War Of The Worlds - Original Audio.

A great listen for Halloween...The original broadcast of Orson Welles' production of War Of The Worlds on CBS Radio.

Mass hysteria and panic ensued.

Ah, the power of the spoken word !

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/orsonwellswaroftheworlds.htm

Hey, it's Job FM !

Anyone looking to flip format?

This could be the big winner in these 'economically harsh and uncertain' times !

"Yes indeed...time is five twenty and on the way the latest job from a guy who wants to sell cars in your area. It's next..."

http://jobradio.fm/

My last word on this...honest!

The whole Brand / Ross thing...OK, here goes.
Now, with your views on what was said, how it was said and to whom put aside for a minute, can I just point out one thing that struck me about this mad little affair?
The biggest news story revolved around...radio.
Yes, that's right - the thing you make a living out of. Radio!
Two radio presenters on a radio show produced content that was broadcast on the radio.
What have the newspapers and TV been talking about all week?
Radio.
What does that do? It gets the general public talking about radio.
With the premise that no publicity is bad publicity, don't you think that this was a a heck of a week for radio?
Over 25,000 people complained after hearing (or not) the show. I know some stations that would kill to even have 25,000 listeners!
All of these people discussing and debating the merits of radio.
Brilliant, in my opinion.
Now you can't pre-programme that kind of thing into your iPod :)

Great Video.

Thanks to Dusty at Digital Audio Productions for pointing me to this clip.
Just watch the guy continue to read as the studio goes up in flames...literally!

Un animateur de radio très pro - Koreus

Russell Brand Resigns.

Here's a link to the BBC announcement:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7698417.stm

Brand and Ross Suspended by BBC.

Brand and Ross.
Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross have been suspended by The BBC while an investigation takes place into their broadcast together last weekend (see transcript below on this Blog).

Mark Thompson DG of the Beeb said: "I have decided that it is not appropriate for either Russell Brand or Jonathan Ross to continue broadcasting on the BBC until I have seen the full report of the actions of all concerned."This gross lapse of taste by the performers and the production team has angered licence payers."He then apologised personally to Andrew Sachs and his family and to licence fee payers for the "completely unacceptable broadcast".

Ross and Brand made a series of 'prank calls' to actor Andrew Sachs relating to his grand daughter, Georgina Baillie.

Georgina Baillie. Andrew Sachs.

Ms. Baillie says that the two should "pay for what they've done with their jobs".

Video of Brand attempting to apologise at Mister Sach's home is here:

http://video.news.sky.com/skynews/?videoSourceID=1302399

Here's part of the call:

THAT Brand / Ross call on Radio 2.

Here's a transcript from The Guardian Online:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/oct/27/russell-brand-jonathan-ross-andrew-sachs-calls

Foley's Apprentice.

I just love it when radio shows are on the ball. When they are able to jump on a hot item and get involved in something that interests their listeners.

'The Apprentice' is doing really well on TV3 in Ireland right now. Big show, lots of press. Good talk-a-bility.

Each Monday on the show, one contestant is 'fired' and loses the chance to win a €100,000 a year job (Mark was the latest to go).

Here's the bit I love.

Tuesdays on Today FM, Ray Foley gets the latest fire-ee into the studio for a chat. It's brilliant radio because fans of the show know the people from seeing them each week. They have invested emotionally in them and now get to hear them in a more free-style environment...and it doesn't get more free-style than the Foley Show.

Great publicity too for both the TV and radio shows.
Ray and Mark in the TodayFM studios.

90s Network Studio.

Here's an anorak alert...!
Thanks to Mike O'Brien from Dublin temp. station The 90s Network, for the pic of the studios.
"Does exactly what it needs to do", says Mike.
Nice job fellas.

UCB Ireland.

Peter Bradshaw, MD of UCB Ireland, got in touch this afternoon to say that the station "snuck" on the air today!

You can find them on Sky # 0214.

Best wishes Peter and to all involved.

http://www.ucbireland.com/

On Air At Q.

For some reason, the folks at Dublin's Q102 are putting me back on air this week (must be really stuck)!
Looking forward to sitting in Debbie Allen's chair from 6-10am...she gets the comfy one.
Q have recently re-focussed as 'More Music, Less Talk' and the breakfast show probably plays more music than any other in the market.
Should be fun, so long as I don't break anything,

NY Air Shift.

Nice anaorak value here with Fresh 102.7 in NYC...but what a dull air shift to have to perform. It's liner cards all the way here folks!

