Local Heroes?
These are indeed curious times, for as über radio group Global prepares to roll out another clutch of stations under the Heart brand, its smaller cousin The Local Radio Company has just announced plans to scrap networked shows across its group of stations. Of course, radioheads across the land are thrilled at the prospect and have already been quick to trumpet TLRC as the true saviours of local radio. But hold your horses - I’m not sure it’s quite as simple as that.
You see, with the economy on its knees and ad revenues on the slide, it makes perfect sense to me to cut costs by sharing output wherever possible. It’s obviously something that’s crossed the minds of the great and the good at Global too but over at TLRC, they’ve decided that local radio should be exactly that. So are they ready to buck the trend and dig deep to invest in local output? It would be nice to think so but in the current climate, I think it’s all a bit unlikely.
Instead, I rather fancy the TLRC stations will come to rely on a lean formula of extended live shows, increased automation and cheaper on-air talent. OK, so on paper it might actually be locally-originated programming but will listeners really be getting a better deal? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for local voices on local stations and more job opportunities in Radioland, but in this day and age it can no longer be such an emotional argument because for commercial radio the bottom line really is the bottom line.
Unlike many of my fellow bothers and sisters in radio, I don’t have a problem with the concept of networking per se. For me, the problem comes when network output pretends to be local because generally speaking, the end result is often rather disappointing. It’s neither fish nor fowl - afraid to sound too local and equally afraid to sound any larger. And while technology now offers a whole bag of tricks to enable split breaks, idents and even links to be played out seamlessly on local transmitters, I still can’t help feeling that in this global media age of ours, the time and effort spent perpetuating the illusion of 24/7 local programming purely for the sake of it is all rather pointless.
Way back in my BFBS years, we relied on a mix of local output and networked shows from both London and other BFBS outposts around the globe. Each added value to the output by playing to its own particular strengths. For instance, network output featured big name presenters, specialist music shows and easy access to high-profile guests and contributors, while locally-originated programming brought local colour, flavour and helped create that important sense of belonging to a smaller community. But there was never any subterfuge - listeners always knew what was going on and where all the programmes were coming from - and yet nobody ever seemed to feel short-changed. Now in my book, that isn’t such a bad result.
Networking can have a valuable role to play in the viability of today’s cash-strapped radio market - just so long as it’s more than expanding musical foam squirted liberally into the gaps between local Breakfast and Drive slots. Ask yourself this: would listeners rather hear a well-crafted and properly resourced programme from outside their area during off-peak, or another four in a row played out by computer from the local industrial estate? You won’t need to phone a friend but you may want to ask the audience.
Hey, it simply boils down to being honest with your listeners - drop the act, tell them what’s in the tin and then get on with making the kind of radio they’ll really want to hear, whether it comes from London, Macclesfield or the Moon.
As for TLRC? Well, it may have escaped your notice but over the past year or so, they’ve been slowly scaling down their presence in the sector and I suspect this new initiative may be a little less about championing local output and a bit more about neatly parcelling up individual stations ready for market. Only time will tell.
And now…back to the records.
Tags: Commercial Radio, Global, Local Radio, Programming, Radio, TLRC