Contact Sophie Aikman for any questions regarding the role: sophie.aikman@durham.ac.uk

Head Producer is an exciting and dynamic role at the heart of PalTV. In this position, you are responsible for leading the station’s content creation, driving the team to create a mix of news and creative shows that PalTV fans will adore. One week, you might be leading a live sports broadcast watched across Durham’s college bars, the next, planning a hard-hitting documentary.

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Getting to know pretty much everybody at PalTV, you occupy a highly social role in which no two days are the same. The position involves lots of people management across the station but also allows you to get stuck in and pursue your creative passions on a regular basis, whether they be producing, presenting, writing, camera operating, video editing, or something else.

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Key responsibilities:

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• Work closely with the Section Heads team as well as station members to ensure that PalTV puts out a regular stream of quality content. This involves overseeing lots of projects from a distance as well as directly leading projects yourself.
• Work out ways in which PalTV can innovate and improve.
• Engage regularly with station members to motivate them and provide constructive feedback on their work.
• Seek news stories to cover and generate ideas for creative projects.
• Be a responsive member of PalTV’s on-call breaking news output.
• Form project teams.
• Attend weekly Exec meetings, fortnightly station meetings, and fortnightly producer meetings

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These are the key areas the role generally covers, but the nature of the job means unexpected circumstances arise. You might find yourself having to occasionally lug filming kit around Durham or getting on a call with the Palatinate Editors-in-Chief to discuss how to cover a breaking story at 10pm. Commitment to the cause is essential but the rewards could hardly be greater.

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As it enters its second year of existence, PalTV moves into an incredibly exciting phase of development. Having won Broadcaster of the Year at the recent student TV awards on a strong backbone of news content, the station now looks ahead to expanding its creative content (for example, commissioning dramas) and live broadcasting capabilities. New filming equipment and a station studio are on the horizon. Being central to this era of growth alongside a team of brilliant people makes the Head Producer role one of the most thrilling in Durham student media.

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Key skills/qualities:

• A passion for PalTV and broadcast journalism
• Strong organisation skills and robust time management
• Keen attention to detail
• Compassionate leadership skills
• A willingness to learn about basic media law and OFCOM guidelines
• Excellent communication skills
• Reliability
• Interest in Durham news and culture
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• A good grasp of ethics in broadcast media
• Proactiveness, diligence and creativity