Ideas are the lifeblood of what we do as writers and broadcasters. I'll have more about them in a moment, but first some things to avoid. Especially if you're a big beleaguered British public service broadcaster in the mid 2020s with a reputation to defend, with the right-wing press baying for your blood, and with … Continue reading Radio & ideas – all our scrapbooks (Part 3)
Tag: Radio Journalism
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 2 of 5
This piece explores life in 1980s Britain. It’s the latest in a series of articles which offers an analysis of Ian McEwan and Richard Eyre’s film The Ploughman’s Lunch (1983). You can read part 1 by clicking on this preview: https://prefadelisten.com/2024/08/14/lies-radio-news-and-a-pub-lunch-1-of-5/ Subscribe to make sure you get future episodes - around the 14th of each … Continue reading Lies, radio news, and a pub lunch | part 2 of 5
Lies, radio news, and a pub lunch | part 1 of 5
On the one hand journalism and broadcasting have long been connected to drink and drugs. For historical evidence of this, and my own lived experience, see my recent pieces here and here. In this article I now want to widen the discussion to include considerations of ethics and radio journalism. In particular about lying, dissembling, … Continue reading Lies, radio news, and a pub lunch | part 1 of 5
Oh, alright then. Just one more before I do the two o’clock…
My last piece about the consumption of alcohol by media professionals provoked a host of reactions – largely on social media outlets. And the distinctions are interesting. Social media’s algorithms have given the responses a degree of bias. Perhaps they’re influenced by my past activity on each of the socials. Computers never forget. And here’s … Continue reading Oh, alright then. Just one more before I do the two o’clock…
Booze and journalists. They’ve been together for decades…
And radio producers have been prone to the vice of alcohol too. I speak from experience. During my bachelor days of the early 1980s I recall spending a lot of evenings with colleagues in a bar. One of my first shifts was at a radio newsroom in an English provincial city during the Falklands/Malvinas conflict. … Continue reading Booze and journalists. They’ve been together for decades…
Radio listeners, TV trailers, voice-overs and book reviews…
In which I offer some useful readings about the art and practice of journalism and why it matters. I’ll ask about whether small-scale radio stations can get an idea of how many people are listening without having to shell out a shed-load of cash to an audience research company. I’ll consider whether voice-over artists have … Continue reading Radio listeners, TV trailers, voice-overs and book reviews…
Radio: What’s Another Year?
In which I reflect on the events of 2023, consider some of the challenges ahead in the UK radio industry, and listen to a song and watch a TV sitcom about the wireless. To start with, here’s an excellent summary of 2023, the Beeb’s latest annus horribilis. https://bylinetimes.com/2023/12/13/ministers-accused-of-waging-culture-war-on-bbc-amid-licence-review-and-more-cuts/ Meanwhile, a view from Rhodri Talfan Davies, … Continue reading Radio: What’s Another Year?
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