Journalism

YorWorld

Created by John Wakefield
Produced by John Wakefield (January 2011 - February 2012)
You can hear an example of the programme here: http://ury.york.ac.uk/uryplayer/podcasts/691/

YorWorld was a unique show on URY, and a unique approach to University journalistic or current affairs broadcasting and has become one of the most popular programmes on the station attracting a regular listenership of around 200, sometimes twice that, which I am incredibly proud of and see as an achievement, especially as it represents part of our speech output, an area often considered as niche.

I produced the programme with a basic formula in mind but this often leads to a huge variety in content.

Every week I interview somebody and this is not necessarily a celebrity (although we have had a fair share). Guests have included famous writers, theatre directors, actors, radio producers, BBC correspondents, comedians and more, all of whom have fascinating stories to tell. This involves hours of research and preparation as well as the time spent contacting the PR companies and agents. A variety of these can be heard in the audio entry.

These interviews inform the student community of the events that are going on in the city such as visiting comedians, celebrities and theatre performances. However we have also looked behind the scenes at what it’s like to be a journalist and the ethics of journalism, both these areas are rarely seen in other current affairs programming.

We also have a spotlight feature that allows societies from the university the chance to get on air, this generally consists of a short, creatively edited documentary about the society and interviews with its members so they can tell people what they’re about and also introduce them and their members to the power of speech radio. We’ve cooperated with societies from Douglas Adams and Aerobics to Gilbert and Sullivan Society and Central Hall Musical Society fully taking advantage of the multitude of interests at the university. It also allows us to inform our listeners about the important events on campus that these societies are putting on meaning that we can give a unique guide to making the most of your time at university.

The programme has led to a huge cooperation with the university’s drama society which has meant that we get unprecedented access to their rehearsals and interviews with their cast and I spend up to a day with the cast and then prepare a carefully edited preview of the show. This has also meant that our reviewers receive the best seats in the house both in student events and in the theatres in the city such as ‘The York Theatre Royal’. Again this allows us to inform our listeners about the best shows to see and give them unrivalled information about what’s coming soon. Moreover the decision to deliver this information in creatively edited features have led to a people who enjoy listening to the pieces and have been attracted to the drama events which they had never thought they were interested in; exploiting the radios power to capture peoples imagination.

While ‘YorWorld’ is undoubtedly a current affairs show it has elements of chat and magazine shows as well and our items are punctuated by exclusive live sessions from York student musicians and interviews with them about their work. In the edition above you can hear Climbing Trees and on another programme, Jahangir Aziz-Hyat speaking about his turbulent childhood and the mark its left on his latest album. Furthermore this gives us an opportunity to inform our listeners about the musical scene at the university and throughout the city.

The programme is recorded virtually ‘as live’ on Saturday mornings and broadcast as part of our speech output on Sunday afternoons with reviewers, musicians and presenters in the studio but it gives me the opportunity to cut down the show and edit it to a hopefully professional standard.

The show has a number of regular presenters and alongside us there is a network of reviewers who are, through careful management of contacts make sure our relationships with societies and local theatres is maintained and is continually growing (for example our behind the scenes access to ‘The York Theatre Royal’ is unprecedented in York student media.) We’ve also now begun working closely with the Norman Rea Gallery and the York Art Gallery to provide previews of their exhibitions, led by their curators, which often take the form of small documentary features about the artists.

As the programme’s producer I hope it is obvious the passion and work involved in creating an hour of quality speech broadcasting every single week and that YorWorld takes on aspects of current affairs and speech broadcasting rarely seen, to my knowledge, in student radio.

Student Radio Awards Judges Comments

I thought this was a very professional and high quality entry. This team are doing something that could rival many Radio 4 weekend or daytime speech programmes and it reminded me greatly of the culture show. I loved the use of music and interviews and live music and play reviews. It suits a student audience by covering local musicians, plays- the kind of things students would want to check out and listen into- its appealing to their cultural and local knowledge and i think that’s a very good thing. This team clearly plan and research what they cover in advance very well and have excellent contacts- an essential element to any journalists work. The delivery was super professional and mature. It is about good speech and culture content and I think thats very appealing to a student market. Well done.
Really good show with highly competent presenters and reporters... very good content.

