I was having a discussion with Andy this morning as I turned my computer on and loaded up Radio Jackie for another day of listening and writing. Paul Coia standing in for someone or other was chatting away in his Scottish accent and something struck me (no, no flying dog toys or anything like that thankfully) just a thought that these days radio has no personality any more. Long gone are the days when you’d load up a CD, or get a record cued up with your backtiming sorted to the news, and your notes of what you fancied chatting about and in has crept huge conglomerates buying up each and every station to add them into the big world of automation, same playlists, same chat, same ads. What the hell has happened to all the personalities now?
DJ’s rock up to do their slots, sit down in front of their 2 screens with everything already loaded, they type in what the producer tells them that they’re going to talk about and when and that’s it. The same playlists loaded over the radio groups multiple stations to play the same thing at the same time, just different person doing the segways. No more Kenny Everetts, Chris Tarrants and the like, personalities shining out from your radio with their own opinions, favourite music and quirks that lead you to tune in day after day.
I think I know what’s happened though. Back when I started (after volunteering at mainstream originally as general dogsbody) we did the hard graft. Hospital Radio although got frowned upon was usually where DJs of that day had learnt their trade. Ward Radio where I volunteered was responsible for more than one well known DJ including Graham Gold, Steve Hyland, Sutish Sharma, Andy Milburn, Darren Spence, Steve Reed… oh the list goes on. But back then hospital radio laid the groundwork for mainstream and personalities were nurtured. Our station never had much money but we made sure our presenters were fully trained, had access to the most up to date equipment (as then) and were ready to send their aircheck tapes off to “proper radio” if they so wanted. Then along came reality TV and these nobodies with no talent started to replace our personalities. Kate Lawler rocks up as a DJ on Capital Radio and sits there whilst other people around her do the work. Mark Wright does the same. Now we hear Georgia Moffatt is lined up to do some radio show up north. All the hard work done by hospital radio to train the DJ’s of today tossed aside like an old chip wrapper for some bit of totty seen on TV that’s got some Radio Executive’s loins a twitching. What the actual eff! These talentless scripted reality himbos and bimbos get thrust into the limelight because they’re perceived to be “totty”. As far as I knew totty sold magazines not music (unless it was just in music videos) so radio executives have their priorities wrong. It’s them that have changed my once loved career into a laughing stock. No talent needed now, just “tits and teeth”. Sad and shameful.
Where Have All The Personalities Gone - Radio
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