BU graduate, Charlotte Blake, has combined her interests in sport and the media to build a career managing the production of televised matches and tournaments. Today she is a Junior Production Manager at BT Sport, working in the football department on the National League.
Having grown up in a sport-loving household, Charlotte was inspired to pursue a career in broadcast after watching TV coverage of football and Formula 1. This, combined with a love of news and current affairs, led her to chose BU’s degree in multimedia journalism. She said: “I was keen to explore career routes in sports broadcasting and when it came to visiting BU on an open day, I just knew that it was the right place and the right course for me. Because the degree has a multimedia focus it enables you to follow different routes and develop a broad skillset.”
As it came towards the end of her degree, Charlotte followed up on an introduction to a contact at Sky, and after some gentle persistence managed to secure a role within Sky Production Services department as an Ingest Operator. She said: “I remember spending a long time crafting my CV and covering email, and when I didn’t hear back, I checked in again to see if there was anything coming available. My persistence paid off, and after joining the team I set about getting involved in additional projects to build my contacts and experience.”
After spotting an advert on the Sky intranet for staff to volunteer as extras for a shoot, Charlotte emailed the production manager asking if she could act as a runner during the project. This experience ultimately led to an offer to become an Office Co-ordinator at Sky and the chance to get involved with television production.
From Sky, Charlotte moved to IMG where she worked as a Production Assistant and then Production Manager, leading on branded content for Golfing World. When that job came to an end during the pandemic, a former colleague pointed Charlotte in the direction of BT Sport where she now organises and manages outside broadcasts at football matches up and down the country.
Charlotte said: “I love going on site for a live match. There is a real buzz – particularly as people enjoy getting back to live sport after Covid – and the network of clubs in the National League have a real family feel. Working in production is a bit like putting all the puzzle pieces together to enable the coverage to be successful. You need to be able to solve problems quickly and to communicate effectively with people at all levels.
“Since graduating I have drawn on so many transferrable skills developed during my degree, not least marketing yourself to make the most of opportunities. That has stayed with me, and I would urge other recent graduates to work hard to build and maintain a network of contacts who can support you as your career develops.”