Separated At Birth?

Eoghan Quigg - XFactor. Dara Quilty - Spin 103.8

Heads Are Spinning.

Spin 103.8 Dublin have announced changes to their weekday line-up.

Breakfast show will now becalled 'Fully Charged' with Ryan and Tracey (Finally taking over from Joe and Keith).

Ryan's move opens up late evenings and I'm thrilled to say that Dara Quilty has landed himself that gig. Well deserved and pretty good going when you consider Dara's first ever on air shift was less than two years ago (on Dublin's 98).

Dara is a star for the future. Listen and watch as he takes the market by storm. He will be on air Sunday to Thursday from 8:45-11:45pm.

One of the real naturals at this game. He's going to be huge.

Best wishes to all invloved in the new line-up.

The new young pup - Dara Quilty (Evenings Spin103.8)

Dubai DJ Fired.

By now you've probably heard about the Virgin Dubai presenter who was fired for making a 'phone call to God' on air.
Revin John, from South Africa, put the call out during his Morning Drive show. He read a news article quoting a US court decision regarding a religious lawsuit...did a comedy bit, pretending to be God talking on the telephone - however that routine sparked outrage and protests among listeners who believed John was mocking God. The Arabian Radio Network released a statement saying, "What he (John) did was highly offensive to the Muslim & Christian community in the UAE."

BBC Radio2 Web Changes.

BBC Radio2 will be making some alterations to their web presence from next Monday (27th).
Just some streamlining and getting rid of certain boxes etc.
It will make the overall look way more user friendly.
See the changes at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/somechanges/

History Lesson.

Lots of energy here from San Diego in 1976.
Beaver Cleaver on B-100 screaming and jocking and doing his thang baybee!!
Might sound funny to you now, but remember - everything we do now is based on what came before.

A Wedding !

One of the nicest guys I know in radio just got married to his long time sweet heart.

Damien Farrell has two guises: By day he is the guy behind the wheel of the Dublin's 98 Thunderbus and by...well, by weekends - he's one of the people behind Hot Country CIMR.
Happy days to you and Amanda, Damien. God knows how she does it.
Oh, and the suit was due back last week....



The Happy Couple:

Didn't recognise you without your headphones on!

In case you haven't heard it !

This has been doing the rounds for a week or more...but just in case you haven't heard it I'll link it here for you.
American presenter - about to be fired - resigns live on air.
You won't hear this kind of audio everyday.

http://radiotonight.co.uk/post/52799618/america-radio-presenter-resigns-live

WebCams.

I Like me Webcams...don't you? Above is Absolute Radio in London.

www.absoluteradio.co.uk/djs_shows/webcams/

And below is BBC Radio 1.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/webcam/

This is 5FM in Jo'Burg South Africa.

You can find a whole world of studio Webcams at: http://www.worldcam.pl/en/13,cat

Valerie Geller.

Anyone who knows me, will know that I am a huge fan (understatement) of Valerie Geller. Valerie has been one of the world's leading thinkers and speakers on radio for over two decades. She practically invented Talk Radio as we know it now and has been responsible for some of the most innovative radio I have heard.
I had the pleasure of meeting with Valerie (along with my good buddy Dusty Rhodes) earlier this year. We spent about an hour together and I am still buzzing from it. The enthusiasm and passion for radio that this lady possesses is awesome.
Valerie will be in Ireland next month (Nov. 14th) when she comes to Limerick to present her Creating Powerful Radio Seminar.
I know I'll definitely be there.
Her book is available online and is a real must-read for anyone serious about presenting to the max:
http://creatingpowerfulradio.com/

Kyle and Jackie O.

I'm a big fan of Aussie Radio and 2DayFM Sydney in particular.
This one is a little gross, but worth a look (maybe)!
It's Kyle and Jackie O in the morning.
Jackie has an aversion to items that look or feel gross. Cue a radio bit!!!

talkSPORT on Fire...literally!!

TalkSPORT listeners wakening up on Friday morning may have thought their AM radio wasn't working, as the national station sat completely silent.

Nothing to do with Alan Brazil falling asleep after too many earlies.

What happened was - a fire took hold in the building. That , along with no back up audio kicking in, meant dead air.

The station was silent from 7:30-9am and only got back up and running thanks to the folks at LBC in London.

Cue jokes from "Our show's on on Fire" and "Now we're really smoking" etc....

Rajars.

