MA Interactive Journalism 2018/19 alumna, Zahra Warsame, gives an exclusive insight into her work on socials and audience engagement and offers her top tips on the things she wished she had known before starting her job.
Talk us through your day-to-day as a Multimedia Producer
My daytime can vary from editing to filming to writing to planning to both – if I’m doing short videos for our social platform I’ll spend time editing and if I’m working on a new project say for our Instagram, I might film it, edit, publish it. You get to be quite versatile as a multimedia producer – last week I was working on an explainer that we’ll be releasing soon. We work to publish content on all our social media platforms including YouTube and Facebook on subjects like Coronavirus and Brexit.
A huge benefit of my role is getting to do everything from audience management to writing and shooting.
What was it like covering the 2019 Climate Change debate that caused a storm on Twitter?
I got to see the ice sculpture in the flesh and covering the debate live was really fun! We were cutting footage and creating content live – it was a whole newsroom effort and seeing it come together was a proud moment for everyone. Because it was digital we got to share it with the rest of the world.
You produce Channel 4 News’ Instagram series ‘Rated’, which looks at what Britons think about everything from Climate Change to Tattoos. How do you get successful engagement with the show?
‘Rated’ has done really well with our younger audiences. We keep experimenting and always trying different things but making sure we don’t get comfortable. With episode length, for example, that started longer but now we’ve cut them down. A lot of the engagement is based on how much people are responding and what kind of answers we are getting. It’s really increased our following so we really are getting a return for the work we’re doing.
What’s the process like for making the show?
It takes a lot of work even if it doesn’t seem like it. We gather to pitch a few ideas, knowing what format works. Once everyone pitches ideas we get a day or two to write a script and we make sure the scripts are short, snappy and informative. Then we fact check and make sure the clips are accurate. We get someone else to review that, then we film and get the presenter in the studio. Filming is probably half a day. We then get time to use Premiere Pro, then commission graphics which takes another day. We then sub the footage to make sure it’s clear then once graphics are done, it’s ready for audio and footage. it’s a weekly series and because we’re trying to do something engaging and informative it takes at least 3 days to do, up to a week if needs be.
What are 5 things you wish you’d known before you stepped into your job?
1. Audition – not only for podcasting but understanding good audio mixing
2. Filming solo – professional camera and by yourself on location because if you’re adjusting to your surroundings
3. Wear comfortable shoes – you don’t know where your day will start or end!
4. I would have definitely networked more, I didn’t do that enough and that’s OK but there would have been no harm if I had.
5. Apply! A lot of people see jobs but don’t give them a chance.
How have you found the experience of working in foreign news?
Covering Syria has been fantastic. I’ve been really interested in international news. It’s a huge team effort to put stories out and on social media; we’ve played a small part in making sure the message is delivered accurately and engagingly, so I see my impact in a small way. Where I am now, there’s lots of opportunities to work on things I’m passionate about.