Newsbeat didn't appear until the late 70s, and it seemed to me more of a copy of Capital's 'The Way It Is', though I'm not sure now which came first, perhaps it was the other way round ?
Radio 1 news in the early days 67- 75ish was delivered in a straightforward manner, not really any different to Radios 2, 3 or 4, just shorter bulletins.
Newsbeat started in 1973, presenters in the 1970s & 1980s included Laurie Mayer, Richard Skinner & Matthew Bannister (Bannister has also been a presenter of The Way It Is).
I think this programme and the Radio 1 Roadshow were among the new ideas to compete with the newly launched Capital and LBC in that year.
For a short time in the late 1970s there was also a late Newsbeat at 9.50pm, and for the first few years of the 1990s the 5.30pm edition was extended to 30 mins and renamed News 90 (91,92 etc.)
Power FM also used to do news up to the hour at xx:58 followed by an ID and 5 songs in a row. This was an interesting use of resources as IIRC the IBA didn't allow pre-recorded bulletins - so the newsreader would do the Power bulletin then the one for Ocean Sound. Because some programming was shared, this had to be a clock start and you could sometimes hear the tension in the newsreader's voice as they "came down" from their Power bulletin.
Interesting that some people have access to other sources for news and assume that we al have such access.
Yes, I can get the news on TV, Internet, Mobile Phones, but when you are on an Eight Hour shift in a warehouse without access to the other things the radio news helps (or should), keep you up to date with the world outside.
Before re-branding the local station here had news at hourly 6am to 7pm, then as I recall, 10pm. midnight and 2am after the late show. Since rebranding itself and claiming to be a competitor to Radio 2, it has dropped news at 10pm and midnight and 2am, does have a 5am one I believe.
The news though is dire, no sport as it believes it's target audience does not want sport.
Power FM also used to do news up to the hour at xx:58 followed by an ID and 5 songs in a row. This was an interesting use of resources as IIRC the IBA didn't allow pre-recorded bulletins -
That didn't stop Radio Mercury recording the 16:55hrs Sunday IRN bulletin, and playing it out at 17:00hrs. (Mercury did not carry the Network Chart Show)
That didn't stop Radio Mercury recording the 16:55hrs Sunday IRN bulletin, and playing it out at 17:00hrs. (Mercury did not carry the Network Chart Show)
I thought it was the 1600 that they used to record and play it at 1700, minus the timecheck? Well remembered though! Were there any other FM stations that didn't take the Network Chart? (Apart from LBC)
I thought it was the 1600 that they used to record and play it at 1700, minus the timecheck? Well remembered though! Were there any other FM stations that didn't take the Network Chart? (Apart from LBC)
Beacon didn't broadcast it for a few months in 1989-1990.
People turn up the volume on the radio to hear the news - just like they turn up the volume when they hear their favourite song.
In many ways the news bulletin is what makes a local station just that: local.
I've seen lots of lots of research about news. I could bore you for days!
For a huge section of the audience - something like 80% or so - it is one of the main reasons they listen to radio.
Only music scores higher.
I understand all that for local stations where the localness should be part of the stations USP, but for stations where that localness isn't important would it matter if they didn't have it, or at least not every hour of the day? Surely a station like Kiss or Rock Radio could risk a listener tuning away for the news without fear of them never coming back?
It's always intrigued me as, has already been mentioned, stations in the US only do news in the morning. Personally I find it a real bore having to hear a news bulletin when I'm listening to a music station.
Beacon didn't broadcast it for a few months in 1989-1990.
Yeah, they had Graham Hall with the Beacon Top 30, where they played 5 songs uninterrupted. I thought it was better than the Network Chart. I assume they wanted to do something different to BRMB which would've been broadcasting the Network Chart as well.
Power FM also used to do news up to the hour at xx:58 followed by an ID and 5 songs in a row. This was an interesting use of resources as IIRC the IBA didn't allow pre-recorded bulletins - so the newsreader would do the Power bulletin then the one for Ocean Sound. Because some programming was shared, this had to be a clock start and you could sometimes hear the tension in the newsreader's voice as they "came down" from their Power bulletin.
I used to flippin' love that format. Genius! Great station. I miss it terribly...
You tailor your news content to your station style - so that you make every story in your bulletin 100% relevant to the target listener.
A lot of listeners really do like to feel clued-up on what's happening in the world.
They like to feel (to use the old cliche) "up to date".
Maybe it's just me, but if I wanted to be clued up on the news, the last place I'd go now would be commercial radio. And I say that as someone who rarely ever listens to BBC stations.
Having said that, I think it may depend on location. When I lived in Crewe, Signal had an excellent local news service. Here in Warrington, the Wire FM's local news service is dreadful.
