School of Communication student hosts BBC Radio Cornwall Saturday sports show
07 March 2024
Third-year Journalism & Creative Writing BA(Hons) student Pablo Woolls-Blanco has gone from strength-to-strength since securing his placement with the BBC back in 2023 and recently anchored Radio Cornwall’s four-hour Saturday sports show.
Pablo guided listeners through the afternoon action on February 10, linking to live reports from around the country covering everything from the Cornish Pirates’ rugby union clash in Ealing to Falmouth Town FC’s triumphant visit to Jersey Bulls in the FA Vase.
His commentary went down so well, the BBC asked him to feature on the same show again later in the month.
Speaking to Pablo about this latest achievement, he said: “The opportunity came about after I’d already been reporting for the programme every Saturday, giving updates from all of Mousehole FC’s fixtures. Then Ross Ellis, the sports producer, offered me the opportunity to present one of the programmes.
“I was obviously delighted but also nervous. Ross and I have done a lot of work together in the studio planning for it. I started to get the hang of everything (which was a lot!), so he offered me the chance to present this week's programme as well as the next.
“It was such a great experience for me - to be able to present a four-hour sports programme was just brilliant, and I really enjoyed myself.”
Pablo has been mentored in his sports reporting by Falmouth lecturer Kevin Bishop, who not only has experience working for the BBC at the Olympics and World Cup, but is also a director at Mousehole where he has transformed the club’s media in recent years.
I am thrilled the BBC has recognised his undoubted talent.
Kevin said: “At Mousehole, we’ve given Pablo the chance to report on one team throughout two seasons, allowing him to build up the confidence and knowledge of a speciality beat. He has multiskilled reporting for video, audio, online and old-fashioned newspaper text. We believe the structure of the club mirrors that of teams at a much higher level, and as such the preparation Pablo has got with us has hopefully set him up well for a future career in sports journalism.”
Course Leader Andy Chatfield added: “Pablo is a huge Barcelona fan and when he joined the Journalism & Creative Writing degree I did emphasise that we sadly didn’t have a club of that stature down here. But thanks to his determination and Kevin’s expert guidance, he has really honed his skills at grass roots level like generations of great sports reporters before him. I am thrilled the BBC has recognised his undoubted talent.”
Pablo is due to graduate this summer and hopes to become a sports reporter in Spain.
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