12 August 2023

STV Workshop

What makes the news? Who makes the news? How do the stories develop and how can the community play an integral role in shaping the narrative? These questions and more were embedded in what was a transformative learning experience provided by the northern arm of STV Group when it hosted members of the Association For Black and minor ethnicity Engineers (AFBE) to a half-day workshop at their Aberdeen office.

The workshop focused on the operations and reach of STV North with emphasis on the STV News At Six as a rolling case study. This was followed by an engaging Q&A session, and topped off with coaching and live practice sessions on how to speak like a news anchor and deliver TV interviews. The participants were then taken on a tour of the control room and newsroom, where they were introduced to the backend and frontend of the STV News At Six production.

Special thanks to Fiona Steele for the welcoming environment and taking the time to engage with AFBE-UK in hopes of expanding and improving upon the diversity of voices that make up the content of the news, and making sure the news is better representative of the communities it serves. Big thanks to Norman MacLeod for the crash course and trial runs on anchoring the news at 6. It was truly a thrilling experience.

A big shout out to the members who were present: Ollie Folayan, Urenna Adegbotolu, Ikechukwu Onyegiri, Ebere Chukwu, Abdulazeez Bello, Jacqueline Stephen. Big thanks to Roy Bitrus for organizing on behalf of AFBE-UK. We look forward to future collaborations and partnerships.