Read this: BBC Local Radio during the pandemic

The radiator day programme was broadcast bionics hello, I'm Stuart Clarkson coming up this week will hear how BBC local radio is coping with and covering the coronavirus crisis Chris Burns is on to tell us about some of the things they've been doing across the in England and she'll tell us why they standardise their schedules across the network as well and David Lloyd's radio moments later commercial radio arrives in Wolverhampton and poetically on the Isle of Wight BBC local radio goes hyperlocal and memories of the radiophonic workshop today's founder and Martin back on the show after week off last week at how's your lockdown going right? You know what is going alright? It's going fine.

I'm not one of these but I've got absolutely nothing to do and I'm going through the

Anybody with the family will know there's more work to be done during these times of lockdown, but yeah, it's going good.

I'm safe.

I'm I'm fit and well.

I don't know but I'm certainly well and it's all good.

It's all good and still business as usual at this end.

How about you exactly yeah? I seem to have been on zoom more than any other thing on my computer on my meetings or quizzes are all sorts of things we did the radio quiz as well as Sweden way the the the Sam Bailey and 7 to put together.

Yeah, I'm good.

Thank you today is a good experience eventually got going with the usual zoom problems at a couple of nights after one of my nan radio friends said how about of the pub tonight? I was like you know what I'm done instead of the music artists.

What's the things that you might see Gary Barlow's channel is got lots of famous people and the Chris Moyles show put out a Kaiser Chiefs video this week with them singing about being locked down and discuss to fly to me and my friend Andrea Alfred Andrea who works at the beeb of Dunstable songs online as well.

It'd be playing the piano and her singing so if anybody's remotely interested in watching those you can see there's a studio FM something thanks for your interest so I don't watch that is great that you should watch it.

You should watch it if you get a moment quiet moments on your own but I would electrocute to John Myers and so beautifully so well loved up as I say for the playlist it's Tudor I think there's a second plug that right.

Let's talk about some radio stuff then at furloughing going on all over the place across commercial ready at the moment was.

Refreshing my email as we speak looking for some news from the BBC about freelancers and that's due in the next few days as to what support they are going to give them and we heard from the all-party parliamentary group on Commercial ready as well this week, but they've put out a warning to the government that they need some help for commercial radio stations and saying some of them could be closing within months if you don't get more help want some support with transmission cost see what the government spend more on advertising campaigns on the radio with commercial radio as well so trying times for lots of individuals and come at the moment.

It's all good getting help with the employees and they can feel all them, but it's everything else is the cost of don't stop like the use of the transmission the rent on the building is a big thing so yeah, it's going to hit radio hard and let's hope we can survive on the inside of the report did say that.

Radio stations make clothes as a result of this, so let's hope they don't maybe one of the options is to like love Sports has done.

They can literally pause and then come back once it's all so who knows what the outcome of this is going to be but let's hope it's good and yeah.

We talked about Community Radio couple of weeks ago on the podcast since then the CMA of said that it's stations can take BBC local radio content from their area, so are you been looking into this a bit robots that mean does that mean they're just put the output on from a BBC local radio stations near them or can I use some content scenario if you're not very technical as you can literally fade up the news button at the top of the car and then paid out again a few minutes later, but there's actually a system being set up on a Drop for every BBC local radio station.

The country is putting the hourly News Bulletin be that for five minutes long and as soon as that's finished airing.

They've literally chopping up and put it in Dropbox

By 10 past the hour does a an hourly news Bolton that can be played even or you're on half hour or be chopped up and used with credits during the day so it's good the BBC locals have done.

This is the systems in place and it both the future.

I think it was this is all done.

Just that physical connection between BBC vocals and radio stations, so that can be used in the future going forward for any other projects that come along so yeah good thing.

I know some in the past of a kind of on an ad hoc basis having a community radio stations got insurance with BBC local radio stations, but as you say doing it right across the country is probably going to be a helpful thing for cleaning ready at the moment and potentially going forward as well as obviously at publicly paid for content the licence fee with him about BBC local radio in a little bit with Chris Burns on the podcast about their at response to the coronavirus crisis as some other coronavirus related radio news.

