Saturday 2 June 2007

On the Radio This Week!

Check out the following programmes on BBC Radio 4 this week (Sat-Tues):

Saturday:
On The Road - 10.30am
The Windsor Jewels - 2.30pm
Classic Serial - Tom Jones - 9.00pm (How NOT to make radio!)

Sunday:
Puppets Throuh America - 7.45pm

Monday:
The Cabbies From Prague - 11.00am
Clement Doesn't Live Here Anymore - 11.30am
Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - 3.30pm (AND ALL THIS WEEK - MUST LISTEN!)
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue - 6.30pm
No Nightingales, No Snakes - 7.45pm (All this week; Maeve Binchy adaptation)

Tuesday:
Afternoon Play - Clean Air Turbulence - 2.15pm
Jon Ronson on... - 11.00

Friday 1 June 2007

Get in touch!

Got any news or comments you wish to share?

Do you think this month's Aerial winner was worthy?

Is commercial radio on the up, or is it on its knees?

Let us know what you're thinking...

Email us at theradioblog@googlemail.com

Aerial Monthly Winner – May 07

Oh dear. Did THIS really win? Bland read, bland script. Another floater, and another indication of the overall poor quality being dished out at the moment. No wonder everyone's moving away from radio if this is the best on offer.

News from the RAB

Apparently, the commercial UK radio industry looks in good health. At least that is what the RAB suggests in its latest mailout.

Try telling that to advertisers, agencies and production houses then, because it certainly doesn’t look healthy from where we’re sitting.

1. Television is cool. Radio isn't (apparently). And in the meantime digital seems to be the new thing to spend money on, thus taking it away from the radio industry. Of course, digital can incorporate audio, but this increasingly seems like a missed trick.
However, the case remains that radio should be cool - but commercial radio has created lost any element of edginess and verstility in searching for the advertising spend, thus not getting the advertisers they want. It's a vicious circle.


2. Agencies are only interested in radio when it seems they are in with a chance of winning an award (which judging by the rubbish on display at the Aerials this year, shouldn’t be too difficult). By all means, put a junior creative (afterall, they need to learn) on the case, but don’t let your standards drop (even further) and do it for the right reasons.

3. Production houses are stifled by the combination of the two, in addition to the lack of imagination and insight across the board. Take a risk for once, push those research figures to one side and just go with your gut. Things are researched to death nowadays – to such an extent that almost all ads aimed at each particular group end up as an homogenised, indistinctive, bland and useless pieces of advertising. GET SOME BALLS.

The bottom line – no one cares about radio at the moment, and that needs to change. From the stations to the agencies to the advertisers, everyone has a part to play. The RAB needs to step up to the challenge (and that doesn’t mean just sticking a 3.0 in the hope of jumping on the new digital bandwagon). Digital is taking money away from radio - and it needs to be brought back.

Roll on the new 4Radio Digital multiplex.