London's take on Amsterdam

London Centre offered a review of IBC's weird and wonderful exhibits at the end of September. The annual media technologies conference and exhibition had welcomed more than 55,000 attendees to Amsterdam earlier in the month.

Few of television’s senior bureaucrats have been as influential as Colin Shaw, who has died, aged 85.

A Fellow of the RTS and a regular attender of Society events, Shaw’s low-key, but incisive, wit helped negotiate the BBC out of many a tight spot in the 1960s and 1970s. He was latterly the corporation’s Chief Secretary.

I am a Leytonstone girl by birth. I share that provenance with David Beckham, and I have many happy memories in my teens of going to watch Trevor Brooking (look him up, if you’re under 40) at Upton Park.

It was a different football world, back then. No seats, for a start. And it did not seem that long ago since England lifted the World Cup with a West Ham player as captain.

Gwyneth Hughes is one of the most versatile writers working in British television. Her screenplays encompass crime serials, costume drama and fact-based pieces.

Jane Austen, JK Rowling and Hilary Mantel would all have made the grade in TV. That's because they are all great storytellers. "If you are not terribly excited about all forms of storytelling, you've got no business being in television at all," stressed Saurabh Kakkar, Head of Comedy Development at Big Talk Productions, speaking at the opening RTS Student Programme Masterclass.

He added: "All storytelling is entertaining an audience... If you have a passion for it, the chances are that you have done something about it.

Twofour Group has made some of the most critically acclaimed factual TV of recent years. One of its biggest shows has been Channel 4’s Educating Yorkshire. The company’s Chief Creative Officer, Andrew Mackenzie, is also no stranger to controversy, having commissioned My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding during his time at Channel 4.

Making television can be a precarious occupation. Jobs are hard to land and rarely last longer than six months. Production staff are constantly looking for new positions and are often out of work. The creative rewards, though, can be immense for freelancers working in such a vibrant industry.

The latest RTS Futures event, "How to survive as a freelancer", assembled an expert group of talent managers and production staff to offer tips on networking, writing CVs, successful interviews and managing money.