Radio and Video Active

[x13thfloorrand]

The NY Times has a very good article on the newly visual stimuli that Radio has from webcam's, video streams, in studio camera's, etc.
Kind of 'You-tubing' Radio, with personal videos, clips and snips from remotes, etc.

Is it truly a way to stay relavent?


Link may need registration:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/business/media/14radio.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

 

[SirRoxalot]

The Face of Radio

Have you LOOKED at the people on-air in radio stations? There are exceptions, but MOST of them are in radio, not TV, for a reason...

OK, seriously, there have been some people who have translated well both on radio and TV, but with today's modern studios and automation software, what's the attraction of watching a jock watching the automation work and surfing the web for bits? IF they're allowed to do bits in the first place, that is.

Morning shows and/or local events streamed via webserver might add to the non-traditional revenue stream, but I don't see radio stations revamping their programming lineup to compete with MTV, VH1, or the dozens of TV channels who can do it better. Doing decent video requires more than a webcam and a couple of extra lights in the studio.

That's not to say that broadcasting companies might not expand in that direction as IPTV becomes more widely accepted. It just isn't likely to be that closely related to their radio offerings.

 

[rdcuffpa1]

The NY Times has a very good article on the newly visual stimuli that Radio has from webcam's, video streams, in studio camera's, etc.
Kind of 'You-tubing' Radio, with personal videos, clips and snips from remotes, etc.

Is it truly a way to stay relavent?


Link may need registration:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/business/media/14radio.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

We are having a discussion about this over in the 'swprograms' (shortwave programming strategies) e-group that I run (see http://www.hard-core-dx.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms).

Our very short answer over there is that, no, this is not radio, because radio requires the listener to engage their mind in order to visualize what he or she is hearing... espousing radio as a "theater of the mind".

It's one thing for a program like Prairie Home Companion or Whad'ya Know to invite audiences to the program, because the program remains a craft targeting the ears. Even here in PA, our WBEN analog (WAEB) has its morning show on a cable TV channel, but it, too, is designed to be voyeuristic -- you are watching something being craft for an audio audience.

The trend highlighted in the NYT article is for radio programs to morph into video programs that also have an audio track. Something like CNN as it airs on Sirius / XM. The visual references are lost on a radio listener.

If, however, this is what commercial radio stations feel they have to do in order to compete, then that will further drive radio listeners to alternative programming that stimulates the ears, and will likely further hasten the decline of commercial radio.

My two cents...

Richard in Allentown, PA

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

I'd hate like hell to have people see what I do when I'm on the radio.

Check this wacked-out routine and tell me that other jocks aren't as O-C.

Spraying the counter top and wiping faders down with de-natured alcohol or Windex (kind of like My Big Fat Greek Wedding) just to minimize colds. Re-positioning the RE-20 a half dozen times during a shift. Dealing (politely) with contest callers who insist they can't get through as caller number 10 or 15 to win contests (even though they do.)

Honestly, how exciting would it be to see me multi-tasking, editing phoners on the Short-Cut, recording Select-A-Set calls and cleaning them up in Cool Edit... digging through Scott Studios to tighten up an EOM or knock down a level on a spot that's too hot... swearing like a sailor trying to track down a missing commercial that was mis-numbered and calling the traffic department to find out if that ***** commercial has finally been updated...

Right, not very.

It'd be downright riveting to watch jocks scan The Weather Channel, CNN, MSNBC or CNBC to keep up with what's going on in the world, or checking the wire, which of course, is no longer a wire but AP On-Line.

How about watching jocks audition an intro half a dozen times just to make sure the liner fits in over the 7 second intro without crashing the vocal.

Listeners-viewers would thrill to see me covering the ceiling heat duct in order to minimize the cold air coming from outside that doesn't get heated until the end of my show (shift.)

I once worked with a guy who vacuumed the freakin' studio every day without missing a beat, never crushed a vocal and always had a snappy line for an intro.

It'd be a thrill to see jocks read the morning paper, highlighting stuff in yellow that I might want to mention as show-prep.

How interesting it would be to see sales people come in and talk to the jock about a promotion or remote?

Or how about when the sales guy "borrows" the newspaper because he's pulling a Seinfeld and taking it to the men's room for an extended "reading session?" Please, DON'T bring it back to the studio...

It might me mildly amusing to hear-see jocks talking to callers on the phone, occasionally hitch their my trousers, decide whether they're going to do the next break sitting or standing... blow (but never pick) their nose, gargle and hack a big one into the waste basket...

Or the highlight of the day, eating lunch!

God, I'm so glad there ISN'T a camera in our air studio!

 

[Element9]

God, I'm so glad there ISN'T a camera in our air studio!

After reading that description, so are we.

