Andy Hoyle Online

We Will Remember Them

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:41:39 +0000

There’s a campaign at the moment to make today, the Monday after Remembrance Sunday, a Bank Holiday. Many events seem to grow year by year, and not all of them for the better. I think most would agree though, that the increased awareness lately of Armistice Day, the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, and Remembrance Sunday can only be a good thing. Cllr Jackie Lane commented today on Tameside Radio that attendance at Remembrance events seems to on the increase, particularly with younger people, and that a holiday after the remembrance weekend would be a fitting tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Cllr Lane’s interview on Tameside Radio was just one aspect of our output dedicated to paying tribute to our service men and women over the course of the last few days. Every year since our launch in 2007, i’ve been immensely proud of the work our team of staff and volunteers have to put in to providing tasteful and respectful coverage at this time of year, and this year was no exception. We broadcast a series of interviews (thank you to all our contributors), played appropriate music (just one song a lot of people have been asking about is called All Quiet On The Western Front by Elton John) and observed two minutes silence on Friday, Armistice Day, as well as on Remembrance Sunday. It’s more or less a given that every radio station observes the silence on Sunday, but on Armistice Day itself it’s more of a judgement call. We’ve always observed the silence at Tameside Radio, not just because I think it’s the right thing to do, but because i’m sure it’s what our audience want and expect from their radio station. If you’re part of the community yourself, you tend to know (most of the time!) what your listener is thinking. So, I was surprised to hear about a radio station just a few miles up the road from us, that seems to have got itself into an almighty pickle on the subject, resulting in their best personality presenter (in my opinion) being dismissed. This station decided not to observe the Armistice Day silence on Friday, believing their audience would want the station news and music output to continue unbroken. Their mid-morning presenter disagreed. This is a broadcaster who lives in the heart of his station’s transmission area, and undoubtedly knows his audience. As I understand it, he expressed his opinion and concern on the decision to the station management. Undeterred, they decided to ignore his advice, and instructed him not to observe the silence. He followed their instructions and did as he was told. As he predicted, his audience was largely upset and offended, and made their feelings known by text, email and ‘phone. The problem here with being the presenter currently on air is that you ARE the radio station. Your listener doesn’t know, or care, that you were doing as the station management told you. You’re the person on air. You’re responsible. You’re loved when things go right, and hated when things go wrong. This presenter decided to deal with the forthright feedback, by recording the remainder of his show (not an unusual practice with today’s technology), keeping his head down, and quietly exiting stage left, with the intention of starting afresh on Monday after the weekend break. That wasn’t to be. A few hours later he received a phone call from the station owner telling him he was dismissed for “leaving his show before it had finished.” The furore today has made the front page of the local paper. Another senior station manager (a former boss of mine, for whom I have a great deal of respect, and learned a lot) was quoted in the paper saying how much admiration and respect he has for the armed forces, and that there are around 500 commercial radio stations in the UK, about a third of which observe the Armistice Day silence. SO WHAT?? It’s YOUR station and YOUR audience you need to know, not the other 499 station’s! A local radio station in a working class part of Greater Manchester chooses not to observe the silence. How can people with so many years experience make such a spectacularly poor decision? How could they ignore the counsel of a person who is so much a part of the community he broadcasts to? Questions I certainly don’t know the answer to. Then taking a step further by binning the presenter involved? Adding insult to injury. Whatever they say about being in an impossible position is nonsense. You only “have” to fire someone if you want to fire them!

My grandad (and other relatives) fought in the Second World War. In common with many people of his generation, he very rarely spoke of his experiences. In fact, I can only remember him telling me one story. I was about 12 or 13, and we were making model aeroplanes. One of the kits was a Spitfire, the other a Stuka. In an almost matter of fact way, my grandad said “oh, a Stuka. One of these dived at me and nearly got me once!” He managed to hide in a ditch, expecting the plane to return once it had spotted him. But luckily it must’ve been short on fuel, and flew off into the distance. But it’s not all about grandparents’ stories of the 1940’s. In recent months I’ve witnessed the funeral of a young serviceman take place at the church across the road from where I live.

