User blog: Henry Loeser

Friday Evening

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:16:29 GMT

by Henry Loeser.

19:00 Lobby

Chatting with Salvo Scifo who’s also writing his doctoral thesis on UK Community Radio. We discussed the future beyond analog and perhaps even beyond terrestrial delivery. Lawrie Hallet touched on it in his workshop. CR advocates are scrambling to get licenses fro the regulator now, but in 5 years digital delivery will open up hundreds of new frequencies in every town. And in 10 years universal wireless broadband will render all current systems obsolete. Salvo quoted a survey that said a substantial number of UK 14 year-olds have NEVER used a radio.

Quoting the politician Hazel Blears: “I see Community Radio moving out of the shadow of commercial radio, and taking a central role in the future of radio in the UK”. Question: As the demand for Community Radio expands and traditional commercial radio business models continue to degrade, can we see a time when commercial licenses are denied in favor of Community Radio licenses?

20:00 Pre-dinner speech

Mr. Ibrahim went way over his allotted time, but IMO, if you’ve risked your life to pursue your beliefs and become a legend in the process, then you get a free pass to keep people waiting an hour for dinner. Perhaps the most compelling \"best practices\" item I\'ve ever heard is at the weekely staff meeting of Bush Radio, they review all the deaths in the community. Is there anything we can do in CR more powerful and \"community\" than that?

Afternoon at the Conference

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 18:49:56 GMT

by Henry Loeser.

12:00 Workshop “Funding Your Station”

Delegates from their intros are an interesting group of dynamic individuals of who have great passion for their work, and are eager for information they can turn into action. I wonder: is there an over-reliance on government money in UK CR? And how long will the government funds flow? Then what?

13:00 Lunch

A buffet line with a healthy section that would make my cardiologist smile including fresh fruit and vegetable plates. And of course a section to make my cardiologist grimace, with artery-clogging, deep-fried gunky delicacies that I couldn’t pass up.

14:00 Workshop “Licensing”

Once again, a roomful of highly motivated radio industry participants listening intently and engaged with the speaker Lawrie Hallet of Ofcom.

And once again, an excellent presentation on the license application process. It’s clear that Lawrie is no ordinary disinterested bureaucrat; he is knowledgeable, experienced and displays a healthy disrespect for the regulatory process. Especially when the legislation gets overly complicated and starts to consume itself and everyone around it, he steps back and assures us that real people with good hearts and working brains are reading the applications. That has to be good news for the present and the future of Community Radio in the UK.

15:00 Workshop “Project Management”

A somewhat technical but effective discussion of strategies and systems to support project management including a special open-source spreadsheet program to track your progress on projects.

Side note: British idioms continue to elude my comprehension:

“Gone pear-shaped”?

“From pillar to post”?

“bullox”?

16:00 Plenary session

As the impressive figures and powerful politicians step to the microphone and pledge the support for Community Radio, they all connect back to Phil Korbel. He’s connected to the smallest groups pitching licenses and to the biggest names in media and government. From what I’ve seen in a short period time is that this man is perhaps the single greatest asset of the UK CR movement. Would you agree?

11:00 Opening Ceremony & Plenary

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:58:54 GMT

by Henry Loeser.

Phil Korbel is a dynamic guy whose passion for Community Radio shines through in his enthusiasm. The CR movement is lucky to have him.

OFCOM official Phillip Grath (sp?) says CR is bedrock government policy for the future of radio in the UK. That’s great news for CR advocates, and a testament to the success of early UK CR pioneers and advocates. The regulatory body of radio in the USA has seemingly a much more commercially-centered philosophy: authorizing new CR opportunities only after being forced to do so by grassroots CR advocates. The Czech Republic has a vibrant commercial radio sector, and NO community radio stations at all. He notes the decline of traditional media (usage and adv revenue) including commercial radio, and asks what that means for the future of CR. Good question. BTW: Doesn’t he resemble the American Steve Forbes?

Alex Green (sp?) asked the most important (to me) question of the entire weekend and of the entire CR movement: what’s the future model of CR sustainability? How do you go beyond a reliance on government money to a independently sustainable CR radio operation?

