April 17, 2015, by Mary Strickson
Spotlight On… Magazine Publishing
By Mary Strickson, student blogger
Last term, I attended the Spotlight On… Magazine Publishing event organised by the Careers and Employability Service. The event was very inspirational and I learned a lot about the different roles in media – it was hugely popular with a large number of attendees.
The event consisted of talks by four experts from Bauer Media about their roles and how they got into them, followed by a Q and A session. Helen, Opportunities Officer, also talked to us about GoThinkBig – a digital hub for young people to help tackle youth unemployment.
The first speaker was Simon Ingram, Editor of Trail magazine
Simon explained how to become an editor and what the job involves on a day-to-day basis, useful insider information which you wouldn’t hear about except at events like this. When Simon left university with a geology degree he was told he would never get into journalism without a journalism degree – yet here he was! He said it’s all about the attitude you enter the workplace with and working hard rather than the qualifications you have. I found this inspiring – he placed the emphasis on work experience and to ‘start small but start right’.
The second speaker was Kieran Puffet, Editor of Parkers online magazine
After explaining about his role as digital editor, he talked about finding and applying for roles. He believed the key to becoming a digital editor is to stand out and apply in unconventional ways rather than using a standard CV. This was useful advice – often you focus on producing a CV but forget to think about what the role requires and what employers really want to see. He emphasised the need for work experience but he understood how it can be difficult to obtain. Kieran advocated self-publishing on blogs, using Twitter and networking. It was refreshing that he understood that it is a difficult job market for young people but offered solutions to us.
The third speaker was Charlotte Walsh, Marketing Manager for Bauer Media’s leisure magazine portfolio
Charlotte explained what marketing is, what she does in her role, including the positive and negative parts, and how they construct marketing strategies. Outlining the internal roles within the marketing sector, she gave insights into what the job roles actually consisted of rather than just showing us job titles. Charlotte said that it doesn’t matter what your degree is in but you do need to be enthusiastic.
And finally, Steve King, Business Development Director at Bauer Media Radio
Steve talked about his career path, the stations that Bauer Radio broadcasts and why radio is so popular today. Steve listed the various jobs within radio – I hadn’t considered that there are so many different job roles behind the scenes at a radio station. Steve’s current role is to organise nine multiple artists arena gigs each year involving major music acts.
In summary: the event was hugely informative
I left the event having learned a lot. The event only lasted an hour and a half and was fast-paced with a packed programme – it was exciting to be part of and there was lots to take in! I feel much more informed about the possibility of a career in media and inspired to follow some of the advice given such as remembering to update my blog! I found the messages about following your career aspirations and believing in yourself inspiring!
If you want to find out more about a career in publishing, start with our selected resources on the career paths pages for careers in TV, and journalism and publishing.
You might also be interested in our Spotlight On… Science and the Media on Wednesday 29 April – find out more about book your place.
Image: From the Bauer Media website
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