"Lack of experience"

So, I managed to impress a local radio station enough to merit me an interview, after sending off an mp3 featuring my dulcet Scots tones and my amazingly constructed CV, displaying all my current triumphs as a journalist:

• editor of the student rag, which I slaved at for four whole years and which practically ruined my social life, made me fall out with the larger part of the student body (apathetic bastards) and put my degree on the back burner.


• a recent diploma in Broadcast Journalism (BJTC approved, of course), which basically taught me everything one needs to know about the industry, from researching stories in the media haven of Barnsley to interviewing many 'high profile' politicians, and editing it all together to make neat little packages featuring barking dogs.


• Work experience at my fave radio station in Scotland, which required two weeks of kipping on a living room floor.
  

CV and demo accepted, I attended said interview and impressed the news team further with my burning ambition and desire for amazing, fantastic local radio work. And what was the response?

"We felt you don't have enough experience. Would you like to come in and work for free?"

No, dear radio station, I don't want to work for you for free. I HAVE NO MONEY. I'm living for free in my boyfriends house, because I can't afford rent. I just spent £8,000 on a damn course, which GAVE me experience.

Also, this begs the question, why did you give me an interview? You saw my CV. I am fully competent at driving your little silver Peugots around, interviewing media hungry residents.

So, what I want to know is, how is it humanly possible to gain work experience anyway? In an industry that requires you to have spent a fortune on a course, do endless hours of free work and even then the chance of getting any freelance work requires begging, how does one survive whilst using their expensive skills to work for massive corporations (with loads of money) for FREE? I'd like someone to enlighten me on this.