Not invented here?

As a listener to overseas radio since the age of eleven I was always in awe of Dutch radio and Radio Veronica in particular from Holland. I was amazed at the technical skills of the Dutch jocks and their delivery and music selection. Dutch broadcasters are amongst the best in the World and later Radio 10 Gold proved this. It was my choice to listen to Radio Veronica in Dutch than the BBC I heard more music more variety and better presentation than English stations. The Dutch get it right with everything audio processing, music playlists, production and great broadcasters, they are on a par with the US in my opinion. Yes we can learn from others and we are not that bloody brilliant I agree James.

I don’t quite get the point of this thread.

It does appear that UK radio people are going abroad based on James’ post. They are “working or speaking”. In other words, nobody from the UK is there on a jolly.

There does seem to be many consultants used within the UK radio industry who do have experience of international radio and seeing how things are done abroad. Does this mean UK radio should ditch these and just go abroad themselves? If so, haven’t you just done yourself out of a job James?

Perhaps I need to clarify “working or speaking”: there were a few people at both conferences sharing what British radio does. At RadioDays Europe, there were a few UK radio folks engaged in working for the RadioDays conference, by blogging or organisation.

Conferences aren’t “jollys”; they are a great opportunity to learn from other people.

You’re right on a number of counts, James. Conferences are not ‘jollys’ and are very valuable learning opportunities. In the 16 years we have been organising our European Radio conferences we have never had a single delegate from UK commercial radio – although we have had delegates from the BBC. Over a slightly longer period (22 years) we have been organising a companion TV conference. Whilst we have had delegates from most UK broadcasters, throughout this period we have never had one from ITV. Commercial broadcasters from other countries seem to feel there is something to be learned from others – but not many in the UK it seems!

Rightly or wrongly, I suspect it has more to do with budgets than arrogance. If attending a conference already costs more than a week’s newsdesk cover, attending a foreign conference will probably cost two or three weeks.

(I’m sure there are people offering short radio conferences which represent excellent value for the pressed local radio budget :))

Actually James, what Conferences are is very expensive. I know most of the stations for whom I work would find it very difficult to justify the expense. Obviously there’s a argument that says they should try to somehow because, as you rightly say, they are a great place to learn and swap ideas.

The fact is, Tim, these constraints apply to broadcasters the world over whose budgets are also stressed. It is more a question of where and how value is perceived.

It does all come down to justification in budgets unfortunately.

But then, how much would a new idea or way of working contribute to the profitability of a company. Hard to justify in the current economic climate, but then, could be just the help one needs…

Yes @Mike.. I don’t disagree with that, and it’s right we should get off the hamster wheel to look at the bigger picture. But I’d say it’s debatable whether going to RDE (once I’ve had an extra day away for travel, some plane flights and a bit of roaming data) would be of EXTRA value to my station, compared with going to the Radio Festival.

Conferences are amazing. You can meet lots of new people, learn about lots of new things, and generally come away improved.

But sadly the UK industry (commercially anyway) as a whole is not in a great place right now. After a few years of declining revenues, they’re only now beginning to creep back up. Conferences can be expensive – even in the UK. Once you’ve factored in travel, accommodation and food, you’re can be looking at the thick end of a thousand pounds.

Yes – conferences should probably be considered as “training,” and training is vital. But I’d ask another question. How many stations have seen their training budgets cut back in recent years? That’s if you’re lucky enough to even have a training budget.

Maybe there are a few places where people think that they have nothing to learn going to conferences. But I’m sure that it’s more about the cost and perhaps the time out of the office than anything.

(And even in times of plenty, good luck persuading your boss that, as UK person, it’s important for you to be attending a Canadian radio conference.)