4x4s in the media It’s not all mud and games! by Lauren Eaton
A huge part of the work of GLASS is education and we aim these messages at all sorts of people - 4x4 drivers, motorcyclists, other rights of way users, authorities, and the public at large. We’re often contacted by media organisations for comment, a full interview, or to help with a feature, but due to the nature of the media some of this work never makes the public domain, some is edited beyond recognition, and some, like here in The Mud Life, is published in its entirety.
An hour and a half later I was sitting in front of a TV camera with no briefing on what the piece was all about (except that it was about Yorkshire), an ear piece was stuck in my lug hole, the camera started rolling and the questions began.
As Media and Communications Officer the vast majority of this work falls to me, so I thought I’d share a transcript of my most recent interview that will be aired on BBC Radio 4 this week. I’ve no idea which parts, or how much of the following will be used, but here are my padded out (with what I actually said) prep. notes for you all to see.
Other days I’ve had 3 minutes notice of Zoom meetings - once while I was sat in a bath robe answering emails again thinking I had a day off before attending a medical appointment. Superman has nothing on my quick change skills that day!
It’s not often I get time to prep either! While sometimes its great fun and I get to plan laning trips for car magazines, or organisations from clubs to the RAF, there have been days when a call has come through and I’ve been asked to get to London in 90 minutes from North Wales! While that isn’t possible I’ve made a mad dash to get to a Manchester recording studio instead - after hurriedly paying for and throwing my shopping in the boot before leaving the supermarket I was in because I thought I had a day off!
During Covid I’ve been called out immediately (then ended up waiting for an hour) to be interviewed in car parks whilst a cameraman stands well back due to social distancing measures.
This media officer lark is an interesting and varied one to say the least! I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Callum Wallis Otter who was interviewed on the spot when he accidentally bumped into the same reporter in the Peak District the day before my planned interview. Many thanks for speaking for our community Callum!
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