Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Lonely DJs.

According to The Sunday News in the US, the lonliest job to have on News Year's Eve is...radio presenter! Who knew??
They say that sitting alone in a studio as the clock ticks twelve is the saddest way to see in the new year.
Well, first of all -who's actually 'live' these days at midnight on Dec. 31st? Maybe a few, but not many.
Secondly: I've done a couple of shows at this time of year and they were an absolute blast. Great fun! The music is always different and the callers are hyped - brilliant.
Lonely Schmonely.
If you're on air tonight - have fun. It's more than just another gig.
Just set a challenge to yourself: guess how many people will request U2 New Years Day and see if you get it right!
Happy New Year !

Heart TV Ad.

With Heart expanding and re-branding across the UK, here is their new TV spot for the Anglia region.

Anthony Davis on LBC.


Good bit of audio from LBC in London. Anthony Davis is great with callers and is Mister Natural.
Click the URL below and you go straight to it:

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Miami Change.


Lots of Irish travel to Florida for Winter holidays. If you're one of them and happen to be in the Miami are, then you can take a listen to the re-formatted WLVE. They were Smooth Jazz Love94 up until Christmas Day, but have flipped to Rhythmic AC 93.9 MIA.

Why do I mention this? Well, mainly becuase Smooth Jazz was one of those formats that was looked at as being the future 'biggee'. To have a station in a market this size abandon it is interesting. That's all I'm saying!
Also wondering - is this the first time a station has named itself after the international code for it's local airport (MIA)? OK...too much time on my hands :)

Monday, December 29, 2008

Zenith Classic Rock.


This station is on my pre-sets on the Wi-Fi radio. I've been listening to them on and off for about six months and really like their output.
Based in Waterford, Zenith bagged a temp weekend licence and are on FM and AM across the South East until Feb. 22nd. Well worth a listen. The playlist is awesome.

Hear them on 103.8FM and 1584AM or log on to http://totalbroadcast.net/zenith/

20 Years Ago.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is the 20th anniversary of the closing down of the pirate radio stations in Ireland with the introduction of the Broadcasting Bill. I know that some stations have held reunions over the past year to mark the occasion, but just to let you know that there is a sort of unofficial get together of past pirates taking place in Dublin tomorrow, if you are interested in going along for an anorak/nostalgia session.
The amount of people from that era who are now still making their living from radio is phenomenal - a bit of a golden generation thing.
The 'do' is in Scruffy Murphys Pub in Dublin and it kicks off at 8pm.
Have fun...and don't forget to wear your old station t-shirt !

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Happy Christmas !!!


Happy Christmas to you and yours.
Here's to an even better 2009.
Talk again in a few days...

Brian.

More Prep !

Just a little more on the TXmediasuite Show Prep service from the UK.
I've taken a look around what's available on there and have to say it's pretty darned good! I'm not a massive believer is spending a lot of money on Prep to be honest...a lot of it can be useless and hardly gets used on air. Yes, it's true - Prep is all around you every day (I've been teaching that one for ages), but it can also be a good idea to have a little extra help too.
However, the gags in this one as well as the audio and features are nicely put together and it would be worth your while at least trying out the Free One Week trial.
I've been in touch with the creators of the site and am happy to say that if you are interested in signing up month-to month, then they will offer you a discount! Just for reading this blog! Blimey...who knew it would pay to read a blog??
Anyway, get in touch with me if you feel the need or want more info.
As I say - I'm not involved in this project and this isn't an ad. Just me finding something that excites me and wanting to pass it on.
brian@bmacmedia.com

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Prep.

If you subscribe to a Prep service like Radio-Online or InterPrep, then you may be interested to know that a new UK based service is coming on line.
It's called txmediasuite and will be sent to you daily as part of a pay subscription.
It's a little pricey (£59) but for that you get access to everything - no sliding scales. It's one price, one service.
They offer a one week free trial, which is always a good idea. If you like what you see then you can sign up.
Also, if you are part of a current prep service there are transfer deals available too...nice touch.
Anyway, it's just another option for you to look at. Can't hurt to look, can it?
BTW - I am not part of this service...just in case you think I'm doing an ad for it here!

http://www.txmediasuite.com/

Monday, December 22, 2008

Ezine.


