Radio Stuff
-
What’s It Worth?
Last week, radio consultant John Myers rattled a few cages at the BBC by suggesting that Local Radio has too many managers. Even attempts to challenge his perhaps predictable conclusion were handled by the straightforwardness for which John is now becoming famous. On BBC Radio Nottingham’s breakfast show, the presenter asked why the BBC had…
-
Closing Ranks
It’s not difficult to get annoyed by Kelvin MacKenzie. He’s never been one to shy away from an attention grabbing headline. Although at least when he was at The Sun, most of his headlines had a shred of truth. Now, however, it seems that he’s gone into the fortune-telling business. Which is unfortunate if you…
-
2012 – The Year Of Freedom?
Who says the commercial radio industry’s lost its buzz? After years of consolidation and claims of local communities losing their localness, I reckon there is much to celebrate. Or at least keep a keen eye on. And who’d have predicted that the big showdown of 2012 wouldn’t be in London, but the West Midlands? The…
-
Failure IS An Option
Failure is an interesting word. Especially when it’s used as a justification for protecting something. Yet Lord Patten, the BBC Trust Chairman, says that “Market Failure” is one of they key reasons why drastic cuts to BBC Local Radio and Regional current affairs should be scaled back. After hundreds of days of uncertainty, and thousands…
-
Yours… Mark Thompson
I frequently get emails in my work Inbox from senior executives in the BBC. These al the “all staff” messages – sometimes congratulating teams for their recent work, or more often explaining major changes and cuts at the organisation. So when I clicked on one from the DG Mark Thompson last week, I wasn’t expecting…
-
Christmas Capers
A couple of my friends took a pre-Christmas break in the sun. They went to Cape Verde, and by all accounts it was very nice indeed. I can’t help thinking that it must have been also quite nice for Radio 4’s Evan Davies who was there courtesy of the station’s now-traditional policy of bringing in…
-
The Things We Do For Love
I’m a little bit sad today. Part of the BBC’s cuts have hit one of the Corporation’s most useful – and sometimes controversial – products. The chances are that unless you work for the BBC you won’t have seen it. But if you love broadcasting you’ll have almost certainly have heard of it. Ariel, the BBC’s…
-
Fools Rush In
Many industrial disputes can be compared to “set pieces” in sport. A well-rehearsed sequence of events is played our, usually resulting in a resolution where both sides can claim some sort of victory. But just like sport, a set piece can be spiced up with the unexpected. And so it was at the end of last…
-
Admit It – You Got It Wrong
You can hear it in your head. The harmonica and accordion sadly serenading the sense of failure. The haunting reverberated voice, hitting a falsetto note in the final verse : “What do I got to do? What do I got to do? When sorry seems to be the hardest word.” It’s a classic. At least…
-
Cut The Crap
Greg Dyke was a fascinating character, and in my opinion, one of the best bosses I ever worked for. He did many things as Director General of the BBC. But I didn’t think that nearly a decade on from one of his infamous initiatives, I’d be using it to open a blog. For a start, there were…
TravelCaster 