Melissa Crawford
BA English and Media 2011
At the age of 25 Melissa Crawford has done it all. She has been crowned Miss Newcastle at the Miss North East GB, modelled at Silverstone for F1, produced adverts and TV shows, and is one of the faces on the region’s very own TV channel.
After graduating with a first-class degree in 2011 Melissa worked her way up in the television industry. Starting as a runner and receptionist, she is now the TV Presenter and Assistant Producer at Made in Tyne and Wear television.
Melissa said: “I do a magazine style programme called the Lowdown which is on air five nights a week. We go out and about and keep our audience up to date with hot topics, current affairs, events and local talent across the North East region.”
Melissa said: “I do a magazine style programme called the Lowdown which is on air five nights a week. We go out and about and keep our audience up to date with hot topics, current affairs, events and local talent across the North East region.”
She added: “This summer has been crazy because there has been so much going on in the North East so we have been trying to cover everything and we have worked every single weekend.
“We are a small team of five and there is no rest: if we are not filming, we are editing, if we are not editing we are organising where we are going to be filming next. But it’s really rewarding seeing an idea turning into an episode, and we celebrated a big milestone of 200 episodes last month!”
The new Miss Newcastle is no stranger to life in the fast lane. Throughout the year she holds the title she is planning to get involved with as many charities as possible, holding fundraising events and raising the publicity of different projects and generating awareness.
“It’s easier to do this when you hold a title,” explained Melissa.
The University of Sunderland graduate has a lot of passion for the North East and is proud to be taking the title to a national stage at the Miss Great Britain finals in September. She is also really proud of being able to work in the media industry in the North East.
“A lot of people think when they graduate that they need to move to London or to Manchester so the fact that I have managed to get a full time job in my chosen profession in the region is a big achievement for me.”
The 25-year-old continued: “I have always been such a home bird and that is why I was attracted to the University. I also wanted to do a media course and the University is known for its media courses so that pulled me to study there.
“I also did a semester in the States at the Virginia Tech University and that was a great experience.”
Melissa has very clear advice for graduates who want to work in the media industry: “This is a tough industry to get in, especially if you want to work in television, so what you really want to do is to keep in the loop with people, to make sure that your name is there for the next job.
“You also need to take the opportunities as they come. I got my first job as a Production Assistant in Newcastle by accident. I was working as a receptionist in London and I picked up a call from a company. I researched the name of the company and sent them an email asking if they had any opportunities available and it all went from there.”
Melissa concludes: “You also need to be very devoted to what you do because television is not a 9 to 5 job and you are required to work when events happen.”