Felicity works with Channel 4 News as a Senior Programme Producer. ITN has produced Channel 4 News for 24 years.
What attracted you to ITN?
I answered an ad for a scriptwriter on Channel 4 News in the Guardian - even though I was all set up to study for a D.Phil at Harvard and St Anthony's, Oxford.... I didn't think I was well qualified enough to be a journalist, but little did I know...I joined as an editorial trainee in 1989 as I hoped I it would give me an opportunity to specialise in foreign affairs.
What have you been up to since you joined?
After working across all the main newsrooms as a trainee I joined Channel 4 News in 1990 and worked in the Moscow bureau during the collapse of the old Communist regime. I also travelled extensively in Eastern Europe - later working for a short spell as the ITN Moscow Bureau producer. Back at Channel 4 News I worked a lot in Western Europe, especially Italy and France, as well as chief subbing in the newsroom. In 1999 I managed to get another Fulbright Scholarship and took an 18-month sabbatical to take a Masters degree in American politics and political communication at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. I was also able to work with the Washington bureau on coverage of the 2000 US elections. Most recently I've been chief writer for Channel 4 News, editing More4 News - podcasting on the midterm elections and now writing a twice weekly blog on US politics for Channel 4 Online.
Describe a typical day
If I am chief-subbing on Channel 4 News, I come in at 9.15am, ready for our morning editorial meeting at 9.30 - some days I am also writing the News at Noon, which takes up the whole morning, otherwise I write my blog, think up ideas for the podcast, or the evening programme, and liaise with the Programme editor about the stories we're running to make sure I'm up to speed on all the latest details. After lunch we have another meeting at 2.15 to go through the running order - then I start writing Jon Snow's scripts and checking they're all accurate - and maintain the editorial flow of the programme. My favourite bit is thinking up the jokey captions that run into each commercial break - if I make everyone in the gallery laugh, it's been a good day.
What's the best thing about your job?
I'm pretty much in control of what I do - it's always different, challenging and fast moving every day - and I do love writing, especially the jokes. The C4 newsroom is also a very friendly, creative place to work.
And the worst...?
I don't get out on the road at all now - I do miss the excitement of the Washington political scene - it's sometimes frustrating just writing about it from here.
What advice would you give someone interested in a career in your area?
Read the papers, look at the more reliable blogs and websites which have more quirky bits of news and comment - and if you can, learn a language or get involved in politics, apply for an internship or work experience. If you do want to take a masters degree in journalism - then the City University, the LSE and Cardiff offer some of the best over here, or try Columbia in New York, the University of Columbia-Missouri or the Annenberg school in LA - over in the States.
Felicity works with Channel 4 News as a Senior Programme Producer. ITN has produced Channel 4 News for 24 years.