I was delighted to be one of the thirty women chosen for the BBC Academy Expert Women day on the 18 January.
As over two thousand women applied, everyone was asked to submit several short films of themselves, talking about their research. Although I love to talk about my work on Tudor women, I couldn’t quite believe I was one of the women actually selected for the training.
This was, in fact, the central message of the day. Producers told us they find it harder to recruit expert women to talk on the radio and TV, as female academics are apparently less likely to believe they are the ‘perfect’ expert to speak on a particular issue. Instead of worrying about that, we were told to grasp every opportunity that came our way.
Practice makes perfect when it comes to this type of expertise, and the whole day was designed to give us opportunities to develop our media skills. We had the chance to record a mock Radio 4 discussion and a One Show style segment.
What was so striking about these experiences is how much fun they were – so much less nerve-wracking than I had thought! We were told it was the presenter’s job to make us look good, so they wouldn’t try to trip us up; it wasn’t as if we were a politician going onto Newsnight.
We also had the opportunity to record a piece to camera, walking and talking at the same time (not as easy as it sounds!), as well as the chance to network with a remarkable number of industry professionals.
The whole day was easily the best media training I have ever had and it’s given me so much more confidence. If a producer phones me up now, I won’t hesitate to say yes.
And the best thing is that the BBC Academy have announced an advanced training day on the 18 March, where we can develop our skills further. Perhaps by the end of that day I’ll be able to walk and talk (and maybe even smile) at the camera, all at the same time!
Gemma Allen is a lecturer in early modern history. She teaches on A200: Exploring History: Medieval to Modern 1400-1900 and A218: Medicine and Society in Europe 1500-1930.
