Is Automation good for radio?
How’s it working for the listener? Do they know? Do they care? How’s it working for you in your position – or are you working for it? Is the technology working, or has it a long way to go? What is your view.
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I think people get a bit "unnecessary" about Voice-tracking. I first used Wizard's V/t in Auckland (NZ) during '99 and 2000 doing Drive and really got to love it.
We had to use it. In my own case, I was doing two different shows (one on the 24-station national network and one, with local references, in Auckland only) at exactly the same time.
Drive was 3-7 and I'd get into the studio about 2:00 and start putting bits down and recording incoming calls. You put in requests, eyewitness traffics, funny calls from punters; everything you'd expect from a Live broadcast, no one knows that you're actually well ahead of yourself.
Calls can be recorded and edited as they would be in a Live situation; (except faster, thanks to the digital Production facility) calls can be saved from the day before and built into "today"; personal Production-pieces can be inserted and as with anything on the Radio, no one notices unless you stuff it up!
I like to work closer to Real Time (sometimes by a minute or two) than most but although my shift ended at 7:00, I could be Off the Bus before I was Off the Air! (The other cool thing is, you can go out and drive in the City and listen to yourself! Instant aircheck!)
The problem's often one of design: a lot of the software's pretty ordinary and makes it difficult to FEEL live, conversational, real.
The trouble is, it's like designing cars: if you tell ten different computers what you need from a car design (room, power, weight, drag-coefficient, cost and so on) it's likely that every one of them will come up with exactly the same design. Of course, that's no good to Ford that wants to look different from Mazda that wants to look different from Toyota that wants to look different from....and so on it goes, to the possible detriment of the Product.
In the same way, RCS and Netia can't be designing systems that look like, for instance, Wizard, no matter how much better the Product might be if they did!
Apart from that, give some people a perfectly good operating system and they'll still find some way to extract an embarrassing result.
It's funny how a lot of Broadcasters just automatically come over all "ordinary" when they realise they're recording....but then, the humble microphone has been having that effect on the majority of live Broadcasters for decades!
If you regard your Radio Show as a piece of "Live Production," the benefits of the more up-market automation systems far outweigh the downsides; although it's always worth
remembering that, as with any brain, a lot depends on how you use it!
If you use it the right way, it's all good.
Having said that, my favourite quote at the moment is:-
"For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press 3."
No it is not. All automation has done for radio is lower the costs for owners. Automation has taken the immediacey out of the medium. We have lost the local personality and local feel of real radio. The number of jobs and opportunities that are no longer there is quite staggering those overnight Mid-Dawn shifts that were so good at training announcers and helping to build their personality has gone.
With automation timeing has gone and really the true skill of presenting to your listener is no longer being generated yes anyone can do it now. Listen to radio in Melb is same as Syd, Bris, Adel and regional stations sound the same.
Listeners really do know but have no other choice these days the industry dictates what they will hear and how they will hear it if a listener protests they are basically ignored. Perhaps a change in ratings system will help and definately we should be listening to the listener. NO MORE AUTOMATION lets get back to real radio for real people around Australia NO MORE Americanisation of our air-ways
This is the sad end of technology and how it had changed the medium. Where once the mid-dawn was the place to start in a cap-city station, there is now no longer such opportunities. Owners say it doesn't affect ratings - and they are probably right. But think of 24 hour industry, service stations, security workers...the list goes on. I know of many turning to community stations now who have UNPAID staff on at night. It is nice to see some RG stations now bringing back the dawn shift and giving young talent a go. As the Whitlams would say "Blow up the Maestro"
Automation is good if it is used to maximise quality of a station's sound. The use of it to replace jocks is not on!!!!! But having siad that and coming from a community station back ground. It would not take me long to get the computer in there fast. Note earlier I did say quality of the station!!!!!!!
What do you do if someone doesn't turn up???
What if you have a handfull of people that are good and the rest just think they are?
What do you do when the sponsor wants to pull his spots because the last dj forgot to play them?
Answer = Automation
But not to down size the quality of the station get this right!!!! Used correctly you can take your few good jocks and turn them into super jocks! The others get jobs recording the phone calls etc that make the previous guys sound even better! The next thing you know your station sounds much tighter and tidier this is what a listener wants. Even if they don't realize it!---Music too yes but that is a download away and play it on your own system. Today radio needs to be more entertaining without stepping the mark of dj babble.
I observe it here every day where i hear two community stations running automation and it is obvious that no one is there. It should be that trick you cannot tell if it is live of not! Given the tools one of them is using it could do lot's better!!!!!!!!!!
Here's a story from my old radio days. (Won't name the station - but it was a Canberra AM)
The night time shift was automated, the announcer had recorded his bits but the girl responsible for programming the shift used the incorrect playlist - so for 6 hours the announcer was back anouncing the wrong songs!
I think automation can be good for stations that cannot afford overnight jocks, but it's bad when a network uses automation to replace jocks by sharing a jock across many stations.
Soon they'll be using text to speech to completely replace jocks.
The automation debate always reminds me of that episode of the Simpsons where the 2 jocks are threatened to be replaced with the "DJ 200". It contains a few phrases like....oh, how about that weather and other such riveting generic phrases.
Any Jocks knows the feeling that goes through the veins everytime the mic is opened, this is why we all do the gig! Pure adrenalin.
But sitting in another studio with your Log infront of you and saving your voice drops to file contains no chemical reaction in the body that you get when doing your shift live.
