In our Creative Industry Trailblazers series, we’re focusing on some of the best and brightest minds working across TV, film, music, marketing, theatre, journalism, design and beyond. Creative Access supports individuals at all stages of their career cycle, and we’re excited for you to read about the experiences & lessons from our impressive mid-senior community.
In this blog, we’re delighted to chat to #CAalumni and current member of our steering group, UK correspondent for Bloomberg TV, Lizzy Burden. In this interview Lizzy reveals how she got into journalism and the skills you need to progress in the industry…
Can you briefly tell us how you got into the role you’re currently in?
I freelanced as a producer at the BBC, was a grad trainee at The Times — a role I secured via Creative Access — then wrote about economics for The Telegraph and Bloomberg News before moving to Bloomberg TV as UK correspondent.
What skill would you say is essential to possess in your role?
Resilience.
What’s the best/most helpful career advice you ever received?
Cut your teeth in print. It gives you a foundation of specialist knowledge that enables you to speak with confidence and authority, it hones your writing and teaches you how to hunt a real scoop-worthy story.
What project are you most proud of working on?
When it was still taboo in the business word, I wrote a feature about menopause in the workplace, interviewing a FTSE 100 CEO on-camera about her experience of hot flushes. When calling business lobby groups for comment, press officers literally laughed down the phone — that’s how little the topic was talked about. In the end, the story got millions of hits and helped bring about a parliamentary inquiry into the issue. Now I rarely attend a diversity event where menopause isn’t mentioned.
Why should people consider a career in journalism?
It’s a cliché but you get a front-row seat to history. I sat cross-legged on Downing Street with nothing between me and Boris Johnson delivering his resignation speech — same for Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak when they took office. I interviewed shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves as the pound crashed in the aftermath of Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget. I’ve witnessed Sunak and Emmanuel Macron’s bromance up close in Paris. But, more importantly, good journalism can change history’s course.
What can people do to move up the ladder in the journalism/media industry?
Be open to opportunities. I didn’t set out to be a financial journalist but I have discovered I love its rigour and the impartiality of the markets’ perspective.
Which creative industry trailblazer inspires you and why?
Stephanie Flanders. She’s my former boss at Bloomberg and was previously BBC Economics Editor. She explains complex concepts simply and when she interviews policymakers, they meet as intellectual equals.
Check out Lizzy’s tips for getting into journalism here! https://creativeaccess.org.uk/latest/top-tips-for-aspiring-journalists
Or, if you’re looking for a new role in the industry, head to our opportunities board.