Elliott Hudson College students have successfully completed a work placement at Channel 4 Headquarters in Leeds, experiencing the media industry up close and finding out about career paths in journalism and television production. The placement, which allowed these students to shadow professionals and acquire essential skills, helped students get a taste of what working in media is like.

Following a trip earlier in the year, five students were given the opportunity to immerse themselves in various aspects of the news industry, learning how broadcasts are made, the challenges of live television, and the variety of roles required to produce a seamless program.

Elsie Dean, wanted to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes in television, more specifically to broadcast the news on Channel 4. She said: “I sat in the studio when the news was being broadcast and so was able to see firsthand what happens behind the scenes including what is said through the earpieces.” Having finished the placement she commented that: “I am more informed on how to get into the television industry by starting out in radio and the news. I never considered working on the news before now, but placement was really insightful, so now I think I would be interested in pursuing this pathway.”

Before his placement, Jack Emmett, had planned to learn how Channel 4 news operates by seeing the digital studio, talking to employees, and watching a live broadcast of the programme. “[On placement] I learnt that things can go wrong during live situations and how these situations are recovered, [it was great to] ask questions on how the news operates when breaking news happens and found out about how quickly scripts can be written for news anchors.”

Rebecca Gould expanded her knowledge of journalism and discovered more about the various avenues that lead to a career in the field. She shared; “I was allowed in the newsroom whilst they were doing the live news broadcast. I had to be silent, and I discovered how the news is presented daily. I also got to listen to what the director and producers were saying on a mic so I know how it all works now… It made me really think about a job in journalism and how it looks like something I would really want to do in the future.”

Jl Ricaforte was keen to explore the how the media we see online is created “I learnt that there are multiple areas in which people work in TV, which could working for the TV we see regularly or in digital production which focuses more on creating content which follows what was announced on TV. It helped me think more about how broad the industry actually is and how there’s so much more going on behind the scenes to make everything happen.”

Callum Sheldon said: “I learnt that there are a variety of different pathways to arrive at jobs in TV which gave me a lot to think about. I learnt what a working environment looks like and the sort of hours that they work. Also I learnt how the employees all collaborate even if they work with differing forms of media.”

The work placement at Channel 4 News proved to be an eye-opening experience for our students, providing them with a good understanding of what goes into working in the world of television production and journalism.