Answers to my research

My research seeks to answer whether digital radio will have an effect (if any) on community radio stations in Melbourne. Seeing that digital radio is the next generation in radio having the capacity to provide listeners with more services, clearer reception and superb sound quality. I will explore how digital radio will fit in the current media landscape.

 

Focusing on two differing Melbourne community radio stations 3ZZZ (ethnic & multicultural broadcaster) and 3RRR (independant/alternative music broadcaster) I hope to examine the ways that they will adapt to the onset of digital radio.

My project will attempt to explore the features of digital radio and how community radio stations will put them to use. (tuning station by name,record and rewind capability, text information, graphics,pictures and webpages etc)

The implications of funding, will all community radio stations see the way of digital radio in the near future or will it only be limited to the wealthier community stations?

- Will audience change?

-How will programming be affected?

-Access/Legislation issues

Intro to Radio Course (Class 2)

Our first task was to write up a short script then back announce a song we had chosen, then read an advertisement then forward announce the second song we picked. Sounds simple enough, although when nerves hit and the butterflies that live in my tummy on these special occasions start to emerge, everything becomes a little mumbo jumbo and my voice becomes shaky and I can feel my heart hitting hard across my chest. The Next Gen system was relatively easy to use but learning new software is always a challenge. We were all left in the room by ourselves whilst the others would listen outside as we were being recorded. Yes it was no competition, but we all wanted to perform well. I’d say I did an average job except Simon noticed that I used a pun with the song title of the song and I also should not tell the listener how long that I will be presenting for eg. “101.3 MIXX FM that was Love Today, Mika. Adriana here taking you through till nine, I hope you have loved today as much as I have?”. These were big NO NO’s as puns were old school and instead of telling the listener how long you will be presenting for they would rather you use those words to say something else. So those were lessons learnt.

 

We also looked at radio audience measurement and how seriously it is taken at a commercial radio station. We discussed the importance of Nielsen Media Research (Survey Company) and how they are a multi-million dollar company that aids radio broadcasters with guidance into which demographics listen to which shifts, radio stations etc. The current method of audience measurement is done via a diary system that the selected person has to carry around for 8 weeks and tick boxes to notify Nielsen when and which radio stations they listen to. This method is extremely inconvenient and outdated and I hope they look into better methods for this approach.

 

 Radio stations also conduct focus groups, online surveys, telephone surveys, hire auditoriums etc to make sure that they are doing a satisfactory job at keeping the listeners to that station loyal. There are 8 rolling surveys that occur in Melbourne each year. The diary system is mainly quantitative research with some qualitative research and also helps advertisers make their decisions about which radio station they should choose to promote their product depending on the quantitative figures and because of this “commercial radio stations do not drive the way they follow”. Simon explained further that they try and give the listeners what they want eg. some songs wouldn’t work here as they are too American, music director needs to cater for Australian listeners.

 

Intro to Radio Course (Class 1)

Don’t you just hate those social situations where you are placed in a room with a group of strangers and everyone is too afraid to say ‘hi’ and it’s so quiet that you just want to burst out and laugh? Well my group consisted of 5 others…Perry, Dina, Dan, Jorja and Will an eclectic mix of people. A woman in her 50’s, a Hungarian sound engineer, two from the country and one pondering about a career in radio and then myself. I was quite pleased that it was such a small group as it meant it would be a more intimate working environment. Simon our lecturer was an easy going, funny yet very knowledgeable man about the radio industry. We discussed the history of the company and spoke about an overview of Australian radio today.

 

Commercial radio differs dramatically from community radio as:

-they can carry advertising to self regulated limits

-pay a license fee to the Government based on their revenue

-provide survey results included in official and regular independently audited audience surveys.

-are high powered to cover and service wide coverage areas such as an entire metropolitan area, city or specified regional area.

-they also adhere to the commercial radio codes of practise.

