So, I had a lovely chat with Tracy from Minster Fm. Have look below at what she had to say about working on radio!

What is your job title and main responsibilities?

Tracy Gee is the Senior News Editor for Yorkshire at Minster FM keeping you updated with breaking news 7 days a week.

Where did you begin your broadcast career?

I started my broadcasting career at Riding FM which covers Wakefield and the Five Towns. I started off as a Broadcast Journalist.

What made you want to work in radio?

My first experience of stepping into a radio station was back in 1994 aged 14 when I did work experience at BRMB in Birmingham. I loved the buzz around the place, always something going on, and to be honest I was overwhelmed by the glitz and glamour of the whole experience. Looking back now it's funny because I know that everyone running around, what I considered at the time to be "great fun", were probably ridiculously stressed as a news story was breaking. Anyway it was my springboard into the industry and inspired me to do hospital radio and a degree in Media at Huddersfield University. I finished with a 2.1 in Media and Television Production, so the obvious route for my career was radio. ???? I know I don't know how I got here either.

Where do you see the radio industry in ten years?

The future of radio is digital. But it must be done in the right way.
Please see the following document produced by UKRD’s CEO William Rogers.

SECURING A LONG TERM FUTURE FOR LOCAL RADIO

The Government’s current digital radio switchover policy is potentially devastating for the future of genuinely local commercial radio

Local radio is an essential part of the media landscape:
• Listening to local radio remains substantial (41% of total radio listening)
• Ofcom research concluded that local content is the most demanded aspect of commercial radio output
• Local radio stations are a key forum for community engagement and local democracy, whilst providing a unique platform for local small businesses to grow and prosper
• ‘FM’ remains the most robust, globally used and cost effective broadcast technology, representing a key part of radio’s multi-platform future

The challenges faced by both listeners and operators, as a result of existing Government policy on digital radio switchover, are:
• The current direction of radio regulation, driven by ‘digital switchover’, is compromising radio’s localness
• Digital radio switchover to DAB, as the primary platform, will relegate to a second tier on FM many local commercial stations for whom there is no available migration path
• Listening on digital platforms other than DAB (online, smart phone applications, TV etc.) is growing as the result of consumer choice
• Local commercial radio licences are being renewed only for the short-term (7 years) by Government, irrespective of whether they have a DAB future, in order to encourage migration to DAB, thus discouraging inward investment and restricting growth and long-term planning
• Current DAB digital radio strategy encourages local station consolidation which, as a consequence, eliminates opportunities for cost effective advertising by local businesses
• Jobs within local radio will continue to be lost unnecessarily if the present policy on compulsory DAB migration continues
• Editorial engagement with local communities, presently delivered in dozens of communities across the UK, will be substantially eroded
• Many popular and market leading local commercial stations, which are both successful and commercially profitable, will cease to exist if Government policy remains unchanged
• Listeners/consumers should be permitted the opportunity to listen to the radio on the platform of their choice and not forced to replace existing radio receivers

Action required to address these issues:
• The Minister should announce that compulsory digital radio switchover to DAB, as the primary broadcast platform, is no longer in the best interest of consumers. The Government will continue to promote a multi-platform digital future for radio, though future policy will be driven by the preferences of consumers and listeners
• Local radio stations require certainty for their licences across a realistic business cycle and within a regulatory framework for radio that is focused upon the citizen/consumer. The Minister should ask Ofcom to review the timeline for licence durations and to consider reverting to the previous 12-year timeline

What makes a good interview?

A great journalist lets the interview guide the story and isn’t controlled by the parameters of a press release. If the interviewee says something interesting, pursue it with further questioning. Also an interviewer should never be afraid of just being quiet. Sometimes a break of silence can prompt the interviewee to start talking again and often they’ll continue to say some great stuff.
If the interview is a press conference or huddle of journalists at a photo-call never be afraid to get in there with a question early introducing yourself and what station you’re from.
If there’s a prominent figure coming to your area (i.e. the Prime Minster, a member of the Royal Family, a celebrity etc) and you’ve got one question, be unconventional. Don’t ask a boring question about their visit, leave that for someone else and you’ll still get the audio. Think outside the box and what will make great audio.

What has been your favourite interview and why?

It’s rare that a radio station can say it has made a real difference in someone’s life, but in 2010 Minster FM did. In fact we’ve help save a life.
In December 2009 Minster FM’s news team exclusively reported on the story of little Jamie Inglis, a 4 year old from York who’d been diagnosed with Neuroblastoma (a rare childhood cancer that affects only 100 people in the UK every year.) It’s this interview that got the ball rolling.
We were all touched by Jamie's story; his parents desperate to raise £250,000 for treatment in America and in such a short space of time, just ten weeks.
What could WE do?
Well, we decided to help the family try and save their little boy’s life.
For just one day, on January 4th 2010, we asked our listeners to join in our ‘Pledge a Tenner Day.’
We honestly admitted to our listeners that we didn't have a large donation of cash that Minster FM could put into the appeal. Instead we had to asking the listeners "cap in hand" to help out. It was certainly unconventional to ask people to spend their January sales money on Jamie, especially coming off the back of a recession, but the response was phenomenal. People were literally walking into our studios with cash and blank cheques saying our coverage had struck a chord with them and they just had to help out!
We didn’t sugar-coat the issue either, we were very open and realistic about Jamie’s condition. We posted pictures on the internet of what Jamie was going through during his chemotherapy. Some of the photos were very dramatic and emotional.
Minster FM’s campaign was also fun. We asked our listeners what they are doing to raise cash? One local 63 year old woman shaved her head for cash donations. Again all the money went to Jamie’s Appeal.
And the team at Minster FM were professional throughout. The execution of the ‘Pledge a Tenner’ day had the whole station working in perfect unison whether staff were in news, programming, sales, admin or finance.
How did we do? We SMASHED the target!
£253,700 was raised in 10 weeks, and the money kept coming in afterwards.
Our campaign gave Jamie's parents enough money to go to the USA and give Jamie his life changing treatment. We traced his development and on the 7th October 2010 got the news we’d been waiting for. Jamie had got the all clear. His family called Minster FM first to let us know after all the help we’d give them.
Jamie’s now heading back to school and getting his life back on track.

Thinking about your radio career, what are you most proud of?

Just the teams i’ve worked with and the depth of passion to pursue a story and break the news first. UKRD is a great radio group to work for. In fact we’re the Winner of the No1 Best Company to work for in the Sunday Times top 100 Best Companies 2011.

If you weren’t working in radio, what do you think you would be doing?

Doing something criminology related.