This week's Ezine went out today and it was especially for presenters who will be working over the holidays.
Here's a brief snippet...good word that - snippet!

"Enjoy yourself. Have fun. Notice the feeling you have as you walk into the studio before your daytime shift and remember that feeling. That’s the feeling you want to experience on a regular basis, right? You want to eventually be the person on air full time on a shift like this. Recognise the feeling. Embrace the caller and text response – live like this is your shift. Then when the time comes to return to your weekend or late night slot, strive to have that feeling on a full time basis. You get what you think about. Think hard enough and put enough physical and mental energy into what you want and it can happen. Use the holiday cover as your trial run for when you get bumped up the ladder".

Next Ezine is out Jan. 5th.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Gerry Stevens.


Last friday saw Gerry Stevens perform his final on air shift at LMFM in Drogheda.
Gerry has been in radio since the very early 80s, starting off in Dublin pirates like ARD and moving on to local and national radio over the years.
Some of the stations he has worked with include Capitol/Nitesky, Sunshine 101, Atlantic 252, RTE 2FM and 98FM (as it was then known). He joined LMFM in 2006.

Is this the end for Gerry? Actually, the total opposite!
You can expect to hear him very soon on a much bigger platform..........

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Hugh O'Brien.

So there I am, listening to Christmas FM and who should pop up doing a gig? None other than
80's Radio Nova legend Hugh O'Brien.
This is Hugh 'Rockin The Bay' O'Brien!
Brilliant.
I remember Hugh being one of the guys I absolutely loved on Nova. He was always in control and always sounded incredibly cool behind the mic.
Great to hear you again Hugh.
Oh and by the way - Christmas FM seems to be on everywhere I go these days. Well done to Garv and all involved.

Friday, December 19, 2008

It's Miller Time.


Marty Miller returns with 'Dad Rock' on Today FM over the Christmas and New Year break.
You can hear him on December 28th, 29th, 30th and Jan 1st (along with other music shifts).

Looking forward to this as a) I'm a Dad b) I like Rock and c) I'm a fan of Mister Marty!!

New Q.

Q102 in Dublin are tweaking their music, have added Matt Dempsey to their on air roster and will soon re-brand with a new logo.
The old purple one will be replaced with a more 'Dublin' themed style, with the strapline 'More Music. Less Talk'.
Good change imho.
Old logo.
New logo.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Z100 - Then And Now.

Couple of video airchecks from Z100 New York.
The first is Kid Kelly.
The second, Trey Morgan from earlier this year.
Which do you prefer?



Phantom Party


Phantom 105.2 continue to work the crowd with a hands-on approach. They have organised a Soundcheck Party, which basically consists of music and whatnot hosted by Phantom presenters at The Green Room close to the O2 Arena in Dublin.
The station will be there Friday, Saturday and Sunday getting punters in the mood before the Kings Of Leon and two Coldplay gigs this weekend.
Then after the gigs, you can go back to The Green Room and continue the fun.
Sort of a 'Before and After' gig scenario.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

No More Talk in Edinburgh.


UTV, who own several station in Ireland, are to close Edinburgh's talk outlet talk 107.
The final day will be Christmas Eve...staff were told today!
The station could have remained on air if a buyer had been found, which I guess just goes to show how companies are hanging onto their cash theseBold days rather than spending it.
The licence will be handed back to UK regulator Ofcom.
talk107's highest share was 1.7.

In Ireland UTV own Live 95 in Limerick, 96FM and C103 in Cork, FM104 and Q102 in Dublin, LMFM in Drogheda and U105 in Belfast.

Step Too Far?