As far as Remembrance on Tameside Radio goes, i’m confident we got the judgement call right. It’s a shame others can’t hold their hands up when they get it wrong.

A couple of disclaimers. I don’t usually criticise the efforts of other stations, but I felt strongly enough on this subject to write this post. I’m don’t have an axe to grind, I’m not using this subject matter to take a cheap shot, and I’m not a habitual blogger on every subject under the sun. I’ve chosen not to name names here, but I’m sure you’ll find the story covered on other websites and other media.

Simon Walker - The World according to me: Onwards and Upwards -

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:05:44 +0100

Simon Walker - The World according to me: Onwards and Upwards - :

simonwalker:

“Onwards and Upwards, so to speak” is a saying that a few of the Tameside Radio team use. In reality it means lets strive to move onwards and upwards but with a realistic view that its not always possible. Time has come for Tameside Radio to move onwards and upwards with a great opportunity.

We live in a difficult market for advertising, aside of the economic downturn there are the added pressures of new media as well as the traditional pressure of old. It has become apparent that for, community enterprise, Tameside Radio to survive in these times it needs a partner with the financial muscle, grant funding knowhow and resources to work with the staff and volunteer team and move Tameside Radio on. To grow the enterprise and build on it’s unique position.

A new chapter begins at Cavendish House

Back in 1999!

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:32:50 +0100

Back in 1999!:

Blimey. I sound like I’m on helium in this clip! August 1999. It can’t be that long ago, surely…?

Pav's Patch: We'll miss you Melvin

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:38:14 +0000

Pav's Patch: We'll miss you Melvin:

pavspatch:

IN August it will be 30 years since I appeared on “Mastermind”. On the whole, the most you can say about my performance is that I didn’t finish last in my heat. However, I did provide five minutes of fame for Melvin Burgess who died last weekend aged 74.

Melvin was groundsman,…

Tameside Radio roadshow on Ashton Market today for Halloween

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 14:57:18 +0100

Tameside Radio roadshow on Ashton Market today for Halloween

Simon Walker - The World according to me: Radio is a trust medium, then why bullshit about Rajar?

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:38:52 +0100

Simon Walker - The World according to me: Radio is a trust medium, then why bullshit about Rajar?:

simonwalker:

Radio works because it is trusted, it is a conversation between the broadcaster and the listener. The presenter builds trust, becomes a friend and thus builds their audience. Then we lie to the listener about the other listeners - community radio excepted.

Once a 1/4 Ipsos RSL produce data on…

Yes, it’s Rajar day. I knew Simon would beat me to it with a blog post. What he says is quite right. Have a read…

Ukrainian egg decorating workshop - Event Information | 103.6FM Tameside Radio

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:29:46 +0100

Ukrainian egg decorating workshop - Event Information | 103.6FM Tameside Radio

Halloween In Ashton - News Article | 103.6FM Tameside Radio

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:38:43 +0100

Halloween In Ashton - News Article | 103.6FM Tameside Radio:

Tameside Radio looking forward to this event in Ashton on Saturday 30th October. Music, fun, and chances to win. Click for details.

snailcloud: zombeegore: mylalalandworld: omgitsadriene: iamst...

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:35:51 +0100

snailcloud:

zombeegore:

mylalalandworld:

omgitsadriene:

iamstarberry:

letmebeyoursecret:

myperfectswiftfantasy:

jumpthenfallsuperstar:

nickline14:

(via 11-10-09, imylikecrazy)

"Rainy days and Friday’s always get you down!"

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:08:39 +0100

“Rainy days and Friday’s always get you down!”

- Wayne Kay

From the North, this was Granada

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 22:01:00 +0100

I’m already hopelessly out of date with this post. But I think it’s still just about worth doing. It’s just an excuse really for me to say “I used to work on Coronation Street, you know.” Which I did!

Last week I watched the drama The Road To Coronation Street on BBC4. It’s all part of the celebrations of the soap’s 50th anniversary. It was so well done! The attention to detail was brilliant, with references to Granada traditions like the portraits of Barnum on the office walls, and scary meetings with the big wigs on the 7th floor.

