Entering A New Galaxy
Tonight's meeting of the Radio Academy's Scottish Branch was held in the offices of Galaxy radio at Pacific Quay in Glasgow. A two minute walk for me, of course, but my first glimpse inside our neighbour's studios (housed inside a former tram repair depot) so I got a guided tour from the boss Stuart Barrie.
I was intrigued by the sheer effort that goes into to networking those programmes that come from Galaxy's H.Q. in London. Stuart talked me through a complex computerised playout system that allows the D.J. down south to insert local links into the programmes that are heard in Scotland. That might include a reference to the weather in Edinburgh or a joke about something funny that had happened on the Glasgow-produced breakfast show.
It was incredibly slick and requires a completely different skill-set from our own presenters.
Imagine Fred MacAulay telling a joke in the Glasgow studio, but also pressing a button to ensure that the punchline referenced Inverness, Aberdeen or Selkirk, depending on where you were listening.
The meeting itself confirmed Jay Crawford (of Real Radio) as the new chair of the Scottish branch and I know that Jay plans to be very vocal about the problems facing the industry in Scotland and the impact on local jobs.
He might get his first chance to do that tomorrow morning. He, like me, will be attending a day long conference on radio organised by OFCOM. I'm doing a turn on our online Zones and talking about the challenges of the digital age.
More on that tomorrow night.
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