17:07 - Saturday 19 February 2011

That’s us done! SRA Midlands is done for 2011!

We hope you’ve enjoyed the day as much as we have – keep your eyes peeled on our website for pictures and more info!

Cheers!

Scratch x

16:53 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Smartphones are the way forward! Broadcast quality, spur of the moment audio. If you go somewhere and find something of interest then you can record it and bring it back home to broadcast. How times change!

16:47 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Why repeat the same thing over again – look at where a story can go. Who else can be speaking about something? What opinions can be polarised? Dig deeper and uncover other things. Like Philip suggests – use Twitter and other social media and do your research, even if it’s looking at Wikipedia. The facts might be wrong, but discussing them could open up other alleyways if the interviwees correction of those facts opens them up.

16:35 - Saturday 19 February 2011

BBC Stoke’s Breakfast Presenter Pete Morgan is giving a really good talk about how news works from his point of view as a ‘from commercial to BBC’ presenter.

16:31 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Pete Morgan, our final speaker, who works for BBC Radio Stoke is on stage

16:28 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Really interesting talk from Philip Churm (@thechurm) from BBC Asian Network, about how you can be a journalist for very little money. If a story’s worth covering, there’s ways of making it happen in this day and age.

iPhones make it increasingly easy to get voxes (specifically using apps like AudioBoo) and that audio can be recorded and sent to air within minutes. Citizen journalism is also a valuable form of content for larger organisations – being first on scene and tweeting details or sending images to flickr are modern ways of working.

15:39 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Not so bad! Loads of good, positive criticism and surely this is the best forum for advice

15:04 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Sacha went from presenting on Choice FM, through to Galaxy before starting a network show. When Galaxy became Capital she came home to the Midlands to do drive.

In contrast to James, she doesn’t feel constrained as a presenter by the rigid format and short links. She see’s Capital as a brand that she’s part of, and a fast paced station. To have 3 minute links would mean listeners losing interest. Why follow what ‘works’ – why not create the next way of doing things?

14:51 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Sacha Brookes is on – she presents The Virgin Media Home Run on Capital Birmingham.

She’s talking about her love of the medium and how she started in the industry – proof it’s not all about grades and degrees.

14:43 - Saturday 19 February 2011

RIGHT! Answers are in! Let’s see who wins!

First team suggest integrating Foursquare to go on a treasure hunt.

The second (US!) suggest a golden ticket hunt with the winner getting the tickets.

Next we’ve got banners and slogans – best one wins

Glenda the Glasto cow’s in at 4 – complete with cowcam and a speech bubble sayin’ what she’s thinkin’! Text it to the studio and you win.

Final group have possibly THE most thought out idea EVER to do with burying capsules and finding them. Serious planning!

14:24 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Split into groups and working out the most creative way to shift 2 Glasto tickets on air! Any suggestions are welcome to help us win

14:13 - Saturday 19 February 2011

…..and we’re back! Time to squeeze in a quick impromptu session from The Pips! Danielle Porter is teaching us how to be more creative when we’re making programmes

13:09 - Saturday 19 February 2011

AMAZING talk from James Walshe – now it’s time for lunch! Back soon!

12:55 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Radio producing is a thankless – but incredibly rewarding task. Having producers on air rarely works because they then start to exist to make the presenter look good.

12:46 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Very few listeners have their radio on all day long. Where as some station management think it’s essential to retain listeners.

Radio 2 is the biggest station in the UK. They don’t have high rotations and presenter confinement.

Plus what’s the whole “More Music Mix” slogan about? If you play 1 song I don’t like then you’ve lied to me and lost a listener!

12:41 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Stations have been too slow on the uptake of iPhone and Android apps. They’re the future and the way that people will listen to media.

12:40 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Taking risks causes problems. If you introduce the songs the listening parties have said are like then half of your listeners will enjoy it and half will find another station that plays what they want. If you lose them they might not come back, but that’s the role of the presenter – to guide them through, give them reassurance and encourage them to widen their aspects.

That’s why creative and non-restricted presenters are essential.

12:35 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Really interesting talk from James Walshe about how listeners work for Kerrang! and how they want to do things differently. Kerrang listeners at the listening sessions had huge love for Gramaphonzie and Alicia Keys….so where does that leave them?!

Apparently Kings of Leon had songs before Sex on Fire too

12:27 - Saturday 19 February 2011

James is talking about listener surveys – getting people in a room and asking what they like both in music and programming. People who like Chris Moyles give him hope. It proves people don’t just want 30 second links.

12:14 - Saturday 19 February 2011

“There’s little point in scheduling content for a metal presenter unless you have an in depth knowledge of metal. Sitting in an office and Googleing “best metal songs” won’t create a good show”.

12:12 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Stations like Kerrang!, Xfm and Absolute are unique because they’re out to do something different. The big wigs telling their presenters to shut up, have no personality and do ‘that was, this is” links need to make way for a new wave of people who truly understand the digital age. Kerrang! want to bring back the presenter with an opinion and passion.

The most important skill you can have as a radio presenter is being able to tell a story. Stifiling this is futile. Wacky phone calls and weird competitions don’t cut it any more.

12:08 - Saturday 19 February 2011

“Radio stations aren’t there for personality any more, they’re there for people who ‘like’ music. Very few people LOVE music, they put it on to fill a space. Limiting presenters to 20 second links makes more space for advertising”.

12:06 - Saturday 19 February 2011

James Walshe: “We have to decide; do we NEED three evening presenters, or will one do a credible job? We need to save money and losing millions each year isn’t a viable way to run a business”.

12:04 - Saturday 19 February 2011

Discussion is centering around the idea that “Major ‘heritage’ stations are becoming less and less, and even local stations in many areas are becoming less a part of their city”.

12:01 - Saturday 19 February 2011

The Midlands training day is underway nicely!

Everyone’s sat comfortably and Ben’s introduced the day. Our first speaker’s underway – James Walshe who’s Programme Director at Kerrang Radio and Q Radio in Birmingham.

22:23 - Friday 18 February 2011

T-minus 13 hours until the SRA Midlands Regional Training Day kicks off at Scratch Radio!

Don’t forget that registration begins at 11am tomorrow and then the actual day starts at around 11.45am. If you’d like food, the SU bar are putting on food at a small price so you don’t have to go off campus. There will be more details when you arrive.

We’ve been informed that the trains between Birmingham New Street and Perry Barr stations (the one you need to get to Scratch) may be subject to delays and short-notice cancellations tomorrow due to problems on the line. If that’s the case, we’d suggest either catching a bus or getting a taxi from New Street…

The SU approved taxi company are quite good and relatively cheap. Give Central Cars a call on 0121 356 0000 and get dropped off at the Hare of the Dog pub in Perry Barr, on City North Campus of Birmingham City University. It usually costs around £6 for a normal car from town to the campus.

But, fingers crossed, there won’t be any problems in the morning! You can always follow @LondonMidland on Twitter for updates on their train services. If you do have any trouble finding us tomorrow, feel free to give the Scratch office a call on 0121 331 6831… we’ll be in from about 9am.

That’s all for tonight, but we’re looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow! Don’t forget to bring your demos on CD for The Pips to critique and help out with.

B x

02:25 - Saturday 5 February 2011

There’s nothing happening yet… the training day isn’t for another 2 weeks!