2021 has been an interesting and turbulent year on so many fronts and for so many people. In my own world I returned to the telly as a reporter with ITV News Meridian. It really is a huge pleasure to be back working with some familiar friendly faces and some great new talent. It's funny how these things come about. It was by chance that a coffee on the seafront near my home with one of the programme editors in the summer led to a conversation and him asking me if I'd be up for some reporter shifts - I immediately jumped at the chance. It's a job that I thoroughly enjoyed more than ten years ago but sadly lost out when ITV redundancies hit and I was one of the casualties. As any journalist will tell you, the job is all about people, getting the best out of them and 'rooting' out the story. My work with ITV News Meridian is on a freelance basis which means I invariably get a last minute call to cover a shift. When the phone rings or a message comes through asking "Glen are you available" - the answer is nearly always yes. The beauty of the job is that no two days are the same and I very often get sent on some quite quirky jobs. It wasn't long ago that as a television reporter, you had the luxury of working on location with a number of people including a camera operator, sound recordist, lighting specialist etc. When returning to base, you sat with a video (VT) editor to put your carefully crafted news package together. Nowadays as a reporter, you do pretty much everything yourself. TV journalists are taught how to use a camera, edit and make finite last minute alterations to a package right up to the wire. So, from chatting to 'Team Brit' (disabled racing team at Brands Hatch) to the naming of a fleet of gritter lorries (my fav was Spready Mercury) and a glorious sound and light show at a local cathedral, my job is far from dull.
