What are you supposed to do after you graduate? Oh no, do you really have to ask? Yes, I believe I do. It’s a question that many students ask themselves. Some people seem sure. But are they really? I don’t, not exactly, and that’s OK. How can we if we’re not there yet? It is not as easy as that and probably isn’t meant to be either. It’s not the lack of professions out there that makes us wonder; rather, it’s the opposite.
The job market is a jungle and there are so many things you can do. It’s easy to get lost but relax, it may be when you’re lost that your true path appears. Some people might have a clue what to do, and that’s generally a good start. If we know roughly what we’re interested in, that’s where we can begin.
The Badger met a Sussex graduate to get some ideas about ‘what to do after’. Andrea Fox studied Media and English Literature at Sussex. She is currently a newsreader and presenter at Brighton’s Juice 107.2 with co-host Guy, as well as writing for XYZ magazine. Whilst at Sussex she was involved in working for the Pulse, the Badger and URF. With her DJing, column-writing and occa- sional stand-up comedy, it can’t be said that Andrea doesn’t keep herself busy. Andrea Fox gave an exclusive talk to URF members on what makes a great radio show. It was an opportunity to meet a local radio presenter and find out how to make it in the world of radio.
The Q&A session was organised by Kit Bradshaw (URF) in week four of term.
The Badger was ever so curious about Andrea and took the chance to ask some questions. Andrea encourages anyone to take on work experience because it allows you to make mistakes. We asked her if work experience is genu- inely useful, and she replied: “I made so many mistakes while doing work experience, I’m able to correct myself before doing them now”. Of course ‘mistakes’ always happen, no matter how professional you are. If you’re thinking about sending a demo or an application to Andrea, always make sure you capitalise the right letters in the application. Once she threw away an application when she noticed that the applicant used “i” instead of the capital “I”. We respect that.
So, what does make a good radio show? Fox says: “When you start, always have an planned end-point to keep your listeners alert”. If someone can ask the question “So what?” it’s not an interesting show. It also helps to know when to shut up. Know your limits and make sure you talk as though you’re talking to one person that you know (friend, lover or family member) – that will keep people listening because it’s personal. Another thing to know is: you don’t have to be funny. It might be obvious but she wanted to put it out there. Andrea points out: “If you have the technical skills and the knowledge, stick with what you know and let someone else be funny”.
Let’s face it, mistakes are probably the things we remember and look back on. As a radio presenter she gets to interview a lot of well known British artists. Any mistakes you’ve made in interviews? Andrea interviewed Mark Ronson about his success in America. She reveals that she offended Mark by accident (with help from co-host Guy) with “a joke that came out wrong” about Ronson’s dyed hair in the video for ‘The Bike Song’. She also found out the hard way about Elly Jackson of La Roux’s shyness when she interviewed her before the artist had got used to making media appearances. Most importantly, she uses her sense of humour to make her radio show great. She says: “Guy is not particularly funny, but people seem to think that I am”. Fox admits that she has always taken on challenges that she wasn’t sure she was going to get through. She encourages people to do that and to be brave.
In Andrea Fox, the Badger found a committed professional who is truly passionate about communication, a bit award-hungry (but who isn’t?) and whose next step might be television because you get the lines delivered. Fox says: “It’s just a lot easier”.
