Video in radio studios, and the DAB pirates are here

• Adam Bowie posts a very useful blog about getting video right in radio studios. I’d add: you can easily spot the stations who have video in there as an afterthought, and stations who designed their studios with camera angles in mind. Getting lighting and camera angles right, and making it rather more showbiz, is important. What’s also important, by the way, is ensuring that you don’t lose video opportunities when you’re doing outside broadcasts - make sure you get that sorted too.

• The Competition and Markets Authority has cleared the purchase by Global of three of the biggest outdoor advertising companies. This possibly represents a pivot in Global’s strategy from being an entertainment company to owning and operating the largest advertising platforms. Much of Global’s events arm is being sold off, too.

• Interesting and exciting job for people who know their Bach from their Mozart (and their radio, too): a job at Scala Radio. It closes tomorrow.

• Westwood One does a good job of collating research to bust myths about audio. Here’s a good example

• Back in 2009, I told a BBC reporter that “When the pirates set up a DAB station then we’ll know DAB has really arrived”. Here we are in 2019, and someone’s only gone and done it! Two stations, indeed, in Cork, in Ireland. The Irish regulator are being characteristically slow in exploring DAB opportunities: hopefully, this will spur them on.

• Interesting app idea - Noa (news over audio), where people read news stories aloud. Sounds vaguely familiar somehow.

• Old media meets new media - a good long piece in the Sunday Times about how uncompetitive the BBC is these days as someone you’d want to buy your content.

• PSAs now added to smart speakers in the UK. Very nice use of the medium.

• How ad-led journalism works: listen to the radio for ten minutes and write down what happens. Awful nonsense.

• Fascinating stats about app installations.

• It’s a little joke of mine that BBC Local Radio loves nothing better than to ask listeners what their favourite biscuit is. So imagine my surprise

• Astonishing radio station in Queensland. Everything that is wrong with big commercial radio in one simple story.

• I really love the Rule of Three podcast. This week, all about Smash Hits magazine, which I loved as a kid.

• Berlin gets an English channel on DAB+

• Love Perry Michael Simon’s latest column. Always worth a read..

Lazy Buggles Headline Corner

• Malaysia - rambly column about music, randomly titled with a Lazy Buggles Headline. Naughty Malaysia.

• Just An Observation: Video didn’t just kill the radio star (which is obviously an article about hockey, because… nope)

• Netflix’s radio station on SiriusXM couldn’t, of course, resist a lazy Buggles headline

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