Anna Jameson has worked at the BBC for around 8 years.
She became a broadcast journalist in 2014 and now presents the breakfast show for BBC Radio Manchester, based at MediaCity.
Taking us behind the scenes, she shared a recent week in her busy working life…
Monday
My first alarm rings at 4.30am, which is a lie-in. This morning we have an outside broadcast from Bolton town centre. It’s been a strange week for the town. Not only did it miss out on £40m of levelling up funding, the last remaining department store Marks and Spencer, announced it was pulling out of the Deansgate site. Then on Friday, the King and Queen Consort visited Bolton – the first time the town had welcomed a monarch in 35 years. We had a huge response from our listeners, so decided to bring the show from one of our heartland areas. I wrap up warm with extra layers and meet my producer Charlie next to the Town Hall on Le Mans Crescent. The gigantic clock tower rings 5.30am. At 6am we go live with the news. The owner of ‘The Coffee House’ waves and opens his café for us.
Although it’s not as cold as it’s been in recent days, I’m delighted to transfer to the warmth and glug down a cappuccino. The show has the same structure, but instead we have guests visiting us on location. We invited a number of local people, business owners and politicians on site. There’s clearly huge disappointment with the recent retail news, but we try to create an uplifting tone, celebrating everything that is great about the town. In local radio, it’s vital to be positive about where we live. At 9.30am I’m feeling slightly dazed and caffeined up, so nearly didn’t bat an eyelid when producer Charlie exclaims: “Les Dennis just walked in!” He’s right. He’s performing at the Octagon Theatre in a play called ‘Spring and Port Wine’, which is set in Bolton.
He barely has time to place his brew order before we’re interviewing him live on air. The show wraps up at 10am and we have a quick breakfast and de-brief. I love taking the show out of the studio. It makes us sound bigger and reaffirms that we care about our listeners. I drive 20 minutes home to Bury and settle down for a nap. I don’t set an alarm this time. I head straight to the gym after I’ve eventually risen and then start preparing for the next day. I make time to watch a couple of episodes of Happy Valley before bed. I’ve started binging it like most of the nation and have become completely obsessed.
Tuesday
My first alarm goes off at 3.30am. It’s business as usual. I don’t manage to get up until 4am before getting up and ready. I try to be as quiet as possible, so I don’t wake up my housemate. I’ll quickly drink a smoothie and drive into work, listening to BBC Radio 5 Live. Although I find waking up in the middle of the night utterly terrible, there is a quiet smugness knowing you’re up and about whilst the rest of Greater Manchester is sleeping. I walk across the square lit with fairy lights and coloured media signage and pick up the papers from reception.
I sit with newsreader Paul, Mark who reads the sport and producer Charlie. Our reporter Joe is about to leave for Wigan where the ‘World Pie Eating Championships’ are being held. Carol from the fifth floor kindly makes me a strong cappuccino and I take control of output from the studio. We go live at 6am. The first hour of the show is filled with music, chat, a newspaper review and we’ll play a game of ‘Secret Location’, where I give listeners a clue for a location in Greater Manchester. Today it’s Stalybridge. The highlight of the show is Joe attempting to eat a pie in 30 second and failing miserably. Naturally, his talking was getting in the way. As I begin my show prep in the evening, I notice a video online of singer Cian Ducrot running into a busker on Market Street who was playing his song. That will be my talkie for tomorrow.
Wednesday
The alarm never gets easier. I planned my outfit last night knowing I’d be tired today. Wednesdays always seem to be the worst. When I get into work I read through my scripts, adjusting them slightly. The “Convention of the North” conference is being held later at Manchester Central, attended by government ministers, shadow ministers, local politicians and business owners. It’s our lead story and I’ll be interviewing the leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig. I want to plan my interview carefully and have questions over the future Wythenshawe Town Centre, which missed out on twenty million pounds of levelling up funding.
Our talkie, as planned last night, is ‘the times you’ve ran into a celebrity out of context’. We hear some great stories from listeners including people having a drink with Jack P. Shepherd, without realising who he was. The idea with a ‘talkie’ is to get as much interaction as possible to make the show sound buzzing. After the show I have a phone chat with a producer at BBC Radio 5 Live. I’m covering for Laura McGhie this weekend between 1 and 5am…I know! My body clock is all over the show. We decide on a couple of talking points and potential guests. The show is predominantly a phone-in. I’m keen to have a mix of serious and fun topics to get a good balance to the feel of the show.
It’s also important to choose subjects where people have either a strong view or a story to tell. I crash for three hours when I return home! I gear up the strength to run a 5k through the Bury countryside and start to feel a bit more human. After a long bath and a few catch ups with friends, I crack on with the show prep and write my questions for ‘Manchester Mastermind’. I brought the quiz in when I started the show in October and the listeners love it. There’s a general knowledge round and the contestant gets to choose their specialist subject. I’m essentially a really poor version of Clive Myrie. Tomorrow’s subject is chemistry of all things! I’m miserably taken back 15 years as I try and recall the periodic table.
Thursday
The talkie today is ‘love at first sight’. It’s after Tony Christie told BBC Radio Manchester how he fell in love with his wife instantly after spotting her in the crowd of his concert. It’s a great one to do. People love talking about love and Mark, Paul and I have a real laugh about it on air. We also talk about other news stories including a missing couple and baby, who were last seen at a service station on the M61.
We speak to a man who says he was wrongly convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. We hear from previous winners of BBC Radio Manchester’s “Make a Difference Awards”, as we launch it for a second year. Trevor in Middleton smashed the chemistry round with a total score of 9. Sadly, he doesn’t beat Jeff in Salford earlier that week, so doesn’t go home with a BBC Radio Manchester purple umbrella!
Friday
We had some breaking news last night after receiving figures from Greater Manchester Police. We’d been chasing them for some time. They indicate the number of officers currently under investigation for wrongdoing. Producer Charlie and I completely change the show around to adapt to it. Kate Green, the new Police and Crime Commissioner kindly agrees to be interviewed after 7am. It’s a damning story for the force, so I spend a good amount of time before the show preparing for it.
We’ve also allocated time to reflect on Holocaust Memorial Day. Regular guest Dave Sweetmore is with us for his weekend gig guide. He tells listeners about all the concerts and live music taking place across the region. When the after-show meeting is complete, I head straight home and sleep throughout the day, ready for BBC 5Live overnights that night. My hours are mad and sometimes I don’t know whether I’m coming or going, but to say you wake up Greater Manchester for a living… well, it could be worse!
