Sound Lecture

In week five, introduction to journalism’s usual lecture was replaced by a sound lecture which revealed the qualities or characteristics a person needs to pursue a successful career in radio. In the first half of the lecture, Richard an experience radio host, reflected on his experiences in radio and the challenges he faced going into radio after working for a lengthy period in TV. The comments he made on the difference between tv and radio particularly interested me as before hearing this lecture I had never been aware of how different the two communication outlets are and how different a person has to act to be successful on radio when compared to tv. A lot of what he said implied that working in radio is in fact more of a challenge then working in tv as you essentially only have one resource at your disposal, your voice. Another interesting point that Richard expanded on was how radio hosts have to learn to draw listeners in to the conversation that is being had and make listeners feel as though they are part of it rather then lose track and go on their own tangent. Following on from the interview with Richard, Steve Austin was interviewed. I found his story really inspiring as he has had such a successful career in radio despite the fact he had little experience and claims to have little natural talent in the area but instead worked hard to become the talented radio host he is today. His voice like Richards is certainly compelling to listen to and I believe this is because of the charisma and enthusiasm that it radiates. Something he said which particularly interested me was how speaking on radio is so very different to speaking in regular conversation you would have with family or friends as you have to properly annunciate your words and have much less thinking time.