It is this reaction that makes announcing the career of choice for a lot of us, and with this 'mystical' element taken away with automation, it does make a big difference, even if you voice track well, that "something" is missing!
When live, you get into the music pumping through the cans , or studio monitors while you are preparing the next talk break, and this also helps the vibe. This is lost with automation.
But, business is business, and these Networks are growing bigger and more money hungry, so they want to save a buck where ever possible.
I guess we just have to live with it, and hope that one day some of the GMs have a spiritual experience and make "that" connection!
Community radio local and live
I just wonder how many of these posts are from announcers who have lost their jobs due to automation! hmmmmmmmm
If it's done well does the average punter care - I would think not.
Automation is ok when it is used properly. I am an announcer on the 2SM FM network, and we still play everything from CD and minidisk. It would make things easier if we could play everything from the computer and worry more about what is being said on air, rather than focusing on CD's not working or having to cue up the minidisk. In a perfect world we could use automation just for music and commercials and still have live announcers.
I think automation can be a good thing, it can be a great tool to do your program. However I don't like it being used to pre record spots or to network progams on station clusters. NOTE DMG, I THINK YOUR NETWORKING MAKES YOU SOUND BLAND, DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND STAND OUT. BTW STAR FM ALBURY'S SIGNAL IS WAY OVER COMPRESSED - IT SOUNDS WORSE THEN AN MP3 (sorry to rant, but i feel better know) I think radio should, no NEEDS, to done live, thats what makes radio great, and great radio.
Radio should be about user interaction, and listeners cant interact with prophet or any other automation software.
Live and Local - Radio like it should be
We all hate recorded messages on the phone because we want to speak and listen a the real person...... why should radio be any different?
How interesting has this been so far? The varied ideas and opinions from people in and out of the industry. I still prefer to work live and believe live and local is the way to go. Having said that automated and pre-recorded and networked are all good in the right instance and are all neccessary.
I have also noticed that many that have stated they are against networking and automation have posted anonymously, mmm interesting isnt that much like automation (I'm not here but you can hear me).
If we are in the industry we are here because we love it. If we are not having fun and enjoying our time here we should get out. I'm lucky I have a great gig that is both automated (music on computer) and live (live talk) I still battle with CD's Mini discs and live to air calls.
Its the simple rule turn on the mic and be your listeners friend, have something to say or shut up and play music.
The industry is great but lets not crop it until it no longer exists. This industry is People, Community, Entertainment and Information.
Lets automate but not network as much.
Radio & Automation, the first attempts failed back in the 1970's remember 2SM installing a huge bank of carts connected to a very poorly run IBM mainframe thing. Stations all over the country went the Amercian way and just had to have Automation at all costs. It didnt work then, after about 5 years they were all dumped and real live radio resumed. Australia's love afair with Amercian broadcasting then introduced us to Networking, a thing they have been doing for years and years. Then through Government sanction boradcasting stations where all snatched up by a couple of operators and not only do you have automation but on top of that networking. I guess im preaching the obvious. There have been some very constructive comments here. Several problems keen comming back, lack of local content when its needed, technical glitches, and lack of opportunity for announcers. Its been said the networks all say we must cut costs, it does cost heaps to run a radio station. Announcers will alway cryaway from Automation. In some instances automation works well. But mostly we all know it works "just". Automation is here to stay, its Networking that raises the major threat to quality broadcasting as we knew/know it. Its a brave operator/owner/manger that says.. away with Netowrking and Automation lets create quality live radio 24 hours a day. I fear those days are forever lost. I can make live local radio work & be viable .. there are many others who can likewise.. but is there a station or network out there who is prepared to stand up and be counted? I doubt it.
Stephen3
I feel automation is a good thing for stations as it allows a station to get maximum efficiency from employees, however it is the reverse for announcers as there are less jobs to be had.
If automation is done properly, your average listener would not know as they're not really listening, you're just a buzz in the backgroud. I think if they listened carefully and thought about what they were hearing they might work it out, and would feel cheated.
Many people I've talked to don't even know we have the technology to automate. Automation is very reliable,(single computer) networking automation is unreliable (hub situations) mainly let down by satelite reliablity. When you get announcers talking over news or ads, music over ads or silence, what does your listener think? Many are just confused and switch channels, others realise that there is no one there and a few probably think the announcer is a goose and has no control over what he is doing, either way it is embarrassing for the station. It seems some networks are prepared to wear the embarrasment for the cost savings of networking automation, especially in non competitive makets. The listener looses.
But that's networking, automation for single stations can be excellent especially where voice tracking is used that allows the announcer to hear the song they are back announcing.
Automation is bad idea. Radio will find it hard to get great production people. Gone are the days when if you wanted to be a production person you went to the bush and learnt everything. Now Metro stations are hiring carting people & promotional drivers to fill production jobs. Look at the Automation networks now, they are just producing sausage factory promos & commercials in production out of these so called Hubs. Automation is not local.
It looks like most of theses posts are from announcers (some quite bitter), how about the management view, after all it's you guys who make the decisions regarding automation.
Responding to Anon User on the 23/11 - There were a few stations running live mid-dawns in the bush in the "old days" It's where I got my start 2ST in 1981/82. But I think you're right... most NSW stations outside Sydney, 'Gong and Newscastle weren't on-air overnight.
All things in moderation is what my father taught me... otherwise there tends to be repercussions in life and after reading the below messages I (sadly) feel there are a few burnt creative souls in radio...
Anyone whos passionate cares about what they do... it's just a shame we see things from such a different perspective.