Hello there!
There is no way I can write this post as adequately as I would like. So I'm just going to try my best! I have just got back from one of the most interesting days! A few days ago my friend offered me the chance to have a tour around the BBC by her dad, and of course I jumped at the chance! I know that, when they were located in the old building, she had had tours previously, and has always told exciting stories about who her parent's had met in the lift at work the day before. So when she offered me the chance to go with her, I couldn't refuse!
The BBC is a massive corporation which includes TV, radio and online features. The BBC have constantly been broadening their audiences, after 90 years it hasn't stopped growing!
I was told how the new technology which is widely available to people has now allowed them to advance the ways that the corporation reach their audiences. For example, now when you are listening to the radio, you are now able to also 'watch' the radio through various streams on their website, where listeners are able to watch live streams and watch the DJ's in the studios on either their laptops, mobiles or tablets. Which to me seems crazy! It is also interesting to see the way the BBC has been able to incorporate social media into their work, as again with the radio, the stations are able to receive feedback and responses from their audiences through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and often Radio 1 puts up videos on YouTube of the content that they have had on their shows, or from the 'live lounges' (which is when a band will come in to the BBC and perform live to the nation, they will often play a song or two of their own, and then a 'mystery cover' which is when they do their own take on an already popular song done by another artist, which tend to be fantastic to listen to and watch!! - I'll leave a link to a few of my favourites at the end!).
I was able fortunate enough to watch the professionals at work whilst the news was being presented. I was able to see the director making split second decisions in order to direct the way that the programme would be presented, even when there were mishaps occurring behind the scenes, such as an unpreventable loss of connection to an interviewee, the viewers at home would be oblivious to the matter. Which to me was proof of the talent of the people working for the corporation.
The entire building, and boy was it large (!), had a fantastic buzz to it, and it was really quite surreal to me, as I was realising that this is the building which creates the news and entertainment which I watch, listen and read every single day. Every morning I wake up with Grimmy nattering away about something exciting and playing some of my favourite music, and before I know it I'm listening to Newsbeat and finding out the most important news stories which have happened or are going to happen throughout the day. Then I'll go downstairs and have my breakfast, whilst having the BBC Breakfast on the telly, which has various guests who give their opinions on the current affairs. Sometimes during the day I'll have a quick spot check on the BBC website to see 'what's occurring' (yes, I did just try to use a phrase from one of my favourite BBC programmes 'Gavin and Stacey') throughout the day, just so that I feel that little bit more 'in the know'. In the evenings I tend to watch programmes which interest me on either BBC 1 or BBC 3, which is also helped by the fact that they have NO ADVERTS (!) and then the next day I'll repeat exactly the same, yet the topics which have been raised will be completely different on the next day, because all of the people at this fantastic corporation have been working frantically to find new stories, and to keep us updated on exactly what we want to know, whether it's to do with the UK, world news, the environment, technology, you name it! They are constantly scouring the earth for current affairs, which they then broadcast using various different platforms which can be viewed by millions around the world.
If I'm honest, I'm completely bowled over by the work they do, and I'm sure they'll continue to be as much of an outstanding corporation in the future, and they will be able to continue to find new ways of reaching people according to the changes in technology.
What do you think about the BBC and the work they do? Do you make use of the platforms they provide?
Kate Heidi x
