Now, Mark Ramsey is a lovely man who let me play with his Amazon book reading gadget ages before they were widely available in the UK. Kindle kindness indeed. Mark also writes a thought-provoking blog in which recently he said he has little time for “feel-good nonsense meant to soothe the consciences of radio broadcasters and make us feel better about what we do”.

Oh dear.

I’d argue that right now we need to foster creativity in radio and, from my experience of leading creative teams over the last ten years, most of us need a degree of confidence and optimism to be creative.

Falling revenue and fast digital evolution scares people. For many, the ground is burning away under their feet. This series of posts is here to remind us that the underlying qualities of audio entertainment are strong. So let’s plough on. Sorry Mark.

Radio is simple.

Radio is simple to understand, simple to use and simple to make. It’s egalitarian and democratic. The receiving technology is often so low in cost it can be embedded in other things you buy. Like mobile phones, cars, computers or er, floaty ducks.

People all over the world just get it. Can’t read and write? Radio works for you too.

It’s easy to forget the simple model at the heart of radio:

1. Make things people want to listen to.
2. Put them somewhere they can get them.

Simple.

Next time: how radio extends beautifully onto any platform… and why it has to.

Photo: “Duck Radio” of uncertain provenance. Sorry if it’s your copyright.

If you work in radio you’re socially and culturally significant. You may even be a force for good.

Dramatic, amazing, unfortunate and life-changing things happen on radio. It can be important and valuable to individuals and to society.

What mainstream British book publisher or film distributor doesn’t want to be on the Steve Wright show?

And radio is never far from governments’ minds when they want to control communications. During military coups troops seldom storm a website.

[edited to fix links, tags and add this teaser...]

Next time: radio is simple

Comments

• Saturday 21 February, 2009, James H writes: Which is why operations is a fun place to be. Millions waiting for you to replace dead air with the wrong thing! The good thing about broadcasting to countries where radio is still something more than "today's repetitive mix" is that people really will be listening and taking in the content, making it very worthwhile. (I, personally, have never made any mistakes. Obviously.)

Unlike cinema, much television, gaming and many web-related activities which grab you by the eyeballs and demand your unwavering attention, radio can be enjoyed while you’re doing something else. Even something else quite pleasurable, like taking the train from London to Edinburgh. I should know, I’ve just done it accompanied by four hours and twenty minutes of great radio.

Radio may not be the only form of entertainment which works as a secondary activity (listening to music, daytime tv, and humming all have their place) but it is one which talented broadcasters have developed into a empathetic accompaniment to life.

The best radio broadcasters know how to draw you into different attention zones in order that radio can be a true companion. During a programme they will let you zone-out for a bit and then draw you forward into more conscious awareness for the unmissable moments you’ll want to share with your friends.

You might call it “attention management”. But only if you want to sound like a consultant. It’s really called “doing radio”.

This secondary nature of radio listening makes its resilence understandable. No matter how busy we are, there’s a place in our lives for accompaniments, but not so many interruptions.

Some of the most interesting research into the nature of radio listening has been conducted by the radio advertising community. The Radio Multiplier and famous Ironing Board surveys are worth reading.

I’d be interested to know how the growth of homeworking and other microtrends are also directly affecting our use of radio. If you see any research on this do share it.

Tomorrow: Neurovisualisation (made-up word).

Have you noticed a haze of toxic gloom wafting across the radio industry? Me too. It’s almost enough to make you search the playout system for the love theme from Romeo and Juliet and attempt an impromptu Simon Bates impression.

But please don’t. That cloud of neurosis is man-made and if you ignore the fashionable doomsayers for a moment there’s much to be cheerful about.

Yes, there’s work to do but if you’re anything like me you’ll do better work when you’re full of hope and a decent breakfast. A friendly reminder of what makes radio so wonderful seems like a good place to start.

So, starting tomorrow and continuing for the next couple of weeks, I’ll post daily a reason why I believe we can be positive about radio’s place in the world and our place in radio. No rose tinted specs and no talk of green shoots, just fundamental strengths that underpin the medium. Things we can work with.

I’ve come up with thirteen reasons but there will be more. Feel free to add your own. We all know radio is amazing. It’s time to remind ourselves why.

As we say on the radio, it all starts tomorrow morning at 8.15.

Photo: smiley dice by Leo Reynolds, on Flickr. Used under licence.