Sam Steele Statement

I am a former executive producer for BBC Radio 1, recruited by Channel 4 to

be Head of E4 Radio in the Spring of 2008. As you will see from my CV, I am
an innovative multiplatform content producer, an award winning leader and am adept at
implementing cost-efficient, high-impact business strategies.

I spent 8 years at the cutting edge of BBC broadcasting at Radio 1, devising strategies to reach
young audiences, working in complex stake holder partnerships and creating high profile
campaigns and output.

I left the BBC to become Head of Programmes at independent production company Wise
Buddah, energised by the prospect of developing existing business opportunities and
expanding the production output. I was immediately approached by Channel 4 to head up its
first national digital radio launch, E4 Radio.

On joining Channel 4 I worked closely with the Heads of E4 TV, Online and Commercial, to
develop a brand proposition, programming, talent and business strategy for the station. I spent
months studying the target audience and media consumption patterns of E4 and C4 youth
audiences, and as a result developed a strategy for content which was daring and innovative
and in tune with the Channel’s brief.

E4 Radio was due to launch in March 09 as a truly multi-media brand offering high-concept
content across platforms. The launch was pulled as a result of the unprecedented economic
downturn in October 08, which led to a company-wide restructuring and retrenchment in the
face of massive ad revenue losses forecast for 09/10.

Thus I am on the look out for something interesting and challenging to fill my days. I have
many cross platform content, creative development, team building and commissioning skills
which are readily transferable. I have worked in print journalism, TV, radio and commissioned
online content, virals, AV shorts and rich media. And I have managed huge BBC departments
through corporate change and restructuring, developed & implemented future strategies for
growth and still had all my colleagues and reports talking to me at the end of the day!

I am used to working with brilliant creative professionals, from grumpy sub editors to insecure
A list talent, really shouty agents, brainiac Director Generals and R4 controllers, and hard-
pushed production teams. I can set deadlines, persuade and influence colleagues, manage
production lead times, motivate my teams and develop strategies for change and growth. I
have spent my entire professional career doing all of these things well.

In addition I am steeped in youth culture, creating content and brand identities for 18-34yrs,
with a dip into young teens, 12-16yrs and really keen to put all my excellent management and
creativity training, not to mention the six months of brand hot housing I spent at C4, to good
use. I don’t want to work in a big corporate environment but would love to help develop and
grow an interesting young media company.

The job of Operations Director for a digital and traditional media production agency seems like
a great fit for my skill set.

I look forward to hearing from you

Sam Steele
Personal Details

Name: Miss Samantha Steele

Date of Birth: 04/10/1966 Home Address:
17 Graham Rd
Preferred tel no: 07798 532 724 London
Home tel no: 0207 241 1439 E8 1DA
Email: samlsteele@gmail.com Country: United Kingdom

Employment History

Date From: June 2008 to December 2008

Employers Name: Channel 4 Radio
Details: Head of E4 Radio

I was recruited to join Channel 4 to head up the development and launch of its first digital
radio station, E4 Radio. In charge of a £6 million budget for staff and content and with a brief
to develop a vision and strategy to extend the successful E4 TV brand across audio and digital
platforms. The radio project was intended to spear head a change agenda in Channel 4, to
encourage multi-discipline approach to commissioning and content development

Key areas of development were:

Budget Overall breakdown of the production/content/talent split. Identifying

where and how much to spend on
programme content, online, talent and internal staff costs

Strategy Devising a strategy for radio/audio output in Channel 4, as well as

refining the key strategic vision for E4 Radio.
Working closely with the heads of New Media, Music and E4 TV

Culture Creating a clear framework to achieve a creative and productive working

environment

Content Develop an editorial brief and strategy, analysing detailed audience

segmentation research to find the right
needs & benefits to attract audiences & ad revenue. We developed a truly multi-
media audio/visual proposition
that was a clear brand extension and had a USP

Talent Identify key talent and enter into negotiations with talent and with TV
commissioners internally to develop cross-
platform contracts & buy outs

Production Scope out the in house production requirement and job descriptions. Recruit the
senior commissioning team and
begin recruitment for multi-media production base

Commissioning Through close liaison with the both Radio and TV independent producers,
devising a commissioning brief and
process. Commitment to expanding indie production requirement and to utilising
non-traditional sources of audio
content

Revenue Working with the Commercial Director and the Head of New Media to
target specific commercial opportunities.
 Also devising the schedule and content output to maximise radio ad sales
opportunities.

