Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers sang about the blood-pumping thrill of “the pine trees in the dark / with 50,000 watts of power / [as] we go by faster miles-an-hour”. Listen carefully and you can hear the visceral hum that comes from a high power AM transmitter. Or at least, you could when radio stations used to broadcast on medium wave.
Now, as with so much tech stuff, the only sound you’ll get these days is the dry moan of a cooling fan on the PC tower or laptop to keep you company.
Except that it’s no longer just “The Sound”. Recently a number of job adverts for BBC Local Radio have appeared for “Audio Social Journalists.” This one was in March 2025… (vacancy is now closed). https://careers.bbc.co.uk/job/York-Audio-Social-Journalist-Y03-7BR/806458802/ The web link of which doesn’t, I admit, get you any nearer.
In the meantime, here’s a bit of the spec from a similar advert at BBC Radio Lincolnshire:
“You will be the champion of new social media formats like radio studio visualisation…” And be a “clip-monkey” (my turn of phrase) and put video clips of the breakfast and mid-morning shows out onto socials… All so that the listeners can “see” or visualise the radio.
By the way, as a writer, a news editor, and former compiler of a newsroom style guide I’m dithering whether to use a “z” or an “s” in visualise. For those with a long memory it’s the Ms Minnelli dilemma. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5DndoVtYvE
And from 2022, I spotted this pic on a social feed about ideas for RTE to go “visualising” it’s radio services. Here’s an example of what they had planned at the time. Clean sight-lines, open spaces and CGI on the walls.
From 2023, there’s James Cridland’s observations of Nicky Campbell’s “visualisations” on BBC Radio 5-Live. That show was/is on the telly every weekday. Interesting. https://james.cridland.net/blog/2023/behind-the-scenes-at-5-live/
And if you want your radio station to look a bit like this so much, well there’s more than one outfit in the south of England that’ll supply what you need. And then some. https://www.bionics.co.uk/Visualisation.cshtml
Which all means that when you go into a BBC Studio in 2025 you pass a clear warning. Be brave, all ye who enter…
But, hold on. This isn’t all that new, this pictures-on-the-radio thing. My fellow academic, Richard Berry at the University of Sunderland, wrote about this topic in a research article in 2013:
Please not this is the unpublished copy, accessed from the University’s resources. For the accurate version please go the The Radio Journal‘s website and search in vol. 11…
One thing is certain, we in the radio industry in Britain have a good sense of humour and we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Read this, for example:
And let me share this piece I wrote… about writing…
Finally, back to the link between sound and vision…
I’ve written over the years here about how important radio has been in Britain during the past century. Radio Culture is the central theme of this website resource.
For more consideration of films, novels, pop music and TV shows that feature radio, have a look at my book:
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/radios-legacy-in-popular-culture-9781501388231/
You can also get a preview – before you buy – about my methods. This link takes you to Chapter One – which is available to look at for free online: https://bloomsburycp3.codemantra.com/viewer/61c091c75f150300016f10af
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