Wednesday 27 June 2012

Global buys GMG Radio. Top 10 Do's and Don'ts


So as Global prepare to sink their teeth into GMG as part of their... well 'global' domination strategy, here are a few thoughts about some of the “Do’s and Don’ts” if you currently work for GMG Radio. In fact, fuck it... it’s a Top 10 List!

Some of them are fairly sensible pieces of advice. Others perhaps less so...

DO
10. Do accept that change happens and nothing stays the same forever
9. Do spend some time thinking about how things may realistically pan out for you personally
8. Do have a Plan B. Start to map out other options just in case and always ‘protect for the downside’
7. Do encourage your managers to share as much information as they can with you about what’s going on
6. Do PR yourself internally a bit and ensure others know how essential you are to the company, whatever your role
5. Do some networking. Get back in touch with a few mates in the industry
4. Do continue to focus on your current role. Keeping busy somehow helps make change feel less dramatic
3. Do tidy up your desk. If your workstation looks like a shithole, you’ll be the first to get fired. Guaranteed
2. Do “backup” all the stuff you may find useful in future, just in case you’re forced to make a non-planned, sharp exit
1. Do delete all dodgy porn sites from your browsing history. Especially the Tulisa video


DON’T
10. Don’t speculate wildly about the future plans. It gets you nowhere
9. Don’t lose sleep. You need to be on the top of your game for the next few months, and just it’s not worth it
8. Don’t think the company performing the takeover are “the enemy”. It’s not very productive
7. Don’t slag your new owners off loudly in the office. Keep any personal thoughts you have, to air at home
6. Don’t be too sentimental about the past. Look forward
5. Don’t try and ‘brown-nose’ prospective new managers. No-one likes a ‘kiss-ass’
4. Don’t practise saying the new station name whilst driving in your car. There’ll be plenty of time for that
3. Don’t have an Ashley Tabor poster as a dartboard in the newsroom. There’ll be plenty of time for that
2. Don’t hide a rotting fish behind a radiator on your last day, if you’re ‘let go’. You’re not in a 1978 ITV sitcom
1. Don’t cry like Foxy did when he left Capital. It sounds ‘well crap’ when you listen back years later

Remember – in life, you can’t change the cards you are dealt... only how you play the hand.

Good luck.

Tuesday 19 June 2012

The Next... NEXTRAD.IO




Some  media / radio conferences can be a bit dull.

Especially if you wonder into a session that, according to the description, sounds pretty good... but after 5 minutes you realise the speaker hasn’t prepared or rehearsed very well, has exceptionally bland slides just crammed full of text, and is doing the topic a real injustice. Then you’re potentially stuck there... for an hour.

I’m obviously far too polite to walk out of someone’s session mid-flow... although there was one time, (not in band camp) but in a very small breakout session, with about 20 people in it, where I faked receiving a phone call and ran from the room like an expectant father, never to return. At that point, I felt my life was not long enough to listen to this particular producer's “inspirational music” for any longer than necessary. For all I know, some people are still trapped in that dark room in Copenhagen trying to escape.

Anyway – if you like the sound of those type of sessions, then stay away from ‘NEXTRAD.IO’!

Yes – the conference for those who make radio and care about content is back for another year, making a welcome return. Last year there was a great line-up of interesting speakers, of which I was pleased to be one. In a ‘tip of the hat’ to TED, we all had 9 or 18 minutes to say something relevant and engaging.

I think it was Churchill (or someone similarly great) who said that “it’s easy to make a speech for 2 hours... but for 10 minutes... that takes some preparation!”. So focusing everything down was a really good exercise to do. ‘Less is More’... and all that.

So – the organisers, Matt Deegan and JamesCridland, are looking for suggestions of who should speak this year, which is a nice touch. So if you have any thoughts, let them know. Likewise if you want to sign up to attend, you can do that too.

‘Being inspired’ is an essential part of our work like. We all need to be inspired on a regular basis. The results are always positive, as it fuels your creativity and desire to do better work, which can’t be a bad thing... can it?

So, if you fancy being inspired... you could do worse that go along for the day.

To get a flavour of nextradio, all the videos are now online. Here’s mine...