Marketing Develop a brand marketing strategy with the Head of Radio marketing,
particularly concentrating on the Spring
09 launch period

Rights Working with Business Affairs & Acquisitions teams to draw up compliance
guidelines, contracts, rights options and clearance terms for audio and audio
visual content for use on multi platform broadcast outlets.

Channel 4 has had to reschedule its planned move into radio as a direct result of the current
global economic turmoil.

Date From: January 2009 to June 2008

Employers Name: Wise Buddah Productions
Details: Head of Programmes

To develop and build the portfolio of programmes and multi-platform programming business for
this leading independent production company, with a turn over in excess of £1million. Wise
Buddah is a leading SME specialisingin radio production, but also engaged in syndication,
talent management, and online AV production. My brief was to expand the existing business
creating a strategy for change and growth. I was also responsible for developing and pitching
programme ideas to all BBC & commercial radio networks.

Date From: July 2004 Date December 2007

Employers Name: BBC Radio 1
Details: Executive Producer

Responsible for commissioning & editing 800 hours of original speech radio output per annum,
with a total budget responsibility of around 250K in on air programming and for funding bids
and budgets in excess of £1million .

Develop and implement the Radio 1 interactive education and public service strategy and
commission R1’s award-winning weekly documentary strand, including commissioning online
AV content, virals, and other rich media services.

Worked with the R1 Controller to identify and implement a 15% “Efficiencies Savings” target,
re-organising R1’s production departments and devising more efficient ways of working and
sharing output.

Autumn 07 Developed strategy & launched BBC’s Teens project, “BBC Switch”; signing Kelly
Osbourne to the station as well as developing an entirely new Sunday night
programming schedule.

Spring 07 developed and delivered multi-platform, multi-network Mental Health

programming, working with Comic Relief, Open University, MIND, BBC Factual &
Learning, 1Xtra & R1 and BBC online. Feed Your Head won the prestigious Mental
Health in the Media Award.

Summer 06 created an high-profile multi-media event, Bare All06, brokering and steering a
multi-platform partnership with 1Xtra, MTV, DfES and Durex, to create the UK’s
biggest ever youth sex survey, with 30,000 respondents. The programming was
devised & commissioned for multiplatform formats and ran across radio, online,
and TV. The results were covered extensively in national and regional print
 broadcast and online media.

Sept 06 re-launched and re-formatted Radio 1’s documentary strand.

Autumn 05 Initiated and developed Radio 1’s first ever learning collaboration with the Open
University

November 04-Mar 05, the Beat Bullying campaign, devised in partnership with the DfES.
Presented by Chris Moyles, with a final
campaign budget of £2 million, the signature blue wristbands are still creating
headline news.
Date From: June 2001 Date to: June 2004
Employers Name: BBC Radio 1
Details: Series Producer, The Sunday Surgery,
Date From: June 1999 Date to: July 2000
Employers Name: BBC Radio 1
Details: Series Producer, The Evening Session & Lamacq Live (10x hours of live
music programming per week)

Date From: March 1994 Date to: May 1999

Employers Name: Freelance TV producer & journalist

Working with numerous indies as associate producer on TV programmes including The White
Room (C4) Four Goes To Glastonbury (C4), Late Lunch with Mel & Sue (C4); Music of The
Millennium (BBC); Time out With... (ITV networks)
Features editor on VOX magazine, contributed to NME, Time Out and the Sunday Express

Training

2007 BBC Trust Training

Developing and Leading Creativity, 2 day senior management course

Safe Management of Radio Productions

Stress Management

2006 legal training – contempt, defamation, Justification, fair comment & live broadcast

2005 Ashridge BBC Senior Management Leadership Programme

A modular 9 month course in partnership with Ashridge Business School, including
• 360 degree feedback
• Module 1 - a two-day workshop for 100+ leaders from across the BBC
• Module 2 - Leadership Skills workshops with peer groups
• Learning support - comprises of: Action Learning, Coaching, Mentoring and
• Radar
• Online learning
• Elective Workshops
• Alumni

2004 Advanced Producer training Course

R1’s 12 month-long in depth bespoke training programme

Sept 2004 Child Protection training

March 2004 Data protection Act: guidelines talk

May 2003 VCS/Dira digital radio production & Broadcasting

May 2003 SAP starter course

June 1999 SADiE digital editing 1 & 2

July 1999 Radio Production & Presentation 1 x week course

Sept 1999 Managing A Team 1 x day course

Jan 2000 BBC Health & Safety

In addition I regularly organise & present creativity, development and management workshops
and
training inside and outside the BBC
Awards

Mental Health Media Awards

Feed Your Head (BBC Radio 1, 1 Xtra, bbc.co.uk/radio)
“daring and powerful radio”

Sony Radio Award: SILVER

Bare All 06 - Safer Sex Campaign
Writer: Sam Steele
Editors: Sam Steele & Jane Morris
Presenters: Tim Westwood, Sara Cox, Jenna G & Rampage
"This was an impressive entry. A tricky subject which had to be handled with care - but in a
suitably "full on" style, appropriate to Radio 1 listeners. A good mixture of on air material -
from live OB's to impromptu sketches and discussions, backed up with an on line
questionnaire that was well supported with a range of other materials."