Greatest Hits radio this week and started a new evening show at a can of late night show at 10 at night and it's cold all together now.

They're aiming to create a sense of old-fashioned community spirit represented by Alex Lester and paid for by the audio content fund good idea because they're just doing a Shell on a radio station which already has a light show at the only difference is that Alex Lester is doing instead of Sean who normally does the show I thought the audio content fund about specialist shows and documentaries on one-off little micro features, but this appears to be a radio show that is normally on so the money for this is being sent in power on getting it to the production companies getting it Alex will still be paid by Bauer so it's literally just the production company is getting paid.

Make extra production and extra features for a late night radio show hosted by Alex instead of Sean so bit weird yeah a bit weird as you say could be something power might have just spent their own money on but this part of money is here and it's for this kind of thing so there is saying they going to feed you feel good stories life hacks experts from medicine and fitness and college in cookery no such things like that.

It's essentially sounds like an old style ILR good morning show or a BBC local radio show but on a commercial radio network and it's time to let the old now.

I don't know how many old people that are awake at 10 at night and 4 in the morning.

This is something that probably should be on during the day, but yeah, I'm sure I'm sure there's a reason and I'm sure somebody will tell us about it after hearing about this and we not heard the show yet cuz they're recording Tuesday night at the first one goes out late tonight, so we will.

Call back.

I'm sure and then allocate about £130000 of this latest audio content fund round for coronavirus type content a virtual Strawberry Fair some commercial and community stations in around Cambridge sporting programmes on fun kids some community stations of teaming up for some programs made by the over 70 names of the over 70s as well, so there's some nice were the stuff going on paid for out of public funding from the audio content fund and over the weekend was a load of music stuff to barrowden as well.

So Jazz FM had a little jazz festival at the front room festival absolute kiss first lockdown sessions on Kerrang and Planet Rock and scala radio sessions live as well, so as you say it's about the stuff around the radio output.

They can if you know the production of it that is coming from this phone.

So it yeah, they're all things perhaps the barrel could have done but might have taken a big investment and at a time when there are.

The money is down it makes sense to use this public money to do that.

Yeah.

Let me just mention a couple of things that aren't using public money but are available for radio stations to use that health information ready-made a website at at radio content dot co.uk and they have some audio that you can download and play me a radio station and also our friends at Radio news hub are creating 10-minute Roundup ready for 7 every night to be broadcast on any radio station free of charge after 7 at night and you can find out more by getting out with the guys at Radio news hub, and I have listened to it and it's really good.

It's basically tells you what's your round everything up from last 24-hours, so if you fancy that on your PlayStation get in touch with the Isaac radio music super.

Let's talk about some non coronavirus news and other has been quite a bit this week actually small scale DAB plans move further forward.

Kind of we don't know when they're gonna start licensing them yet, but I've gone and said this is our plan.

Yeah, it's going to be quite a few areas does 25 areas being advertised first we presume point in the next six months they include five of the 10 areas that are already of licensed on the trial boxes so that is Cambridge Glasgow Birmingham Bristol and Norwich and 20 of the areas which will get advertised first and on how the Chosen them, but I'm sure the science behind it.

They saying it 9 months to due process.

So if they start saying 3 months than a year from now.

We'll get the first licences awarded and then I got 18 months to get on the air, so worst case scenario two-and-a-half years from now.

We'll have the first extra mini box on the air and whole thing will take about 506 years to come.

Speed is not the word here but at least we're moving forward very slowly I'm going to end up with what couple of hundred of these small-scale multiplexers as well.

I think by the sounds of it rounds of 25 stations approximately around 200 by the end of the launch and they don't give up their licences and there's not more interest so yeah, and they are originally was going to be DAB Plus or it was suggested that they would only be DAB plus, but now that's not the case when they find the make the decision it can be anything and there's going to be having three slots at least three slots reserved for the community style station as well.

Ok.

We will watch that one with interest over the coming months as you say little now depend on the current situation as to when they start off that licensing round but until other people in in certain areas ready to go with their applications a couple of bits of programming use Freddie Flintoff Andrew Flintoff cricketer former cricketer has joined talkSPORT breakfast.

