The Channel | 2002 | September

19 / 28

the channel | 19
The appetite for news seems to be growing. We all need to be
informed, but now more and more people want to be up to date
with colourful and quality information. At the same time, radio
- as recent UK audience research figures demonstrate - is enjoying a
revival at the expense of television and the internet. Radio is fast catching
up in audience figures and advertising revenue. A bit like the tortoise
and the hare, bursts of activity have left expensive broadcast industries
exhausted. But by gently moving along, doing what it does best, timely
and cost effective information for an audience who can do other things
at the same time, radio appears to be on the up and up.
So with that in mind, what is the magnetic force of radio? Entertainment,
music and chat, but also news and current affairs are the corner stones of
an audience-grabbing, advertising-rich programme schedule.
From stating the obvious, to leaving the rhetorical questions behind; bar
one, how can technology, radio and news come together to make both
radio stations and reporters richer, while giving the audience more?
Simply it’s fitting into this space with affordable, taking into account
shrinking budgets, programme material from around the world – after
all, the audience won’t bother listening if the output is boring.
Global Radio News is a web-based audio agency for reporters and radio
stations. The system takes advantage of technology to collect material
from the field and distribute it to multiple radio stations. The objective is
to make life easier for a reporter on a big story; they can file onto the site
and get back to covering the story rather than spending time on the tel-
ephone selling to multiple stations. Once the audio file is on-line it is
ready for download. Radio stations get alerts, can see a ticker, click
straight through and get the story. This saves them time and crucially
money in their newsgathering process. Less time on expensive satellite
and ISDN lines while adding quality colour to wire copy and other news
services. In essence, the system allows a station to expand its
newsgathering staff and get more varied news without paying more.
On a big story, before the majors agencies drop their staff in, a freelance
reporter using Global Radio News could sell the same story many times.
This is about empowering the reporter. If stations want to pay for
insurance, travel and everything else then they deserve material
exclusively, but they generally can’t, while the freelancer still needs to
make money. Freelancers need to be respected; it seems logical that they
will become backbone of newsgathering. The stations need the story;
now they can get it cheaper, so they have to accept that they may not be
the only broadcaster with the same audio material, forgo their branded
out cue and think of providing a better service for their listeners.
Life is tough for a freelancer on a potentially big story, agencies expect
reporters to be on top of stories but also expect the reporter to sing their
tune. In many cases the reporter has little choice; it could be their big
break, they have no option but to take the risk, go somewhere dangerous
on the off chance or at best, on a promise, that if they get the story the
organisation they contacted will buy it. It’s unlikely that the organisation
will put its hand in its pocket to cover any costs and even less likely that
it will provide insurance for the reporter and if there is trouble the
organisation could distance itself quickly. Quite frankly this attitude is
pathetic. So the time has come for the freelancer to turn the tables in
their favour by maximising the reach of their work.
This could make life good for the intrepid reporter, lots of potential clients
viewing, downloading and paying, the copyright remaining with the
reporter, more time to file, less time spent selling and a wider audience,
all whom need different stories.
By opening up the capabilities of the internet to the radio trade lots of
different reporters can be on the same story, cover it from different angles,
with different accents, giving stations lots of choice.
Global Radio News maintains its independence by providing the service,
stations can request material but also reporters
just file the stories according to the news agenda,
Global Radio News just checks the audio and
guarantees broadcast quality, the rest is up to the
station.
The web-based system takes the accounts and the
chasing responsibility away from the reporter,
making sure they get paid on time.
Out of the Middle East recently, a reporter
affiliated with Global Radio News placed his
stories with a major international broadcasters.
In time, as more and more stations come on line,
on a big story that same reporter could have sold
the same piece several times and made quite a lot
of money, covered travel costs and ensured that
the trip was financially worthwhile as well as
journalistically interesting.
Global Radio News will also help students and young journalists get a
break by filing and potentially selling to stations, as long as the story is
up to scratch. This will help them start to make their names in the
broadcast arena. The Rory Peck Trust is working towards creating an
affordable insurance package for freelancers; Global Radio News is
encouraging everybody to get involved. As well as suggesting to
freelancers courses for situation training as an important part of a
reporter’s induction into news gathering. It can be dangerous, reporters
must be ready and free from as many headaches as possible.
Using technology is the key, the basic process is outlined above, but to
make life as easy as possible, Global Radio News has developed a piece
of software (Reporters Audio Production Kit, RAPkit™), given away
for free, that allows reporters to plug a microphone into their PC, record
a story, cut in a clip or two and upload the story directly to the site in one
simple with the upload, the download has been thought through
in a similarly simple way for editors at radio stations to pick up the
stories.
There are the pros, the cons are that stations don’t want to use the same
stories other stations have broadcast and that they insist on their branded
out cue. At the moment a busy freelancer will sell the same story to
multiple stations. The sign off issue is one that will work itself out in
time. Technology is changing the way newsgathering happens, and lots
of preconceived ideas are going to change too.
Substantive expansion is possible via the internet; there should be no
excuse for a station not to have a story. Even as budgets shrink there is
no need for radio to slip down to the lowest common denominator. Audio
works now on the internet, TV will follow. The visual implications of
the internet and television have to be taken into consideration in
newsgathering but for now radio news can grow in importance saved
from a fate of accountants and low end multi-tasking where audio is
stripped from a TV feed.
With technology radio can remain within budgets, make money and be a
force in the global news market.
Radio newsgathering -
the future’s freelance
More outlets mean more content. Less money means more constraints. So what about the freelancer?
Henry Peirse, founder of London-based Global Radio News thinks his international virtual marketplace for
broadcasters and freelancers - now working with CNN and BBC World Service - provides a solution.
Henry Peirse,
co-founder of Global
Radio News