Behind the success of the Prison Radio Association is our dedicated, hardworking staff team who make the world of prison radio in England and Wales tick. Here, we get to know them and spotlight their experience of working for the Prison Radio Association.
Marianne, or ‘Big MG’ as she’s known internally, is our Managing Editor. Based at HMP Brixton, she is in charge of all things National Prison Radio. Marianne makes sure our prisoner-producers are having the best possible learning experience with us, while also making sure all the radio programmes we put out are of the highest possible quality. In this month’s blog, we wanted to let you into her world. Here is what he has to say about life at the Prison Radio Association:
How long have you been working at the Prison Radio Association? What were you doing before?
This is my second round with the Prison Radio Association. I worked as a Producer and a Senior Producer in HMP Brixton & HMP Highdown up until 2013.
I’m back in HMP Brixton again, this time as the Managing Editor of National Prison Radio.
In between my PRA experiences, I worked as a Producer and News Editor at ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
I also retrained and after gaining a PGCE in Secondary Education, I worked as a Media & English teacher in south-east London.
And before all that, I worked at BBC News.
What does a typical day at work look like for you?
Our days in the prison start at 0800. Every day kicks off with a morning meeting where, together, we set the agenda for the day, and the week ahead.
After this, I might be scheduling programmes, complying shows for broadcast, dealing with editorial issues, working with the team on scripts, supporting in the studio or helping with edits.
I might be in meetings hatching plans, I might be visiting people around the prison to record voices for shows, or I might be out and about recruiting: seeking out the next NPR presenter!
Our work environment is really collaborative and we all work together to develop ideas and get things ready for broadcast.
What is the best thing about working at the Prison Radio Association?
And we have a lot of fun! Another thing that I love about working here is the opportunity we get to have an idea and run with it. That’s a really unique thing!
We are so grateful to all the people who have come in to share their stories in interviews on National Prison Radio. Just in the last year or so, we’ve had Grindah, Steves and Beats from the Kurupt FM crew come in to record shows with us. We’ve had visits from Louis Theroux, from Kathy Burke, Floella Benjamin, Eddie Kadi, Seani B and Babatunde Aleshe. Rapper Scorcher came in to run a workshop in the radio station and our team in HMP Styal did an incredible interview with Mel B from the Spice Girls.
Sidenote: Kathy Burke posted about her visit and said she’d been given the perfect cup of tea. That was me…just saying!! #proudmoment
These visits add so much to our experiences as a radio production team and the content we broadcast to the NPR audience. It’s days like these – when you truly see how much people care and the impact it has – that make our job as special as it is! Huge thank you to all those people I’ve listed and to all the people who’ve visited us over the years.
What is something you wish everybody understood about the realities of working in prison?
I wish that people understood that for so many people in prison, life could have been so different!
So many people in prison were in care as children, so many were kicked out of school, so many people grew up in abusive situations, so many people have family members in prison, so many people have mental health issues and so many people have alcohol and drug problems.
What is your favourite podcast or radio show currently?
Impossible question! Obviously a lot of my time is spent listening to shows for broadcast on National Prison Radio and our podcasts that are available on the outside.
But as well as that, I have a few go-to favourites depending on what I’m doing. I always listen to stuff when I’m commuting and when I’m out for a run!
Recent favourites are: Sweet Bobby by Tortoise, To Catch a Scorpion, Stakeknife, County Lines, the whole series of Conviction and How to Fail with Elizabeth Day.
I love a great story, a real story. I love the art of the long-form interview and learning new things about people and I love shows that make me think.
What is the song that you would use to sum up your time working at the Prison Radio Assocation?
Many Rivers To Cross by Jimmy Cliff. The first time I ever heard this song was working in prison which seems mad now – I don’t know how I’d never heard it before.
I was checking through a show and when this song came on, it made me stop what I was doing and just listen to the lyrics. It’s so beautiful.
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