I get to cover a lot of the issues which make the front pages day after day -- things like drugs and gun crime, and what's happening with asylum seekers.

I try to explain how these issues are affecting us here in the East Midlands, and bring the human stories behind some of those headlines to EMT.

There's a fascinating mix of stories to cover here.

From the bustling inner-cities in Leicester and Nottingham; to the Peak District; the Lincolnshire Coast; and the former mining areas around the M1.

I guess you'd be hard-pressed to find any other part of the country that can offer so much variety, and such a wide mix of people with interesting stories to tell.

For me, an added bonus is covering a region which I know like the back of my hand.

I was born and bred in Leicestershire. And since I started work, I've spent most of my time living in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

Jeremy at Nottingham's CCTV monitoring centre

So how did I end up doing this job? Well these days most people get a degree in media studies or journalism.

I studied electronics instead (don't ask). In fact my first taste of "broadcasting" was as a teenager - announcing the trains on the Shackerstone steam railway.

It didn't last long -- they only had one train -- so they got pretty fed up when the tannoy kept coming on!

My big break into the BBC was getting the opportunity to answer the phones as a volunteer on BBC Radio Leicester's youth programme.

And my first proper job was as a "Programme Assistant" at BBC Radio Nottingham -- researching; doing technical stuff; making the tea -- and occasionally getting to produce and present my own programmes.

I've spent a bit of time news reading and as news editor at BBC Radio Nottingham; a few months in the BBC's national newsroom (loved the job, hated living in London), and a very enjoyable year at BBC Radio Cumbria (where else can you get a great view of the Lake District from your front window?).

And for the last few years, I've been grappling with the mysteries of making television reports on East Midlands Today.

When I'm not at work -- you'll often find me hiking round our fabulous countryside (by day); or investigating the varied delights of our fabulous restaurants (by night).

And whenever I get the chance, I'm off discovering another new country abroad - I covered a good chunk of central Europe by bike, before learning the hard way that the Alps weren't designed for cyclists.

But I've always ended up back in the East Midlands -- and I can't think of a better place to live.

If you want to contact me: send an e-mail to Jeremy Ball.

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