Autism in the media with Nick Ransom
Students passionate about a career in the media got to listen to Nick Ransom, journalist and neurodiversity consultant, talk about his experiences in a fascinating career talk!
Students at Inscape House School gathered in the big hall to hear more about job opportunities in TV, newspapers, radio and film, and get the best tips and tricks from an autistic journalist. Nick showed the students his journey from childhood to appearing on the screen and responded to everyone’s burning questions.
Top tips for young people
Everyone experiences autism differently and Nick doesn’t claim to be an expert, but outlines his top tips for young people:
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Dream big – Being autistic shouldn't be a barrier stopping you form believing. If you’ve got a passion for something, pursue it. We can all achieve success in some way.
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Never give up – Keep practicing what you are good at as well as things you want to improve. Making mistakes is not a bad thing, it teaches you what you can do better next time. Keep trying!
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Volunteer and try difficult things - whatever your interest is if you can offer to volunteer your time and improve your skills. Putting yourself in an uncomfortable situation now can help your career later on by showing you have passion and experience.
Getting a job isn’t easy, even for the people who have success stories to share
After Nick finished his degree at the University of Salford, he spent months at home applying to jobs. He was rejected multiple times and told he can’t do specific jobs. But these few months reassured Nick of his passion to be in the media industry.
With an can-do attitude his motto remained “I always tell people that if you want it bad enough, you’ll get there”. He believes this got him his first real job.
He started by with small roles on media programmes, basically making tea and coffee, for productions like Match of the Day. But his breakthrough role was becoming a Social Media Assistant at Children in Need. This was followed by roles at Radio Manchester, Question of Sport, BBC Bitesize, BBC Sports covering the Olympics, Euros and Wimbledon, Channel 4 covering the Paralympics and 4 in a Bed, BBC Studios working with Chris Packham on a new programme about autism called Inside the Autistic Mind. He then continued with Location, Location, Location for Channel 4 until he started pitching multiple media companies about neurodiversity. Sky Sports was the first to get back to him with an opportunity to become a journalist-presenter and he was able to combine his passion for sports with LGBTQ+ identities interviewing other queer people about their experiences in sport.