Sound advice on working in the media

I was a university student in 1988 when I was interviewed for Channel 4 about access to higher education. I thought my 15 minutes of fame had come and gone, but then I received a letter from the production company inviting me to audition for a job as a presenter. I did the audition and, a few weeks later, I was filming in Tenerife for an item about accessible holidays. 

Nearly 20 years on, I’m now self-employed with my own production company – I make documentaries for BBC Radio 4, and I’m producing a DVD for the Spinal Injuries Association. 

 I need a steady supply of new ideas to do my job effectively. Ideas are my most valuable currency; without them, I wouldn’t be able to persuade people to give me money! It’s not a glamorous job, but I do enjoy meeting people, shaping their stories with interviews and music, and making something meaningful out of their experiences.

While my career began in disability programming, most of it has been spent making “mainstream”  programmes. Which isn’t to say that being disabled doesn’t come in handy at times. I’m upfront about it; in my experience, being disabled has opened more doors than it has closed.

People who may otherwise have been dismissive are often disarmed by it, curious about it; disabled producers are few and far between, so there’s the “novelty factor”.  Don’t knock it; if it gets you that interview you desperately need, does it matter?

I worked for a while as a freelance careers adviser for Skillset, the media industries’ skills council, and my advice to all clients, disabled or not, was to approach potential employers with persistence, enthusiasm, willingness to do mundane jobs in order to get your foot in the door, politeness and punctuality, and above all, with good ideas that will complement the programmes they already produce. To that, I would add: be upfront about your disability and reassure employers that  you know best about what you need.

Libby’s job tips

• Communication skills, a genuine curiosity about people and the world around you, the ability to listen to people as they tell their story, willingness to learn new skills – those are the qualities you need to make a successful career in the media.
• Luck? Well, yes, it helps of course. But, most of all, you need to believe in yourself and what you can offer to potential employers. It would be great if we as disabled people received more encouragement about taking that on board.l Graduated from Stirling with degree in history and social anthropology
• l Offered job as presenter of Same Difference on Channel 4, researching, script-writing, recording and editing interviews
• l Worked at the BBC’s Disability Programmes Unit as an assistant producer – and then producer – on the current affairs series From the Edge
• l Produced documentaries for BBC1 for the BBC’s Religious Programmes Department in Manchester
• l Became a producer for BBC Radio 4, producing an oral history series, On
• This Day
• l Went freelance, teaching media production to 16-19 year-olds at college, and producing social history documentaries for Radio 4
• l Set up her own production company to make radio programmes, worked as careers adviser for Skillset, and production skills coach for BBC North
• l Still producing for Radio 4, working on two DVDs, with other projects in the pipeline