An opinionated shock jock is not a journalist

The TRIC Awards (Television and Radio Industries Club) was held at London's Grosvenor House last night.

As well as sponsoring the Best Radio Programme category, which ended up going to arch-rival TalkTV (discussed later), GB News had nominations in Best Multichannel News Programme (GB News Breakfast) and Best News Presenter (Eamonn Holmes, Nigel Farage and Stephen Dixon).

Yes, you read that right... Nigel Farage was nominated for Best NEWS Presenter - and the former UKIP leader went on to win the award by a public vote. A tragic sign of the times if you ask me.

Past nominees include Clive Myrie and Victoria Derbyshire. Lumping together widely-respected, credible, impartial journalists and opinionated shock jocks sets a dangerous precedent.

It's hardly surprising with both Farage's and GB News' populist/cultist following that they were able to rally the most troops and scoop the awards.

Other established broadcasters are credible and probably weren't pushing as hard for votes. GB News is hungry for the clout because that's all it can get.

Accepting the award, Farage attacked the wider industry and claimed a panel of judges from within wouldn't have shortlisted GB News. To be fair, he's not wrong as that would've meant a genuine quality battle rather than a "who can shout the loudest" contest.

Hitting out at BARB (Broadcasters' Audience Research Board) - which is jointly-owned by the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, the IPA, ITV, Sky and UKTV - Farage said "you should be frightened, because you will lose your jobs" accusing the mainstream broadcasters of "marking (their) own homework".

This curious tirade against the body responsible for measuring TV audiences is comparable to fellow right-winger Kanye West’s outburst at the 2009 VMAs when Beyoncé lost out to Taylor Swift - only, this time, the victor was the one raging.

Any suggestion that BARB is rigged in favour of its shareholders is laughable and typical of Trumpesque/Johnsonesque "cry witch-hunt" politics.

For a start, if Channel 4 was involved in manipulating the figures, Steph's Packed Lunch would never have recorded zero viewers - or, if ITV was, the Britain's Got Talent Final wouldn't have lost 13.2 million viewers since 2009.

GBN has no involvement in BARB and doesn't come close to the likes of the BBC and Sky when current affairs coverage is in high demand. Bitter much?

Despite this extraordinary claim by the broadcaster's flagship presenter, we'll still see the tweets - inflicted upon us by Elon Musk's purported haven of free speech - from GBN presenters and execs unable to contain their excitement about a BARB triumph against rolling news channels on a slow news evening.

A) you're primarily an opinion channel, not rolling news, and B) I thought the data was rigged? Or is that only when it's not in your favour?

A quick word on "Best Radio Programme"

The nominees in this category were:

• Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp (Capital)
• James O’Brien (LBC)
• Kate Garraway (Smooth)
• The Julia Hartley-Brewer Breakfast Show (TalkRadio)

Julia Hartley-Brewer took home the gong - again, voted for by the public - but it was also nominated for Best Multichannel News Programme as a TV show. Am I being pedantic or does that seem unfair?

Which is it primarily? A radio show because it's in a radio studio (which is obviously not how ordinary people would define radio), or because it has a bigger radio audience, or because sound is more important than visuals? Or a TV show because that medium enables it to be seen as well as heard?

Fascinating dilemma, eh?!

Wave 105 at 25

Wave 105 marks its 25th birthday today - and despite competing throughout my entire radio life, it has always been a radio station I've held in high esteem.

Founded by The Radio Partnership in 1998, its early years would see Wave 105 part of The Wireless Group which sold it to Scottish Radio Holdings in 2001 for £18m which Kelvin MacKenzie's company used to clear its debts. EMAP Radio (now Bauer Media) acquired SRH in 2005.

Wave 105 always had character, embraced personality and surprise and never allowed these qualities to dissipate as it reinvented itself to become a masterclass in “tight & bright” modern commercial radio. It gave, and still gives, all its South Coast rivals a run for their money.

It's hard for a regional station with such a wide TSA - from Winchester across to Chichester and, until last autumn, as far south as Wareham - to deliver local content that's relevant to every listener.

It's one of a number of reasons the BBC is facing fierce opposition to its ongoing process of further regionalising its local radio network, many of which already cover huge patches. If you're nowhere near your listeners, and therefore unable to keep up with life in their community, you might as well be national.

It always comes down to execution.

Despite being regional, serving multiple counties, cities and towns that wouldn't ordinarily look to each other, I've always found Wave 105 gives a strong sense of place because the radio station itself creates a shared experience/community and manages to make a big area feel like home.

This is a rare quality that isn't easily achievable.

It never seems to alienate large swathes of its audience through the presentation technique - there's always something interesting to say, wherever it's happening and wherever you're listening.

If that doesn't demonstrate the excellence of Wave 105 - and what has made Bauer tread very carefully around it so far, despite the group's national (and international) focus - then I don't know what will!

