Series Seven

Hetty initially graduated from a BA in Drama and English in 2012, thereafter taking the first opportunity to go to Ghana, Africa and accept an opportunity to work as an intern at one of the big television stations, ETV Ghana, in the news and entertainment department. There she took on many roles including working as a reporter, assistant producer, editor and managing the production crew. Hetty was thrilled to have been given the chance to work in Ghana whilst the media industry was on a rise. Subsequent to her six month internship, she returned to London and sought to gain experience at a local radio station, Reprezent Radio, where she created, developed, produced and presented her own features on the Lunchtime Show.

Hetty has attained a fantastic opportunity to work as a London 360 Reporter for Media Trust for approximately six months. During this time she hopes to report on exciting, unique and fresh community focused stories whilst highlighting issues that are rarely spoken about. Not only will she aim to improve in her reporting and journalism skills but she also intends on gaining experience as a presenter and producer. Hetty will strive to make the most of her experiences during this period.

In the near future, Hetty’s desire is to be a successful presenter, producer and reporter and have her own entertainment television programme which she will explain in more detail over time. Hetty also plans on being in a place in her career where she will be able to offer assistance to other Broadcast Media aspirers.

If you could choose a superpower what would it be?

Time Travelling – this is the first superpower I thought of because of how awesome it will be to be able to travel in time. If I were a Time Traveller I would change past events that occurred in my life just because I can and see how it would affect my present life. I would also have a glimpse of the future because I’m such a curious person, hmmm.

Have an exciting story to tell? Email me at hettya@mediatrust.org

Want to see what I get up to? Follow me on Twitter @hettyash.

Born and raised in Sussex, Usman has always been interested in people and the human experience and the media is the best channel for these experiences. He undertook a BTEC course in Media Studies, where he first learned multimedia skills from print, radio to television. He read International Relations and Arabic Language at BA level and spent one-year in Damascus, Syria, as part of this degree. He also received an MA in Middle East Studies and during his time at university worked for the university radio station and newspaper.

Joining the London360 team has allowed Usman to develop his skills to industry standard. Usman is interested in print and television reporting and likes taking on challenging, complex or underreported stories. In-particular political, foreign affairs and Middle East issues are his specialist area, but he also enjoys making features on ethnic and cultural minority communities, food and travel.

In the future, Usman would like to either be a Middle East reporter or Foreign Correspondent or a feature-length documentary maker, but is open-minded to other options.

If you could have any superpowers, what would it be?

I would like to have super physical strength and fight crime at night.

You can follow Usman on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TheUsmanButt

Ellie knew she wanted to become a journalist when, at 6 years old, she started interviewing family members with her karaoke microphone (the singing career never took off). Her background in Media and Drama has seen her work for local newspapers, perform fearlessly on stage and produce a number of short films.

She also has a BA in English Literature and she kick-started her writing career by taking a rather unexpected path into the world of motoring journalism after graduating. She is particularly interested in issues such as rape culture, sexuality, war and feminism and is excited to explore in these areas as a London360 reporter.

Growing up in a household where cake was part of the five-a-day, Ellie also has a keen interest in baking and loves to experiment in the kitchen. She also can’t get through the day without a few mugs of milky tea and, to her, an ideal present
would be a teapot and a cake stand. Or unlimited afternoon tea.

What would your superpower be?
My superpower would have to be the ability to change gender at will. Not only would it give me the chance to freak people out, but it’d also be so cool living the life of a man and experiencing what really goes through his mind and body.

Follow Ellie on Twitter: @EllieHolland_8

With a love for all things media Hope decided to explore this passion by hosting a radio show called H.O.P.E – Hour Of Pure Entertainment at Brunel University. Following this, she gained experience as a researcher at DMG Media group’s online version of popular newspaper, The Metro. Whilst building on her experience in business and music reporting, Hope has enjoyed interviewing individuals such as MOBO award winning artist Bashy. Aiming to uncover the spoken through media is a passion of her’s, with a long term goal of helping others by channeling this through TV, radio and print.

She would best describe herself as a hardworking, bubbly ideas person with the aim of learning how best to produce these ideas as a London 360 Reporter. Hope is most looking forward to exploring the views of individuals in the capital through features, learning how to become more rounded in presenting, production, researching and editing skills. Armed with ideas for documentary, Hope aims to produce the ‘’Gen-Y’’ series after her time at London 360. Her varied interests include music, entertainment, tech, entrepreneurship and social issues, and she remains excited about the journey ahead.

If you could have any superpower what would it be?

Healing others, ’’I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel’’ – Maya Angelou .

Follow @hopelanek on twitter to keep up to date with what Hope is up to.

Jessica left her job as an optometrist to pursue her desired career in Journalism and has not looked back since!

After carrying out a summer placement with the BBC London Radio team during her University years, it was clear to Jessica that she truly belonged in media. She began vlogging through her training year as an optician and realised that it was time to take the bold leap of getting her foot into the world of Journalism.

With a drive to succeed, Jessica carried out work placements with various radio, online and TV stations in the UK. She completed an NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism before becoming a London360 Reporter and Producer for Series 7.

With a specialist interest in the African continent, Jessica aspires to work on an International news desk and hopes to bring engaging news stories and features around the influence of the African continent in London.

If you could have any superpower what would it be?

To be able to fly! My love for travelling across the world (and maybe to space one day!) will be made that much simpler with this ability.

Follow Jessica on twitter: @Jessica_Onah

Hailing from Harlesden, North West London, the Media industry has appealed to Michael from a young age, which humbly started with writing football match reports at the tender age of 8. In order to hone his writing skills, he has completed a BA Hons in English Literature at the University of Kent and is currently finishing up a MA in the same field there too. As website editor at London’s BANG Radio, Michael realised that the media industry is where he wants to ply his trade.

Granted the opportunity by Media Trust to be a news reporter for London 360, Michael is now looking to learn various new journalistic skills and make an impression within the industry. He is particularly interested in stories based on social equality, sports and music and wants to use this platform to tell the story of others who otherwise would not be able to.

Ultimately, Michael aims to become a well-respected sports journalist specialising in football, boxing and athletics. However, he is also interested in social issues which affect people all across London, for this show, as well as the UK and rest of the world in future and the idea of making documentaries appeals to him.

You can follow Michael on Twitter @ThisIsMikeWalsh to keep up to date with what he’s up to!

If you could have any super-power what would it be?

The ability to read minds! I would not abuse this power (well, try not to!) but it would help me avoid bad minded intentions and I think it would make life a hell of a lot simpler.