Bringing success into focus

Meg Montague is an MA Broadcast Journalism student at UWS. Recently, she had the opportunity to speak to Isla Todd, a graduate of the course who now works as the Inverness reporter for BBC Scotland’s The Nine. Meg writes…

It’s often said that journalism is one of the most competitive industries there is. Aspiring journalists need to be passionate about what they’re doing, be able to persevere through rejection and be willing to put the work in. UWS BA and MA journalism alumna, Isla Todd, has all of these qualities. But she admits, with honesty and humility, that she fell into journalism “by accident”.

“I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do, my parents were doctors,” Isla (pictured below) explained. “I applied for law because I didn’t think medicine was my thing. I got a few conditional offers.”

In her final year of school, Isla failed two exams that she needed. This led to her going through the clearing process. Isla’s choices couldn’t have been more different – Zoology and Journalism.

However, in 2010, Isla began a BA Journalism degree here at UWS. She was active in a variety of activities and societies including the student council, the student newspaper, the netball team and the motorsport group. Importantly, her time at UWS showed her what a career in journalism could be like, and prepared her for embarking on one.    

“The news days were invaluable. They recreated that type of pressure that you experience in a newsroom,” she said.

News days are an integral part of the journalism course at UWS, set up to give students a glimpse into what it’s like to be a working journalist. 

“It’s also about beginning to build up contacts,” Isla said. “We had two or three journalists come in – I think it was from BBC and Bauer Media. They spoke to me about what their jobs were like, and then I’ve ended up working alongside all of them.”

After graduating with a BA degree in 2014, Isla decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism at UWS in 2015.

As part of the degree, Isla was able to undertake work experience at Radio Clyde and STV. But she believes it was the work she put in in her spare time that really gave her an advantage after graduation. 

“It was just building that portfolio before it was necessary, covering stuff that I wanted to cover,” she said. “I’m a bit of a feminist, so I always covered the Reclaim the Night marches. I’d go out, get a camera, get some interviews, come back the next day, edit it all together, and put it out on my YouTube channel.

“I still have them, and do you know what? They’re terrible! But I was getting the process done, I was getting into the routine of it. And every time I did one of those stories I’d get faster and I’d get better.”

Isla graduated in 2016 with a MA in Broadcast Journalism, and it wasn’t long before she was working as a freelance journalist for radio stations across the country, including Tay FM, Kingdom FM and Moray Firth Radio.

Since 2019, Isla has been the Inverness reporter for BBC Scotland’s The Nine. She says it’s ideal for her. She is back home in the Highlands and working for one of the biggest news broadcasters in the world. She may have fallen into journalism “accidentally” – but she turned it into a passion, and subsequently, an impressive and inspirational career.