Chris Moyles down 190,000 listeners on Radio 1. The station's Audience Share goes down 0.5%/Weekly Reach stays the same (Q3/07 - Q3/08)

Terry Wogan down 5,000 on Radio 2. Radio 2's Audience Share is down 0.2%/Weekly Reach same..

5 Live's Reach is unchanged while Share is up 0.4%.

Radio 6 Music's reach goes up but Share remains the same.

BBC Radio had a 54.9% share of the market in the third quarter of this year down from 55.5% in the last quarter. Commercial radio increased its share over the same period from 42.4% to 43.1% according to the figures.

Local Radio going UP includes:

U105 Belfast, Wave 105, Wyvern FM, and Brunel FM.

Jack FM stays in the same position for the second book in a row.

Selected Year on Year:

Capital 95.8 have a 1% loss in Reach and a 0.7% increase in Share.

Galaxy Yorkshire are unchanged.

Radio Aire in Leeds have a 0.9% Share increase while Radio City Liverpools went up 4% in Reach (Share stays static).

Down the motorway in Manchester, Key 103 have a 2% Reach increase and 0.9% rise in Share.

Full details@

http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php

90s Network This Weekend.

I spoke with Jason Dee from The 90s Network this week and asked him what the listener response has been like so far:

"The texts have been slow to start but I dont think our demo are really the type to text in wanting to hear their name on air asking us to say hello to them :) They're aged between 25 and 35 and need more incentive than that, which they'll be getting from this weekend on in the shape of giveaways. The station will have 90s gig tickets for their listeners and from November onwards I plan on giving away 90s themed albums on the Retrospective show. The texts that have come in so far have been very positive but with a first run temporary station it will take a few more weeks for the listeners to get used to the text number (they can rattle of their favourite ILR's one no problem) and to remember "hey its the weekend .... time to tune to 99.5" I think halfway through our run we will have that listenership base to work with, its a very niche and very enjoyable station to work on - Im lovin' it".

90s Network can be found on 99.5FM and on http://www.the90snetwork.com

Spin Catchbar.

I haven't tried downloading the Spin Catchbar yet (I have enough toolbars hogging my screen as it is), but I do love the fact that they have created this option for their audience.

Spin 103.8's listeners are young, savvy and very open to concepts like this. I can see it being a massive success for them.

Once downloaded, the Catchbar sits on your computer just like a Toolbar and it allows you to listen online, see what's playing right now, get artist info, share that info on Bebo or Facebook and also contact the studio.

Very interactive and a real connection with their listeners.

This is the sort of thing that radio needs to be doing, in my opinion; taking it out of the "We're over here and you're over there" thinking of the past and hopping on that social angle.

Younger listeners are harder to attract than older ones as they don't always see radio as relevant to their lives. Hooking up via something like this can be attractive to that demographic and possibly bring a bit of credibility to a radio station.

Will I text Dara Quilty or Steve K in the studio? Maybe...

http://www.spin1038.com

UK Radio News.

Kerrang! Radio (105.2) hires actor & TV presenter OJ Borg for afternoon drive. The West Midlands station recently brought in Danielle Perry to handle music news during morning drive ...
The decision to shut down the Channel 4 radio division comes with a price - 15 jobs were lost ...
Former GCap Radio network PD Pete Simmons lands with London's Magic 105.4 as PD ... Troubled Laser Broadcasting has placed Bath FM & Brunel FM in Bristol in the hands of consultancy firm Triple Media, which could be the prelude to a sale ...
Scotland's Rock Radio (96.3) re-ups their deal to broadcast Scottish Rocks professional basketball games.
(courtesy radio-info.com)

LMFM to Flip Format ?

Word is spreading that Louth/Meath leader LMFM may flip format in the next couple of months.
The station has enjoyed great success over the years in it's TSA with a mix of Easy Listening, AC, Country and Irish and Talk. A real servant to the community.
So what format are they (rumoured to be) switching to?
Talk !
Interesting...very interesting.
LM have a really strong daytime line-up at the moment with people such as Gerry Stevens (ex 2FM and 98FM), Daire Nelson and Jim Sweeney (ex Atlantic 252).

Watch and wait, I guess.

New Voice at Today FM.

National Irish station 100-102 Today FM have just introduced a new voice on air.

His name is Aidan O'Connor and he is filling in for Donal Dineen, weeknights from midnight. Aidan has been with the station for years in a 'behind-the-scenes' role. Really good to hear a fresh voice on the air.

