Articles by radionewsfeeds

Helwin Lesch, Head of Distribution and Controlling Department in the Production and Technology Directorate of Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), was announced as this year’s recipient of the WorldDAB Award for Outstanding Service at the WorldDAB General Assembly meeting on Monday. Helwin Lesch has been a pivotal figure in promoting DAB+ in Bavaria, in Germany and more widely in Europe. He has been an active member of the WorldDAB Steering Board for several years, in addition to being a founding member of the European Digital Radio Alliance (EDRA). He has worked at Bavaria’s public broadcaster, BR, since 2002, first as Head of the Main Program Distribution Department, then as Head of the Main Planning and Technology Department, and since 2015, as Head of the newly created Main Distribution and Controlling Department.In addition to his responsibilities at BR, Helwin serves as a member of the Executive Board of Digital Radio Platform e.V. (DRP), and as a member of the advisory board of Bayerische Medien Technik (BMT) GmbH and Bayern Digital Radio (BDR) GmbH.Prior to joining BR, Helwin worked with the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Commercial Broadcasting (BLM) as a specialist consultant, while simultaneously working as an authorized signatory at Bayerische Medien-Service-Gesellschaft mbH (BayMS).Commenting on receiving the award he said: “Digital radio will help to ensure that radio continues to play an important role for people in the future and provides a common information base for discussions in our society. Even though I am no longer a member of the Steering Board, I will continue to devote all my energy to digital radio.” […]

Content from BPRA common challenge for programmers is differentiation of their news/information programs from those of the competition. There are a number of ways to do this.
NAME IT. Many years ago, a station in New York State identified its news bulletins as “Action Central News.” Even though it did not necessarily mean anything, it suggested immediacy and authority. When listeners were asked, “What station has Action Central News” most of them were able to identify the station without hesitation. The same idea can be applied to traffic, weather and sport reports. By naming a report, it becomes proprietary to your station and associated with your brand.

PERSONALISE IT. One of the most effective ways to associate your news, traffic, weather and sport reports with your station is to personalize them by linking them to specific reporters. If you are fortunate enough to find a talent with an engaging style, the station’s association with that type of report will be greatly enhanced. Listeners are more likely to trust a report if it presented by an individual whom they know and whom they feel can be relied upon to give them accurate information. Over the years, many sport reporters, including professional athletes, have gained renown as the “sport guy” on the station.

GIVE IT A LOCAL FEEL. Associate your reports with the local community. This technique works especially well in large metropolitan areas or regions. For example, some stations have localized their weather reports by adding weather conditions for a specific area of town. Reporters can preface their news stories with lines such as, “Here is a report just in from the Kensington area…”

OWN IT. Always link your reports with the name of your station. “Here are the latest headlines as compiled by the Hit Radio news team.” “And now for the latest traffic information from Hit Radio’s traffic guru Bob Jones.”

PROMOTE IT. By promoting your reports throughout the day, you can raise listener awareness of your information programs. “Listen tomorrow morning at 7 to Hit Radio Radar Weather and be fully prepared for the day ahead.” “Tune in to Hit Radio before leaving the office to check on the latest road conditions.” We know that promotion works, so why not apply it to your information reports?
One of the realities of modern radio is that the information that we deliver to the audience usually comes from an external source. For example, weather information is often generated by a central meteorological agency. However, this does not prevent us from taking ownership of our reporting and linking it to our brand image.By Andy Beaubien, BPR […]