Erika calls it a Day
After 20 years at the University of Gloucestershire (UoG), where she has been Senior Lecturer BA Journalism, Erika Barnes (pictured) has announced her retirement.
A former broadcast journalist who started her career in independent local radio before moving onto BBC Radio Oxford, Erika then joined ITV Central where she reported on major news stories, including the RAF’s role in the Gulf War.
“As an academic, I am even more proud of the achievements of my students, as I watch them develop into the new generation of journalists,” said Erika, who added that she was passionate about multi-platform working and the importance of it for new journalists. “Understanding what radio, TV, social media and online needs is a key part of almost every journalistic role right now,” she said.
Course leader is Lou Birt, an experienced broadcast journalist who started her career 30 years ago after qualifying with the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and then working for local newspapers.
After moving to BBC local radio, Lou joined BBC Radio 5 Live, where she stayed for ten years, before joining Global as deputy managing director of LBC, the talk radio station. Re-joining the BBC, Lou worked at BBC Radio 4 as assistant editor on World at One before becoming editor of BBC Essex and then senior news editor for the West Midlands, responsible for responsible for Midlands Today, the regional news programme on BBC1 at 6.30pm, news content on five radio stations and six Online indexes.
Anu Anand, an international journalist and radio presenter for more than 20 years, who has worked for the BBC World Service, Radio 4, APTN, the Guardian, Deutsche Welle and Marketplace in the US, has joined as a lecturer in journalism (creative arts).
Anu grew up in the US, started her career there and later spent 15 years living and working in India and the wider South Asia region. She has reported from more than 40 countries over the course of her career, presenting live, breaking news, documentaries and covering wars, major disasters and global social and economic change.
