Grupo Prisa‘s radio journalist, Fernando Bayo, visited CIS University to talk with second-year Communication and Marketing students about “What it’s like to write for the radio.” Bayo, a renowned professional with a seventeen-year career on the airwaves, was invited to participate in the “Writing for the Media” course, led by professors Mar Gámez García and José Antonio Rodríguez.
“You need to write the same way you speak. You must sound natural because otherwise you will not be able to establish that special bond with the listener,” he explained to his audience while storytelling several personal anecdotes.
The speaker pointed out that, due to the dizzying times we live in, it is very difficult to improvise in this environment, and therefore prior preparation is essential before sitting in front of the microphone:
“It is important to follow a script, but at the same time you should sound like you are not following a script. I know it sounds paradoxical, but that is the point of balance we are looking for,” he stated in class.
The journalist reminded the students of the importance of reaching the audience and getting the message to its natural audience:
“From the beginning, you must ask yourself: Who am I addressing? What do I want to communicate? How am I going to present it? Never lose sight of these three questions.”
He also emphasized that it is imperative to “find diverse ways to approach the story and find different ways to tell it.” In this sense, he explained that it is crucial to include several sources and that it is more important to find “interesting people than important people”:
“Sometimes important people can be boring or have nothing to say.”
Finally, he reminded the students of the importance of advertising for the survival of private radio networks, and offered the students some useful tips on how to create the podcasts they should submit for their classes.
Through this conference, CIS University is committed to immersive education, bringing to the classrooms those recognized professionals whose experience and knowledge can provide great added value to the training of students.