So, an excuse for a disjointed couple of anecdotes. I once had my very own scary visit to the 7th floor of Granada. Only one, mind you. When I had to deliver a tape to Mr. Plowright’s office. When he died a few years ago, he was quite rightly referred to in the press as “Mr Granada.” He was a real programme person. It was when he left in the early 90’s that the face of regional television in the UK really started to change, I think. I remember that night techicians running around, changing the credits of every Granada programme broadcast that night to read “Executive Producer: David Plowright” in protest. People knew things would never be the same. I even saw the great “Mr Sidney”, Lord Bernstein, in the lift once. He still worked, a couple of days a month, aged 90 at the time. I wonder what they would make of the new look ITV. I don’t think they would be pleased. Were the regional TV companies making a loss? Or is this desire for centralisation just a way to make more profit, rather than a desire to secure the future, and make good quality television in different parts of the country?

I worked at Granada for less than a year in the early 1990’s. It was my first proper job in the media. My dream job. I got a real buzz from walking down Quay Street to that iconic building. Sadly, when I got in there, I didn’t actually like the job very much! I was a technical operator. A generic title for a studio dogsbody. I worked in various departments, but my favourite bit was in the vision gallery (or racks) of the Coronation Street studio. I actually pressed record when they were ready for a take! Unfortunately, i spent most of my time bored, miserable, scared, or all three! But watching the programme last week did make me realise that I have played the tiniest, tiniest part in a television legend.

I can’t say I have very many happy memories of working at Granada. But I do love the fact that I can say “I used to work on Coronation Street, you know.”

More BBC rants? There's a theme developing!

Thu, 20 May 2010 00:10:31 +0100

You’ll no doubt have noticed already various bits and pieces about the BBC on this blog. Yes, i know I sound bitter, maybe as though I’m jealous of what they do, but that really isn’t the case. I’m more than happy to acknowledge that I enjoy a great deal of what the BBC does, both in radio and television. Indeed, much of the BBC’s radio output is a source of inspiration to me. Of the national radio networks I particularly enjoy much of Radio 2, a fair amount of Radio Five Live, and occasional programmes on Radio 4. I don’t deny in any way the quality of what the BBC produces. But there are some things about this broadcasting giant that really irritate me. Not in a Daily Mail reading “you really ought to be offended by this” way either. That sort of BBC bashing is probably more annoying than the actual things that irritate me. It’s a couple of things in particular that I find frustrating, and patronising.

First of all, the disproportionate level of industry recognition the BBC gets for its work, as though no other sector can possibly do things as well as they do. In many ways, it’s not about being as good as, or being right or wrong. It’s doing things differently, that really ought to be acknowledged. This in particular becomes noticable at things like the Sony Radio Academy Awards. As I’ve reblogged below, Simon Walker has made a blog post on this very subject. Have a read. The number of awards the BBC applied for, and the amount of (licence fee!) money they spent, is frankly shocking. It’s quite right that the BBC should win awards. But submitting 500+ entries? Is that reasonable? Commercial radio, community radio, student radio, hospital radio, prison radio… all of those other bits of the radio industry added together barely compete. The BBC were even nominated for an award for best radio ad or trailer! Come on! A part of what makes this so annoying is that it seems money is no object for the BBC. They can make as many applications for Sony awards as they like to maximise their chances of winning. Here at Tameside Radio, we had a serious discussion about whether the application fee of £100 was worth it to make just one application. Had money been no object, there were probably half a dozen categories that we could have made a reasonable entry in. But we couldn’t justify the money, or the time involved to put those entries together. Not only do the BBC enter their national networks for these awards, but the 40 local/regional radio stations also enter. In this instance, I really do think that the sheer number of entries they make is the reason they’re so well represented, rather than any huge difference in quality over the other sectors. It would not be a like-for-like comparison for me to say “Tameside Radio is better than BBC Radio Manchester.” The truth is, our stations do different things. But I do think what we do deserves recognition. I’m sure Tameside Radio is connecting with an increasing number of a wide range of people in our area, whilst stuffy old Radio Manchester carries on doing the same old same old. The problem is, the radio industry as a whole, and in particular the BBC, have a perception that community radio is a great idea, because it gives everybody a chance to “have a go at radio”, but that the quality of the output will be poor because of that. Some community stations are like that. But others, like ours, have real production values, with the listener at the heart of what we do. There other radio industry awards, namely the Arqiva’s, which the BBC are not involved in. That’s because they’re for commercial radio only. Oh. We can’t enter those either, despite, I’m sure, being able to compete well in terms of quality of output. Perhaps there ought to be a “local radio awards” or similar, so the smaller stations, of different sectors, can compete, and be recognised, without having to be up against the huge national BBC networks, or be excluded on the grounds of not being members of a particular trade body. Simon obtained the information about the BBC’s Sony entries by making FOI (Freedom of Information) requests, which were then discussed on the Radio Academy’s podcast. There’s a link to that below as well, if you’d like to have a listen. Although, the way the questions are dodged, the people on the panel could have a good career in politics ahead of them if they choose not to work in broadcasting!