 

[Debaser]

I worked for a station back in '67 that had built a showcase studio and therefore made their jocks wear a jacket and tie, just in case clients or dignitaries (?) came in and could automatically see through the enormous lobby windows into the studio. Talk about a stiff and uncomfortable atmosphere!

Today, of course, we have many stations with storefront windows onto the street where the air staff is more like fish in a bowl than talent working whatever craft they are allowed to work under the oppressive conditions that are Big Box Radio.

But with the advent of web cams, the new generation is getting very used to being watched, and, apparently to watching. And that's what this new technology is about. It makes no difference that what goes on in a radio studio is boring as hell for those of us who have experienced it. Web casting radio is simply a means of communicating the medium to a generation that is basically eschewing radio for other methods of getting entertained aurally.

Whether or not this tactic works remains to be seen, but it is thinking that is outside the box, and therefore should be encouraged, lest nobody from generation next ends up knowing even what radio is.

PS-Pasterick is a neat freak? Ah, I wish my memory were that detailed so I could give you all stories that would enhance or refute what he says.

 

[alw]

For a limited time I would sit and watch Don Imas broadcasting on cable TV from his Tax Exemption Camp out west to see how he did things and what gear they used to do it.

I stopped watching when Imas started stuffing giant bagels into his mouth and chewing while he spoke into the mike, the bagel forming a revolting pouch that wobbled around as he spoke.

HE is indeed made for radio!

 

[alw]

For a limited time I would sit and watch Don Imas broadcasting on cable TV from his Tax Exemption Camp out west to see how he did things and what gear they used to do it.

I stopped watching when Imas started stuffing giant bagels into his mouth and chewing while he spoke into the mike, the bagel forming a revolting pouch that wobbled around as he spoke.

HE is indeed made for radio!

[size=10pt][size=10pt]OK OK it's IMUS.....now get off my back![/size][/size]

 

[SirRoxalot]

Speaking of Imus...

Would you really want to watch Howard Stern if he didn't have (semi) naked women on his show?

Do you watch Howard Stern on cable, even though he has (semi) naked women on his show?

Do you really want to see most of the morning shows in town without makeup, in sweats, with "bed-head"?

Do you think on-air people want the boss - let alone corporate - to be able to watch them on demand?

Putting up video of special events, or special appearances might be of interest, but you need decent video equipment, lighting, and somebody with talent to make it worth watching. If broadcasters are willing to spend the money to do it right, fine. If not, it won't take long for people to determine that the video isn't worth watching.

 

[Radknowski]

Speaking of Imus... Would you really want to watch Howard Stern if he didn't have (semi) naked women on his show?

No. And I didn't watch him all that much when he had naked women on. Most of the women who appeared on his show were grotesque and in a strange way, pathetic figures, seeming to believe that having large breasts and disrobing for the King Of All Media validated them. Stern knew how to push the right buttons and promote himself and his freak show. The curious thing is, he proved himself to be very entertaining and reasonably well-read when he addressed issues striaght on.

Do you really want to see most of the morning shows in town without makeup, in sweats, with "bed-head"?

"Bed-head," nice. What, no suits and tuxedos? By the way, does the "no makeup" comment refer to guys?

Do you think on-air people want the boss - let alone corporate - to be able to watch them on demand?

I think some good points were made early on about just how mundane radio can be. It's almost like that line from the movie, Wizard of Oz. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain..." There's an element of mystery to radio. Radio people tend to think that "everybody knows them." Truth is, probably less than 15% of the entire population has a clue as to just who's who on the radio. And when you talk to people under 18, they couldn't care less. My guess is they're not at all interested in watching Janet Snyder, Larry Norton or Rob Lucas do their acts on the radio.

It might be novel for a few days, but after that, it becomes a parody of itself, like Wayne's World. Plus, don't you think it's better to maintain the little mystery that remains to radio? Let people use their imaginations. Nobody has to see that somebody like Janet is way out of the Kiss demo and might be better suited doing the Star morning show.

As to Imus... he's (to use one of his words) a "hideous" looking old lizard. Cowboy hat, turkey neck flapping around, bitter scowl and long stringy hair, under a constant rain cloud. Spare me. He's the kind of person who, if he wasn't doing a nationally syndicated radio show, you'd have no interest in talking to. He looks more like a panhandler. Hard enough to watch NOT chewing on a bagel or giving the chewing gum a double action workout. Hideous.

 

[Element9]

As to Imus... he's (to use one of his words) a "hideous" looking old lizard. Cowboy hat, turkey neck flapping around, bitter scowl and long stringy hair...

Hey, getting old is a bitch... the guy's been getting up at 4 a.m. for forty years. Sure, he looks like roadkill, but at least he's still kickin'... and not everybody can have hair like Dan Neaverth.

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