Updated February 12th
2003, Sydney Australia
Lets
not cry over spilt milk - or should we?
It's
fascinating to go to www.radiowaves.fm. Not because they are just
a fantastic resource for all things "radio" in Ireland,
but because they are so well organised. And they are timeless. Okay,
so I'm a guy who worked in stations like Nova, Q102 and the rest back
in the 80's in Ireland, and I could (and probably have!) well been
critisised as an old codger who is only interested in what was going
on in "the golden years" of radio in Ireland.
Well, you know what?
I DO think they were the golden years of radio in
Ireland, when I compare stations like Sunshine and Nova to the insidious
material on air now. But I still have a great deal of interest in
radio in that country, despite being on the other side of the world.
IRISH RADIO WAS GOOD!!! BELIEVE ME! If you're under 25 viewing this
website and you're from Ireland you probably don't know what I'm talking
about.
On the other hand you may not be here unless you have decided to find
out where people like Jason Maine, John Clark, John Kenny and so many
more came from. Our generation of broadcasters built the future of
Irish radio. We didn't mean to. It just happened because people like
Chris Cary (NOVA) and Robbie Dale (Robinson) (Sunshine) set up the
superpirates that would dictate, or should have dictated future radio
in Ireland. Of course, the completely screwed up political system
was going to stop them, one way or another. And it succeeded in the
end. FM104, 98FM and most of the stations that exist in Dublin today
are appalling, and one of the most saddening things is that they comprise
of many of my friends, who worked on much more professional stations
back in the 80's.
Okay, so there's no point in crying over spilt milk, but can we please
change some things here? Like, if you're an aspiring young broadcaster
or listener in Dublin, can you demand better radio for your city,
either to work on or listen to? Phantom FM have been trying to get
a licence for god knows how long. I'm 41 years old and you'd think
I would not be into their music - and I'm not, so you're right.
BUT I do recognise this station as one that provides
the community with an intelligent home-grown music-orientated non-patronising
service with integrity and the ability to produce quality broadcasting.
I don't give a damn if their music is not to my taste. What I do give
a damn about is all that money being spent (through advertising) on
commercial media like FM104 and 98FM to not only satisfy (yeah, right!)
but educate young people (or any people for that matter) in a public
domain. Pop radio (as we used to call it) was never rocket-science,
but THE FUGITIVE - Come on! How low can you get? I know this is a
worldwide thing, but that's no excuse.
I don't mind if there are shitty stations like FM104
and 98FM around,
but they should not be dominating the market, because if they do,
we will rear and nurture a generation of idiots, and it won't be their
fault, because they never heard any better media. In Australia there
is one good radio station aimed at young people - Triple
J. Even they have become somewhat commercial, but they still recognise
that young people are not idiots who just want to do reality programmes
and get abused by the media system who pay them damn-all and reap
huge money in advertising revenue.
I
will be talking about Reality shows in the next submission to this
site - and it ain't for the weak-hearted! I will also be doing a radio
show on this subject - so stay tuned!
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