A Day in the Life of an Essential Worker….Chris Bullen Last year the government classified Radio 1XX as an Essential Service, which meant that announcers, journalists and a few key administration staff were required to maintain programming as much as possible. This resumed under Level 4 this August.
Over the past few weeks, I have presented the breakfast news, which has entailed driving through empty streets to arrive at 1XX by 5.15 am. Once inside the deserted building the first step is to use a sanitised wipe to clean all the door handles. Next, I wipe the computer keyboards and mice, then the telephone keyboards and handsets. Not so easy to wipe the microphone and headphones! The sanitizing may seem unnecessary but the government made it clear if we were to operate during the lockdown, we would have to take extra precautions.
So, with all that done, I’m ready to start on the day’s routine.I’m alone in the building until Colin Magee or L J arrives shortly before six. The doors remain locked, with the public not allowed. My news gathering is limited because most of the people in businesses and offices that I would normally ring for news during the morning are not working. Fortunately, I can get some people on their cell phones.
If I want a cup of tea or coffee, it means taking the wipes with me for the jug, teaspoon, coffee jar etc! Finally, before handing it over to the next journalist I again sanitise the keyboards, phones etc.