Subscribe by email, free
James Cridland - radio futurologist
Calling a listener to check they're okay

Calling a listener to check they're okay

· 2.5 minutes to read

This article is at least a year old

Happy holidays. I’m in the middle of Australia’s strange six-week radio self-mutilation process, where I don’t recognise a single voice on-air and everything comes from thousands of miles away (for the elderly, it must feel like all your friends have left you). I spent Christmas morning on ABC Local Radio, above, being interviewed about smart speakers.

  • In the US, NPR is changing the way it charges affiliate fees - and that change is away from broadcast radio audience numbers. More evidence of change.

  • In the UK, Communicorp’s only brand of its own, XS Manchester, is to close. Not really a surprise, this: I could never see the strategy of this company - which rebroadcasts local Heart/Smooth/Capital stations and produces the legally-required local services - having its own station.

  • On BBC bias, this is an interesting view: that it’s less about the reality and more about the perception.

Classifieds: It’s easy to do “that was, this is”, but here’s a £1 week-long trial of Show Prep, from a properly decent radio consultant, that’ll supercharge any radio show.**

Thank you to Rupert Brun, Barrie Stephenson, Cleanfeed and Richard Hilton for your continued support.

Readers and supporters

Keep an eye on radio trends from across the world