It is my belief that party politics has been stitched up by the mainstream media. OK, that and the stubborn refusal of venal and useless politicians to go away. The media’s relentless pursuit of controversy and soundbite has rendered what should be of interest to us all a matter of obsession only fit for professional pundits, ranters and obsessives. Which is where community radio should come in.
Where else is there the air time and editorial flexibility to actually follow stories as they develop, to allow citizens to talk to their representatives and public servants, to, heaven forbid, delve into the processes by which the decisions that affect our everyday lives are arrived at? What is more – our airtime is a legally mediated forum where base-less name calling and political bias has no place. Our on-air responses can be both authentic, measured and be given the time to develop. This should be a cornerstone of our output, a vital part of us being (to paraphrase Zane Ibrahim) ‘necessary not popular’.
And yet I see little evidence that this potential is being fulfilled in the bulk of our stations. Aside from scheduling issues, the probable reason for this is a lack of confidence in how to both cover politics well and steer clear of legal pitfalls. Which is why we chose this subject to re-launch the CRT on line community. As you will see from the content that we’ve assembled – covering politics – and even elections – is largely a matter of common sense and doesn’t need to scare the pants off station managers or whistle up a new Jeremy Paxman from amongst your volunteers. I hope that the information here will spur you on to engage with politics and create great radio while you’re at it.
Good luck,
Phil Korbel, Director, Radio Regen
PS – our thanks to all our contributors to this Feature… from the grass-roots to Westminster and all points inbetween
Inviting the politicians
To kick off this feature we approached some of the politicians where media has been their portfolio in the past and possible future. In the interest of balance and fair representation we have this interview with Ed Vaizey, Minister for Arts, Culture, Media and Sport
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Reporting the Election Workshop
From The Radio Academy: With a General election imminent how will your programmes rise to the challenge? How can we stay within the guidelines of the Representation of the people Act, how can we make things interesting, what will the big issues be and what impact will social media have on the way we work? Sandy Warr will be your host for a day of workshops, lectures and special guest interviews.
Price: £49 incl VAT
Venue: Park Crescent Conference Centre, 229 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PN
To register: visit www.radiocentre.org.
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