Field Trip to Media School Bayern (M.94.5)

Since the semester is coming to an end, last Tuesday the Professional Communication Course had the last field trip to the Media School Bayern. We usually go to the excursions with Antonia Engelhardt, but this time she was not only our accompanying, but our guide. Since she works there, she provided us with inside information and explained everything detailed.

To get an overall view, Antonia started off with a presentation and explained the main features of the place. Media School Bayern is a platform in which students learn in audio, video and journalism production; as well as, having their first working experiences. They have a radio station which is M.94.5, as well as online and video production. Almost all the staff is composed by students who give their free time, in exchange for free education, which most of the times has a very high cost. It is open to all the young people who are passionate about learning, and anxious to become professionals within this field.  They are often hiring new students for internships, nevertheless the minimum required to stay is two semesters.

As said before, it is divided in three sectors: radio, video and, online production. It is mainly known for its radio station, where Antonia works, concretely in the sports section. The radio has two main shows: one in the mornings, from 9 am to 11 am; and, another one in the afternoons, from 4 pm to 6 pm. Also, the news are held between 3 pm and 6 pm. Moreover, they also offer a wide variety of interesting podcasts such as: Watts Abb, Buzzer Beat, Artsy Farsty… All departments meet weekly and produce the content for the next weeks before hand. As an interesting fact, the sports section is preparing a special programe for the Super Bowl. If you are a big fan, do not miss it!

On the other hand, the video section is in charge of all the video production, specially the content for YouTube. In this section concretely, students can get actual internships, not like in the radio. By last, the online section is in charge of all the social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram), and of the online website.  For example, when there is an interesting concert in the city, the online team posts stories on Instagram, in order to keep the public informed.

One thing that surprised a lot during the presentation was that Media School Bayern is sponsored by the state and shareholders; as they do not earn money from advertising or anything else. For the shareholders, is good for the Social Responsibility of the company because they sponsore the youth. Unfortunately, they lost their frequency on the radio on September 2017, and now listeners only find it online. A funny thing is that Rock Antenne, one of their sponsors, now has their frequency. Nevertheless, they let them do their shows every Wednesday from 10 am to 12 am. Since the radio became digital, lots of listener went lost; they went from 5000 listeners daily to about 160. Nevertheless, as Antonia said, students are not there for what they listen, but for what they learn.

Once the presentation was over, we got to do a tour around the office. We first met the radio staff, which was surprisingly young. Since students have different schedules, team positions vary everyday: cvd, rvd, ovd… However, the base job is being a normal editor. On Tuesday, we met Simon, who was the editor of day; and, his whole team, who was working on next week´s show. Within the tour, we also got to see the different radio studios, and some of the other departments. At the end, we got to record some of our own pieces in one of the main studios. Our classmate Tomás told a story about an Elf; and, Irina talked for a few minutes in Catalan. It was very fun hearing some of our colleagues in the radio and they did a great job! As an interesting fact, they keep a folder with all the funny things that happened on air. Thanks to Antonia, we got to hear one of them and it was hilarious!

Overall, I really enjoyed the field trip and our guide Antonia. The idea of having a school where students learn, and become professionals within the field, is excellent. In Spain, we don´t have anything like this, but it would be wonderful to do something similar. Proactivity is one of the key values companies go after, and this definitely encourages this within students. Nevertheless, I wish they would make more English-speaking shows, because the offer is very little. However, I think they do a great job and offer lots of different contents such as: expert talks, reports, moderation…