OTC Marketing Awards: best PR campaign on a large budget,

BareAll06

2006 BBC Radio & Music Awards

Team of the Year: Radio 1 Social Action & Campaigns
Department Head: Sam Steele, executive producer
“Great things happen when we work together. This award is for the team that demonstrates
collaboration and achievement that is a good place to work, and that is widely respected by
others”

2006 SONY Radio Academy Awards

UK STATION OF THE YEAR: BBC Radio 1
An impressive sense of rediscovered self allied with a confidence that matches the professional
performance of its output. A station that clearly demonstrates an understanding of its
audience."

2006 SONY Radio Academy Awards

SILVER
Radio 1’s Sex Tour
Executive producer & editor: Sam Steele
"At heart this was a public information campaign done, the judges felt, to the highest standard.
The programme tackled a straightforward subject in an engaging way which demonstrated
clear understanding of the audience. It was refreshingly blunt, with a wide range of voices and
production techniques, bringing accessible and useful advice to Radio 1’s listeners."

2005 SONY Radio Academy Awards

THE MUSIC SPECIAL AWARD
GOLD
Teenage Dreams So Hard To Beat
Commissioning editor: Sam Steele
producer: Simon Barnard
"This Programme was outstanding not because of the emotional attachment felt by the listener
towards the subject, but because of the creative production, depth of research and tremendous
presentation. Out of all the tributes that were entered in this category, this programme got
closest to the nature and style of [John Peel]."

2005 SONY Radio Academy Awards

THE FEATURE AWARD
GOLD
Missing The Message
Commissioning Editor: Sam Steele
producer: Louise Hulland & Lucy Dichmont
"This programme is a master class on how to connect a young audience to a painful subject
(AIDS) and hard hitting evidence they may well not wish to hear. This was achieved by
meticulous research and skilful scripting, interwoven with appropriately contemporary music.
Powerful and effective documentary radio."
Awards

2005 SONY Radio Academy Awards

THE NEWS PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR
GOLD
Vote Friction
Commissioning Editor: Sam Steele
producer: Emily Jeal
"A brave, powerful and original documentary. Asian Radio 1 presenter Bobby Friction, a non-
journalist, followed the BNP campaign for more seats in the Burnley local elections. Excellent
use of radio techniques and Asian music helped deeply immerse the listener in the subject.
The programme was shocking, frightening, tense, raw and, at times, funny. Particularly
effective were the parts where Friction simply blended into the background."

April 2004 Sony Radio Academy Interaction Award

Bronze
The Sunday Surgery Live at Leeds
Series Producer: Sam Steele
“This hits its target audience - one notoriously difficult to trap and involve. The presenters
engaged that audience on air, at the outside broadcast and by phone, text and on the web-
site: not just receiving input but sending out text messages of advice to the young people
listening. The show uses technology familiar to its listeners to provide enjoyable social action
programming for the 21st century."

December 2003 BBC Radio & Music Innovation Award, Silver

Sunday Surgery
Series Producer: Sam Steele

April 2002 Sony Community Award

Bronze
Sunday Surgery
Series Producer: Sam Steele
"An excellent programme that showed an imaginative approach to social action broadcasting.
It was compelling and very clearly aimed at its target audience. The content was hard hitting
without being insensitive, and the young people contributing all had a part to play in the
success of the programme and ultimately the campaign."

January 2002 BBC Radio & Music Interaction Award, Silver

Sunday Surgery
Producer: Sam Steele
This award recognises innovation and excellence in using interactivity to extend and add depth
to the
relationship with our audiences.

April 2001 Sony Radio Academy Interactive Award

Bronze
Sunday Surgery
Series Producer: Sam Steele
"Pitched at just the right level, this helpful and non-voyeuristic weekly strand allows listeners
to be heard without being judged, patronised, bullied or hurried off the air. It offers what is now
a rarity in radio - an opportunity for genuine, positive empowerment."

April 2000 Sony Radio Academy Awards

Bronze
Lamacq Live
Series Producer: Sam Steele