It’s another hazy morning 350 feet above the Liverpool skyline and the guys are hard at work.
It’s a hectic news day for the team and they’re sourcing ALL their own stories and audio.

Today we’ve found Lord Mandelson isn’t talking to GM bosses (contradicting national stories), lottery winners on our doorstep (it should have been us!) and the latest from Liverpool’s game last night… and many many more!

It’s a misty morning on Merseyside!
Our Liverpool students view from the Radio City Tower is slightly obscured but no less impressive!

The guys hard at work in Liverpool . . .

Today has been a hectic day for the students!
We’ve had a day full of bulletins.
Natalie has been a very stressed news editor but coped admirably!
Graeme chased a pyschic (she should have known he was coming) and got some great audio.
Adam was on the ball in sport.
While Joe was Reporter Of The Day – juggling five stories.
A good day in the office!

The National Broadcasting School launches “The Talent Project” at GMG Radio in Salford Quays

The NBS has today launched its first Talent Project programme which will be held at the studios of GMG Radio in Salford Quays from Saturday 28th November 2009.

The Talent Project is a weekend-only presenter training programme aimed at people who want to get into radio, and who previously haven’t had the time, money, or opportunity.

The project consists of 20 modules delivered over 10 weekends, which cover every aspect of the presenters’ art, from the basics to advanced presentation techniques. Priced at only £99 plus VAT per day, it is affordable and accessible, and will bring a new generation of talent onto Britain’s airwaves.

The programme will run over 10 weekends and then repeat itself. Students can complete the programme in any order over a two year period in order to gain their NBS Diploma. Each day includes a two hour presentation stint in one of GMG radios’ state-of-the-art studios. The training will be carried out by battle hardened industry professionals with many years experience.

Rory McLeod, Director and founder of the NBS said “This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to get into radio and television, and I’d like to thank GMG for allowing us unprecedented access to their fantastic facilities at Salford Quays. The Talent Project covers every aspect that our intensive one- month programme does, except you can now train at your convenience if you have a full time job, and it is now more affordable than ever because its structured and priced on a pay as you go basis. If this programme is a successful, as we think it will be, we’ll roll it out across the UK”

Andy Carter, Managing Director of GMG Radio Northwest said; “We’re really pleased to be able to partner the National Broadcasting School in this project to help new talent gain the skills they need to succeed with a career in radio. We know that the skills that candidates can develop on these courses can make the difference when it comes to an interview.”

For more information log onto realtalentproject.co.uk, smoothtalentproject.co.uk, rocktalentproject.co.uk. Or telephone Tom Hunter of the NBS on 07710 555538 or email tom@nationalbroadcastingschool.com

Hello from the Radio City Tower in Liverpool… 450 feet above the River Mersey and the home of the National Broadcasting School!
We’re training the next generation of radio broadcasters and NOW keeping you up-to-date with how we’re all doing!
We’ll speak to you soon!

Introduction

Location links are usually used by broadcasters to introduce a piece, and then to bridge subsequent audio inserts. They are recorded or broadcast ‘live’ on location because doing so adds to a narrative credibility and pictures in brilliant colour.

Location links, usually no more than 15 seconds, need to be structured but they’re most effective when they sound ad-libbed, natural and, importantly, not perfect! Coupled with ‘on location’ ambience and sounds, they engage and involve listeners better than clever scripts and careful mixing. For example, a narrative about wind-power that comes from the bowels of a windmill is much more engaging than a clever script and sound effects.

Fluent ad-lobbing is a bit of a lost art for many reasons. The tide will turn and the broadcaster who can talk fluently on any subject, however superficially, will be more valuable and a good step ahead of most colleagues?

Oh, one other thing, clever ‘location links’ save a broadcaster a huge amount of scripting and editing time!

Tips on Great Location Links

1. Right mic: make sure you have the right mic for the job and that you set the right recording levels;
2. Headphones: always use them – it’s the best way to hear what’s going into your recorder: ambience, voice/ambience balance, input levels etc
3. You’re the Eyes imagine being the eyes of a blind person;
4. Create pictures: memorable, imaginative words and sounds will bring your piece alive;
5. Think before you start, hear how and where your location links might add colour or bridge various points in your piece;
6. Hear ‘hear’ what you are going to say by rehearsing;
7. Jog notes if it helps use ‘jog notes’ or a spider-gram;
8. KISS keep your links simple – don’t be too ambitious – a 15 second link is ample; don’t record too much material – it’s a nightmare to edit;
9. Facts equip yourself with a few relevant facts that will advance our understanding and/or knowledge;
10. Language be natural; no cliches, no hyperbole, no jargon, no long words;
11. Record button ON: try to avoid switching the record/stop button because it can add a nasty click to your recording
12. Cock-ups: if you muck up a location link, don’t worry; start the sentence again; don’t get frustrated; remember cock–ups can give a link veracity and involvment;
13. Overlap: if you muck up, say “Overlap” and start over; you don’t need to start your whole piece again; the word ‘overlap’ will help you to find the edit point quickly; when you start again, make sure you talk at the same pitch and at the same pace and with same background ambience;
14. Easy editing: leave enough time for edits that are natural and well-paced;
15. Wild-track: record wild-track wherever you are;
16. Sound clichés: avoid really obvious and/or clichéd sounds; don’t use sound for the sake of it;
17. Explaining the obvious don’t bore/patronise listeners by, first, using sounds that are easy to decipher and, second, stating what the sound is;
18. Strange noises: don’t ‘confuse and lose’ listeners by using sounds that are hard to decipher;
19. Practice: practise talking about a word, a phrase, a topic or a scene for as long as possible in a way that is fluent, coherent and informative; record yourself – it’s the best way to improve
20. Listen to Just a Minute on BBC Radio 4!

Has Twitter finally been found out?

Stephen Fry’s announcement that he is thinking about terminating his tweets has started a big soul-search: why do 55 million people around the world send and receive them? No-one has come up with a decent answer: a sign that Twitter doesn’t have a big future?

The truth is that, in the UK, Twitter isn’t cool or contemporary, or even useful: it’s a broadcast medium that belongs to the middle-aged and middle-class with time on their hands. Hence the popularity of one of their icons, Stephen Fry, who has just short of one million ‘tweet-olytes’.

Want some numbers ?

* Less than 11% of Twitterers are between 18-24 years old
* Twitterers aged between 35-44 spend on average 20 minutes at a time on Twitter: young people less than 5 minutes

(Thanks to Pear Analytics)

The most puzzling factoid is this: 40% of tweets are ‘pointless babble’….not a great recommendation for those thinking of stepping onto Planet Twitter.

The gloomy news for Twitter fans is that some of the only Twitterers worth following, the Twitterati, are in a huff and are threatening to pull the plug. Stephen Fry, Lily Allen and Miley Cyrus say their tweets have been treated unfairly: Fry’s were called ‘boring’, Allen got savaged for speaking about illegal downloads, and Cyrus accused the tabloids of her using her Tweets for newspaper articles. Does the word ‘naive’ spring to mind?

I want to know why savvy stars abandon their carefully controlled public personas to wade into the wild, icey waters of Twitter where wounding personal insults (would you believe, some of them ‘untrue’) bounce around the ether, gathering profile and credibility as they go.

Get a grip, celebs. Twitter is vanity broadcasting that can hurt and I am afraid that, sooner or later, you will pay the price. And if the celebs finally wake up and smell the coffee, who will Twitterers follow? People just like ourselves? Yeah, right!