I think it may depend on location. When I lived in Crewe, Signal had an excellent local news service. Here in Warrington, the Wire FM's local news service is dreadful.
You've hit the nail on the head.
Treat news like you'd treat a song.
Play a dreadful song or a dreadful news bulletin, people will tune out.
Play an excellent song or an excellent news bulletin, they'll stay tuned.
When I hear adverts or News coming on, i switch off. I dont turn on the radio to listen to news, If I want news, and people are free to turn on a tv news channel, news radio station or news website. I laugh when people ask for news on ITV2, like if you have ITV2, you will probably have BBC News or Sky News, so look for it yourself. Plus I doubt most of ITV2's audience would want news on that channel. Stupidity.
I find the clutter before and after the news on many commercial stations very annoying.
But I suppose an ad break in front of, or after, the news is more lucrative than the others?
Indeed, hence the solus Newslink spot on every Sky News Radio/IRN Client station in the country.
Beat 102-103 in Ireland takes its news at xx:50, then plays 6 songs back to back - with a sweeper as close to the TOH as possible saying "whilst the others are talking we're playing more of your music now....".
Every station I've worked for has a big sweep of songs out of the news, on the premise that it counteracts the big sweep of speech at the TOH.
I thought it was the 1600 that they used to record and play it at 1700, minus the timecheck? Well remembered though! Were there any other FM stations that didn't take the Network Chart? (Apart from LBC)
Going only by my own memory here (always a dangerous thing), but I'm fairly sure that LBC *did* take the Network Chart Show when it first started? As a regular LBC listener at the time, it sounded odd to have a couple of hours music stuffed into what was otherwise a talk-only format the rest of the week.
News bulletins on the hour is pretty much standard on radio stations around the world and it's not likely to change any time soon.
Personally, I think three minutes is the ideal length for hourly news bulletins. Five minutes is a little long and two minute bulletins seem a little rushed.
I'm certainly not a fan of the 30 second bulletins on the likes of Capital where everything is read at such a break neck speed the information given becomes utterly meaningless.
I'm certainly not a fan of the 30 second bulletins on the likes of Capital where everything is read at such a break neck speed the information given becomes utterly meaningless.
Horses for courses. As Joey says, tailor your news to the format of the station and it can work. However, I'd tend to agree that some of the shorter bulletins coming out of some stations lately can seem pointless.
A couple of weekends ago I heard a commercial station running two copy lines of local news (to be fair one was a big local story) and the only national story was about the Jingle Bell Ball!
Music led stations need to listen and learn from those who do it well. Newsbeat is a great example of tightly formatted targeted news; Real do very well with a "full service" style.
Going only by my own memory here (always a dangerous thing), but I'm fairly sure that LBC *did* take the Network Chart Show when it first started? As a regular LBC listener at the time, it sounded odd to have a couple of hours music stuffed into what was otherwise a talk-only format the rest of the week.
Yes indeed, it did take the NCS initially. LBC/IRN were also responsible for distributing the show. They had a stereo circuit from Capital, and the show was sent out on the IRN distribution network. It sounded more and more ropey the further from London you were. I was living in Plymouth at that time, it just sounded dreadful down there ! Some stations, Piccadilly was one, arranged their own BT stereo link from LBC, but a few years later the company SMS(?) came along and established satellite distribution for the NCS plus other syndicated shows (Radio Radio the overnight sustaining service in 1990 ?)
Music led stations need to listen and learn from those who do it well. Newsbeat is a great example of tightly formatted targeted news; Real do very well with a "full service" style.
I completely agree.
News content on certain large music-led commercial radio stations could be soooooooooooooo much sharper.
But as the saying goes "pay peanuts, get monkeys".
As I remember, Atlantic 252 only did news at breakfast.
Hmmm.... I think that might have been the case for a while (possibly a couple of years in - wish I could remember!!). Didn't it initially broadcast news hourly at :55?
Andrew Turner did the news on the Breakfast show with Charlie Wolf. When Charlie moved to evenings, through 'til the 7.00 pm closedown and the recommendation to retune to Luxembourg, Andrew went with him and the news was then in the evenings.
Andrew Turner did the news on the Breakfast show with Charlie Wolf. When Charlie moved to evenings, through 'til the 7.00 pm closedown and the recommendation to retune to Luxembourg, Andrew went with him and the news was then in the evenings.
Comments
Newsbeat started in 1973, presenters in the 1970s & 1980s included Laurie Mayer, Richard Skinner & Matthew Bannister (Bannister has also been a presenter of The Way It Is).
I think this programme and the Radio 1 Roadshow were among the new ideas to compete with the newly launched Capital and LBC in that year.
