Anthony Tilli reports exclusively for radioinfo from inside the Grad School.
Any concerns about the future of radio were quickly dispelled by some of the nation’s greatest radio minds at The SCA Content Grad School Class of 2013, reports radioinfo correspondent Anthony Tilli.
The mystery guest speaker, Eddie McGuire told the grad schoolers: “Radio is still the most powerful media, it is still building and is still so intimate and immediate.”
The room at the Crown Melbourne was filled with excited and passionate men and women from across the country all aiming to take something away to make them better at what they do. They weren’t disappointed.
Head of Content Craig Bruce introduced the theme of the conference – ‘What’s It Going To Take?’ and shared 25 lessons from his 25 years of radio experience. These ranged from finding your unique, authentic voice, to getting passionate about the music. He compared a content director with a conductor of an orchestra, you set the tone and the rhythm.
Eddie McGuire shared his heart and experiences, telling us that reputation is ‘everything’ – it can take years to develop and minutes to ruin.
Craig asked Eddie, ‘What’s it going to take?’ He replied: “You must read the papers. It’s not advice but it’s your obligation to know what everyone else on the streets knows. Knowledge is power.”
Fitzy introduced Mick Molloy from Triple M’s Hot Breakfast as the funniest man on radio. Mick said the key to good comedy is not so much writing, but understanding the world. It’s the chemistry. He always imagines who is listening to him. What Mick loves about radio is that “they cannot tell you not to do it, they can only tell you not to do it again.”
National Executive Producer Sam Cavanagh spoke about the future of radio, connecting it to the power of social media and the need for innovation, using examples of ‘the love yourself ‘ idea in Bunbury, and Fifi and Jules ‘New car for your old bomb.’
Hamish and Andy were innovative and became so successful because they went out of the studio, according to Cavanagh. The challenge is to turn every idea into an opportunity to meet as many fans as possible. Fans can lead to creative ideas. The future of radio is building fans by leveraging across multiple platforms. “Fans not listeners are the future of radio,” he said.
Mel Lee, Triple M’s Social Media Manager, said there are 54% of Aussies on Facebook and 3 million on Twitter. “In the future your digital footprint will carry more weight than anything that you can put on a resume.” Chris Betcher believes the next big thing is video instagram on mobiles.
Ben Wise described social media as a surf beach – you can ride the wave or be dumped by it!
His advice: Make sure you have your facts correct and put thought into every single tweet that you do or you can get yourself and your company into trouble. Make all reads lead back to you on big stories. When something is trending on Twitter, make your tweet where people end up if they search on the trend.
Content Directors Dave Cameron and Jamie Angel shared their greatest lessons and learnings. Their four things for a winning show are:
- Talkability – make people think.
- Spontaneity – you have to excite listeners.
- Memorability – people are better at remembering stories than information.
- Vulnerability – being real.
- Love the music not just the science and art approach.
Rhys Holleran stated that it’s not about the announcer, but the audience, so never be reckless because “what we do is a privilege.”
Mike Fitzpatrick challenged the conventional thinking about radio formats and said that better doesn’t always win – different does. Find a way to step into things we do each day and challenge it. He said: “Someone in this conference room is going to push through and find a better way and that is innovation.”
Executive Producer Matt Reilly gave us the key skills and traits of a good executive producer:
- Can prioritize.
- Brilliant communicator.
- Driver/motivator.
- Planned/organized.
- Execution – great ideas need to be executed properly.
- Can work with talent.
- Be relentless.
Jay Billmueller, the Producer of the Hot Breakfast Show, spoke about the importance of chemistry and the ‘vibe’ in the studio is where the magic happens. A bad vibe can kill a show.
Andy Lee talked about the evolution of where he began and said he thinks Hamish is the funniest person on radio and maybe even the world. His insights:
Having a surplus of ideas for a show means that a show is always going to be good. Give every idea the opportunity to grow, but don’t reveal the end goal. People connect when you are all learning about the same thing at the same time.
Overall the leaders spoke with frankness and honesty in their presentations. We heard from the best as they shared their skills, their experiences but also their hearts.
“The most powerful agent of growth and transformation is something much more basic than any technique – it’s a change of heart.” We all left challenged and changed in our approach, kicking us up to a whole new level of radio.
WALLY & KEL FOR BREAKFAST 3SRFM SHEPPARTON: “IT WAS AN AMAZING INSIGHT INTO SOME GREAT MINDS THAT MAKE GREAT RADIO”
CLAIRE MURPHY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, LABBY STAV & ABBY BREAKFAST SHOW BRISBANE B105: “WHEN YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS, YOU SIT UP & PAY ATTENTION.”
MATT REILLY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER). “IT GAVE US KEY SKILLS & TRAITS OF A GOOD EXECUTIVE PRODUCER.”
THE FUTURE GENERATION – BELLE JACKSON (18years old) & JAMES BLAKE (17years old)
SYN THURSDAYS. BELLE – “I LOVED THE CHALLENGE TO COME IN WITH THE SOLUTION, NOT THE PROBLEM.” JAMES – “WHAT HIT ME MOST WAS THAT THE No. 1 THING THAT CAN KILL A SHOW IS A BAD VIBE, FIND THAT GOOD VIBE & PROTECT IT.”
Our reporter Anthony Tilli attended the Grad School to report for radioinfo.
Anthony is a former student of Melbourne Radio School. He is currently looking for his big break as an announcer in country market. Email: [email protected]. Phone 0439 257 477