I think the Daily Mail have hit rock bottom at this stage with their constant hounding of Russell Brand. This appeared today:
With this subline underneath:
'Would you lend him your children? Russell Brand arrives with two young guests at the UK premiere of Adam Shankman's film Bedtime Stories in Kensington last night'.
Now, is it just me or is that completely over the top, trash journalism?? Their witch hunt seems to just go on and on. I'm sure Brand could care less...but he is a human being and it's got to impact somehow.
The Mail must feel that they have their finger on the pulse when it comes to 'reporting' non-stories like this, but surely a statement like the one above is grounds for slander.
Russell Brand says he made a mistake on air (even though the facts show that the Sachsgate call had the blessing of all involved) - so this, so me, appears like banging the drum one last time to see if they can milk that last bit of made-up contoversy.
I think the only people letting themselves down today are the ones in The Mail.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Podcasts.

Just for fun, here are my Top Podcasts for the past week:
1. Chris Moyles - BBC Radio 1 : http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/moyles/
2. Hamish And Andy - Austerio : http://www.fox.com.au/shows/hamishandandy
3. Fighting Talk BBC Radio 5Live : http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/ft/
4. Jagercast - DAP : http://www.jagercast.ie/

Yes Indeedy!

Thanks to Baz for pointing me towards this clip.
Love it!
Actually I think I airchecked this guy once...
It's Chris Morris as Wayne Carr Local Radio DJ. Say the name quickly and you'll get the joke.

Monday, December 15, 2008

The Grove on The Radio.


Back in the day (not sure what day it was!), there was a weekly disco in North Dublin called The Grove. Even then it was a legend...a rite of passage. Going to The Grove was the cool thing to do (probably explains why I never went)!
These days there are Grove reunions held around the city, where former attendees can et together again and pretend it's 1982 or 1978 all over again.

The brains behind The Grove was a man called Cecil Nolan. He featured in a TV documentary about the period not long ago and now Cecil is about to hit the airwaves on Christmas Day on Phantom 105.2 with a Grove retrospective.

Great idea - nice job Phantom (that's what you call knowing your market). No doubt Cecil will be pulling out all of The Grove Classics from his 'bag of records'.

Ex Trax.

Well, it's confirmed: X-Trax magazine is kaput. The magazine's parent company has gone into administration and with it - the industry mag with the great pics.
Pity really. Since the runmour of it's demise first came about last month, people have been getting in touch to say that they love X-Trax! I know what you mean. Especially considering none of us ever paid the 'cover price' (did anyone ever pay the cover price)??

I wonder if some enterprising radio folk will pick up the slack and get a new magazine in circulation ?
I mean websites are great and there are so many radio related ones now that it's hard to know where to start, but there's something about picking up a mag and leafing through it that I love.
Oh well....

Sunday, December 14, 2008

About This Blog.


I set this Blog up last year for no apparent reason...I just thought it would be cool to have a place to come and write once in a while.
Over time, it grew into more than that as people began giving me snippets to post here and other people began to read them! In the past few months the blog has grown and grown. So, I figured I should let you know what my philosophy behind doing this is.
Basically, I felt that we can hear a little too much of the negative side of radio. I wanted this to be a place where we celebrate the good things in our business. Y'know - new stations, people moving forward, great promotions, aircheck videos and random bits and pieces that effect radio people in Ireland and across the UK too.
Thanks to the folks who have sent me their news or opinions - it's great to receive them all every day.

Now this blog is updated at least once daily (there's always something going on).
I hope you can see it as a place that celebrates the positive and empowering aspects of being on the radio.

If you wish to add material here, go right ahead. It may say BmacMedia on the top, but really it's for anyone who wants to be involved.
Cheers,
Brian.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Few Quickies.


Christmas FM have managed to get the one and only Rick Dees to voice some personalised stuff for the station - very niiice. Expect to hear that soon.

And it turns out that Shane Pearce is officially no longer with Northern Sound. Shane was the breakfast guy there up until last week. Shane's a great jock and any station would do well to nab him now.
BRMB Birmingham have update the story of The Snowman with a video shot around the city...