You'll be on with Laura Woods Monday to Wednesday because most recently at doing something for five live including her a podcast that was very successful and smooth chill as I think it was just on motorbikes before that's now been added to National DAB so it's available all over the country and the hospital broadcasting Awards hospital, Broadcasting Association radio place over the Easter weekend.

You can see that flavour of some of the winners at radio today.co.uk and broccoli broccoli.

Is that node after vegetable? It's on the same site as radio banana at the things to listen to Over the Easter weekend Virgin Radio UK at put out a tribute programme covering the life and career of Pete Mitchell with lots of musicians on that and radio.

I think as well represented by Chris Evans so I will have listened to that at some point.

I'll look it up on the Virgin website and it was put together and we are very sad to hear recently of the death of a pioneer of commercial radio Lord Gordon Jimmy Gordon at one of the phone is the radio Clyde in the 1970s it was chief exec of srh.

91-96 and then stayed on as its chair for another 9 years or so until the company was sold to a map in 2005.

So it's very sad news that Jimmy Gordon passed away recently that we normally talk about events that are coming up but everything is on at the moment all the festivals and awards and everything obviously the hospital broadcasting what happened virtually I think there is a virtual demo factor.

That would have been happening as part of the stream radio conference is that this week? We should be there now.

I should be at the student radio conference this week, but that as you say has been cancelled for this year, but radiodays Europe is taking place.

Are so good on the 13th of December in Lisbon hopefully we will be there to bring it to register teams to the 15th of December provided that were allowed out the house by then.

Hopefully will be fingers crossed right nice catch up with you will see you again next week and stick around for David Lloyd radio moments and also Chris Burns from BBC local radio is on the programme next programme with broadcast bionics creators of The Bionic studio listening watching reacting to and learning from every spoken word Kolo sweet and SMS to a mix and lock and understand your content the bionic studio transforms everything about radio except the way you make it last few weeks.

I've looked at how different bits of the radio industry of coping and covering the coronavirus crisis including Community Radio hospital radio commercial radio and BBC Network radio last week as well.

What time we going to find out a bit more about what's going on at BBC local radio at Chris Burns is the head of audio and digital for BBC England that means she's in charge of the 39 local radio stations across the country to podcast Chris so I've seen some figures and you getting what 5000 calls a day and a half thousand text messages a day in to BBC local radio at the moment lots of hot morning stories as well, so as usual BBC local radio is shining in a crisis crisis has been phenomenal because they had to cope with an awful.

Lot of change as our audience with notice on the first thing we did was we wanted to ensure that we could broadcast locally for as long as possible and we weren't in this crisis started.

Going to be impacted in terms of staff being unable to work because they were all remembering the family was ill, so we decide to standardise and focus suppose around some of the core principles of local radio which are around local news information and also community and make a difference initiative was really putting a badge on if you like, what local radio does a lot of it anyway, which what's going on within communities and it's a virtual notice board and tapping and I suppose that we'll Desire for milk honest that has emerged in this crisis.

We are able to work but different groups and individuals with those groups for may need help and you.

Since we started and hers and started some amazing stories.

That's in what kind of on occasions feel a very dark period I'm actually been quite heartwarming and made you think we'll actually there is good coming out of all of this.

Yeah, I suppose it's not new for the BBC to be there in a crisis particularly at a level.

I remember 20 years ago.

There was a BBC connecting in a crisis document that I was using as part of training and you know that's what BBC local radio is therefore whether it's floods or whatever kind of Christ is it might be so presumably you had plans on the shelf to be able to get things happen quite quickly on the shelf of course.

We've never had to cope with anything like that 19 local radio has always been fantastic in a crisis and you know we look up over last six months, we've had.

Sheffield with and have the floods across Yorkshire within the floods in Hereford Worcester Gloucester you know we've had an awful on a horse's but this was completely different because this was impacting everybody are also giving the story as well as reporting on this so why some ideas of how we might go we have had to work so we have more people working from home.

