Real Life Media Productions is on the lookout for three journalists to set up a news bureau in Leeds after winning an exclusive two-year contract to supply Channel 4 News with coverage of the north of England.
Real Life will take over the news contract from Chameleon TV after it went to tender for the first time in July.
Real Life is looking for a reporter, producer and a “technician” camera operator/editor. It will supply on-theday news reports as well as longer, deeper investigative pieces, which Channel 4 News characteristically features within its bulletins.
Chameleon held the contract for five years, after which Channel 4 News managing editor Guy Kerr said it was time to see whether or not there were other contenders. Chameleon will continue to provide coverage of the Midlands for the broadcaster.
Real Life, which provided reports for Five News’ First on Five bulletins for more than two years, is run by former Yorkshire Television news and current affairs editors Ali Rashid, the managing director, and Simon Schofield, its director of programmes.
“News is something that we enjoy doing. On-the-day journalism and documentary journalism are two sides of the same coin in that they’re all about good stories,” Schofield told Press Gazette. Both men will oversee the news output.
“If the right opportunities presented themselves, we’d certainly be interested in getting into the news game more extensively. But the principal focus for the company is news and current affairs.
“It’s a great thing for a production company to have a news contract, because you are dealing with a high volume of stories and it means ideas are flooding through the whole time,” Schofield added.
By Wale Azeez
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