I'm a FRQ

In an earlier post about my SPIN1038 work experience I remarked on how I met Andy Clarke. Just to re-cap, Andy is the station manager of FRQ.fm (pronounced 'FREAK'). The online-only station is used as a training ground for budding radio presenters. These presenters may go on to present on one of the Communicorp stations.

I had given Andy my demo and kept in touch with him after completing my work placement in the station. He invited me in to see what happens at the station and to train me in how to use the studio equipment. So last night, I took the DART into the Grand Canal Dock and met Andy at six. I was put into studio with Cally-Ann, who was presenting the evening show. Andy told me that one of the guys who usually presents on Friday evenings was sick, and in a true clichéd radio situation, he told me that I would be presenting the 7 to 9 slot. Wow! - It was a crazy moment, I realised that I would be on air in around 40 minutes. I had never used the equipment in the studio before and I knew little about the station but its name and purpose. Willingly, Andy trusted me to go live at 7!

The FRQ studio

Over the two hours following I staggered through the show. Although the first hour was a bit challenging, I got into the swing of things and was fairly comfortable by the end of the show. There were a couple of technical challenges, but I just about kept the show on the road.

It was an incredible experience which I thoroughly enjoyed. I'm on air again tomorrow between 1pm and 4pm. Listen Live: http://frq.fm/

SPIN 1038/98fm: Day 5

This morning we were tasked with a variety of jobs including making tea and distributing post around the office. I also had to ring competition winners to let them know that their prize was ready for collection in the station.

In the afternoon we wrote a reflection on the week; our highlights, the things we thought could have been improved and what we would have liked to have seen more of.

It was sad to say goodbye and leave the station after such a good week. I'd like to thank Siobhan and Stef for organising such a fantastic week.

SPIN1038/98fm: Day 4

The SPINIs

 Today we spent the morning with the Thunders and the SPINIs. They are the promotional crews from both stations and they appear at numerous events across the city including concerts, rugby matches etc.
They brought us to their storage site in which they keep their promotional materials. These range from 98fm mints to SPIN1038 phone covers. We were told about the work they do, shown some of the promotional materials and given a goody bag.
Then we went across to 98fm's 'Big Red' - the large double decker bus which they broadcast from. The bus is equipped with the latest technology including flat screen tvs, computers and an on-air studio.

98fm's Big Red

In the afternoon we looked at a range of newspapers and at which businesses were advertising in them. We listed out each business, which paper they were advertising in and what they were advertising. This was use to the sales team, who could contact these companies to offer them advertising on either 98fm or SPIN.

SPIN1038/98fm: Day 3

The highlight of Wednesday was meeting Barry Dunne. He is the afternoon presenter on 98fm, and a true gentleman at that. We sat in on Barry's show, where he voiced links, recorded calls and gave away prizes. He told us how he loved his job and we discussed the Irish radio industry.

Afterwards, I met Andy Clarke. Andy, who used to present on LMFM, is now in charge of running FRQ.fm. FRQ (pronounced 'freak') is an online-only station that is used as a training ground for presenters. DJs are trained in how to use the studio equipment, and are taught how to improve their presentation. After this, in the case that presenters are needed on SPIN/98, they may have the opportunity to be on air. Upon meeting Andy, I handed him my radio demo. A demo is a clip of audio, usually 2-3 minutes long, giving examples of presenter's links. He showed me the FRQ studio and told me about the aims of the station.

SPIN 1038/98fm: Day 2

Nikki Hayes

 This morning we went straight up to Nikki Hayes, who presents SPIN Hits. She is a familiar voice on the Irish radio scene and has been working on-air for over 20 years. Nikki presented on SPIN after it launched in 2002, and left for 2fm, before returning to the Dublin station in recent times. She explained various elements of her job and talked to us about our ambitions in radio.

Next, we met Pat Gill. He is in charge of imaging on 98fm. Though the word suggests his job deals with pictures, this is far from the truth. Pat produces all of the jingles and sweepers that are played between the songs. He played us examples of his work and told us about various techniques which are used to get listeners to constantly remind listeners that they are tuned to 98fm. This becomes essential when the listenership figures are published.

SPIN1038/98fm: Day 1

 This week, I am doing work experience in both SPIN and 98FM, which are both located in the Grand Canal. 

 This morning we were set a task by Gavin Ward, 98fm's Music Director. The aim was to compile a list of gigs happening in Dublin in the next 3 months and to write three articles about artists/groups that would be appropriate for 98's website. I really enjoyed researching and writing the articles. 

 In the afternoon, we met with the Caroline, head of Sales and marketing at 98fm. She told us how her team works and about the various promotions that they run on the station. They are in charge of selling traditional advertising on-air, sorting out sponsorships, competitions and outside broadcasts among other things. We were then given two briefs to write ads for both Captain America's and DID Electrical. We scripted the ads, each of which had to be 30 seconds long.

Irish Times: Day 4

Today was my last in the Irish Times. We spent the morning with features. This is the department involved in reporting anything that is not news, business or sport. They produce various supplements throughout the week including 'The Ticket', the motoring supplement and the health supplement. We were told how articles are decided on, and we were tasked with finding appropriate articles in the main section of the paper that could be covered more in-depth as features articles.

Then we looked at different headlines; those that we felt were effective, and those that we felt were not so effective. We were told about how headlines and articles are often changed when they are published on the Irish Times website. We came up with suggestions about how we could shorten a variety of headlines to make them suitable for online.

In the afternoon, we headed to the sportsdesk. We met the editor of sport, who told us about his job, and about how the Irish Times cover sport. We were then tasked with coming up with headlines for a number of topical sports stories.

After that, we went upstairs to MyHome.ie . The site allows estate agents and auctioneers to place houses up for sale. We were told about one of the website's sources of income; advertising. It was our job to design a banner advertisement that would be suitable for the website.

I thoroughly enjoyed my week in the Irish Times. We got to see many of the departments in the newspaper and meet lots of people, all of whom were willing to answer any questions we had.