Good editing matters

Many important points in David Lloyd’s latest blogpost:

I hear audio being aired on huge radio stations which is begging to be edited. Clips in news, promo clips - and interviews which could have been 30” shorter - and better - with a bit of skilled adjustment. Don’t listeners deserve better?

Firstly, I don’t like "editor" as the job title because it devalues the role of a skilled content producer.

From radio programming to podcast editing, every aspect of great audio uses a combination of science and art.

As David observes, editing should improve, not ruin - bad edits and constant clicking is even more unlistenable than an unedited podcast!

The one-to-one connection vs feeling part of a club

Believe it or not, I actually spoke to someone relatively young yesterday (albeit still older than me!) They said they like listening to radio that makes them feel part of a club.

Many shows do it well, often when the presenter(s) is a "name" - Iain Lee & Katherine Boyle’s wonderful community springs to mind.

That said, not everyone can achieve this and I still believe passionately in the unparalleled power of talking to one friend who has chosen to be in your company.

While this is the default, there are exceptions. Both can work.

Calm down, it's just an ad!

Channel 4 has launched a bold marketing campaign for its new six-part cyber thriller The Undeclared War.

In a thirty-second radio spot launching on Saturday 11th June, the Prime Minister (Rt Hon Andrew Makinde) will issue a message that asserts: ‘We have learnt that the UK is under threat of imminent cyberattack by an as-yet-unknown foreign power. Your safety is our priority’ before the transmission is mysteriously cut short, undermining his words of assurance.

I’m intrigued to hear this ad. The TV version seems pretty clear it’s a spoof but if the radio ad is exactly as described could complaints to the ASA and/or Ofcom be upheld?

The Ofcom Broadcasting Code states that simulated news must be broadcast in such a way that there is no reasonable possibility of the audience being misled into believing they are listening to actual news.

In the past, the ASA has cleared ads which sound like bulletins based on them not appearing first or last in a break and that they don’t match the radio station’s style of reporting, but this seems a little different.

UPDATE: The ad starts with a female VO introducing "a message from the Prime Minister..." before namechecking the character who sounds nothing like Boris Johnson - these make it distinguishable.

There’s also a generic version available to speech stations or anyone who feels the main creative is inappropriate.

Would you listen to your own radio show?

Would you listen to your own radio show? pic.twitter.com/I99xO7AkBb

— OnAirCoach - The Radio Space. (@onaircoach) June 9, 2022

Would you listen to your own radio show?

On the face of it, this is a good show test - though a self-indulgent presenter would say "yes" because it serves their own needs, missing the point that others don’t benefit.

Always hated listening to my own show - through a 'listen back' session or recorded. If strive for perfection or have constant self doubt (like so many presenters) it's not a nice experience. The egos or those who subscribe to 'it's only radio' will have a different perspective.

— Carlos (@carlosradioguy) June 9, 2022

I understand the importance of listening back and learning, having picked up on habitual words, speaking too fast etc in the past myself.

However, I’m a perfectionist in a constant state of self doubt and it can be easy to overthink everything. Presenters can feel vulnerable because they are their product and there's a lot to live up to.

At the end of the day, we're just human beings chatting to a friend but happen to do so into a mic - and, naturally, some can build a relationship better than others.

On-demand first, linear second

James Cridland on radio’s distribution strategy: "real time on speakers; on-demand for headphones. Make on-demand the first priority."

We’ve always followed the on-demand first, linear second mantra at Shine Radio, having launched as a locally-focused podcast hub over a year before the streaming station was born.

There’s never been more competition in radio from DAB/online, as well as new media, and consumer behaviour has changed dramatically.

While many do listen live - on speakers - others are quite happy with their existing background entertainment but choose to listen, more closely, to our on-demand content at a time that suits them - often through headphones.

Overall, the podcasting engine can have wider appeal too as opposed to our demographically targeted broadcast outlet.

Non-music programmes are produced as podcasts with their own niche audiences but fit for radio and air at various times throughout the week (we think of this as a showcase or shop window).

Some community stations are either still obsessed with "live" or just don’t bother creating any meaningful, talkable, quality speech that only they could produce and is worth seeking out. Why bother at all?

Steve Martin, my esteemed Shine Radio colleague, has a "top secret 3-point plan for effective audio distribution":

1. make things people want to listen to
2. put them in a place they can get them
3. tell people they're there

Why can't we all just get along?

Hi music journos. You can say community radio is good without also saying commercial is shit. We know it's a particular sound but it does well at reaching a lot of people + everyone behind the scenes are all working really hard + doing our best in the confines of the format ✨

— Coco Cole (@cococole) June 1, 2022

Extending this to some (not most, but some) in the community sector themselves who sneer at the wider industry. Sometimes publicly and it can get personal which is obviously unacceptable.

This saddens me. Above all, listeners are still choosing radio in their droves - let’s just celebrate that fact together?

I’d add that, ironically, their stations require some commercial thinking in order to grow, but I’ve probably already blogged more on that point than any other!

Commercial radio fought tirelessly for the freedom to compete efficiently with the BBC for audience and other less regulated sectors for revenues.

Radio is in good health today from understanding consumers better, embracing new platforms and having strong competition (from each other and now digital media).

Just as commercial radio benefits from BBC standards and vice versa, community stations benefit from both - by acknowledging what makes others successful and applying some of that thinking while offering a distinctive product, plus of course we owe it to the big players that FM and DAB are able to exist.