Another link i’ve posted below is to an article on The Times Online about the Media City development in Salford. Some poor BBC staff in London are in need of counselling at the thought of moving North! Get a grip! Why is London the centre of the universe? For so long, if you want to work in national broadcasting, you pretty much had to be in London. I think it’s quite right that the national state broadcaster should have a major presence somewhere other than the capital. The BBC’s London-centric attitude has long been debated. I can even remember watching Blue Peter as a child, and asking my mum why all the exhibitions and interesting places they suggested visiting seemed to be in London. Only last week, I tweeted the question that I was wondering what proportion of editions of Question Time were from London and the South East, compared with other parts of the UK. It seems so far, some things don’t change. I hope they do in the future!

Cheer up BBC staff exiled up north, we’ve put our teeth in specially | Carol Midgley - Times Online

Wed, 19 May 2010 23:15:08 +0100

Cheer up BBC staff exiled up north, we’ve put our teeth in specially | Carol Midgley - Times Online:

The BBC? The North?? Not LONDON??? Yes, I know it sounds as though I’m always ranting about the BBC, but this column in The Times Online really amused me!

The World according to me: Profligate BBC? & the BBC Sony's

Wed, 19 May 2010 23:11:02 +0100

The World according to me: Profligate BBC? & the BBC Sony's:

I listened to the Sony Nominations being announced about 6 weeks ago and became angry. I wondered why the BBC were dominating the process when they account for less listener time than there nominations indicated.

Radio Academy Podcast

Tue, 18 May 2010 00:09:40 +0100

Radio Academy Podcast:

Tameside Radio, and in particular Simon Walker, got a mention in this week’s Radio Academy Podcast, Radiotalk.

At least mine is better than Simon’s! Isn’t it??

Tue, 11 May 2010 17:06:46 +0100

At least mine is better than Simon’s! Isn’t it??

End of an Era

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:22:08 +0100

End of an Era:

One of the people who make Tameside Radio what it is, is leaving us.

It really has been a pleasure to work with Ian Leonard at Tameside Radio for the last two-and-a-bit years. Personally, I’m sorry to see him go, but wish him well as he relocates overseas. I hope Ian will continue to make some guest contributions to Tameside Radio, either with the help of technology, or when he’s back in the UK visiting. The link here has more thoughts from Simon on his blog.

Voiceover update

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:06:00 +0100

It’s been a while since there’s been a voiceover update from me. I’ve this week recorded the voiceover for the help section of part of the O2 business website. Listen out for me on the walk through of the O2 Desktop Text service. Get in touch if you’d like to know more about my voiceover and production services.

Sour grapes? Surely not!