 

Even though I have always known this fact, Simon seemed to drill it in my head and make me aware that like any business, the objective of a radio station is to make a PROFIT. It’s a timeless business cycle as advertising profits keep the station on air. This is done by the listeners who support the program by tuning in, this attracts advertisers who ultimately keep playing the dollars which in reality keep the station operating.

 

I also learnt that there are usually six shifts in a radio station’s twenty-four hour day.

Breakfast: 5:30/6:00 am to 9:00am

Morning: 9:00am to Noon

Afternoon: Noon to 4:00pm

Drive: 4:00pm to 7:00pm

Evening/Night: 7:00pm to Midnight

Mid Dawn: Midnight to 5:30/6:00am

 

The most important shifts of the day are Breakfast and Drive as these are the peak times when people are listening to radio on the way to work/school etc and on their way home from work/school etc. The slots are presented by well known radio personalities eg: Breakfast (Nova 100) Hughsey & Kate and Drive (Foxfm) Hamish & Andy. The rest of the presenters are used as fillers and are usually not as well known, they re-play segments from breakfast and drive slots to promote them as these two shifts make commercial radio millions of dollars.

 

Simon also mentioned something that I believe will stick with me “while presenters are putting on make-up and the newspaper companies are waiting for their machines to heat up, radio presenters have told their story”.

Money, Money, Money

The world revolves around money…money, money, money. Yes my friend nothing is free in this world even if Janet Jackson claims that “the best things in life are free”. What ever happened to having a passion to do something without having a hefty price tag attached to it. You are probably wandering what the hell I am ranting on about…gone are the days when we want learn something or broaden our skill set without having to fork out an arm and a leg to pay for it. I have just faced this hurdle and here are the outcomes.

 

I have recently enrolled in a course. Just by randomly reading an email and following one link after an other I came across a web page “Melbourne Radio School” and I was extremely excited about the courses they had to offer as they were specifically related to my interests.

They offered:

-          Intro to radio course

-          Voiceover course for TV & Radio Commercials

-          Creative writing for radio commercials

-          News reading and writing for radio

 

Of course the next most important thing that would determine my enrolment was pricing. How much would I have to fork out to pay for the pleasure of learning about radio for one hour each week for a total of ten weeks? Let’s play a guessing game shall we…

 

Who places their bet on $249 ok how about $399, anyone for $499, $699??

How about I just give you the answer, guessing games are for teenagers anyway (drum roll)…the cost was $1090. Now you must sympathise with me and forgive me for ranting on in this post. What type of uni student can afford to pay that?…honestly, luckily for concession card holders which brought the price down to $990 AND they had a promotion on at the time which resulted in becoming $890 for the ten weeks!!!

 

Coincidently I was approached with another fantastic opportunity; NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) will be going on tour to a destination near you. This was what my booking agent forwarded to me. Courses ranging from a day up until 8 weeks, starting prices from $220 to $2,000. For those who have dipped their toe in the acting world of knowledge would know that NIDA is Australia’s national theatre school; a centre of excellence in training for theatre, film and television.

The fact that they are touring is an opportunity not to be missed but who can afford these pleasures, I certainly cannot.

 

Now that I have that off my chest I can say that I am really looking forward to learning about commercial radio. The Melbourne radio school guarantees you work experience in a commercial radio station as well as teaching you the latest broadcast software (Next Gen) and has affiliation with AFTRS (Australian Film Television and Radio School). I shall keep you posted about my progress and switch from community to commercial.

 

Labsome Lunch

What a wonderful way to work. Today was not just an ordinary class, we had our first lunch. We were required to bring something to add to the table. Libby was keen on sausages and Jon on party pies and sausage rolls so I knew that this lunch would go incredibly well. Being the salad junkie that I am I was adamant that I brought something healthy for lunch. I could imagine it would have been quite embarrassing to hurdle around 2 big plastic bags full of vegetables on the way to uni, so I decided to drive and save myself from the weird looks and stares.

