The Midlands Today piece on Stop/Eject goes out tonight at 6:30pm on BBC 1 in the West Midlands, and on Sky Channel 979, but if you can’t wait that long you can see it here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150454093341266&set=vb.21263239760&type=2&theater

So how did I get my ugly mug on the custard and jelly? Well I’ve been on Midlands Today twice before – once with The Beacon in 2002 and then again with Soul Searcher in 2005. Both times I was interviewed by the same reporter, who gave me his number and said I should feel free to call him if I ever needed any other films promoting. So getting on this time was relatively easy. Even though that reporter no longer works full time at Midlands Today, he promptly forwarded the info I sent to the relevant person and the next day I had a phone call to arrange the shoot.

There’s a certain amount of luck involved as well. You have to catch them on a slow news day. And since your piece will not be news in the strictest sense, i.e. it won’t be tied particularly to that day, it will be the first piece to get bumped off the show and postponed to a later one if something more newsworthy comes up.

As to how I got on Midlands Today the first time, back in 2002, I’m afraid I simply can’t remember. I’m pretty sure I didn’t approach them, and there was some good coverage in the local papers at the time, so most probably a researcher saw that coverage and they contacted me.

I have to say that everyone I’ve met and dealt with at Midlands Today has been incredibly friendly and helpful and I’m very grateful to them for giving my little film project a bit of publicity.

Remember, there’s just one week left to make your contribution to Stop/Eject at http://tinyurl.com/stopeject