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 23:51:54 +0100

So, tonight was the announcement of the nominations for the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2010. Tameside Radio had entered our news programme Tameside Reports in the Best News and Current Affairs Programme category. We produce a 15 minute programme every weekday of local news, and the main national headlines of the day. We’ve covered breaking news stories live on location, and featured issues that are important locally, that have had little or no coverage in other media. Many large commercial radio stations don’t bother with this type of programming any more, but we feel it’s an important part of our service. We manage this with a newsroom of one person, and a few dedicated volunteers. It’s also worth bearing in mind that there’s a considerable learning curve when it comes to training those volunteers, and for a significant amount of time, they need nurturing and guidance. I’m immensely proud of the programme, and was keen for the team involved to get some recognition for their efforts. I was disappointed, but not surprised, that our entry didn’t even receive a nomination. What was particularly interesting was that every single nomination, all five of them in that category, was for a BBC station. And only one of those was a local station, the rest huge national, and international networks. So, is it really a level playing field? I think not. Or then again, maybe the judges just don’t “get” this relatively new sector of the industry. Or maybe Tameside Radio shouldn’t expect to compete with the massively over resourced BBC.

Tameside Radio is a community radio station, and I still believe the sector is often ignored, or at best misunderstood, by the rest of the industry. It’s my opinion that in the eyes of the radio industry at large, Tameside Radio falls into a kind of “no man’s land.” I don’t think we’re entirely alone there though. We have one or two other stations for company, like Pure 107.8FM in Stockport, and Cheshire FM. I’m sure there are others, they’re just examples that I’m aware of. The BBC and commercial radio often seem to have an attitude that community radio is a great idea, just as long as it sounds rubbish. And in any case, community radio isn’t “professional”, it’s not really “proper radio” is it? Obviously, I disagree! If community radio can produce a service that people want to listen to, on a shoestring, while also training volunteers and providing opportunities to people at the same time, then the other stations will just have to up their game while we creep up on them.

The community radio sector in itself is somewhat divided. Our listener focused ethos is very much in the minority. Other community stations concentrate so much on the process of training and involvement, that the ouput comes almost as a secondary bi-product. These station’s argument is that it’s all about serving volunteers. They often quote statements like “90% community, 10% radio”, and “it’s not about making radio, it’s about training others to make radio.” All well and good. But surely volunteers come to a community radio station because they want to be heard. Whether they have an important message to get out to the area, or they want to share their passion for a particular type of music, it doesn’t really matter. They still have that basic thing in common that they want to be heard. So surely, community radio shouldn’t just train people to make radio, but train people to make radio that others will hear! The more process focused stations tend to get more recognition, I feel because they’re seen as more worthy, and maybe less of a threat, by the rest of the industry.

Recent independent research for Tameside Radio shows that 35% of the population of our area regularly listen to us. That puts us as the 3rd most listened to station in the borough, behind BBC Radio 2 and Key 103. A massive achievement for a small station not much more than 2 years old. Incidentally, our research has to be independent, because we’re neither BBC nor commercial and so aren’t allowed in to the industry standard RAJAR audience research. On receipt of these figures, we sent out a press release, which resulted in some coverage on local TV station Channel M, but not much else. A major UK radio industry news website and e-newsletter ignored the press release, because “they didn’t really believe it.” Or was it because they have connections, all be it unofficial, to a major commercial radio group? The same site ignored our contribution to their appeal for details of how stations provided local coverage in the bad winter weather, ignored our contribution of pictures of our team at outside broadcasts, and ignored our recent April Fools joke in their round up, despite the fact that two of our local MP’s and significant business people were good sports and joined in. But they did give us a back handed compliment about our new website. Thanks.

I’ll balance out this somewhat ranting post with a massive positive. Our listeners are the best. I’ve worked in commercial radio for many years, at stations serving much larger areas than we do at Tameside Radio. Never in all that time have I experienced such genuine warmth from the audience, and such an enthusiasm to interact. The people of Tameside have really taken ownership of the station. They quite rightly see it as theirs, something they’re a part of and can be genuinely involved in, whether by listening, contributing, or becoming more formally involved through volunteering. So, whilst the rest of the industry’s attitude often frustrates me, the appreciation the team gets on a day to day basis from people who enjoy what we do, coupled with seeing new broadcasters progress within the station, makes it the most rewarding job i’ve ever had.

In conclusion, is my ranting post basically just sour grapes? Nah. No. Really, it isn’t. Honest. Ok, quite possibly. A bit.

Is it frustration? Very probably.

Has it been therapy? Definitely.

http://www.votematch.org.uk/

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:53:18 +0100

http://www.votematch.org.uk/