Originally Posted by Mark M:
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To be honest, a lot of live music radio doesn't exactly reflect what's going on in the outside world apart from in the news, so this would only be an issue if there was something truly massive happening. By far the biggest risk for them is lower-level stuff - such as a VT link talking about a celebrity's love life being broadcast when said celebrity has just died.”
Exactly. But to what exrtent would even this be 'the biggest risk' anyway.
In other words, what would the negative consequences be in this scenario?
None whatsoever. No one would care. The story would come and go and life and the station would go on as before. If such a station had broadcast previously VTd chat about Bowie or Prince, say, in the hours after their death had been announced, would this REALLY be a gamechanger for the station?
This is a similar argument to the loss of local news staff and off peak presenters on local stations....i.e. ' but what happens if XYZ happens'? Sorry. But what about the thousands of days where XYZs DON'T happen? Commercial organisations cannot be expected to staff up to levels to offer contingency coverage.
Simon 243 raises a fair point about how competitive a market London is and how things like this may work better in more rural markets and he may be right. It is received wisdom that because London is a fast bustling capital city breakfast shows must be live otherwise there is no point.
But what makes this so? It's just people getting out their beds and going to work just like anywhere else.
So what 'need' is there for Neil Fox to be live? What would be the additional benefit to the station, bearing in mind they'd also have to pay him his rate for doing it and pay for a place for him to do it.
And, yes, this argument applies to much other radio too. Many local services are only live because it is a USP for local advertisers and OFCOM commitments et al. Would it matter if much of it was Vtd instead?
My view is that live broadcasting is increasingly a waste of time and money.
Stations like Thames and Superstation Orkney prior show the future pathway and radio presenting will become increasingly atomised with breakfast shows done at home from laptops early the previous evening, and it will become akin to voiceover work.