LECTURE #4 - RADIO with Steve Austin and Richard Fidler

Lesson 4 – Radio’s always relevant, but you gotta mean it!

Everyone wants to be heard…

“Radio is the theatre of the mind…” – Steve Austin.

Interviews with ABC local radio presenters, Steve Austin and Richard Fidler who provided an interesting insight into the practical world of radio journalism. They spoke about the relationship between host and listener within radio broadcasting. The analysis of broadcaster/listener interaction I found particularly interesting, because it’s something that most people don’t think about on conscious level. Both Steve and Richard gave their opinion on the current media environment and discussed exactly where radio fits in the modern world of journalism.

Although more and more people are consuming their daily news through online mediums and social networking sites, both presenters commented on radios ability to adapt and therefore survive in the digital age. This made sense to me; especially after conducting the two week Media Use Dairy where I was surprised to discover that radio was where I consistently sourced my daily news.

Today multitasking is a must and, without sounding too clichéd, most people feel that there simply aren’t enough hours in a day. As a society we are constantly on the go, and most of us don’t have time to sit down and read a newspaper back to front every day. Steve mentioned that the fact that radio is easily accessible while doing other activities might contribute to the popularity of the medium.

Personally I found that most of my radio news consumption was done whilst driving. Another thing that attracts people to radio is that it is a more inclusive medium. Think about it, you can’t instantly comment on a story you are reading in the paper whereas, thanks to things like talkback radio, listeners can become the listened and the audience can interact directly with the topic.

One of the points mentioned by Fidler that most stood out to me was that he introduced his callers, “as if they've just arrived at the party and he's introducing them to the conversation” and then give them the opportunity to speak their mind - sincerity seems to be a key element of appealing radio.

DURING THE LECTURE, many pieces of advice really stood out to me as an aspiring journalist

Here’s my TOP EIGHT…

According to the pros if you are aiming to become a half decent radio journalist, you must be able to:

1.   Guide a conversation during an interview, and not dominate it

2.   Leave out personal bias

I gotta say, the first two seem easier said than done.

3.   Be genuine – don’t do or say anything on radio that you wouldn’t in real life

4.   Be open to emotion

5.   Make the audience feel included

6.   Get to know your stuff before show time with briefings and pre-interviews

7.   Keep current with the news of the world (a good tip for any human being really)

Finally, possibly the most important tip…

8.   If you’re not talented, give it all you’ve got and see what happens anyway!

At this early stage radio and television journalism are the types of media that I eventually want to get into. This lecture made me think seriously about radio as a relevant and consistent area where people source their news, music and entertainment. Thinking about radio in a different way has opened my eyes its’ relevant and dynamic nature and I think that it would definitely be a worthwhile area to explore as I develop as a journalist.

IN CONCLUSION, this lecture has inspired me to continue to explore the many possibilities radio has to offer and encouraged me to think about the reliable medium in a whole new way.

So, I suggest you prepare yourself, because chances are that you’ll be hearing me on the radio in the not-so-distant future.