Media Lab with Uni of Glasgow: Podcasting & Print journalism

Media Lab with Uni of Glasgow: Podcasting & Print journalism

FRIDAY, 2 JUNE 2023

On the last Thursday and Friday of May, 12 people from a variety of migrant backgrounds, including both experienced and aspiring journalists, took part in an intensive two-day training in podcasting and print journalism delivered by the University of Glasgow as part of Migrant Voice’s Media Lab.

The sessions took place at the University of Glasgow Media Unit providing participants with an opportunity to work with top class media equipment and learn from highly experienced professionals.

After a welcome and introductions, participants learned about Migrant Voice’s origins: set up to address the negative media rhetoric about migration and, through training and collaborations with mainstream media outlets, support migrants to share their stories and become an active part of the media debate.

The group was then asked to share their thoughts on stories and perspectives missing from the mainstream media’s reporting on migration, share ideas for stories that they wanted to share as a group, and consider what audiences they wanted to reach. The discussion really got the ideas flowing and initiated some important conversations to be further unpacked throughout the two day course. It was really special to have so many perspectives in one room with everyone feeling safe enough to share, listen and discuss the issues that they cared about. It made us all excited for what was to come.

Energised, the group then split into two and began the early stages of planning their podcast and magazine pieces. On the first day, the podcasters listened to examples of podcast interviews and identified some of the key skills needed in order to create a great podcast, including empathy, listening, and effective preparation. Participants also practised using recording equipment. In the meantime, the print journalism group analysed different stories and elements of magazines and newspapers, explored the role of the media and how journalists work with Dr Pethia Pearson of University of Glasgow, learned about Adobe InDesign from Sean Guthrie, Production Editor at The Herald and Big Issue, and practised their interviewing skills. Their day ended with an editorial meeting drawing up a schedule with stories and reporters, and a list of interviewees and sources.

Day two was all about hands-on recording, writing and interviewing. The podcasters split into pairs and recorded each other in small rooms with ongoing advice and practical support from Dr Sadie Ryan and John McDiarmid. The print journalism group participants were clicking away at their computers, their thoughts evolving into sentences and paragraphs. Some were making phone calls and meeting individuals who’d agreed to be interviewed for their pieces. Individuals benefited from help and guidance from Dr Bethia Pearson and our Glasgow Netwerk Coordinator, Marzanna Antoniak, whilst Emma Padner did research to supplement participants’ personal accounts. There was also a Kurdish interpreter present to support one of the participants, an experienced TV presenter keen to volunteer with Migrant Voice.

"I took this opportunity to convey the voices of thousands of refugees in a camp in Iraq and South Kurdistan through writing. The media lab was a good experience for me and it was a great opportunity to meet very experienced and expert journalists and I saw some good people who want to do good work for their journalistic future. Although media work was my career for many years, I learned about writing quality, interesting, and useful reports. The opportunity to write for a Scottish magazine and convey the message I wanted was an unprecedented opportunity for me."

Aveen Hama Saleh, print journalism course participant

The intensive course ended with a shared reflection on what had happened over the two days, the learnings, highlights, areas where the future editions of this course could be made better, and participants’ aspirations and plans around journalism and podcasting. Before we said our goodbyes, group members found out about the different ways they could engage with the work of Migrant Voice in Glasgow. Opportunities include contributing to our zines, writing articles, and the potential of producing a series of Migrant voice podcasts, led by our skilled community members.

"My experience at the Media Lab was very educational. I learned a bit about some useful skills needed for podcasting such as interviewing skills, becoming familiar with recording equipment and editing skills which I hope to put to use in the future. I thoroughly enjoyed the training and would be open to more training if made available."

Grace Dioka, podcasting course participant

Thank you to all the training participants for their ideas, enthusiasm, and the effort put into creating their recordings and written stories. The recordings are now being put together into a podcast, and articles are being written, with further research and final edits being conducted by individuals and the Media Lab team.

This Media Lab and its outputs - the podcast and magazine - are a collaboration between the University of Glasgow and Migrant Voice, funded by the British Academy ECR Network. We’d like to express our gratitude to Dr Bethia Pearson and Dr Sadie Ryan for such an enjoyable and fruitful collaboration! We’re looking forward to the launch of the magazine and podcast, which will become the centrepieces of our joint event later in the year, date to be confirmed soon.