Thursday, December 11, 2008

What, no Carts??

If you ever worked on small Irish pirate stations in the early to mid-80s, then this will look familiar. It's Boyneside Radio from Drogheda in 1984...but look at the studio closely. Yeah, sure it's turntables, you'd expect that. But do you remember playing ads and jingles off...Cassette Tapes?! Ah dose were de day-is (not). Now don't forget, when you hear the three pips, hit the 'Pause' button. Or if you miss your cue with the 'Pause', then take a pencil, stick it in the cassette spool and wind it back half a turn. That oughta do it!
I'm 97 years old next year(!).
Kids these days - spoilt rotten.

New on Q.


Congrats to Matt Dempsey - the new voice of Weekend Brekkie on Dublin's Q102.
Matt's been around the block, having worked at Tipp FM, Red FM in Cork, Dublin's 98 (98FM as it was then) and 949 The Rock amongst others.
He's also been in the running recently for a high profile PD gig in the UK but decided to hang on in the Emerald Isle instead.
The dashing Matt Dempsey!
You can catch Matt Sat and Suns from 6-10am.

Sky News


I've been listening to the TV on my radio...and it's pretty good!
If you have an Internet radio in your home, then you might like to take a punt on the audio only version of Sky News. It would make an awesome radio station and sounds better than a lot of NT FMers on the scene. Weird but good at the same time.
Sky News Radio http://news.sky.com/skynews/Sky-News-Radio is a pale shadow in comparison.

WebSites.


Today FM got all of the kudos last week for their new look website, so I need to mention another one I noticed recently.
Shannonside Northern Sound have re-vamped their look and it's a big improvement. Gone is the one access page for both stations and now each one has it's own individual site.
Nice 'On Air Now' graphics pics too:

S0, nice one lads...one question - where's Breakfast Roll man Shane Pearce gone??

Pound For Pound.


The Fugitive was a massively successful promotion...Two Strangers And A Wedding went worldwide and The Cash Cow is always a winner.
Well, in the constant search for the next great promotion, I have to take my hat off to Red Dragon FM in Wales. Their current sell is Baby Watch - listeners have to guess the weight of Charlotte Church and Gavin Henson's new baby! Get it right and you win (not cash, but CDs).

Let's say you go for 8lbs even - then you'll win 8lbs of CDs!

This might sound a little silly (and it definitely is)...BUT, the station is based in South Wales, right? Who are two of Wales' biggest musical and sports stars right now? Yup, Charlotte and Gavin. If the contest was based around a couple of Hollywood actors, then the impact would be less.
So, fair play, I say for taking a 'local' angle and making something out of it. Something their listeners can actually relate to.

Oh and the funniest ever Charlotte/Henson gaff was with the good man himself Pat Kenny. It's cruel, but a good 'un all the same:

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Kenny Everett.

Sometimes it's good to be reminded of what came before...and there's none better than Cuddly Ken!
This clip is around ten minutes long, but it's time well spent as you'll hear the original creative force of radio in these parts in full swing.
All voices are Kenny, all editing is on reel-to-reel with a white pencil and some tape!
Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Virgin Canada.

The Virgin brand may be Absolute-ly gone from the UK, but in Canada it's picking up speed quite quickly.
Virgin 999 in Toronto sounds great (in my humble opinion) and now Astral Media, who own that station have decided to re-brand the other big players on their team to the Virgin way of things.

Early January will see 95 Crave (95.3 FM) in Vancouver, The Bear (106.9 FM) in Ottawa and Mix 96 (95.9 FM) in Montreal become part of Astral Media’s Virgin Radio branded group.

The Vancouver and Montreal stations will focus on the Hot AC format with a target of 25-49. Ottawa will build on its heritage to feature a re-energized rock format aimed at 25-54 year-old men.
It's such a strong and well known brand and I'm delighted to see Virgin moving into new markets like this. Really looking forward to hearing the 'new' stations when they get up and running.
Listen to Virgin Toronto here:

CBS Radio Streaming.