P.S. I wish the station would sponsor the Bournemouth Balloon again - although, with the 105.8 East Dorset relay now carrying Greatest Hits Radio, I really can't see it happening!

"Radio 2 Extra" and the goings on at BBC Local

Why has it taken me until June to write about the BBC's death-wish strategy for its Local Radio network that has been ruffling feathers and leaving staff in distress for months now?

In November, shortly after plans for further regionalisation were announced, I outlined my frustrations that it is always programming that bears the brunt of changes as opposed to other inefficiencies such as multiple layers of handsomely paid managers.

Since then, David Lloyd, Liam McCarthy and Nicky Horne have been covering the painful process which has included veteran presenters reportedly being given "sixty seconds to save (their) job" among other questionable practices.

I've been closely following their informed commentary and I recommend reading the many David Lloyd blogposts on this subject - a man who gets truly radio like few others and knows exactly what BBC Local should be doing to serve its loyal older audience.

Let's cut to the chase: if the BBC cannot sustain its full Local Radio service with a guaranteed £117m content budget, it should redistribute these public finances to another operator who can.

If a local commercial station - or any business looking to grow - had access to £3m, the current average cost of delivering a single BBC LR service, think of the consumer benefit.

Mismanagement and inefficiency isn't exclusive to the broadcaster - while I deplore government cuts and the chronic underfunding of healthcare, as with the BBC, what investment there is in the NHS can land in the wrong areas through a bureaucracy. You have managers on big salaries while patients are being let down and the average public sector worker is not getting the sufficient pay rise they deserve.

Under the plans being implemented, it will cost £2.7m per annum to provide local news & sport and 20 hours of local programming per week yet a saving of just £300k loses 55 hours of local programming - which doesn't stack up at all.

Another factor in all of this is the BBC's internal marketplace, similar to what goes on with NHS trusts, which is not fit for purpose. "You work in radio and I work in digital" is backward and inefficient. One major staff complaint is the ineffectiveness of Local Radio online.

It all needs to be joined up and integrating these divisions would be a gamechanger, resulting in a strong multi-platform operation - fit for the digital age - with authentic, warm and friendly local radio stations targeted at older audiences as part of that overall package.

There is an argument to say "the licence fee is for broadcasting" but if the BBC - or any broadcaster - is to remain relevant long-term it must be able to embrace digital. That said, it shouldn't be an either/or.

Radio is valued for being the voice of a helpful friend and a comfort blanket - more so than it is as a news source. It's in good health, continuing to reach 88% of the 15+ population and more than 90% of over 50s.

Any decent programmer is constantly looking to grow audience and takes responsibility for any declines, but the mindset of BBC Local management seems to be "we're losing listeners and there's no way back" - inspiring stuff.

"Radio 2 Extra"

BBC Local Radio presenter Mark Punter reportedly met with Radio 2’s Head of Music, Jeff Smith, to pitch his vision for a brand extension targeted at disenfranchised older listeners.

However, especially a time where the corporation is having to make savings, it's not clear where the money would come from - and it would not be a good look for the BBC to launch a new service that A) the commercial sector is providing and B) targets a demographic that an existing one, BBC Local Radio, should already be serving.

Frankly, with what the BBC is sadly whittling the local network down to, it would make more sense than the current strategy for a national service of this ilk to get the investment and occupy the spectrum instead.

Is it possible, as has been suggested, that the BBC is deliberately decimating Local Radio to the point where audiences are so low they can justify axing it altogether?

It's devastating and annoying when I can think of countless professionals, many within the BBC, who understand local radio and the qualities aside from news - connection, friendship, entertainment and reassurance - which are the main reasons for tuning in.

I have a new job!

I’m super excited to be joining the team at Portsmouth's Express FM as Content Manager from July!

I can’t wait to help continue and develop the great work of such an esteemed local station that has been ingrained in the culture of a thriving city for 17 years.

I can’t put into words how much I am going to miss working with my beloved Petersfield's Shine Radio colleagues every day after three and a half incredible years beyond my wildest dreams upon joining in 2019. From a daily lockdown podcast, to launching a multi-award-winning full-service station.

I’m a sucker for innovation and the on-demand first hyperlocal model in Petersfield established in 2018 by Steve Martin, Dave Bowers and Richard Gaisford was too intriguing. I can’t thank them enough for the trust they put in me to help Shine Radio grow into what it is today.

While BASINGSTOKE NOW was not able to reach its full potential in the short period of time before new opportunities arose, I am proud to have co-developed a new local radio format and am delighted our station’s legacy lives on in the form of a partnership with Newsquest and the Basingstoke Gazette.

Thanks also to my predecessor, the hugely talented Mason Jordan, for his support and for the work he has done during his eight years with Express FM. Global is lucky to have him.