Television and Radio graduate wins Charles Parker Prize and makes BBC Radio 4 debut

Megan Hayward graduated from The University of Salford with a BA (Hons) in Television and Radio Production in 2019. This was the fourth time that she entered for the Charles Parker Prize and this year made it into the top 5 for her documentary Down on the Farm.

Megan said: “I’m so proud of the reaction the piece has had, from it being one of this year's Charles Parker Prize winners to winning Speech and Journalism of the Year at the Community Radio Awards and being a Finalist for the New York Festival Radio Awards, it’s really been an honor!”

The piece also made Megan’s BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds debut. She said: “BBC Radio 4 is the ultimate career dream for anyone that produces speech radio and to have my documentary air on such a globally respected station is incredible. To be featured alongside other talented young producers in the New Storytellers series on BBC Sounds is honestly brilliant, the series showcases such a range of emotional and unique stories."

Whilst studying at Salford Megan helped run two of the student stations, Utter Radio and Shock Radio. Once she graduated, she became the Sabbatical Officer for the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology for the Students Union for a year.

Megan said: “Doing the BA at Salford definitely solidified my love for radio, during a TV module my tutor told me I had an ear for editing audio, and I pretty much abandoned the video side of the course from that moment.

“Everything I’ve produced since has definitely been because of freedom and access to the incredible facilities at the MediaCity campus, being able to book out an edit suite and spend hours crafting bits of audio or playing around in the foley suite definitely kickstarted the creativity for me.”

Listen to Down on the Farm on BBC Sounds.