[Peter Block - Executive Director, BTSR] Can I welcome you all to the Broadcast National Training Awards.
Today’s conference has been the first event of this nature for all L&D professionals in the Broadcast sector. It’s been an opportunity to revisit how we work today and to consider some of the challenges for the future. This evening is about recognising the best practise in current training provision in our industry.
[Roger Bolton - Producer and Broadcaster] We are privileged that the new Minister for Skills is with us. Welcome Lord Young. I think he knows its Tuesday but it must be an extraordinary experience being moved into a ministry and so quickly having to come, well not having to come, but coming to an occasion like this we’re particularly appreciative. You’ve so many things to do we are honoured that you should have chosen to spare the time to come and talk to us. Thank you very much indeed.
[Lord Young - Minister for Skills] Ok, well I am really pleased to be here, you know, complete with my vast two day’s experience as a minister. I think you’d share the view with me that British broadcasters are world leaders. We respond to the challenges by embracing new technologies in the media and investment in training and skills are absolutely central to that endeavour. So really pleased to be here and pleased to be presenting the awards.
[Broadcast NTA Award Winner 2008 - BBC - Accepted by Frank Ash] I’d like to thank the producers themselves because it was a voyage of discovery for them. They were coming into really a kind of training they had never experienced before, and my heart went out particularly to one producer who, when he heard through the grapevine that we were sending them off to exotic places to meet their audiences, brought his passport with him and sadly landed up in Scunthorpe.
[Broadcast NTA Award Winner 2008 - Bloomberg News - Accepted by Paul Addison] We think the fruit of the training programmes can be seen now when the markets are sort of collapsing around the world and our journalists are working 24/7 to make sure that we can get out the most accurate and fastest information for our company. So thank you very much to everybody for this award. Thank you.
[Broadcast NTA Award Winner 2008 - Global Radio and GCap Media - Accepted by Mark Grinnell] My first experience of a news editor was a cart which is, well probably none of you can remember it (its a bit of tape) thrown wildly at my head from the opposite side of the newsroom because I was a bit late for prospects. I like to think we have come a long way in the last ten years or so and in the last three years since news editor school was conceived. So this is really good recognition of the work we’ve done especially in the changing times in the industry and with our company changing.
[Broadcast NTA Award Winner 2008 - ITV - Accepted by Dave Spinks] Like everybody we are thrilled we have won this award and what makes it really special for us, apart from it being two years in a row which is good stuff of course, but it is the fact that it came out the business. The business came up with the idea, Helen in HR helped craft it and we were able to do it with L&D and make sure we had something that had many more ripples than we ever anticipated at the very beginning.
[Broadcast NTA Award Winner 2008 - QVC - Accepted by Dan Kerkel] I want to thank the BTSR. They’ve been a brilliant organisation and I think, and I want to be very specific about this, because I love the way they work with us as industry. They canvass us and consult with us. They’ve got a tiny little team they are able to pull off these kind of amazing things so I just want to say a big thanks to all of you. As well as Skillset and Ofcom, we really appreciate the partnership we have with you.
[Roger Bolton] All of the five winners obviously have done a tremendous job but there is a winner of winners, which I have nothing to do with thank heavens and I will now invite Stephen Whittle, the Chairman of BTSR to announce it.
[Stephen Whittle -Chairman BTSR] Bloomberg is the overall winner and they go forward to stand in the large organisation category at the UK Skills event in December. We wish them well in representing the industry and I’ll ask the minister please to hand over the trophy.
[Broadcast NTA Awards Winner of Winners 2008 - Bloomberg News - Accepted by Leah Harrison Singer] As journalists, you know, to become a trainer and to devote your life to training other journalists, is an act of great ego murdering. You know, I am never going to win a Pulitzer Prize, I’m never going to win a BAFTA, but I will have trained a lot of other journalists who will do those things. So I am enormously proud of that and I am enormously grateful to you for recognising that. Thank you.