ANNA KANE ON HER MEDIA JOURNEY
ANNA KANE ADDRESSING THE 2024 WOMEN IN MEDIA BELFAST IWD AUDIENCE, AND ON VISITS TO UTV AND THE BBC
I am pursuing journalism as a career because I want to make a difference in the lives of others.
People are the centre of journalism and as journalists we need to be a voice for the voiceless.
My main passion is broadcasting because of its immediacy but I enjoy writing too as this gives me variety in the industry.
I am 22 and from Loughgiel in County Antrim.
I have just finished a three year journalism course at Ulster University, and nervously await my final results.
Through my degree course I have learned so much about the fundamentals of being a journalist.
I have developed many skills over the last three yearss including interviewing and editing, writing and public speaking.
My Cerebral Palsy affects mobility and memory which made my university experience challenging but I was determined that it wouldn’t stop me, and it hasn’t.
As a disabled person entering the media I would require my employers to understand my challenges.
I would need some assistance with access and equipment as I have limited movement in the right hand side of my body.
My dissertation was on disability visibility and representation in journalism.
I discovered there is limited understanding out there.
Many people I interviewed confessed that they had to do some research into this topic themselves before they answered my questions.
And I discovered there is an extremely low number of disabled journalists in the UK and Ireland.
I enjoyed my research.
Through it I developed contacts and got opportunities to engage with like-minded people and industry professionals.
By reaching out to people over social media I couldn’t believe the extremely positive response I got.
I sent out several emails and messages to journalists about their willingness to be interviewed – something journalists are not always comfortable with.
BBC broadcaster Tara Mills invited me to the Belfast studio for a tour.
My dream experience became real. I was going to see around the busy BBC.
I was nervous but excited at the same time.
I was a thrill and joy to meet with and interview Tara.
I felt very at home with her from the beginning as she asked me about my course and life.
Tara was very passionate about disability in the media, which was reassuring to hear.
She put me at ease and reassured me at the end when I asked for feedback.
I was also introduced to Tara’s fellow presenter Declan Harvey and weather man Barra Best.
They were lovely and very approachable.
It was lovely to see the rapport that Tara had with her colleagues.
The atmosphere was of a tight-knit community.
The sound room was filled with technical equipment that enables the magic to happen.
It was fascinating. People responsible for timekeeping, camera angles, structure of the program, making everything run smoothly, and a whole lot more.
It was a great day – and I felt like doors were opening for me.
After being connected online I was invited by journalist and broadcaster Amanda Ferguson to Belfast City Hall for Woman in Media Belfast’s International Women’s Day conference and lunch event in March.
She was inspired by my dissertation research to build an event panel discussion on ‘Disability and Difference’ in the media, which included me, Niamh Rainey and Danielle Scott from the NOW Group, and Irish government diplomat Amy Smyth.
I was delighted to be asked to join the discussion about disability in journalism, and meet so many women journalists and other inspiring women.
It was a great opportunity for me to get my views across and be a voice for people like me.
I always see myself as an advocate for disabled people, however through my experience in journalism I am even more passionate than I was before about this topic.
The WIMB event was a great opportunity in my early career as a journalist because it showed me commitment to a variety of different groups of people, including my own disabled community, being platformed.
It gave great insight into ongoing stigma in the media and society, and also a sense of community among different types of women working in and being represented on the media.
Journalism is all about people and it shouldn’t matter whether you have a disability or not - we are still human.
I got a lot out of the event as I met people who are as determined as I am to change society’s perception of disability and other minority groups in the media.
Throughout the day I met lots of interesting people including Radio Academy chair Peter McVerry, and UTV’s Olivia Johnston who works as a communications manager.
A couple of days later, thanks to Olivia, I received a phone call from UTV broadcaster Paul Clark.
He invited me to come up to see the UTV studios.
I asked him if he would be willing to be interviewed by me for my dissertation, and he very kindly agreed.
My dissertation gave me great motivation to ask questions that I would like to ask him about this subject.
The day arrived to go up to the UTV studios and meet the man himself.
I got my questions ready to interview him, and on the train up from Ballymoney.
When I got to the studio, the staff made me feel so welcome.
And just like that, Paul took me to the studio upstairs where I got to meet a wide range of media workers who looked rather familiar from my television screen.
I gained so much from that visit.
I was made to feel like part of the family as Barbara McCann, Paul Reilly, and many others took the time to show me what a day in the life in UTV looks like.
It was amazing to see behind the scenes of the studio, all the pieces coming together to ensure what viewers see on our screens is smoothly done.
For the news to be successfully broadcast, a wide team of media professionals working together.
I even got a chance to sit at the news desk and read out the news (after the live broadcast at 1pm!)
I was thrilled to sit behind the scenes to see what happens: the preparation, the hard work, the run-throughs.
This is all part of one big team’s effort, and it made me think that we as viewers don’t see the hard work that goes into broadcasting. The experience was incredible.
It was full of fantastic people who inspired me more to work in the media industry. When I interviewed Paul I received great insights and feedback from him.
He was very encouraging of me in my university work.
It was a fabulous from start to finish as all the staff were friendly and approachable.
Paul also had a goodie bag – notepad, pen, the lunchtime script ad signed pictures of Paul and Rose Neill - for me, which was so thoughtful.
I will cherish my experiences over the last few months and look forward to hearing more from UTV and others about work experience and other opportunities.
The days I had with the BBC, Women in Media Belfast, and UTV were informative and fun, and I hope to keep my connections with them all going.
In the meantime, I am building up my experience by going out and interviewing people.
I have been working on an investigation into the health service in Northern Ireland, where I interviewed various health professionals and Stormont’s health minister, Robin Swann.
I am not stopping. I would like the opportunity to have my work published, and get my name out there more.
So, that’s me and my experiences so far in journalism – feel free to reach out to me with any questions, stories, and ideas.
I hope my journey as a journalist continues to be as positive.
I hope you enjoyed reading, and please do get in touch with tips, commissions and interesting opportunities.
Anna
You can contact me on social media and by email: akjournalist06@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006294648834
Instagram: https://www.INSTAGRAM.COM/annakane78
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-kane-8747152a9/
