Tag: Radio and Film

Radio speak (Part 1) Why we’re all turning into brainless bots. Sort of.

So, here’s the moment when your radio alarm goes off and the DJ, all-bright-and-breezy, says: "Hey! Good Morning! It’s now five-after-the-hour of six AM in the big Monster City." The slick breakfast jock is actually Mike. He’s really good at doing impersonations and spouting cliches like this. Either way, what's this I can see? Is … Continue reading Radio speak (Part 1) Why we’re all turning into brainless bots. Sort of. →

Radio becomes visual – why “bi-media” is an eternal dream in the industry

A bit later on I’ve got a treat from the 1930s - a non-CGI, analogue recreation of a wireless set. That’s strangely important in this context. But first, I’ve written about how the word “visualisation” is being used in recent times in connection with the radio. Read more here… https://prefadelisten.com/2025/06/14/is-radio-just-all-about-the-sound/ Indeed, putting the visual into … Continue reading Radio becomes visual – why “bi-media” is an eternal dream in the industry →

Radio: It’s all about “The Sound” …isn’t it?

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 … Continue reading Radio: It’s all about “The Sound” …isn’t it? →

The power of international radio. You won’t miss it ’til it’s gone.

Or to use the accurate quote by Joni Mitchell from 1970, “Don't it always seem to go / That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone”. Well, now something’s gone. And it hurts. The late winter and early spring of 2025 have seen some seismic changes to international radio from the USA. My … Continue reading The power of international radio. You won’t miss it ’til it’s gone. →

Radio time | The art of subtracting-base-60 to keep the live show on the road…

Time is a key element to radio. Live radio that is. You will have noticed how podcasts – because they’re “listen on demand” – just seem to go on and on. On the other hand, live radio has to conform to the hour. I’ve worked for the BBC World Service and know first hand the … Continue reading Radio time | The art of subtracting-base-60 to keep the live show on the road… →

Radio jokes – can podcasting ever be funny?

The point is this: having shared some dubious jokes about the radio industry, the time has now come to poke fun at podcasting. I'll reveal in a moment why I remain sceptical about "podcasting" (and I'm the one who just put that in quote marks. Feel free to do air-quotes, but don't drop your phone). … Continue reading Radio jokes – can podcasting ever be funny? →

Lies, radio news, and a pub lunch | part 5 of 5

This is the last in a series of pieces about four decades of metro-media life in Britain: in which I come to some conclusions about Ian McEwan and Richard Eyre’s film The Ploughman’s Lunch – set in 1982 but cringingly relevant to the 2020s. Do take a look at pages around this site, and consider … Continue reading Lies, radio news, and a pub lunch | part 5 of 5 →

Lies, radio news, and a pub lunch | part 4 of 5

So far in this series of articles we've met a TV researcher who's arrogant and self-obsessed, there's the tabloid hack who fancies himself as a champagne-swilling lothario, and the network radio news journalist who is a compulsive liar - at work, at home and to his friends. It's all rather ugly. You can read previous … Continue reading Lies, radio news, and a pub lunch | part 4 of 5 →

Lies, radio news, and a pub lunch | part 3 of 5

So far. We’re halfway through a series of pieces looking at the trade and craft of a radio journalist in the early 1980s. Life then is still relevant today. That’s because I’m considering the rough terrain of morals, ethics, the BBC, Thatcher, and Yuppies – amongst other things. You can read parts one and two … Continue reading Lies, radio news, and a pub lunch | part 3 of 5 →