Evadney speaks to My Black woman of her journey through journalism and being the first and only black woman presenter on BBC radio Gloucestershire. This will by no means be a small shoe to fit. In our chat, she tells of it and why she had to leave after over 20 years to start her own business with her daughter. Read on to hear what she says...
You were once the only Black woman he BBC radio . How did that make you feel at the time?
I was not actually the only Black woman working at BBC Radio Gloucestershire, the team I worked with included other women of colour both from an African Caribbean and Asian background. I was the first and only Black woman presenter on BBC Radio Gloucestershire.
What of now looking back and seeing where you are today?
It feels like a lifetime ago – and it is, it is over 25 years ago now and I would never have believed it would lead to where I am today. I started presenting as a hobby with no real desire for it to become my career. That journey has lead me into a job I have enjoyed immensely and now a future that I’m looking forward very much to, running my own Company.
How would you describe your time during those years?
I presented the magazine programme for BBC in Gloucestershire then, Bristol and Wiltshire were added for a total of 17 years from 1987. I totally enjoyed that experience.
In 1999 after completing a PostGraduate degree in Broadcast Journalism, I joined the BBC as a full-time Broadcast Journalist. Throughout my time with the BBC, which ended December 2012, I have been fortunate to have, had a wonderful experience. The majority of my time with the BBC has involved me working with the community in particular those described as ‘hard to reach’ and as it was that interest in the community which lead me into the media in the first place, it felt that, my true calling was being met.
The decision, which leads me to leave the BBC in the end, was the fact that I was no longer doing this, and did not believe the opportunity to work so closely with the community as a reporter would again become a reality.
Evidently, Black women are most likely not willing to tell their stories especially positive ones. Did this give you any compulsion to search out these stories?
I’m not aware of this fact; I spent a majority of my time as a journalist searching out stories, which had strong human interest. I did not actively seek out stories, which were particularly about Black women. Most of my time, particularly my years in news, were spent trying to unearth good news stories which I believed had strong news values and, which were therefore of interests to a wide cross-section of the community. Sometimes those were stories, which may have particular impact on women but whilst I made specific efforts to dig out stories from the Black community, those were not gender specific. I also worked hard at ensuring a balance reflection of our community on news stories I worked on.
You worked with BBC for over 17 years, why did you leave?
In total I actually worked for over 25 yrs. with the BBC. Initially as a freelance presenter/producer and for almost 13 yrs. I worked as a Broadcast Journalist. I left in the end because of a number of reasons, some mentioned earlier, but I also really wanted to work for myself and felt the time was right.
During my years working in the community, I was also conscious of a need for small businesses, local charities and some voluntary groups particularly those from the BME communities to be trained on how to work with the media. I have always had an interest in giving those less able, the opportunity to be able to tell their stories through the media and I believe I will be able to do this through my Company.
Tell me about your PR venture, how is it getting on?
My daughter and I have formed a Public Relations and Media Training Company, Shiloh PR. Shiloh PR specialises in public relations, media training and event publicity.
We aim to work with Companies, organisations and individuals that recognise the value of the multicultural market but do not know how to reach this target group, or have a niche brand they would like to reach the mainstream market, we have, we believe, a thorough, unique and up to date understanding of how to achieve this.
We have strong enviable contacts within mainstream, ethnic and grassroots media, especially those aimed at the African and Caribbean communities so understand the best way of ensuring that target demographic discover our clients’ event, product or service.
We also provide clients with a range of complimentary services including media training, photography, feature writing and social media advice.
You have an MBE to your name. How amazing?
It was amazing and a shock. Something I would never in my wildest dreams imagine would happen to me. I was awarded the MBE in January 1994 for ‘Services to the African and Caribbean Community in Gloucestershire’. You can imagine, at that time, I had never met anyone who had been given such an award and did not even know how one got such accolades. I had been doing voluntary work since I was in my teens. It was something I was passionate about and, as explained above was the reason I was asked to present the specialist programme on BBC Radio Gloucestershire in the first place.
Although I am immensely proud of this, until recently, I did not really appreciate how significant this is. I know it is contentious for some people to accept these honours but, for me my Community wanted me to accept it, they were very proud of my achievement and I now embrace it for them.
Are women embracing social media effectively to boost their businesses and self?
I think this depends on the age of the woman. Young women totally embrace the use of Social Media to boost themselves as well as their businesses. They really understand the importance of social media and are totally confident in using it to their advantage.
Part of the training Shiloh PR does with businesses and in particular women in business is to explain how effective social media can be but we also try to point out the dangers if you do not know how to use it properly.
Many people are using lots of different social media tools without really understanding how to use it effectively or even whether the ones they are using are the most appropriate for what they want to achieve.
How would you compare your days working with BBC and working for yourself as a PR guru now?
It is still very early days for the PR Company and I really wouldn't describe myself as a PR guru; the one important difference for me however is the freedom I now have to do the type of work I want to do.
I also love the joy of not having that dreaded ‘Sunday evening sick feeling’ that feeling you get when you think of having to go to work on a Monday morning. I try to arrange my working hours to work from home on Monday mornings so I don't have that feeling.
I love being able to decide my own working hours. At the moment, even though I work until really late in the evenings, it never feels like work so I am loving working for myself.
What keeps you grounded given the challenges of running one's own business?
This is a tough one; at the moment, I am focused on the end result. I have strong faith and therefore believe that everything will work out for the best. I pray on my decisions and believe in positive thinking. I am generally one of those people who always believe the glass is half full and if I do get down, which I do, I allow myself some time to feel that way but not to allow it to take over.
I love spending time with my family and friends and enjoy nothing better than entertaining them at home. Cooking is my hobby.
You do have periodic media training and workshops, what do you tell women ?
I tell women to make the media work for them. Don't be afraid to use it. It is a great medium for exposing their services to potentially millions of new customers/clients. Learn how to access it and identify the ways of maximizing their media opportunities.
What is your greatest fear?
That I am unable to achieve my ultimate dream of being able to work from anywhere in the world, so I can spend six months of every year in the UK and six months somewhere hot, preferably Jamaica.
I don't really have anything I can say I fear at the moment. I am just excited about the future and confident we will make Shiloh PR the ‘Go to’ PR specialist Company in the UK within five years.
Pearl!!!