Good luck with it Aidan.

http://www.todayfm.com

No News - Just Facebook !

A news bulletin on Australian radio station 3AW went AWOL because...the newsreader was busy on Facebook!

She wasn't fired but management have said that in future employees can only use FB for 'research purposes'.

Yeah, I find FB great for prep (!)...Poking 'friends' and sending bunnies to people you don't know. Very useful for radio :)

Here's a link to the story:

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,24474723-5014239,00.html

And here's my Facebook page (yes...of course I have one)!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=693333679&ref=profile

They play all my favourite songs!

Absolut Vodka from Sweden are to take Absolute Radio to court for name/trademark infringement. They're afraid people will become confused by the similarity between their title and the newly re-launched UK radio brand.


The fact that one is a Vodka purchased in a bottle and the other is a music driven radio station would appear to me to be difference enough...but there you go!
I wonder will the Society of Locksmiths sue Manchester's Key 103 now...'what kind of key is it'??
The Fruit Growers Union may want to take a look at Orchard FM while they're at it.



Lucky for Absolute they didn't change their name to Red Bull Radio...that could've been really tricky.

Stream Center.

I've been asked recently, "What's the name of that website where you can listen to US radio stations online"?

It's The Stream Center.

You know when you go to a station website and press the 'Listen Here' button, only to see a message that says you can't actually listen because you don't live in the States?

Well, this solves that...mostly. I mean, some links are down, but for the most part it works beautifully.

OK, it's not new and a load of people use Stream Center everyday, but if you've never heard of it before, then you're going to love it.

I use it all the time.

http://thestreamcenter.com

PPI Radio Awards.

The Irish Radio Awards (The PPI's) took place last night in Kilkenny.
It was the first time for the ceremony outside Dublin and by all accounts it was another wild night once the gongs were handed out.

Main Winners:
Best Personality - Tony Fenton (Today FM).
Best Breakfast Show - Red Rooster (Red FM) Well done to Keith Cunningham...again!!
Best Music Show - Andy Preston (FM104 Dublin)
Best Imaging - FM104 (Dublin)
Entertainment Inserts - FM104 (Dublin) Strawberry Alarm Clock stay strong with Jim McCabe.
Local Station (Music) - Dublin's 98.
National Station - RTE Radio 1

Full list of winners:
http://www.ppiradioawards.com/2008/winners_2008.asp

New Guy!

I stumbled upon this and thought to myself 'Yaay - a station promoting an on air member outside of breakfast'. This I like very much because in this day and age, when stations are networking and 'downsizing' and automating, it shows that at least one has the confidence in their guys to know that promoting them may actually be a good thing!
KMFM in the Kent have put together a short video promoting their new evening guy, Louis Hurst (ex Radio City Liverpool).
It's just a nice thing to do.
Made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
Here's the link:
http://kmfm.co.uk/goto.php?sess=x799...0g4d0&id=203
(Click where it says 'click here').

And here's Louis in 2003 at City:

BmacMedia Launches Radio Jobs Listings.

I'm delighted to announce that a new FREE subscription Job Listings service is ready to launch next week.

What's so different about this service?

It is 100% subscription based.

That means I will only send you the information if you request it. So, by signing up, you will have access to jobs that may not be placed in the public domain. Think of it as the 'back door' to getting a gig!

For employers - you can add your job announcements too and know that the people reading your details have actively signed up to do so and are currently looking for work in your area, whether it be fulltime/part time or voluntary.

Everybody wins !

To subscribe, add job details or get more information, simply e-mail:

brian@bmacmedia.com

with the heading 'Jobs' and we'll do the rest.

Brian McColl.

BBC Survey.

Good old Beeb.

In keeping with their remit as a Public Service Broadcaster, they are asking radio listeners aged between 13-34 to fill out a survey to get thoughts and opinions on Radio 1 and 1Xtra.

They do this every five years with different aspects of the corporation.

Have your say here:

http://www.bbcyoursay.co.uk/intro

Sunshine 101 Reunion - Some Pics!

Robbie, Stella and Elliot Robinson.

David Dennehy.

Captain Mark Byrne (my favourite pilot)!

Robbie, Stella, Dec Meehan and Tony Dixon (background) amongst others.

Charlie Wolf.

I was flicking around the TV channels on Sunday evening and for some unknown reason I stopped at the channel called simply 'Red'.