Trevor from the Radio Academy has a view of how the future media consumers (the children of today) will consume, and he thinks CR might be well-positioned thanks to it’s “citizen participation” model. Who can say what the platforms will be, and will CR be on those platforms?

Questions from the audience were well-considered and pertinent. One question revealed a strong current of resentment of the protection of “small” commercial radio stations. What’s the issue? Is it a competitive battle for the same listeners? Advertising & sponsoring spending? Can someone explain? Another question revisits the debate of whether to allow more advertising or more government support for CR. Could it be said the purest form of CR accepts neither?

9am Lobby

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:57:24 GMT

by Henry Loeser.

9:00 Lobby

Enjoyed meeting Dorian who is here from Malta, where he is the director of a community radio station as well as a graduate student writing a dissertation on Community Radio for the university in Leicester. He says that people who get licenses in Malta lack broadcasting experience and vital skills: a familiar dynamic I’ve seen repeated over and over. Where does a new licensee in a developing community radio sector go for management and ops skills training? Does the Community Radio Tool Kit fill that role? What about internationally? Is there an aggregating website for this?

Travelling to Manchester

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 09:53:12 GMT

by Henry Loeser.

radiodog@who.net

Thursday

13:00 Brno, Czech Republic

Boarding a bus for a 3 hour ride to Prague airport. I’m listening to Radio Student in Brno which is not an actual student radio. It’s not owned by a school, nor is it operated by students. It is a commercial station with certain “non-commercial” license provisions ostensibly targeting students (% of spoken word vs. music, foreign language content, live interview shows, etc.). The Czech government radio licensing office has authorized no community radio stations, but encourages “hybrids” which are commercial stations with community commitments. But does it work? Radio Student, at a disadvantage when competing in the commercial marketplace, also avoids fulfilling it’s community responsibilities. This muddled mandate is a recipe for failure, and is common to many countries where a firm commitment to community radio doesn’t yet exist. It snowed several inches in Czechia this week, but the roads are clear now. Is Manchester known for it’s moderate springtime weather? I hope so. I’m from California, and springtime means great skiing in the mountains and surfing at the beach. Oh well.

18:00 Prague, Czech Republic

Boarding the flight (Jet2 airline) and hearing lovely British accents everywhere. I’ve been to London and I’ve been to Edinburgh, so I can tell the difference between the two, but never in between. Is there a distinct Manchester accent? And what makes Manchester special? I must admit I know very little about the place, an industrial city in the north of England with a long and celebrated history? I hope to learn more this weekend.

And what does it mean: alight from the plane? Exit?

20:00 Descending from 30,000ft. above England

The setting sun to the west creates a beautiful orange and red sky as we approach Manchester. Oh, wait just a moment: that’s above the clouds. The pilot just announced on the speaker that the Manchester weather report the is wind from the north, temperature 4 degrees and rain? So much for the romantic sunset over Manchester. Oh well, at least the conference will be indoors…

21:00 Manchester Centre

After a comfortable ride on a beautiful modern train, I’m in the centre and notice right away the diversity of people: South Asian, and Black African especially. My home country is known for it’s ethnic diversity (America: a nation of immigrants “the great melting pot”), the Czech Republic conversely is among the most ethnic and economic homogenous countries with 98% white middle class citizens. It’s nice to see variety again here; does Manchester “celebrate” its diversity? Is Radio Regen a part of that dynamic? I arrive at Hatter’s Hostel which is abuzz with dozens of 20 -somethings listening to music, and playing pool. I skip the social scene and settle into my 6ft. bed; (I’m 6ft. 2in), but after a long day of travel and one hour time change, I’ll be asleep in no time.

Friday

5:30 Hatter’s Hostel

I awake to see my roommate (one of 8) arriving after a big night of partying. We’re obviously on different schedules, because as his night ends, my day begins here in Manchester.

7:45 MANCAT

I’m the first delegate to arrive and am warmly greeted by Phil Korbel and his staff (see attached photo). They appear to be well organized and excited about the conference. We’re off to a good start!