We have more people from home within the office of technology in very different ways so that for example a morning meetings will involve home workers as well as those with office simplify schedules because we weren't sure how many people would be able to come in so although we are.

Very good at coping with crises if you like we haven't ever had to cope with a global pandemic and have local would respond to that.

I think really interesting is this is a global pandemic, but it's brought home the importance of local this and how local the sleeves react some of the stories in Nottingham who unfortunately was suffering from cancer and he was risking his health everyday by going out to the shops in touch with a group that can do the shopping for him.

It was a houseworker in Devon unfortunately they car broke when I get to work and somebody from their local radio station was able to find someone who can fix their car, so they could carry on working.

We had literally hundreds and hundreds of stories like that every single day running all radio stations and those are kind of the positive things have come from this sorts of things that very often happen when recovering from major weather events in our areas and the other thing about local radio been said when this happens with the first on the scene that story on the last to me that they're taking the scene and that's what local radio is doing through covid-19 and obviously the kind of crisis.

It is we've got a lot of people who can't leave their homes.

You know people who live on their own particularly elderly and vulnerable people sometimes do not speak to anybody for several days and maybe 4 weeks so radio stations like those in the BBC local radio network providing company as well completely radio London as you know they have carried on Broadcasting

And I was listening couple of weeks ago now and there was woman who came on and she was probably in her 70s television company with the radio and for her her radio was linked to the rest of the world.

Just listening to the Pear Tree on Radio London this morning and they've been discussing loneliness and the number of people who are they were coping with loneliness during this particular crisis and how actually keeping in touch with people virtually was really I kind of Life saving for them as they try to establish themselves in a people whose taken up gardening and growing things on the gardening and the garden because that was kind of keeping the back to or they will learn.

Baby just come to me.

They were actually rather messaging people by text or WhatsApp I picking up the phone having a conversation so all these things I think I'm being surface local radio stations and a virtual community and the number of times you know I've listened to the radio and I'm really glad you doing what you doing that really makes it all worthwhile and in terms of strategy over the last few months, but since you've been posted you been bringing a new presenters to BBC local radio perhaps heritage commercial radio stations in the particular areas and this is all part of a drive to get your audience age a little bit younger in BBC local radio.

I wondered whether during the crisis whether you've learnt anything about the audience.

Is you actually getting and whether it changes how you target your radio stations going forward but we need to target.

Audience in the radio, I think what I have said is I want local radio to have a broad cross-section of the audience as you possibly can and what we probably need to do within our radio stations is to create entry points for light of the sins of you like and they may well be younger listeners that I think through initiatives.

Is there a long time BBC music introducing upload has been another way of doing that and also seen some of that come through the new still within our current schedule as well some of those voices.

Are there another way younger audiences.

I actually it is very true which McGregor traditionally does incredibly well and indeed.

They still doing some of that even though there is no sport people still want to talk about recognising that within our output.

But I think what this is reminded me of and this has been a cornerstone of local radio since I started and indeed it was first launched by Frank Gillard all those years ago is that reminded people of the importance of local and the importance of community that sense of community is going to be driving the particular crisis because it brings us together when all this is over.

You know I think I want to see things like naked difference carry on watching BBC Essex the video they did something last Thursday when they had young children dancing on the doorstep to support the NHS and the work and it was a short thing was a lovely thing to see you know the dancing with all the time but that didn't matter it was just because of that.

But also it was a moment whether we were all coming together from those local radio stations and the audience is actually from a BBC local radio presenter early made the point very well that you know at the idea that stations have to be titled narrowly is ridiculous.

That's a bit old fashioned because you know you're making radio for people rather than trying to milk a day graphic for appetizers like crab commercial radio stations are David Lloyd had a Blog this week.

I don't know what the story and he was pointing out their 13 million radio listeners in the UK who are in their 60s and 70s at which is obviously a sizeable number of people presumably then you're going to be fantastic if we ever get any for this period important things to do at the moment is to provide really good useful information and local news to an audience that need.

