Journalism

Ian has worked for more than a dozen BBC (Radio 4 and local), ILR (Independent Local Radio), community and RSL radio stations (as news editor and reporter), cable television (as presenter and reporter and VT operator), national magazines, newspapers, newsletters and websites.  He has also had stories on Sky News Radio, IRN, and the BBC News Channel.

Ian has a BA (Hons) Journalism 2.1 (BJTC accredited) degree and a 100wpm NCTJ Teeline shorthand certificate plus the CENTRA Media Studies and radio/TV production diploma.   Below are some highlights taken from his demo/showreel/portfolio:

Please click on one of the following to skip to his radio, TV, newspaper and magazine and online journalism examples.

RADIO PACKAGES

* PENRITH PARKING

It would be easy to start with the hardest news story (see below!) but Ian showed with this first package that when a BBC producer sent him to somewhere he'd never been before (Penrith in Cumbria), without any local contacts, without any briefing, and just a newspaper vox-pop about parking issues in the town, he produced a report so well received by his peers that it lead to work in network radio:



* BURNLEY ELECTION OF BNP COUNCILLORS

In East Lancashire, Ian reported on the election of the BNP to Burnley Council after the riots:



* ANTI-WAR PROTEST IN THEN FOREIGN SECRETARY'S CONSTITUENCY

Also in Lancashire, Ian covered this demonstration against the Afghanistan war:



* AND FINALLY, THE MODEL BOAT RACE!

Again for the BBC, this "and finally" used a lot of ambient sounds and sound FX.   Ian visited them to see their boats in action on a choppy day:

ACTUALITY

* MENWITH HILL PROTEST, US "RAF" SPY BASE, NORTH YORKSHIRE

For this assignment Ian was asked to provide a minute's edited actuality from Pat Arrowsmith, the most promiment CND campaigner in recent history. Ian began by asking Pat to describe herself:

LINKLESS FEATURES (VERITE)

From time to time Ian has had the opportunity to do linkless features for the BBC.

* RACISM IN SCHOOL

Ian produced this linkless feature for the BBC. As it is a linkless feature everyone introduces themselves:



* STONEBEE CLIMATE SIMULATOR

This was the first piece of work Ian did for BBC Radio 4 and he says working with the children was fun:

DOCUMENTARIES

* BURNLEY RIOTS

Ian was fortunate, or unfortunate, enough to be working in Burnley at the time of the riots and made a documentary for a lunchtime programme about the "riots" and the ensuing task force and efforts to bring racial harmony to the town.  Here is a five-minute extract:



* DATA PROTECTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE

This was Ian's first ever documentary and is provided here in full.  It's all about the use of technologies and the implications for civil liberties.  It opens with a breakfast show TOH from BBC Radio Lancashire:

RADIO NEWS PRESENTATION

Ian has read literally hundreds of news bulletins but the following extract is taken from the nightly 6pm half hour news programme "The Grapevine" which he presented each weekday on The Bee:



Here is Ian reading a hard hitting bulletin on 96.9fm The Bay featuring quality audio of him interviewing firefighters during a strike. Also from The Bay is a bulletin with Ian's leaked report into Legionnaire's disease at Forum 28 in Barrow, but we haven't got permission to include that.

INTERVIEWS

* CRIMEWATCH POLICE INTERVIEW

Ian spoke to the detective in charge of a sexual assault allegation who was appearing on that night's Crimewatch programme. A man was later convicted:



* BBC SUNDAY RELIGIOUS PROGRAMME

Ian interviewed American liberal bishop Jack Spong for the BBC for a Sunday programme.  Ian began by asking him what it means to be a "liberal bishop":

LIVE OBs (OUTSIDE BROADCASTS) 1

* LANCASHIRE FOOD FESTIVAL

In this OB celebrity chef Andrew Nutter enthuses to Ian about Lancashire produce:

LIVE OBs 2 (TWO-WAYS)

* LIVE ELECTION SPECIAL

Ian took part in a live election special from the Hyndburn count at a general election -- here's a short extract:

THE BBC RADIO 4 NEWS QUIZ

* Ian has had material used on his favourite radio show -- the BBC Radio 4 News Quiz -- but for copyright reasons we can't include any audio from this sadly.

OUT TAKES COMPILATION!

* Ian is a gifted broadcaster but nobody is perfect and he is happy to share some moments when the 4.30am start to his working day got the better of him, and some times when he rescued his technical colleagues from live disaster! As for the drilling -- this wasn't live ...

TV NEWSREADING

Ian has experience of this in local cable TV and whilst studying at uni and college. Here is an example of him reading a bulletin on "News Overview" on East Lancs Cablevision local TV news (now Virgin Media). NB on some computers you may need to press the play icon twice before the video will start:

NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

Here is Ian's first ever "front page splash" in PLUTO - the UCLan student newspaper.  It was his first published exclusive investigative report. Here is the story:

View front page splash

In another front page exclusive, and laid out as chief sub by Ian, this investigation into contractors turning smoke detectors off because dust was setting them off!

View front page investigative story

His other work has been for national magazines and newsletters.   In the first of these two articles Ian reported on the media's reaction to, and coverage of, the Burnley riots and the "BNP election" for the Press Gazette:

View magazine feature

In another "analysis" article Ian wrote for the Press Gazette he attacked the centralisation of local news into hubs as it began creeping into the radio industry -- before the start of co-location:

View magazine feature

For One in Four Magazine, Ian in Summer 2011 wrote a guide to ESA welfare benefits reform and a Mythbusting feature in Autumn 2011:

View PDF file of ESA welfare benefits feature

View PDF file of Mythbusting on hearing voices

For Creative Support's Creative Life magazine, Ian writes a column and features, e.g. the Summer 2011 edition, Ian wrote about mental health anti-stigma projects around the world and in the Autumn 2011 edition Ian wrote about Mental Health Awareness Week and Learning Disability Hate Crime:

View PDF of anti-stigma projects feature

View PDF of MH Awareness Week and LD hate crime features>

Ian had a recent review (Summer 2011) published in Single Step magazine of Time to Change's latest action pack:

View PDF or view image file (JPG)

For Rethink's Your Voice magazine, Ian berated the BBC for its stigmatising coverage of mental illnesses, something recently challenged by the Headroom initiative (which is being closed down sadly after winning awards):

View PDF file -- article is also available on Rethink extranet

We could not find the article Ian wrote for ME Essential on welfare benefitson any backup, but here is a guest column for Mind's flagship OpenMind on the same issue as Your Voice:

View PDF file

For Disability Now, Ian dispelled some of the myths about disability discrimination at the BBC ... yes it exists, but there are a lot of specialists working to combat it. What appeared in Disability Now was a shorter version of this:

View PDF file

WEBSITES

Please click on websites for examples of news stories Ian has filed online for the likes of 2BR News and Press Gazette/Radio Today, websites he runs such as It's EAST LANCASHIRE and his ME/CFS information pages for people with the condition in East Lancashire.
He also blogs about food reviews, mental health stigma, welfare benefits and life in general!

Ian Birch