Sound documentaries are booming
Telling real stories in imaginative and immersive ways is at radio’s core. Sound documentaries offer a wealth of creative possibility for producers to combine many popular radio formulas - such as interviews, fiction and literature - in order to explore a topic in depth. And with the rise of podcasts and new
Embracing the digital giants
Ina Tenz (Antenne Bayern, Germany) has been working on new podcast and app-based technologies. She highlighted the value of competition beyond classic competition borders. Antenne Bayern in Munich has built a new radio listening app, with road warnings and safety messages which pop up. Caroline Grazé (Radiodayer Worldwide, Germany) focussed on the Radioplayer
Young media consumers are children in candy stores
The BBC’s Audience Researcher, Emma Theedom, demonstrated how the BBC is “future-proofing” news programming on BBC Radio. For seven years, she's been telling “higher-ups” that audience figures have been declining, and she blames it on social media. Audiences today are moving away from traditional broadcast media, with its linear programming structure and attention-demanding
Radio is dead (sorry) but audio is in its Golden Age
It used to be straightforward to forecast the future, but not anymore. According to Ben, no matter what industry you are in, forecasting horizons is now a problem. It means that we can’t make plans in a way we used to. So how do we think about the future? Ben thinks a rules-based
Smart speakers chopping at radio use
BWhen a radio conference opens in 2018, a smart speaker has to be on the stage, saying 'hello'. This came very fast as smart speakers became available to the mass market only in 2016. A smart speaker is a type of wireless speaker and voice command with an integrated virtual assistant that offers
Don’t hawk, don’t whisper
Our voice is an important tool we constantly use in our everyday lives. As a radio presenter your voice is even more important. “You need your voice, because it’s conveying the message. So, you need to train it”, says Emma Rodero, Radio Researcher and Trainer at the Pompeu Fabra University in Spain. Conferences
Trusting brands in a digital world
Radio is the medium in which people have the most trust in, said Siobhan Kenny, CEO of Radiocentre, in her keynote speech addressing the Radio Days Europe. When stations stay true to their brand values people love radio, agreed Alison Winter, Head of Audiences, BBC Radio and Music. But that kind of brand or quality filter
Recalling stories told on the radio
“Sound effects or sudden voice changes can cause more attention of the audience,” says Robert Potter, Professor and Director of the Institute for Communication Research at Indiana University. He has done a lot of research on how people engage with audio and how they remember what they hear. Radio Producers: Change, vary, take
The future of radio is still content-focused
Historically, radio has been bad at getting value out of content, says James Cridland. Producers are incredibly focused on feeding a transmitter and keeping the needles moving as opposed to focusing on the future of audio consumption and encouraging new ways to consume content. With production and delivery now so easy, the focus
How can broadcasters get honest interviews?
Claudia said that she tries to get her interviewees away from what they are there to sell – out of their PR speak – to produce a more natural, open interview. Interviews for her long-running show “Frühstück bei mir” are conducted at the guest’s home rather than at a studio, this really
