Journalism student secures dream BBC Radio 1 role
Wednesday 29 March 2017
A JOURNALISM student at the University of Salford has secured his dream role working at BBC Radio 1 for popular news programme, Newsbeat.
Theo Chikomba, 22, beat huge competition to secure the position of Production Assistant, a twelve month role which he will start at the end of this week.
Based at BBC Broadcasting House in London, Theo will report for Newsbeat on breaking news stories, and will be helping to produce content across music shows on Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1 Xtra.
He said: “I saw the opportunity to work at Radio 1 in January, and I thought I’d go for it because I really enjoyed myself when I was on placement with them two years ago. When I was there I remember thinking that this is where I saw myself working in the future, as I got on well with the team and loved the work.
"I still can’t get it in my head that I’ve landed this opportunity. People keep coming up to me to congratulate me, but it honestly hasn’t sunk in yet”.
Theo, from Kent, is currently in the final year of his Broadcast Journalism degree, a course which has recently received prestigious industry accreditation from the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) .
He continued: “I’ve loved my course, mostly because of the opportunities there are to go on placements. Most of my friends are older than me, and they gave me advice before I started at University to make the most of work placements because they are just as important as the degree. For the last three years I have tried to involved myself in everything that I can, just to make those connections early on in my career and build up my CV".
Originally from Zimbabwe, Theo and his family moved to Kent when he was 6 years old. He developed an interest in Journalism when he studied English Literature at Swadelands School, Kent.
Theo then enrolled on the University of Salford’s prestigious Journalism course in 2014, and during his degree he carried out several work placements at some of the worlds largest media outlets, including the BBC, Sky News, and ITV.
When he starts his role with Radio1 Newsbeat on Thursday, Theo will be following in the footsteps of a high percentage of Salford journalism graduates who have gone on to secure roles at the BBC, including Bradley Harris, Emilia Mincheva and Tiffany Sweeney.
Andrew Lindsay, lecturer in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Salford and BBC Sport journalist said:
"It's great that Theo has earned such a great opportunity and it's another indication of what's happening at the University. He's followed advice and put the hours in. We probably have the best facilities in the country at Media City and we have an excellent staff, but we've also worked hard on placements, contacts and replicating professional practice. It's increased our reputation among major media outlets and Theo being chosen by Radio One is the kind of success story we're proud of - one we hope to keep repeating."
Find out more
Victoria Barker
0161 295 4779
