Radio Talk from the Radio Academy last week was a good one. Phil Riley was defending changing BRMB to Free Radio and Stuart Taylor from GMG Radio was defending his decision to cut back on his news staff. A 'slimming down' is how Stuart put it, insisting listeners would not hear any loss of quality.
I worry about news across our radio stations. I am not convinced it does not contribute to audience growth. An FD sees it as a cost, a good CEO see it as part of the deal. You have to deliver news so that your audience knows what the hell is going on in the world and in their locality. That said, Stuart is probably right in that, even after these cuts, GMG still have a bigger news operation than nearly all of its competitors.
Some time ago I told OFCOM that networking was no excuse for not delivering local news. I advised them to put in stone within a format that local news in particular was paramount and I even went as far as to provide them with a written description of what a local news bulletin should contain.
As usual, my advice was ignored and today programmers tell me that 'showbiz news' is just as important as anything else. The whole world is changing so why not news delivery. Quite right, I am an old sod with old fashioned views and should be shot at dawn for not being progressive enough. But - it does raise an inportant question. What is news and how should it be delivered in these modern times on the radio? To be honest, the way in which news is delivered has not changed that much since radio in the UK first launched.
It is true that we consume everything so differently these days and our listeners tend to know the stories before we air them ourselves. Technology, superfast smartphones, the internet, twitter and facebook are so much quicker and instant. You have to ask if waiting for a news bulletin at the top of the hour is really the best we can do and more importantly, does it matter?
I don't get newspapers anymore. I download them. My kids never buy a book, they download it. My young tribe listen to Capital and not once have they complained to me about a lack of news on that station. I try and tell them news is important. Information is king I say. They tell me it isn't, or at least not in the way I think it is. Perhaps the problem lies in that very remark but I believe owners have a duty to inform as well as entertain. You can't pander to those who want non-stop hits otherwise you have an audience of idiots and who would want to sell anything to them?
Richard Horsman's excellent blog last week suggests news on commercial radio is boring. He thinks we need to relax regulation and allow stations to be more like newspapers, backing political campaigns so to speak. That would be interesting I admit and very American, but it is in the commitment to news bulletins itself where I feel we need more regulation in this area not less. Furthermore, I would spell it out what that means in reality.
It is a long time since anyone told me they waited in their car to hear the news at the top of the hour? I don't believe for a second people don't want to be informed, it's more likely to be the way we tell 'em.
Hear last weeks radio talk here or download from itunes. Read Richard Horsman views here