 

My shopping bag contained the following items:

Cherry Tomatoes: check

Cucumber: check

Mixed Salad: check

Vegetable oil: check

Vinegar: check

Salt & Vinegar Chips: check

 

Oops…I know what you’re thinking, so how about you throw your black critising hat out the door, and stop judging me. Yes you read right, Salt & Vinegar Chips (I am crunching on them as I write this).. Those who know me well can vouch that I am a S & V lover and besides we can’t be eating too much healthy food, its good to mix it up.

Other than the amazing food that was on offer, dips, curry, pita bread, sweets, sausages, party pies, hot dogs, salad, chips and drinks (just to name a few) it wasn’t just my stomach that benefited as this lunch gave us a chance to socialise and get to know each other on a more personal level.

Exegesis – Community Radio and the transition to digital

Radio has an extremely persuasive nature in our everyday lives. Currently there is a revival of interest in the radio services in Australia which coincides with the growth of new media technologies. More than ever before Australians trust radio as it as a medium that the public turn to in cases of emergency, hard hitting-news and current affairs. It is a technology that offers strong opinion, talk back, a variety of music, topics and segments targeted at all ages. It is an easy listening medium that is used and cherished by millions of Australians.

 

The community radio sector fulfils a broad and particularly unacknowledged role in the Australian media landscape despite the fact that it has developed as Australia’s third media sector. Its role is to provide a diverse range of services that meet community needs. Community broadcasting stations are strongly committed to providing local news and information, the promotion of local and Australian artists, arts and culture and the opportunity to provide training in media skills. There is no doubt that digital radio is the next generation in radio however it is worth acknowledging how community radio stations are going to adapt to the onset of digital broadcasting. The commercial radio industry, the ABC and SBS have been quick to join forces to establish the necessary infrastructure to deliver digital radio to Australian listeners, as to these broadcasters digital radio is the most significant development since FM radio.

 

The coming of digital radio technology being introduced in Australia will bring a number of challenges for community broadcasters. The concern in the community radio sector is that minimal budgets will see individual stations unable to extend to all the new infrastructure required to commence digital broadcasting.

These are the reasons and motivations behind the intention of producing a radio based research project. I have formulated a project abstract in order to guide and direct me in creating a practical research study into how digital radio will affect community radio stations.

 

Project Abstract: How will two key players in Melbourne’s community radio sector adjust to the inception of digital broadcasting? Public and commercial radio have been quick to adapt to the new technology and have begun to venture into digital domain In comparison to community radio who has not yet embraced digital radio having a unique funding system and specific broadcasting values.Having one of the largest community radio sectors in the world, Melbourne’s community radio stations (3RRR and 3CR ) two of its biggest players can provide interesting case studies on the move to digital radio.How these two stations adapt to digital may test and give understanding for other community broadcasters.

 

Theoretical framework:

I will be creating a radio based research project. I intend to interview and discuss the topic of digital radio and the effects it will have on community radio stations/broadcasters. There will be many topics that will be discussed and looked at in depth such as funding/financial implications of digital broadcasting, audience issues (is the audience going to change?),programming and content (how will it be affected?) and volunteer workforce (will there be any changes?).

Research methodology:

This will be Primary Research. This will involve formal and informal interviews,discussions and with myself and other practitioners. To compliment this methodology other research methods will be implemented such as secondary, qualitative, professional and action research.

 Research methods:

 Secondary Research: Is the natural outcome of the project. These will be things such as documents, journals etc. These will be used to conduct and complement the outcomes of primary research.

Qualitative Research: This method will be used to gather information about the effects digital radio will have on a community radio station. It will be done via direct observation, in-depth interviews and analysis of documents and material.

Professional Research: This will be used to look in to the technical aspects of how digital radio works. This research method will also be used for the pod casting component of my project.

Action Research: Will be used to examine and improve the ways of radio based research practice. I will be able to examine the concept of podcasting through the reflection on my own personal experience of the project.

Style & Length: The style of this research project will be a creative yet documentary type piece. It will be presented in 5-6 podcasts of 30 min each on a theme related to the main question.

Application to project: This project is a practical research study into how community broadcasters will be affected by the onset of digital radio.