And you know I think again one of the things that we've learnt or learnt is age now doesn't have quite the same sense that maybe at the years ago when you spoke yesterday and the pictures of in training for his latest Tour but you wouldn't necessarily see himself as somebody he sees himself as being somebody is very rare some of the Impressions we have an older people are when you kind of park and think about actually what's great radio from local audience and provide the best possible programming we can.

And I just want to ask you as well.

We've had some concerns sent in to us here at Radio today from some freelance presenters.

Obviously you tell us about the schedule standardization and the people that have lost their local radio shows perhaps people who don't have a contract or they contracts coming up soon and they're telling as they've not been told if there'll ever be back on there or when they might be back on is there any help for those people to work to help support freelancers contractual relationships.

We will take from whatever the other thing to stress for freelancers is know the schedule.

We currently have is a temporary schedule.

That's been introduce to cope with a unique set of four.

And we're not doing this right.

That's the schedule is going to be there for a year and a day you know that's there forever more.

That's not what it's about this was introduced because we wanted to maintain local list.

I know that means that we lost some of the specialist music programme that people enjoy and not saying that the specialist music programme won't come back at the end of this week.

I pause and we need kind of think about our schedules and how to serve our audience best.

You know there are a lot of people out there really want a local radio the currently not on it and I'm really grateful for the work.

They've done previously and I look forward to seeing the back on it in terms of their payments as the BBC decides to century.

The kind of regular lessons for some of those older listeners, you need the company and the entertainment at the moment so that being replaced by a news program or an informative program might make them go elsewhere for them to the things.

We try to do particularly late night in the evenings is offer programming which has got real companionship and if I was talking today and Northampton has never known a time when he's had more contact audience and he's getting at the moment.

We are offering.

I think companionship programming where we can but I do think that the focus for good local news information and information about what's going on in my community is the prime Focus fire stations at the moment and finally a wider point about all this working from home.

Have you been somebody working Network radio as well, we're seeing national presenters and local presenters all doing programs from home at from the spare room or wherever is this setting something up teacher that actually we're not going to need as an industry as many radio buildings and radio Studios because actually people can do it or remotely I think it's a really interesting question and I suspect that we will work in a very different way when things returned to normal what we don't have when people work from home is quite the same level of broadcasters audience says the word if you are in a building was purpose-built for that, so there's always a risk there certainly I think it's something that we will want to look at and could revolutionize the way we work in the future, but I think you know.

At the moment is making sure that we are making programs of the highest quality possible for audiences and also ensuring the all our cells are able to work safely out whether they're working from home or working in the office.

You know I'm focusing down.

I'm being local that needs to be the focus for the moment and then will think Chris thanks for everything all your team to doing to keep people updated locally during the crisis of BBC local radio radio moments are still to come first a quick reminder about cleanfeed.

If you haven't tried it during these lockdown days and you got a bit of spare time on your hands now.

They get it all up and running and it's a great way to connect in studio quality between two remote places where you doing a podcast or I need to get on the air for your radio show.

Fabulous as well in normal times for OBS it's really simple to use quality is great and even record within the browser with some of the pro features as well clean feed won't cost you anything to get started.

It will just take 30 seconds to sign up and you'll be on your first live interview or recording over the internet.

Just buy a browser within minutes find out more about it clean feed dog once again from the radio archives what happened this week in years gone by 10 years ago this week the BBC reported the most radio stations in Somalia had stopped playing music on the orders of Islam insurgents who claim that songs were on Islamic even jingles disappeared replaced by sound effects of vehicles birds and gunfire possibly.

UK new singles we have now there we go censorship is pretty rare here and a free UK but 50 years ago this week and offshore station was jammed by the British government enable transmitter was deployed to pump out of town across the signal of the pirate are n i.

I think that's another there are no itself wasn't very happy a reminder British government the low frequency and friends and allegations must be investigated by the internet communications Union in Geneva that's the body that controls all European frequencies and prevents Nations having a complaint with other nations in the legal method of investigating the alleged interference rather than the Chosen already and taxpayer has to provide notary West Virginia free broadcasting station evening times of War The Catalyst for the jamming was the interference and I was said to be causing to overseas broadcasters but later.