If you like your radio from Amer-i-ka, then you may want to take a look at this little baby.
CBSRadio have developed a lovely player for their radio stations and it is so easy to use, even I had no problem handling it.
The streams work over here too, so maybe save you logging onto StreamCenter all of the time.

Anyhoo, you can take a look here and see what you reckon:

Monday, December 8, 2008

The Boat That Rocked.

If the trailer is anything to go by, then this looks like a brilliant flick.
Release date is down for May in the UK (can only assume the same for Ireland).
Kenneth Branagh, Philip Syemour Hoffman, Bill Nighy and Emma Thompson.
It'll bring out the Anoraks in all of us!

Here's the clip:

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Rock Gone.


Dublin's temporary Classic Rock station 94.9 The Rock finished it's run of weekend broadcasts today with a countdown of the biggest rock classics in their library.
The final day featured Marty Miller voiced sweepers hinting at 'Full Time Rock Radio' coming to Dublin "soon". The sweeper asked listeners to text the station for more info. I wonder what kind of a response they'll get to this teaser?

The Rock will re-incarnate as Nova 100 and is expected to come on air in late Summer '09.
Good luck to Kevin Brannigan and all of those involved. We haven't had a rock format in Dublin since Rock 104 re-branded as FM104 waaaaay back.

Riviera Down a Jock!


Monte Carlo based Riviera Radio have lost a presenter. Navan man, Enda Caldwell, parted company with the station last week. He joined in the Summer holding down Afternoon Drive and production duties.
Enda is well known in the Irish radio circle, with his CV including Today FM, XFM London and Sirius Satellie Radio.
I wonder if we'll hear him back on Irish radio again (OK besides the work he's doing for Christmas FM), or will he look to return to the UK?
Best of luck with your next career move Enda.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Where Are They Now ? Mark Byrne.


Every now and then a presenter comes along and is the full package. Professional on and off air, creative, tight, unconsciously aware of what makes great radio and consistent.
Mark Byrne is one of those people.

I first met Mark out in Community Radio 257 in the (very) early 80s. It was my first gig on radio, whilst Mark had been at it for a couple of years. Even then he set the benchmark to which we all tried to reach.
Our paths would cross again in a few stations after that, as Mark went on to the Super Pirate Sunshine 101, then to the national stage in Ireland on Century Radio along with stints on FM104 in Dublin and Atlantic 252 from County Meath.


His spell at Radio Ireland/TodayFM was short but very successful. As the morning presenter on this national, he brought comedy to the show for the first time - introducing characters and comedians. It was verymuch the template for the Gift Grub content you now hear on the station. I had a lot of fun working with Mark on this show, writing scripts, devising comedy and hiring new voice talents and as always, Mark was incredibly receptive to ideas and creativity.
When things didn't work out at Today FM and Mark was replaced by Ian Dempsey, he moved over to 98FM in Dublin to present both the Dawn Patrol and Home Run (two shows I also presented later - told you I was following him)!

One of Mark's passions has always been flying and throughout the late 90s and early noughties, he obtained his private pilots licence and later his commercial too. This proved to be his future calling.
98FM ended for him, as most gigs do, and Mark was left with a decision - stay in radio or pursue the flying dream.
When an opportunity came along to work as a pilot with Ryanair, he jumped at the chance. Based in Dublin, it meant he could also remain on air on a part time basis with Q102.

Eventually, the radio business had to take a back seat to flying.
His aviation career has taken him from Ryanair to Air France/CityJet to EasyJet.

At the moment the only microphone Mark speaks into is the one between the cockpit and the control tower.
Currently working for Swiss International, he is based in Zurich and Milan.
I met Mark recently and am glad to say he looks the same as he did when I first met him and is as nice and decent as man now as he has always been.

I reckon we haven't heard the last of him on Irish radio though...!