SO WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON AT THE BBC NEWS?
by Chris Parkinson

Chris Parkinson one of the BBC's new Broadcast Camera Journalists sheds light on some of the developments taking place at the Beeb.

It had been a quiet Saturday, I'd been shooting a piece at the Tate Modern about the tenth anniversary of the National lottery. Just as I was wrapping up the piece to camera, news filtered through from one of the live crews on the scene that there had been a rail crash somewhere near Newbury. I rang the desk. The BBC newsroom was bedlam, “just head down the M4, we’ll give you more details when we get them.”

I leapt into the 406 Estate that most of the BBC News crews drive and tuned into Radio 5 Live. That’s the routine on a breaker, you need all the info you can get. Any clue that can give you some idea of the best places to get the shots you need. The more I heard the more I realised this was a big story, in fact the biggest of my career so far. The adrenaline was pumping. Eventually I reached the pub near the scene where the Police were containing the media. The BBC already had two crews there, Jane Winder and James Mclaughin. Another, Jon Hughes, was at the local Hospital. All of them, like me, were new recruits to the BBC National News Camera department.

No one could see anything. All the networks were being forced to rely on a live shot of the scene that showed nothing except the distant flashing of Police and Ambulance lights. It’s the type of situation which all news cameramen encounter at some stage in their career. In one sense you’re horrified by the events which are taking place but in another you’re buzzing, you’re in your element, there’s an opportunity to get some important shots, shots you know are going to lead the bulletins.

Despite a Cordon it made sense to try and walk as near to the scene as possible. It was pitch black and there were numerous streams and hedges on the route. It was already 21.30. Very aware that the Ten o’clock news needed pictures I headed across country. About forty metres from the crash site I realised it wouldn’t be wise to get any closer. With the gain wound right up on my DSR-500 I started shooting. The shots I got were by no means exceptional but you could clearly see the level crossing where we subsequently learned the train had struck a car forcing it to derail, the emergency tents and the ambulances rushing away full of casualties. I clambered back to the truck, exhausted but high on adrenaline. The Engineer already had the line up and within seconds the pictures were being taken live by News 24. One of the key guidelines for Cameramen on a breaker is to edit your shots in camera, the reason for this being so that News 24 can take your pictures as they are being fed and so save edit time and beat the competition. It had been a busy night, a night in which the new recruits of BBC news proved themselves capable of handling the big stories.

All of the new crews, of which there are eight, are called Broadcast Camera Journalists. It’s a title that has caused a severe amount of confusion both outside and inside BBC News. The rumour was that the BBC were replacing their experienced News Camerapeople with Producers armed with a Pd-150 and a laptop. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The job has come about as a result of the Picture gathering review, a two year long overhaul of the department. The aim of the review was to produce a definable job family for field picture gathering and re-introduce some form of structure and a career path. The changes brought the grading structure of the department in line with that of the Journalists and meant that those Operators with more skills would be able to achieve a higher grade than their peers. There are now four job titles within the Newsgathering Camera Department: Broadcast Camera Assistant; Broadcast Camera Journalist; Senior Broadcast Camera Journalist and Picture Correspondent. The titles of these jobs reflect the departments integration with the rest of BBC News. Craft skills in Shooting and editing are still the priority, the use of the word “journalist” simply formalises the recognition of our status as equals with the wordsmiths.

So what are the job definitions and how do they work in practice? Well the Broadcast Camera Assistant positions have still to be filled. When they are their position will be a training one. They will be expected to have some sound and lighting responsibilities and to be able to work as a second camera on complicated shoots and lives. A big part of their work will entail back watching in scrums and public places. It is an attempt to try and give young talent a way into the department. The Broadcast Camera Journalist role is that of the News foot soldier, we’re the guys outside the High Court, knocking off a quick clip at Westminster or doing the Piece to Camera at the Home Office. Officially we are meant to shoot elements of packages rather than the entire thing, but obviously that isn’t always the case. We are also expected to use Inject points (or wall boxes as some of you might know them) and to be able to feed material using a range of systems i.e Store and Forward and Video phones etc. The Senior Broadcast camera Journalists are generally Shoot/Edits with extensive experience of working abroad and in Hostile Environments. They are expected to have a high level of journalistic input on the stories they cover and to act as mentors to the BCA’s and BCJ’s. My mentor is Julie Ritson, an SBCJ who has seen it all and covered all the big foreign stories of the last ten years. It’s reassuring to know that if ever I find myself in a situation where I need advice I can give her a call. At the Top of the Tree are the Picture Correspondents, there are only four of them. They are the guys who only work on the big stories, for example one went to Camp Dogwood with the Black Watch in Iraq and another was recently on assignment in North Korea. They are expected not only to Shoot and Edit but to be involved in the planning of tricky foreign deployments, the purchasing of new gear and the training of the rest of the department. There strengths rise above Camera skills. They are very resourceful and experienced, the sort of guys who could organise a two-way from Patagonia with some tins and a piece of string.

Myself and the other BCJ’s joined the department in September, brought in after an extensive recruitment process. The first in many years. As well as a simple interview there was a day long assessment that included a psychological test, written and practical Camera skills assessment. It was a harrowing experience but very worthwhile. Even if I hadn’t have been offered a job at the end of it I still would have gained from the experience. At that time I was working as a Shoot/Edit for BBC Manchester shooting for a combination of Regional news, The Politics Show and Inside Out. A great job in a Great City, but it just lacked the excitement I crave. Although I’d been lucky enough to go to Madrid to cover David Beckham’s transfer there were few opportunities for travel, something I’m desperate to achieve in the course of my career. I’d been at BBC Manchester for two years, before that I’d been with ITN for three and a half years working my way up the ladder from Runner to VT Op and eventually Cameraman. The other seven new guys were from similar backgrounds: two had also been regional Shoot/Edits; one a freelancer who’d been working on and off with the department for a while; one came from the Editing Department; one had been a Producer, VJ and regional crew; another came from the BBC Studio Camera department while another had been freelancing for APTN in Central America. A good bunch of guys (and girl), all seem to have fitted into the department well. In fact we’ve generally been welcomed by the established crews who’ve been very friendly and open towards us.

It’s been an interesting and exciting few months to be part of the BBC News Camera department, already I’ve had opportunities to “act up” above my grade. I recently spent a week covering one of the Bureaux as a Shoot/Edit (or if we want to stick to the new titles - Senior Broadcast Camera Journalist), I’m also in the process of shooting my first ten minute film for Newsnight – a break that I didn’t expect so soon. It’s thrilling to be at the forefront of new technology, to get to test the new Sony XDCAM and Panasonic P2, and to be up there with the front runners as we integrate the use of Wi-Fi and Video phones into helping us get our pictures straight to air from anywhere in the world.

In conclusion I hope that this article has answered a few questions, helped clarify the changes that are taking place at Aunty and reassured all members of the Guild that the BBC News isn’t getting rid of its talent and replacing them with Journocams. Fingers crossed it stays that way for a long time to come.

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