Lecture 4

This week's journalism lecture was listened to online, and was, quite fittingly, all about the radio.

The lecture was comrpised of an interview with Richard Filder, the radio show host of two ABC programs, 'Conversations' and 'Afternoons'.

Richard Fidler

Here are some of the main points Richard Fidler discussed in relation to radio journalism...

• radio is a very different media to TV, in that it is far more intimate
• it is important to make listeners feel included, by facilitating their engagement
•  radio is all about trying to tell a story with words, meaning pronounciation and vocabulary are s very important
• never do anything on radio you wouldn't do in real life
• do not be afraid of silence, silence is powerful
• the audience is the most important factor
• carefully consider the show's demographic
• ask yourself, 'What does the audience want to hear?'
• consider the time slot
• what are people doing at that time?
• what is their psychological state at that time?
• call back radio
• be as provocative as the time slot will allow to encourage callers
• the more simple your question is, the faster people will respond
• appeal to people's sense of frustration
 listen - listening implies respect and people respond to that courtesy

Why is radio still popular?

• radio is quite real
• it's very human
• radio appeals to the time poor through incidental listening
• radio is an old medium, but it integrates new technology such as podcasts and twitter

What are the fundamental components of a good radio story?

• being human
• searching for the full gamete of human experience
• humans respond emotionally and subconscious, which is what is worth exploring