Radio Stuff
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Journey To The Centre Of The Earth
I should know better by now, but I had just a bit of an anorak moment this week when I finally got my foot in the door of the BBC’s spanking new HQ, the refurbished Broadcasting House. Much has been written about the millions spent on this vast project in Central London, but spending just…
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Down Your Local
“This is Simon Bates and Jade Goody, and we’re LIVE on Asda FM.” You couldn’t make it up. And I didn’t. The opening quote was one of my favourite ever “links you never thought you’d hear” from 2005, when the whole of the UK commercial radio industry joined forces to raise money for survivors of…
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Evolution, not Devolution
Networked radio shows are nothing new, and for the vast majority of listeners, where a particular show comes from is rather less important than what comes out of the speakers. I realise that this comment may be unpopular with some enthusiasts, who yearn for the days of 24/7 “live and local” output, as it was…
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It’s Smooth Sailing?
In the late 1990s and early 2000s there was a renewed optimism in commercial radio in the East Midlands. At last, the dominant Trent FM had some proper competition, in the shape of not one but two regional competitors. Smooth and Century were giving the heritage station a run for its money, with significant investment…
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Playlist Ping Pong
This evening, I’m going to be doing something that most 42 year olds would never dream of – unless they were stuck in a car with their teenage children. I’m going to listen to a Chart Show. Natch, my curiosity has been driven by this week’s furore over Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead, and…
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Moral Rumpus
Last night I was called a “jumped up fanatic union socialist” in an online message. I suppose I should be flattered. But context is everything, and I think its only fair that I should clarify. I well remember the time I attended a student union conference in the late 1980s and decided to sit in…
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Crossing The Tees
Today marks the end of an era, and further evidence of the harsh realities of business, as after almost forty years the North East effectively loses one of its best known radio stations. Bauer Media has decided to network all of its programmes on Teesside’s TFM with its neighbouring station Metro, based in Newcastle. Although…
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The Whole Truth
Some people still blame Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand for many of the rules and restrictions on broadcasting we now have which never existed years ago. If you worked in radio during that era – and claim that you never did any of the following, you either have a very selective memory, or you’re lying…
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It’s Rubbish Because I Say So. Fact.
In the last blog, I referred to the growing use of the internet to offer opinions, though message boards and blogs. And whilst I’ve had my fair share of run ins with the BBC Local Radio Forum, I thought it only fair to respond to their interpretation of BBC Local Radio’s new evening show, which…
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Local Radio, Nationwide
I’ve never quite understood why some people dismiss programmes they have neither heard nor seen. Perhaps the most memorable example in radio’s recent history was the furore over the Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand affair, with the actual number of complainants who’d heard the original broadcast could probably be counted on your fingers. What’s worse is when…
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