Draining, sad workplace with so much potential - Senior Journalist That's TV Employee Review

In this job a huge proportion of a local TV news programme is down to you - finding stories, interviewing, editing videos, and writing scripts for newsreaders. It can feel like a lot at first but you soon get into the swing of things, and it's so rewarding when you put together a show you're really proud of. Here, you can put as much into your work as you like, and create packages that really stand out. You gain so much experience at That's, so quickly. You need to be able to juggle multiple tasks, meet short deadlines and high story targets, but it's more than manageable if you have the ability and passion for local news! I covered many different patches across the UK, and came to love most of them. If you get a chance to visit these areas in person, it's so rewarding.

You need to be able to handle the tasks by the ends of your first week - you really are thrown in the deep end, but this separates the wheat from the chaff! You should quickly realise if this job is for you or not. Chasing and finding stories is often the most difficult bit, especially in the smaller patches. But through FB groups and local contacts you can make it work. Not everyone, sadly, knows of That's TV's work, but they always become fans after an interview.

Some of the other entry-level staff were very friendly

- The demands are unfeasible. I was thrown into the role with zero training despite it being promised to be in the interview stage. Someone briefly blitzed through a PowerPoint with ridiculous amounts of information and looked at me strangely when I said it was a lot to process. - On my second day, I was immediately expected to have a backlog of work ready for broadcast for an area I was not based in and knew nothing about. One person told me to do one task. Then another person asks why something else hadn't been done. No clear communication and set expectations amongst senior staff to new staff. - They threw me into a recorded interview without explaining how it needed to be conducted beforehand to prevent any confusion. Instead I was talked over while conducting an interview, telling me I was doing it all wrong. It was a humiliating experience in front of the interviewee. No respect when other colleagues are on the phone, instead they will talk and shout over you. - Lack of resources, was expected just to be comfortable with making work calls on my personal phone