General became more intense as the station changed it's name and began to broadcast messages supporting the conservatives in the June election of 1970 protested about the noise and the association of pirate stations threatened to retaliate by Tony Blackburn programs on the BBC Radio arrived on the Isle of Wight originally just on am listen to this.

I'm broader than greater than magic flue on wood Lansing on Amazon churches across Gardens and some Canvey Island last limit on the border of bonus Waters I stand with.

Through the magic in 118 and the music is spells all cards all Darkness and hovering between the island and magic day I like the Ireland to live it's quiet and relaxing place to live and not so much hustle and bustle is the mainland will the Ireland to me is phone.

I was born here and to me it's attraction isn't it's just a bit out of the rat race not isolated by then loads of places had commercial radio.

I don't like this week in 1976 when it looked as though commercial radios growth had ended the 19th station of the network.

The last one for the time being launched in Wolverhampton to start with the music which obviously is an interest to the vast majority of our business people have been the custom to on radio channel in the going to split our music into four categories singles albums supagold, or Aldi's and breakers the singles will to a large extent reflect national single cells are the same time also show the front of the people that work for Beacon the Albums will be much longer same line.

They all goes well.

Obviously like to taste that all of us have had over the years from 1956 to enter the market and the breakers will be a chance for new material material from the area and across from all over the world a chance for new artists have to find out blood type of music will be like tomorrow in the list.

How deep are you going to involve yourself in the local community as deeply as a local community give me a chance because it is very much up to Beacon for Wolverhampton in the Black Country launching in the sunny days of 76 from the BBC has experimented with very small stations often opting out from their established local stations this week in 1989 an offshoot on BBC WM Birmingham for today as an opt-out IT lasted 2 years, but had some pretty nice jingles this week and 32 years ago comedy or ingestion a.m.

Frequency from Radio Bristol good morning come along to the very first breakfast show here on BBC Somerset Sound coming to you, please from a studio in Taunton Help From My Friends yes, I'm

I'll be popping up throughout the program with the live reports from our brand new studio in the heart of Yeovil at the moment.

We're getting ready to cut the most unusual birthday cake.

I've ever seen and heard this week 83 we had an alternative from BBC Radio Scotland good morning.

This is BBC Radio tweed broadcasting to the borders on FM frequencies on Friday 11th of October was Bernard Wilson and Bob budgies today's weather Dublin to misty start to the day with visibility down to 100 yards in places and the headlines this morning defence secretary Tom radio Tweed and it'll be interesting to see whether the BBC ever does more for smaller Communities hyperlow radio audio not least because the covid-19 just maybe if I'm understanding about audio can be generated so flexibly I thinking of that tweed news jingle brings to mind that this.

Synthesizer days of 1958 the BBC radiophonic workshop opened its doors the radiophonic workshop was based in the BBC Maida Vale Studios creating sound often from very unlikely sources particularly for BBC drama stations sick tunes themes, it's birth was thanks to definitely aurum and Desmond Briscoe definitely had began the BBC work during the war she was a music balance and also there was famously Delia Derbyshire already in real life then we can go and recorded for the short drive from the sound of a short while being plucked.

And then all we have to do is cut the notes the right length.

We can join them together on and listen to BBC Radio 4 workshop opening this week 62 years ago it closed in 1998 so with Ed Stewart last Regular Show on Radio 2 14 years ago.

Thanks for listening all these years on 88-91 FM this is Radio 2 from the BBC by King wanting to East Yorkshire North Lincolnshire 36 years ago.

It's my pleasure to be with you each morning between 7 and 10 and can I have in the next 30 minutes will be looking at the latest travel and traffic news play very first Viking competition that Treasure Trail will also be keeping you in the know with all the local have names and playing some great music as well FM radio station.

Capital buying the century stations 20-years ago at the first singles chart combining physical release sales with legal downloads 15 years ago the official chart Mrs Radio 1 chart show with JK and Joel thank you David and Soraya course and my guess this week Chris Burns from BBC local radio and thank you to you stay safe and we'll speak next week Today programme broadcast bionics.