The future of commercial radio news

Well, these are anxious time for us all what with the credit crunch. (In tonight's Evening Standard, it showed meat prices have rocketed so much that one supermarket is security tagging its steaks!!) But I imagine two groups of people in UK radio are particularly jittery at the moment - the journalists at GCap and Global.

Changes are moving at a pace now but, so far, it's unclear how the creation of the supergroup will affect its news operation.

The naturally pesimistic journalist would probably predict all doom and gloom. But, equally, you may take a different view. The huge scale of Global could create a new strength in commercial radio news.

Earlier this year, an article in media guardian painted a depressing picture of life in a commercial station's newsroom. It claimed young journalists were being lured away by better money and better prospects at the BBC. The piece quoted Global's current news supremo, Jonathan Richards who admitted that some groups haven't done enough to keep hold of staff. But he also insisted that opportunities still exist in commercial radio.

I certainly got a multitude of chances to develop at Capital Radio where, in one role or another, I was for more than 12 years. But this was a radio station for which news was not a lonely island at the top of each hour. News was an integral part of the station and of being local. There could be no better example of this than during the July 7 terror attacks when the brave decision was taken to break out of format and become a rolling news station. The team won a Sony Gold for this.

For many years, Capital's news department had the title of 'News and Talks'. It had a broad remit. Yes, it provided the usual two minutes of news at the top of the hour but also, in its time, a nightly news programme, led on planning outside broadcasts and even produced a weekly show (Sony winning again) in which celebrities visiting London became guest DJs.

News and Talks was regarded as an important arm of programming and, as such, the team got attention and feedback. The journalists were challenged, grew and felt valued. Ok, the pay was good compared to other commercial stations but I sincerely believe that the desire to stay was born out of loving the job.

I think there are still stations in commercial radio that regard news as Capital did. However, there are also some important lessons, particularly at a time when the industry appears to be cutting news content. I am not advocating the return of news magazines to every station in the land. I know times have changed. I know money's tight. But, commercial radio might keep hold of talented, young journalists for longer if they're given more opportunities to play a bigger part in their station. After all, the news department is one of a radio station's biggest links to the communities they serve.

If you're a programmer (commercial or BBC in fact), please ask if you're getting enough from your news team. Think about localness. Think about all areas of speech on your station, not just bulletins. And, think about the challenges that might fire up your journalists and at the same time improve your station.

Welcome

Hi and welcome to my blog!

After spending much of my career at Capital Radio and most recently, the BBC, I am extremely excited about my new life as a consultant.

I got into radio to start with because I wanted to be on it! And, although I still enjoy a bit of newsreading or presenting from time to time, over the years I've increasingly got my kick out of helping other people sound at their best.

The most important thing is what comes out of the speakers and if I can have a profound effect on that, then it's job done and I'm happy!

So, I'm continuing to work at BBC London 94.9 untl the end of the year and launch full time, on my own, in the new year.

I'm taking some meetings now and I'm hoping to be working on some interesting projects at home and abroad.

There are a number of radio consultants in the UK but, as far as I understand, there isn't one focusing solely on news and talk radio. So, I'm hoping to provide a unique focus for stations.

So, please get in touch. I'm happy to have a chat to see if I can help you.

In the meantime, I'll update you and post other thoughts I have on radio on this blog.

Thanks for reading!




Justin.