We asked Brian Farrell, Radiodays Europe attendee and Audio Room participant, to review the experience – here’s what he wrote:
At Radiodays Munich 2024 there was an opportunity for delegates to listen to real audio and be involved in the feedback process. On Monday I attended the air-checking session, as a presenter this is vital to improve my on-air performance so I was keen to find out more.
Roy (Stromsnes) & Knut (Roe) hosted this initiative. Both have a background in Radio while they worked for NRK in Norway.
At first participants sat at tables with headphones and after a brief introduction the room conducted an honest real-time survey asking questions on our radio station experience and feedback we already may or may not receive.
Following on from the interactive survey it was time to listen: we heard from talent from Greatest Hits Radio (UK) plus Howard Stern as a group and then individually we listened to presenter links. We then gave feedback on what we found was positive behaviour or alternative behaviour. After our discussions Roy & Knut gave us personal feedback forms which categorized each aircheck into different sections (performance, flow, conversation & engagement).
The Audio Room was an excellent ears-on immersive experience that helps both programmers and talent. I was able to listen, evaluate and learn in a shared experience, I got to meet people and discuss radio content with them. Air-checking is the behind the scenes work that improves output and ensures the station messaging is on point and although this job is vital to every radio station it remains invisible to the listener.
