COVERITLIVE.COM

11:18

radiotodaynews - Latest site update: The talksport team are Damned

11:18

radiotodaynews - Latest site update: Hallam FM hears wedding bells

11:21

Radio Today - Apologies for the delay. Slight technical problem. We'll be blogging as soon as we can.

11:22

Radio Today - Dennis Nowlan, BBC R4 & Chair of the Radio Inudstry Diversity Group

The panel:
Robin Blake: Ofcom
Jacqui Devereux: CMA
Diane Kemp: BDC, BJTC
Jennifer Ogle: Bang

Panel Discussion: Widening the Spectrum

What diversity means within the industry:
Community radio is recognised as a distinctive media. It brings a positive role to involve diverse people into the media, it is an accessible sector. It is a major way of bringing people forward from different communities and cultures.

Diversity is essential if radio is to compete with other forms of media. There is still more work to be done to encourage diversity in the industry.

Diversity can be seen in two parts:
The individual: inclusion and empowering people
The industry: to give a range and diverse output

Going forward as technology improves: Equip people with the tools and skills they need to join in with the digital revolution.

If people are to engage and understand radio they need to be able to access it: both platform and content wise.
If they feel included with the output of radio, they then feel that they can get involved.

Community radio is all about broadening the spectrum.
It is giving people the opportunity to those who have been failed by the mainstream.
Giving people the opportunities from varying backgrounds and abilities - helping them develop their skills.

Qus: Why should a licence payer pay for BBC 6 and Asian network when listening figures are less than 1%?
It serves as a vital route for diversity. It is necessary to provide and represent numerous and a wide range of people.

For those who are training at university the students are able to get the skills, but the problem in the industry lies in progression. What happens to students when they do get into the industry?

There is still the feeling that it is who you know, they helps you to progress.

Community radio is working to breakdown fragmentation. Letting people portray themselves as they are is a step to creating inclusion within the industry.

Mike Hapgood:
Disability in recruitment and how to address diversity.
Need an apprenticeship model that would bring people into the industry and support people from a diverse range of backgrounds.
Diversity is happening - the industry is working for this, but it is important to makesure that the pathways are open to allow people to do this.

Everyone in the media shouldn't have to have a degree. This is a barrier. Need to find ways to bring people with talent into the industry.

Radio as an employer is employing numerous graduates - should have degrees, but it should be funded better.
How?

The industry should be investing in talent earlier, to make people feel that they have a right, it needs to happen to people earlier - working in schools - encouraging media literacy.

Children today are media savy and it is important to encourage this to give them practical skills that will be useful for the future.
Include these skills at school, so that when young people leave the education system they are empowered.

11:28

Radio Today - In terms of students leaving university with degrees - do they have the skills to get them into the working environment?
It is more necessary to create opportunities for work based learning. There is a need for more practical real life work experience skills.

12:09

Radio Today - What steps do you think the industry should take to enourage creativity and diversity within the industry?

Until we get back to the basics, until we remove the idea of syndication, until we have a proper training scheme and spend some time molding people - we won't move forward very quickly.

We need paid internships, opening up professions to a wider range of people from different backgrounds to gain skills and training for these people and industry recognition.

We need to start listening to people coming into the industry and judge people on their talent and not their background, culture or accent.

12:54

Radio Today - Riding the waves: Surviving a Career in Radio

Julie Hadwin: Media Consultant
Navid Akhtar: Gazelle Media
Paul Easton: Radio Consultant
John Radio: BBC Manchester

If you want to make a career in radio, it can be done - but you have to have the ambition, the passion and the drive. The industry is about ideas and creativity but and individual needs to channel their passion and ideas - which can be done through training and gaining the necessary skills.

What value do you put on formal qualifications?
John Ryan: For me it is more about the experience - being able to demonstrate creativity and ideas.

Is this a hopeful period in terms of progression in the industry?

There are probably fewer opportunities in the mainstream, but there are more opportunities with community stations and internet stations. However with the internet very few people are using it to create fresh ideas.

There will soon be much more opportunity within the north west - Media city. Here we are encouraging courses and universities to get involved and work alongside the industry.

There doesn't seem to be a formalised link between student/community radio to commercial radio. Are there enough steps to be able to make that transition?

Part of it is going out there and making the opportunities for yourself - having the passion and the drive to go and do it yourself.

There are placements in order to help individuals gain experience in the industry but there not necessarily enough at the moment.

How can we manage talent? Is there enough attention and training for it?

People should be trained, in some cases we have people who want to move on and progress but are not being given the opportunity to do so.

2:02

Radio Today -

Do qualifications matter?

Creativity and ideas are more important that the qualifications than an individual has.

Qualifications are important, but what's more important is the demonstration of commitment to get into the industry.

What is important is training about the conventions - how to operate the equipment.

An individual doesn't necessarily need qualifications but they do need to be able to tell a story.

2:08

Radio Today - Prospering in the digital age

Trevor Dann, The Radio Academy

The panel
Adam Bowie: Absolute Radio
Neil Fairbrother: UK podcasters association
James Cridland, BBC Audio & music
Nick Piggott: Global Radio

Commercial radio - where is it going?
The thing we have to be careful about with the merger of technology is how to apply it to radio sympathestically. What we need to do is use technology to make radio as widely listened to as it is now. It's about making sure radio is available on all their media devices including mobile phones, and having that understanding - applying that technology to radio.

2:10	Radio Today - The way people are comsuming media has changed very noticeably. 1 out of 5 people who surf the internet are at the same time tuning into the radio. The way people consume radio now is a multiplatform way. Each way of accessing radio has it benefits and drawbacks.

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