Reporter's Dream - BBC Radio Car

I've been working on the radio car shift at BBC Radio Derby recently and it's been really enjoyable. I've learnt loads about the patch - Derbyshire and East Staffordshire - and met some great people. I can broadcast live from almost anywhere in the patch by putting up a 30 foot mast from the car.

One of my favourite radio car reporting jobs was at a sweet shop in Alfreton. I found this story while out on another story - the most effective way of discovering new ideas in my experience. I was in Alfreton voxing locals about the success of the town's Football Club. If I'm struggling to find people to speak to me on the street, I resort to going in shops to vox pop and the first one I went to was Anne's sweet shop. There's nothing better than reporting on a story that you've found, especially in a sweet shop!

Click play below to listen to my piece.

The Cancer Diaries

I've been listening to some incredible podcasts made by one of my former colleagues at BBC Radio Oxford who's very sadly recently passed away. It's the best radio I've heard since the 'Anatomy of a Car Crash' Radio 4 programme which I blogged about a year ago. Ali Booker made 'the cancer diaries' for Oxford commercial station Jack FM. They are an incredibly moving insight into what it is like to live with terminal cancer. Her warmth, self deprecating humour and popularity with her audience always struck me.

You can listen to all 21 podcasts on this website: http://alisdiaries.podomatic.com/

And 15 of them on iTunes so you can put them on your MP3 player: http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/alis-diaries-podcast/id371979295/

Ali won Gold at the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards 2010 for the cancer diaries...