For a short time in the late 1970s there was also a late Newsbeat at 9.50pm, and for the first few years of the 1990s the 5.30pm edition was extended to 30 mins and renamed News 90 (91,92 etc.)
Yes, I can get the news on TV, Internet, Mobile Phones, but when you are on an Eight Hour shift in a warehouse without access to the other things the radio news helps (or should), keep you up to date with the world outside.
Before re-branding the local station here had news at hourly 6am to 7pm, then as I recall, 10pm. midnight and 2am after the late show. Since rebranding itself and claiming to be a competitor to Radio 2, it has dropped news at 10pm and midnight and 2am, does have a 5am one I believe.
The news though is dire, no sport as it believes it's target audience does not want sport.
That didn't stop Radio Mercury recording the 16:55hrs Sunday IRN bulletin, and playing it out at 17:00hrs. (Mercury did not carry the Network Chart Show)
I thought it was the 1600 that they used to record and play it at 1700, minus the timecheck? Well remembered though! Were there any other FM stations that didn't take the Network Chart? (Apart from LBC)
Beacon didn't broadcast it for a few months in 1989-1990.
It's always intrigued me as, has already been mentioned, stations in the US only do news in the morning. Personally I find it a real bore having to hear a news bulletin when I'm listening to a music station.
Yeah, they had Graham Hall with the Beacon Top 30, where they played 5 songs uninterrupted. I thought it was better than the Network Chart. I assume they wanted to do something different to BRMB which would've been broadcasting the Network Chart as well.
I used to flippin' love that format. Genius! Great station. I miss it terribly...
No, it really doesn't happen.
You tailor your news content to your station style - so that you make every story in your bulletin 100% relevant to the target listener.
A lot of listeners really do like to feel clued-up on what's happening in the world.
They like to feel (to use the old cliche) "up to date".
Maybe it's just me, but if I wanted to be clued up on the news, the last place I'd go now would be commercial radio. And I say that as someone who rarely ever listens to BBC stations.
Having said that, I think it may depend on location. When I lived in Crewe, Signal had an excellent local news service. Here in Warrington, the Wire FM's local news service is dreadful.
You've hit the nail on the head.
Treat news like you'd treat a song.
Play a dreadful song or a dreadful news bulletin, people will tune out.
Play an excellent song or an excellent news bulletin, they'll stay tuned.
2pm weekdays.
I don't want to keep re-tuning to the BBC or the internet all day to check if anything important has happened ta.
Indeed, hence the solus Newslink spot on every Sky News Radio/IRN Client station in the country.
Beat 102-103 in Ireland takes its news at xx:50, then plays 6 songs back to back - with a sweeper as close to the TOH as possible saying "whilst the others are talking we're playing more of your music now....".
Every station I've worked for has a big sweep of songs out of the news, on the premise that it counteracts the big sweep of speech at the TOH.
Going only by my own memory here (always a dangerous thing), but I'm fairly sure that LBC *did* take the Network Chart Show when it first started? As a regular LBC listener at the time, it sounded odd to have a couple of hours music stuffed into what was otherwise a talk-only format the rest of the week.
Personally, I think three minutes is the ideal length for hourly news bulletins. Five minutes is a little long and two minute bulletins seem a little rushed.
I'm certainly not a fan of the 30 second bulletins on the likes of Capital where everything is read at such a break neck speed the information given becomes utterly meaningless.
Horses for courses. As Joey says, tailor your news to the format of the station and it can work. However, I'd tend to agree that some of the shorter bulletins coming out of some stations lately can seem pointless.
A couple of weekends ago I heard a commercial station running two copy lines of local news (to be fair one was a big local story) and the only national story was about the Jingle Bell Ball!
Music led stations need to listen and learn from those who do it well. Newsbeat is a great example of tightly formatted targeted news; Real do very well with a "full service" style.
Yes indeed, it did take the NCS initially. LBC/IRN were also responsible for distributing the show. They had a stereo circuit from Capital, and the show was sent out on the IRN distribution network. It sounded more and more ropey the further from London you were. I was living in Plymouth at that time, it just sounded dreadful down there ! Some stations, Piccadilly was one, arranged their own BT stereo link from LBC, but a few years later the company SMS(?) came along and established satellite distribution for the NCS plus other syndicated shows (Radio Radio the overnight sustaining service in 1990 ?)
I completely agree.
News content on certain large music-led commercial radio stations could be soooooooooooooo much sharper.
But as the saying goes "pay peanuts, get monkeys".
Hmmm.... I think that might have been the case for a while (possibly a couple of years in - wish I could remember!!). Didn't it initially broadcast news hourly at :55?
Didn't Andrew do both i.e. a split shift?