大象传媒

Bang. Clatter. Rustle. Thud. Just some of the noises I made doing my very first job at the 大象传媒. Creating sound effects on The Archers is one of the best jobs in radio.

Twenty years later, I find myself absorbed in the subtleties of sound once again as the 大象传媒 World Service launches a short but engaging project called Save Our Sounds.

The editorial issues are quite different. No need to worry about using April birdsong during a June garden party scene or playing the wrong doorbell. The biggest dilemma for Save Our Sounds is accessibility.

Save Our Sounds aims to give people the world over a taste of "acoustic ecology", the act of capturing and preserving sounds which paint a picture of the world and which may become extinct. You'll understand that there's a huge, growing and fairly well-classified photographic archive, but a sonic record of global life is harder to come by.

So we're building a sound map of the world onto which you can add your own recordings. You can also join a growing online conversation by following where you'll meet science writer and journalist Kate Arkless Gray.

But what about the large number of 大象传媒 World Service listeners who don't have internet access? Save Our Sounds is clearly built on the opportunities afforded by digital media, but we want to provide a way in for everybody.

Part of the answer lies in what sets the 大象传媒 World Service apart from other online organisations: we have a whopping great radio station attached to our website. So we've created Save Our Sounds radio programming that anybody can enjoy.

So those listening to the daily Outlook programme next week will be able to share in the project. The brilliantly inventive 大象传媒 World Service producer Rami Tzabar is also crafting a pair of Discovery radio documentaries, fronted by Trevor Cox, which you can hear in early July.

We've also tried to provide some pretty low-tech ways of contributing to our sound map. In addition to uploading from a web browser, by e-mail, or via the free application on an iPhone, you can use the plain old telephone system or even send a cassette tape in the post. Remember cassettes? They're still in widespread use in many places around the world.

I'd be interested to know how well you think we've done to open out this project and, of course, would love to hear any sound you choose to share with us.

Meanwhile, does Ambridge have broadband yet?

Steve Martin is editor of promotions and navigation at 大象传媒 World Service

I promised to let you know when you could hear and comment on the finalists in our young broadcaster competition. Well, the time has come - the shortlist of contenders is here. Over to you.

Visit London鈥檚 Aldwych on an evening and you鈥檒l see loads of folk milling about in dinner jackets. Who are these people? Theatreland party guests or 大象传媒 World Service continuity announcers waiting to start their shifts?

Well, the former, of course but the image of immaculately dressed ladies and gentlemen addressing the world from London is an enduring one. Indeed, it is said that 大象传媒 studios were designed so that starched cuffs couldn鈥檛 inadvertently knock important controls.

This weekend we look to the future, however, as we search for a young continuity announcer for our forthcoming 鈥淕eneration Next鈥� week. It鈥檚 all about seeing the world through the eyes of the planet鈥檚 under-18s.

We invited UK schools who had recently run licensed radio stations to nominate students and this Saturday a bunch of them will come to Bush House for coaching from some of our professional broadcasters. They鈥檒l also record audition material for their bid to be a finalist. More than forty million listeners could hear their work so it鈥檚 a pretty big deal for them.

But we have a dilemma - some of the entrants we鈥檝e heard demonstrate maturity, authority and a vocal resonance well beyond their years. They will sit very well on air and bring youthful insight to our journalism. But if they don鈥檛 actually sound young and recognisably different to our listeners, what鈥檚 the point of all this you might argue.

Well, we鈥檙e inviting World Service listeners to influence the judges鈥� decision by commenting on their favourites by text and email. I鈥檒l let you know when it鈥檚 all up on the website in case you want to join in鈥� and of course I鈥檒l let you know if any of the hopefuls turn up in black tie.