In the Stalls

Created and produced by John Wakefield (January 2011 - February 2012)

Awards: 1 of only 6 nominations for the Best Speech Category at the Student Radio Awards 2011
1 of only 6 nominations for the Best Speech Category at the Student Radio Awards 2012
York University Media Awards: Best Feature (described as Radio 4 quality)

You can hear an example of the programme here:
The History Boys: http://ury.york.ac.uk/uryplayer/podcasts/639/
Deathtrap: http://ury.york.ac.uk/uryplayer/podcasts/703/
Peepshow: http://ury.org.uk/uryplayer/podcasts/539/

In the stalls is a weekly look at theatre on campus, which developed from a feature in Yorworld, and is part of our midweek speech shows that run before our primetime music pm shows. This serves to introduce speech broadcasting to a new audience which would otherwise not hear this important part of radio.

We get the unique chance to go behind the scenes of each week’s production and interview the cast and crew and weave the audio into something that people finding gripping or even moving but hopefully gives them an interest in what is going on, on campus.

With this particular preview I spent a day speaking to the cast as they put together an immensely challenging production and I felt their passion for the play comes across in the audio. I also felt the music and the drama segments recorded demonstrated the power of radio to purvey the actor’s performances.

These previews give me a great chance in post-production to be creative and do something different with speech radio.

As a podcast the feature remained the most listened to piece of audio on the website for half the term and was regarded by the team behind ‘Peepshow’ as a huge motivator for getting people through the doors.

It is a pleasure to meet the people behind the productions and while it is my aim to introduce people to listen to our content on URY there is nothing more satisfying than making a beautifully crafted piece of audio while helping to build relations with other societies at the university.

Student Radio Awards Judges Comments

Really impressive programme piece with good use of audio and a nice balance of the actual production and interviews, nicely edited. Written material shows the thought that's gone into broadening the appeal of the speech content and engaging with other Uni societies. Excellent work.
This is a very well produced, well thought out entry. You've created a really polished sounding package with compelling snatches of dramatisation and interesting thoughts from the actors. You use of stereo imaging makes the different contributors really stand out as well. The interplay between music, interviews and drama works very nicely. I like the presenter-free sound of the piece. The montage of voices makes you feel more directly connected with the interviewees, rather than a fly on the wall on an interesting conversation. In terms of encouraging students to get out and see more drama, I think it definitely does the job. Good work!
Wow. Where do I start with saying how good this is? Ok, with the fact that I've never heard an entry like this before, so it's unique. It's a great piece of radio in its own right - engaging and so beautifully produced - but I also love the hook of the show to get more people in to theatre. Fantastic cross-platform promotion. I for one would be booking my ticket to the show straight away! Well done.
Great idea to collaborate with other groups at the university to get content for the radio and also promote their show. Nice idea. Partly what student radio should be ablout (showcasing student life on campus in its various guises - in this case amateur dramtics).
Lovely idea, great scheduling and a really good way of putting the student radio station at the heart of university life. The interviews are good - an intelligent and thoughtful group - and just enough silly and entertaining comments to keep it light.
Nice approach and a very fine insight into student theatre. Good that student radio can use resources and other areas of life on campus. Well produced and put together.
High standard of recording and mixing. Powerful way to draw audience into engagement with live performance.

2012 Feedback

Very nicely presented, interesting subject matter and well recorded, good sound quality
nicely produced, and an engaging listen. nice guide to the play. music used well, carries a good momentum. nice use of clips. Sounds very pro, this, one of the few pieces I have come across this year that could be put straight on professional radio. Very well done.
well produced documentary that nicely captures the behind-the-scenes atmosphere with the cast and director. Great to hear that the podcast was so popular, and it's fantastic to see the way the station interacts with other societies

Other Feedback

'A great idea for a show and well executed: the production was slick and professional. Overall, interesting and intelligent content.' - Lucy Fisher - The Sunday Times