STEPS 2020 - 4 “The arena attack ultimately prompted me to pursue my original passion of sports journalism as I wanted a change after working on such an emotional and difficult story.” The skills that carried her through that harrowing night and afterwards include good organisation, empathy with interviewees (some of whom were very distressed) and sheer practical experience, developed at Bailrigg FM. They are still the bedrock of her work now as a sports journalist at BBC Radio 5 producing some of the biggest live international sporting events including The Masters, Wimbledon, Euro 2020 and Premier League and Champions League football. Brought up in Ormskirk, she had already decided she wanted to be a sports journalist before starting at Lancaster. A motor sport fan from the age of about three, she graduated from go karts to cars, competing at Silverstone when she was in her teens. A pit lane reporter, Louise Goodman, advised her to get a degree. For Amy it had to be History. Having visited Lancaster she was convinced the variety of history options and the strength of Bailrigg FM would take her towards her chosen career. She joined Bailrigg FM in Freshers’ week and within three weeks she had her own sports show, involving coverage of university sports, but also live commentary at Lancaster City matches. “It was my perfect opportunity to make my mistakes, to cut my teeth and to learn and grow,” she says. She also gained an instant social life. She loved the campus and, unusually, lived there for three years in the same flat with the same flat mates in Fylde College, due to the convenient access to college sports activities, Bailrigg and the city. “History stood me in far better stead than a journalism degree,” she says. “You can mount an argument, you can write properly and it was something I was interested in.” She relished the breadth of the course, particularly a whole year’s module on the First World War with Alan Warburton, and studying the history of advertising. Her dissertation was on speed record setter Malcolm Campbell and the impact of the media on motorsport. Lancaster put Amy in pole position to freelance. She was heard on Bailrigg FM by a local journalist and freelanced for Bay Radio and Lakeland Radio, alongside her studies. Even while studying for her finals in which she gained a first, she was able to keep radio shifts going. “The Roses was the pinnacle for me - the buzz of live sport, the sense of community, being live on air and broadcasting simultaneously on two stations.” After graduation, she went to the University of Central Lancashire to do her Master’s in Broadcast Journalism, going on to work for a range of news outlets including Sky News, Rock FM, BBC North West Tonight and The Bay, on general and especially court reporting, in parallel with sport. She’s now been on staff at Radio 5 Live since 2018. “If it were not for Lancaster University I would not have this career,” muses Amy. “I would not have been heard. Now, stations like Bailrigg are all the more necessary as the industry is shrinking. They give you those skills to develop your confidence, and that chance to make your mistakes.” @AmyScarisbrick 2 “If it were not for Lancaster University I would not have this career, I would not have been heard. Now, stations like Bailrigg are all the more necessary as the industry is shrinking. They give you those skills to develop your confidence, and that chance to make your mistakes.” port
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