Did you know that Jeremy Vine has a tattoo on his bicep? We didn’t, until we sat on a sunny afternoon at BBC Radio 2 In The Park in Stirling, chatting away about all things Stirling, student journalism, and the future of the journalism industry.
Jeremy Vine has been a presenter with BBC Radio 2 for many years, recognisable for his lunchtime show that does have a habit of winding me up on occasion. However, he is also a seasoned journalist, having spent time as an Africa correspondent based in Johannesburg, been a presenter of Newsnight, reporter on the Today programme, and a political correspondent at Westminster.
Naturally, as student journalists, we had to quiz him on his views regarding the world of journalism today. But first: curling?
Well, first of all, we’re just going to ask you about your experience in Stirling so far. We’ve seen that you’ve been curling and at the castle?
“Oh, I love how you’ve seen that.
“I’ve loved it. You guys are going to be journalists in the future, right? So you can see why I think to myself I’m really glad the 22 year old me did what you’re doing, because for me to arrive in Stirling, get off the train, and then the producer says right, we’re going to go curling, and then we’re going to go and see the castle… this is like a holiday at high speed, you know.
“It can’t be any better, and I just really loved it. And the curling wasn’t just curling. I was taught to do it by Jen Dodds, who’s one of the greatest curlers in the world. I made the mistake of asking her, “Have you ever been to Canada? She would just laugh because, well, curling is Scottish and Canadian, so, yes.
“I learned how not to do it…” And yet Vine had to take to the air anyways, under pressure from the listeners.
“When I go live on Sarah Cox’s show, they’ve got three listeners, and if I land it in the target, they will get tickets to this (Radio 2 In The Park)…You imagine the pressure of that.
“So the first one I miss, and some poor person, I think it’s Karen from Surrey, is told you can’t go.
“The second one lands in the middle!
“And the third one then lands right at the edge, but within one centimeter of being out, so it’s even more dramatic. So two of the three listeners got the tickets, and then the first one they said you can have them anyway.
“Normally it goes well in rehearsal and then falls apart on air, and it was the other way around. So it was a lovely thing.”
And how did you find the castle? It’s such a fantastic place, and very dear to the community.
“Well, we’ve been discussing whether it’s possible to say it’s greater than Edinburgh.”
(We at Brig, although competent and objective journalists, are confident that Stirling Castle is indeed greater than Edinburgh). Vine illustrated his point:
“I mean, it’s got levels! You’ve got one level, then another, then another. It’s got amazing tour guides. It’s got very different kinds of buildings in it, and also arrow slits are vital….You suddenly think: this is real.
“The other funny thing was that I thought there’d be lots of Radio 2 listeners, but actually there were so many international visitors; Mexico, Argentina, USA. I thought, wow, this place is really on the map for a UK visit, let alone anything else. So it’s a fantastic thing.”
I’m glad you’ve had a good time. Just to switch the conversation back to why we’re here – I wanted to ask if you had any favorite stories from your time as the editor of your student newspaper?
“Back in the day… this is so hard to even imagine, 1983 to 86, I was at Durham University. Still got great friends from there. We were all together in Edinburgh two weeks ago…
“Tip one: make friends, and meet them through journalism because they’re all the smartest.”
Again, we were inclined to agree – although, we had just lost half of our precious interview time chatting about curling, so perhaps not the best examples in this case. Vine continued:
“What we were doing was getting stories and printing by typing them out and sticking them on paper, and then taking it to the printers, and they would print it out. Are you printed or are you just online?
Luckily, we were able to explain that our print edition was sent off just the day before, by the skin of our teeth.
“I do think staying printed is a good lesson.
“I think the big lesson for me is this: here are these smart people working in Durham University (not myself, but the others) and we didn’t see the internet coming. We’re working on a newspaper with a whole technology which is plainly going to be obsolete within ten years, completely obsolete. And when I started on the Coventry Evening Telegraph in 1986, they couldn’t tell either. So my advice would be to look round corners.”
Have you got your top pieces of advice for aspiring journalists now, especially considering the current climate of journalism and the journalism industry?
“I mean, my first piece of advice is don’t go into journalism, and that’s because I need 19 out of 20 people with media degrees to give up. Because the crucial thing is then there’s just you two left,” Vine gestures to Kerry and myself, “so we’ve got to get the people who aren’t really committed, who think it’s just another job, out.
“If you’re really committed, you’ll do it… It used to be you get in and you’re made, and getting in was the problem. Now there are lots and lots of crap jobs. So there are lots of low-paid jobs that don’t last very long.”
It’s at this point where the conversation is interrupted by an almighty boom from the main stage, as Emeli Sandé began her set.
“That’s what I want my set to do. That’s the opening notes, everyone,” said Vine, in reference to his upcoming DJ set on the Sunday of Radio 2 In The Park. Resuming the previous conversation, he continued:
“I would say, be flexible. So, be single-minded, and be flexible. Very contradictory, but you can’t plan on a career, let’s say, in podcasts if in ten years they don’t exist.
“You need to keep looking at this chessboard that’s changing shape and keep monitoring it.
“Going back to my time at Durham, how did we not spot the internet was the next big thing? We were perfectly positioned. We were 20 in 1985 when Bill Gates was looking at a computer, and we didn’t spot it. So you’ve got to spot it.”
Well, we’ll do our best and see what happens. Thank you so much.
It’s not just Jeremy Vine we spoke to during Radio 2 In the Park! You can read Brig’s other interviews, reviews, and commentary on the event here.
Featured Image Credit: Kerry Lloyd/Radio 2 In the Park
Journalism student at the University of Stirling & BRAW Magazine editor 24/25 and 25/26 🙂
You can see my portfolio here: https://www.clippings.me/alicepollard
