Explore: Environment

Head of Media Relations
Eden Project

print
info Issues viewing the video?

David R

00:00:04 My name is David R, and I’m Head of Media Relations at the Eden Project. What do I do day to day? Well my job as Head of Media Relations means that I’m at the sharp end of dealing with the Media. If there are any stories we want to present, or issues we need to respond to, then I will be the first point of contact for the Media, and I will liaise with the Senior Managers at Eden as to how we react, or how we present. My job means a lot to me. This is the toughest, most challenging and most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I’ve been in this job for four years. Prior to coming into this job, I was a newspaper journalist for 25 years.

00:00:46 My career was totally out of the blue. My father was a fisherman. None of my family went to University. I became a journalist, I went to University. When I was a child we always had newspapers in the house. And after I stopped reading the Beano, I started to read newspapers, and I loved newspapers. I’m still passionate about newspapers. I know they’re old Media, but I’ll always love them. And I also took an interest in the TV News, from a very very early age. When I was about 15, my Dad said to me – you like writing, you’re interested in the news, you should be a journalist. I wasn’t even sure what a journalist was. I knew what a reporter was, and I knew about people writing in newspapers, but that’s how it started.

00:01:30 And so when I did A levels, I did English and History, and my degree was in English and Philosophy. So it was always English, but it was always a means to become, I think, a better writer and communicator. I thought that writing was a thing I could do. I wasn’t sure about journalism, because I knew you had to be pretty tough. But actually you can learn to be tough. So what I had to do was to apply – well I went away on a one-year training course for the basics in journalism, and then I did that classic thing which people did when I started out, I joined a very small newspaper and learned my trade. And then I thought, really I ought to see a bit more of the world. So at the age of 27 I did a Mature Student’s degree.

00:02:07 I went away – this is when I studied English and Philosophy – and that took me up to the edge of London. And when I finished that I thought yeah, let’s give London a crack. So I spent ten years working on what is known as Fleet Street

00:02:22 What’s it like working on Fleet Street? Hellish, fantastic, always in danger of burn out, never know when you’re going to be jumping on a plane across the world, never knowing what sort of difficult situation – whether it be a riot, or knocking on somebody’s door and asking a difficult question – you’re going to be pitched into. It’s a high octane, adrenaline ride. And it’s probably a young man’s game too.

00:03:28 I was probably having a mild mid-life crisis, in that I’d probably had enough of London, but I wanted to come back to Cornwall for family reasons, and because it’s a great place to live. So the newspaper I was with very kindly retained me for six years to write features for them, and I also developed a strand of writing books. I’ve long had an ambition to be an author. Not an author of fiction because I don’t think I’m talented enough. But to write other books, and I’ve written a couple of books in the meantime, before I worked at Eden. One of the things that being a journalist and in communications teaches you is – there are many points of view. There’s no single truth. And it’s very important to listen, not just to the people who are agreeing with you, but the people who disagree with you too. Because they have a valid point of view, and it’s important not to have a closed mind.

00:03:42 In a way I’m living a childhood dream. One has to have dreams, and it was one of my dreams to be a published author, and to write, and to see the world. And without being smug about it, I’ve done some of that – there’s still a lot to do.

00:03:58 ENDS

As a boy David loved writing, newspapers and current affairs; so what better career path for him than journalism. Coming from a family of fisherman, he was the first to experience university life. From the local paper to Fleet Street and now as Head of Media Relations at the Eden Project, David’s story is an education and an inspiration for all budding journalists.

Data issue: on some pages, the information below does not match the job type in the video. We are working to fix this as soon as possible.

More information about Archivists, conservators and curators

?
£34,320
average salary

The UK average salary is £29,813

?
44
average weekly hours

There are 37.5 hours in the average working week

?
45%  male 
55%  female 

The UK workforce is 47% female and 53% male

Future employment

Future employment?

Description
? Archivists, conservators and curators collect, appraise and preserve collections of recorded and other material of historical interest.
Qualifications
Entrants require a good first degree in order to gain entry to a relevant postgraduate course. Many postgraduate courses also require applicants to have gained relevant practical experience prior to entry. Training is typically received on-the-job.
Tasks
  • Examines, appraises and advises on the acquisition of exhibits, historic records, government papers and other material
  • Classifies material and arranges for its safe keeping and preservation
  • Maintains indexes, bibliographies and descriptive details of archive material and arranges for reproductions of items where necessary
  • Examines objects to identify any damage and carries out necessary restoration whilst preserving original characteristics
  • Makes sure that storage and display conditions protect objects from deterioration and damage
  • Allows access to original material or material not on display for researchers
  • Develops and promotes ideas for exhibitions and displays
  • Negotiates loans of material for specialist displays
  • Liaises with school and other groups or individuals, publicises exhibits and arranges special displays for general, specialised or educational interest
  • Answers verbal or written enquiries and gives advice on exhibits or other material
Employment by region
?
Top 10 industries for this job
?
Libraries, etc 8720
Legal & accounting 3069
Education 2115
Health 1011
Employment status
?

From personal careers advice to finding work, see our round-up of
useful websites to help you on your way

Explore more videos by: