Oct 27 Harry Murphy TY Podcast
TY Work Experience 2022 – Together FM
I began my work experience with Together FM on the 17th of October, with Together FM. Located in Ballyfermot, Together FM is a community radio station, and they provide a unique service, offering those who generally may not have an opportunity to produce on a commercial radio station, a chance to make their own shows, which are then broadcast via Together Fm’s website. I started out on the first day by taking the 37 from Castleknock, meeting my friend, Ava, at Temple Bar around 9:15. We had researched our route the night before, and according to Apple and Google maps, our journey was around 30 minutes to the Civic Centre in which Together FM operates. It was only here in which we got our first taste of the joy which was Dublin Bus’s new routes out to West Dublin. An ambitious plan to decrease transport times drastically was recently implemented, but was hindered by huge labor shortages, and over 250 drivers were missing. We stood waiting along Wellington Quay for 45 minutes, waiting for a bus which Google Maps always promised was five minutes away. We finally ended up rocking up to Together FM around 10:35. A quick greeting, profuse apologies, a conversation about the new bus routes, and we began.
Our manager, Mary Clarke, started us off with some basic administration, just insurance, personal and contact details, as well as our interests, so our hosts could indulge them while present in the station. After, we were introduced to John, a full-time sound engineer. He walked us through the programs used for recording, producing, and editing shows. We then were released for a quick break for some water and food and brought back to the studio for recording. It was here in which we produced our first draft of a suicide awareness course advertisement. We also had a discussion with Mary Clarke, outreach manager, and Mary Sullivan, where we learnt the basics of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), their rules, their jurisdiction, and how to become a licensed broadcaster. We also learnt the basics of defamation laws, and the importance of a lack of bias while broadcasting.
Day two followed a similar story, we met in town around the same time, and were present at Together FM by 10:15. This day saw us sitting in on two shows to watch their production. We saw Joe Feehily, a man of around 50 years of age with high-functioning Downe Syndrome record his show. He used his hour to play some of the classics of the ‘80s and ‘90s. We then sat in on Ben and Ronan’s show. The two lads, not much older than 18, reviewed Kanye West’s actions on Twitter, the new Hallowe’en movie, as well as some music by their favorite artists. We were also allowed to see how their shows were edited, giving us some preparation for our next drafts of the suicide awareness course advertisements, taking place tomorrow.
Our third day saw us arrive almost on time, though we were easily able to see the shortfalls of the new transport routes. It was today in which we sat in on a safeguarding talk, following new legislation requiring a safeguarding plan for all not-for-profits. We learnt how to recognize abuse, organizations to contact to deal with suspected cases, and how to prevent it. Today also saw us producing and editing our suicide awareness course advertisements for broadcast. I recorded and edited Ava’s, while she did the same for me after. They were reviewed by our manager and approved for broadcasting. Our second half of the day comprised of us completing worksheets with Mary Sullivan. It was here where we learnt the ins and outs of the industry of broadcasting. We learnt how to recognize the features of a radio show, and what their purposes were.
Day four of work experience was the day which we had been building up to. We were to record our own show, then edit it. After selecting our songs, we prepared a brief script. It was agreed that John would produce the show, while me and Ava would generally present. We were pretty nervous, even though it was only a mock show, and that came through in a few minor errors, including me panicking and accidentally calling the Kings of Leon the Ten Kings of Leon. Overall, however, we both enjoyed presenting the show, and were relieved to have it over. It truly set a nice precursor to Friday, in which we were able to relax more and had less work set out for us. After putting up some leaflets promoting an upcoming movie night, we were released on Friday afternoon. We expressed our gratitude to our hosts, headed off. We were both also gifted with a USB drive, which contained our shows, as well as our suicide awareness talks. Overall, working at Together Fm was a highly enjoyable experience – as well as teaching me something which would be too difficult to learn using secondary sources.
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