OK, I do know why I ended up here - they were hosting a block of shows called 'Pirate Radio Night'. The anorak in me came out in full force!

I had just missed the first programme but was able to catch the whole of the second one which highlighted the one and only Charlie Wolf.

I first met Charlie back in the early 90s when we both worked together at Atlantic 252 (he was on mornings...I wasn't)!

All I knew about him was that he had come from the States and worked on the off-shore station Laser 558, but that was it.

Charlie in the Laser 558 studio. MV Communicator (Laser's home base).

Charlie was loud, in your face and outspoken. Not too much has changed over the years except maybe he's not as in your face as before. Maybe!

The Red TV show mostly consisted of a Laser-era Charlie wandering around the streets of London filming himself as he spoke to Londoners about radio and life in general. It was some snapshot of that era.

After Atlantic, Charlie ended up working on RedFM in Cork (what's with the 'red' theme)? From there to talkSport in the UK and these days you can see him on Sky News as a regular contributor, as well as showing up on Al-Jazeera, BBC News 24 and other outlets.
Charlie in his 'Atlantic' days.

A long way from the high seas!

You can find more on Charlie on his blog:

http://charliewolf.blogspot.com

or his website:

http://www.charliewolf.com

Latest BmacMedia Workshop.

Saturday saw the latest Presenter Workshop take place in Dublin. The sell-out event was attended by presesenters from a broad variety of stations around Ireland who all enjoyed the talks given by Toni Tenaglia, Dusty Rhodes, Morgan Jones and Ray Foley.

I had the pleasure of chairing the day and managed to pick up tips as well (we never stop learning)!

As an added bonus, some of the attendees were able to interview Sharleen Spiteri (former Texas lead singer and now solo artist). It was great having her there to give people that opportunity.

Details of the next Workshop coming soon.

Sleepy Time !

Think your gig is boring sometimes...???

90sNetwork On Air Schedule.

(Info taken from the Website http://www.the90snetwork.com)

What you will expect to hear on Saturday.
12am - 2am Enda Caldwell Into the 90s
2am - 9am90s Overnights Your chance to hear those forgotten gems
9am - 12pm Brian Butterly Saturday Brunch
12pm - 3pm Ralph McGarry A Decade in Rewind
3pm - 6pm Robbie Dunbar 90s Afternoons
6pm- 9pm Liam Tutty
9pm - 11pm Mike O Brien
11pm - 1am DJ Krisp 90s Dance

What you will expect to hear on Sunday.
1am - 8am 90s Overnights Your chance to hear those forgotten gems
8am -10am Louise Phelan The Earlier Riser
10am - 1pm Brian Butterly From the bottom to the top
1pm - 3pm Nicola Bardon A Decade in Rewind
3pm - 5pm Tony Ainscough 90s Afternoons
5pm - 7pm Jason Dee
7pm - 9pm Wayne Scales
9pm - 11pm Mike O Brien
11pm - 12am Dave Dunne 90s Love

90s Network.

They say everything in life is temporary, then radio in Dublin is certainly proof of this.
Currently we have Hot Country CIMR broadcasting on a temp licence.
They will be joined by 94.9 The Rock with their ten week temp licence.
Then on Saturday The 90s Network takes to the airwaves from Donaghmede for their temporary crack at things.
Three stations all on the air and all gone by the New Year!!

90s Network is definitely the most interesting of the three. Not because the other two have no appeal (they definitely do), but rather because it's a format that has never been on air in this market before (are there many 90s only stations anywhere)?
How will they do?
I don't know, but I'm certainly interested to hear how it sounds.
There are some well heeled radio people behind this station like Paul Duffy from Dublin's 98 and Jason Dee. Their enthusiasm and knowledge is not in question.
I have a feeling it will be a very tight and fast format with good production values (that's what these guys are all about).
Will we be able to handle nothing but 90s all day? I'll give it a go.

Freq is 99.5
http://www.the90snetwork.com

Return of The Rock.

949 The Rock makes a welcome return to the Dublin airwaves this weekend. Back for a ten week run, the station (which will re-incarnate next year on a full-time basis as Nova100) has recruited some very well known presenters to front their format.

This includes:
Matt Dempsey (formerly Dublin's 98 and Red FM Cork).
Chris Barry (FM104, 98 and Country Mix).
Enda Murphy (2FM) and
Gerry Wilson (2FM).

TSA is Dublin City, County and Commuter Belt and broadcast on 94.9FM and 1278AM.
Will be nice to hear the format again.