Radio is the theatre of the mind - Week 5

For week 5 lecture we were treated to an online sound lecture. We had the honour of listening to Carmel’s interviews with professional radio broadcasters Richard Fidler and Steve Austin from ABC Local Radio. Richard, from the program “Conversations” accidently ended up in radio, lucky duck, while Steve Austin basically ‘kissed butt’ to get where he is today. I found both interviews to be rather inspirational, especially because of the enthusiasm and passion both broadcasters had regarding the survival and triumph of this traditional medium. 

Richard originally came from the field of television, but when he converted to radio the first thing he realised is that it’s an extremely different medium. Richard explained that radio is a much more intimate affair, the voice seems to come from within your own head and its imperative to make the listener feel included at all times.  He said to make good radio, you must be genuinely interested in what people have to say, and above all, be emotional human beings. Its also important for the interviewee to trust you, so they feel they are safe to reveal themselves, which is why guests are always pre-interviewed so they know what to expect.  Something that resonated with me was when Richard talked about the moment when guests surprise themselves by recollecting a moment that had been buried deep within them. To be part of such an experience would be so compelling, which is exactly how Richard described it. To finish up Carmel asked Richard to share some advice for the fresh, aspiring JOUR1111 cohort; his words of wisdom were read, ask questions, be worldly, inquisitive and most importantly stay away from the ideological ghetto of the internet.

 For someone who’s career path was founded while riding a motorbike, Steve Austin turned out to be quite the seasoned and professional journalist. From radio courses to volunteer graveyard shifts Steve eventually made the change from commercial radio to public radio and ended up on ABC local radio. From this change it dawned on him that radio is not about yourself, but the audience. Steve also expressed that your annunciation of words is paramount. It helps bring down the barriers.  His words of wisdom were “As it is in life, it is in radio”. I’d like to sum up this week’s lecture with a quote from Steve.

“Radio is the theatre of the mind”