shopping in Asda I got a phone call asking me to come in for a work experience placement, so I was grateful for yet another opportunity to get my foot in the door, this time in media and publishing.

I have an online blog in which I write about films, television, and my experiences within the media as well general photo blogs and random pieces of news in the media. This is a great starting point for budding writers as this is your personal business portfolio. It’s easy to set up a blog, I use Blog.spot.com for mine and it’s completely free. You do have the option to pay for an upgrade but the free one is perfect for this use. The media industry want creative individuals with good communication skills as working in the media involves a lot of team work, so be a student ambassador for your university. I was an ambassador as you are involved with people all the time so it‘s the best way to improve your communication skills; you can then use these in the future because working in the media requires teamwork.  

There is a great wealth of information on the web explaining everything you need to know about job roles in the media industry. Two really good sites that I have used is Prospects.com or skillset.org. These websites have all the job roles available for every industry you can think of, so this is a great starting point. Skillset supplies a list of useful publications which will help you keep up to date with all the latest developments in the media, while prospects gives you more information on training, expected salaries and career development. When I looked at the different job roles I got a lot of information. You can check for specific qualifications needed for any role, as certain jobs will ask for specific qualifications such as a degree in Film, Television, Media and Broadcast media, Journalism or Video Production.  You can look for a course on both Skillset and Prospects or you can do a course search on UCAS.com.  

Grab hold of any opportunities that arise in your industry and build up a good portfolio, which could get you the job. There are loads of ways to do this. First step is to decide the career path and chose a course of study, I did Sociology and Film and Television Studies (University of Derby) as I think sociology is important when dealing with film and television as there are similarities in the theories that they use. Another way I got into the media was to get a job as a runner. I spoke to different lecturers at the university and one day I got an email from my lecturer saying that there was a film promo being made and would I like to be involved?  I said yes and am currently filming the short film now working as both a researcher and a production assistant (production runner). You don’t need any qualifications to be a runner; just lots of energy and enthusiasm. Take on every opportunity and learn all kinds of valuable and useful skills. Some of the skills include; client hospitality, looking after guests and providing them with refreshments, varied duties; you get to go into all the different facilities as you will be asked to ‘run and get…’ You will handle deliveries and you will be required to ‘step in’ for someone who is absent. This is good as you learn the business side of the industry as well as the production side. You will learn to work on your own initiative and runners will see how the media industry operates first-hand and witness the different job roles available in the industry.

You can register for work experience on the BBC.co.uk. The BBC website provides the information you need about all roles within the BBC as well as how to get work experience and how to “get into” the BBC. There is also the BBC North website (based in Salford) bbc.co.uk/jobs/north, where you can apply for work experience. The BBC also runs a scheme which provides opportunities within broadcasting, called BBC New Talent so there are many ways to get into the BBC. ITV.com also has information on how to get into the television industry as well as advertising jobs and being able to apply for work experience.  Cinemagic.org.uk, a festival in Dublin, provides work experience for young people interested in a career in the media. The young person will be able to gain hand on experience in all aspects of film and television production such as directing, production, presenting, acting and scriptwriting.

Network and meet people in the industry. Talk to people by letter, phone, and email or use any contacts you have already (like lecturers and work colleagues) to help you get in touch with the right people. I wrote to Inflammable Films to ask for work experience, I received a reply from a BAFTA award winner Diarmid Scrimshaw (script supervisor for This is England and producer for Arctic Monkeys Scummy Man Short). He happened to be in my hometown the next day so we met up for a coffee and spoke about my future plans and he told me about a couple of new projects that were in the pipeline. This is the sort of contact you need, but remember everyone is a potential contact. Volunteer to help out where you can as this is a great way to build up your portfolio and also a great way to build up contacts. All my experience is voluntary and this is the best way to gain both experience and contacts. Approaching potential employers in the industry is easy; just look for the contact details on online databases such as; Northern Exposure, the Yellow Pages and Code works Connect which list the digital media and video production services in the region. You can also look at online directories for TV, Film and Video Industries like Kemps, The Knowledge or BECTU.

Pre-entry work experience is one of the most valuable things employers look at. They look at the work experience of an applicant to see if they are committed to working in the media. Voluntary work for projects such as local film projects, work experience in studios, in the theatre, being a floor runner for film and television studios, working at local festivals and even in marketing or at a photographer’s; this all goes towards a portfolio. Try contacting local radio stations including hospital radio and the university radio to get work experience or ask to shadow someone in their work. Other sources of work experience I the media are channel4.com, flickernow.org, startintv.com and corporate.sky.com. There are also two good websites for jobs and auditions called starnow.co.uk and thestage.co.uk. They have everything from magazines to actors and from hair and makeup stylists to photographers and musicians. Once you have built some experience and gained valuable skills you could promote your skills online.  Networking sites such as LinkedIn.com and Facebook allow you to sign up and promote yourself as a freelancer which is what I have done.

Getting into the media industry may be hard and a lengthy process but don’t give up as persistence will pay.