TV is just as bad though - they rarely just let pictures tell the story and when breaking news occurs they just repeat the same little bit of info time and time again rather than giving viewers chance to take the pictures in.
Continuity over credits is just as bad too - it's annoying they now come in the second a programme finishes but a couple of times over the weekend they've pretty much talked right through music at the end of the show, which was especially annoying over We're Going on a Bear Hunt.
All true, but listeners are really unforgiving about silence on air. Pauses of between 2 and 5 seconds will cause some listeners to think the batteries in their radio have gone, or some other similar thought, and most if not all will think something like that after the five second mark, so silence of any kind in radio is not encouraged, unless it is for dramatic effect.
2 seconds ?! If stations are pandering to people like that, then quite honestly they're getting the listeners they deserve.
I was wondering why I consume less and less radio these days
I think you're way over-reacting, but I get the gist of what you're trying to say.
Unfortunately, it's the nature of the beast. Radio being a single sensory medium, sound only, means that any silence that doesn't sound like a natural pause in speech, has way more of an effect, than the equivalent would on TV, because at least there you have pictures, and as long as the pictures are still moving, the silence won't matter quite so much.
All true, but listeners are really unforgiving about silence on air. Pauses of between 2 and 5 seconds will cause some listeners to think the batteries in their radio have gone, or some other similar thought, and most if not all will think something like that after the five second mark, so silence of any kind in radio is not encouraged, unless it is for dramatic effect.
2 seconds ?! If stations are pandering to people like that, then quite honestly they're getting the listeners they deserve.
I was wondering why I consume less and less radio these days
I think you're way over-reacting, but I get the gist of what you're trying to say.
Unfortunately, it's the nature of the beast. Radio being a single sensory medium, sound only, means that any silence that doesn't sound like a natural pause in speech, has way more of an effect, than the equivalent would on TV, because at least there you have pictures, and as long as the pictures are still moving, the silence won't matter quite so much.
Radios 3 and 4 broadcast acres' worth of silence, their listeners don't start getting in a tizz in less time than a single breath takes ? Gaps between tracks on albums are about 5 seconds, again no big deal ? Silence and punctuation is part of the syntax of communication. Funny how everything has to be reduced to keep the drongos in society happy, (but it's not just broadcasting that suffers from that )
All true, but listeners are really unforgiving about silence on air.
I think you're talking nonsense again. What do they do, light up the Radio 4 switchboard if Nicholas Parsons pauses for comedic effect on
Just a Minute
?
Last edited by davidhorman on 26 December 2016 5:08pm
I'm sure being a news presenter isn't easy even with a straight forward bulletin when everything goes according to plan, but I wouldn't want to be in their shoes once you get a failed VT or some breaking news.
Dealing with all that information coming in, and the talkback from the gallery, while trying to sound credible on screen must be quite a juggling act.
I've noticed different presenters use different techniques, with varying degrees of success. Some slow down their speech, leaving an unnatural pause between every word. I presume it's to allow them to process all the information they're getting.
However, I find that type of delivery quite irritating. Matthew Amroliwala uses this technique (as do many others). I suppose in the end it's no better or worse than inane rambling, lip-smacking or 'umm-ing & arrr-ing'.
2 seconds ?! If stations are pandering to people like that, then quite honestly they're getting the listeners they deserve.
I was wondering why I consume less and less radio these days
I think you're way over-reacting, but I get the gist of what you're trying to say.
Unfortunately, it's the nature of the beast. Radio being a single sensory medium, sound only, means that any silence that doesn't sound like a natural pause in speech, has way more of an effect, than the equivalent would on TV, because at least there you have pictures, and as long as the pictures are still moving, the silence won't matter quite so much.
Radios 3 and 4 broadcast acres' worth of silence, their listeners don't start getting in a tizz in less time than a single breath takes ? Gaps between tracks on albums are about 5 seconds, again no big deal ? Silence and punctuation is part of the syntax of communication. Funny how everything has to be reduced to keep the drongos in society happy, (but it's not just broadcasting that suffers from that )
Silence has a habit of feeling a lot longer than it actually is. It's a weird thing, but it's real. What you may think is 5 seconds, may in fact actually only be 3 seconds. Then again, maybe that's why Radio 3 struggles to stay above 2 million listeners...
All true, but listeners are really unforgiving about silence on air.
I think you're talking nonsense again. What do they do, light up the Radio 4 switchboard if Nicholas Parsons pauses for comedic effect on
Just a Minute
?
You ask that when ITV +1 viewers can't get the fact that the clock on a +1 service is going to be an hour behind and not accurate??? It wouldn't surprise me if the damn switchboard wasn't jammed every time!!!
Silence has a habit of feeling a lot longer than it actually is. It's a weird thing, but it's real. What you may think is 5 seconds, may in fact actually only be 3 seconds. Then again, maybe that's why Radio 3 struggles to stay above 2 million listeners...
I honestly didn't think it actually had as many listeners as that, but, as 2016 has taught us, don't assume that even if 10 or 20 million people opt for something, it's necessarily A Good Thing
All true, but listeners are really unforgiving about silence on air.
I think you're talking nonsense again. What do they do, light up the Radio 4 switchboard if Nicholas Parsons pauses for comedic effect on
Just a Minute
?
Of course, you don't have to take my word for it, here's a blog entry from someone who used to work in the radio business.
Silence has a habit of feeling a lot longer than it actually is. It's a weird thing, but it's real. What you may think is 5 seconds, may in fact actually only be 3 seconds. Then again, maybe that's why Radio 3 struggles to stay above 2 million listeners...
I honestly didn't think it actually had as many listeners as that, but, as 2016 has taught us, don't assume that even if 10 or 20 million people opt for something, it's necessarily A Good Thing
Ahem! I was being sarcastic, in case you hadn't worked that out from the smiley face.
All true, but listeners are really unforgiving about silence on air.
I think you're talking nonsense again. What do they do, light up the Radio 4 switchboard if Nicholas Parsons pauses for comedic effect on
Just a Minute
?
Of course, you don't have to take my word for it, here's a blog entry from someone who used to work in the radio business.
Someone who used to work in American radio as far as I can tell; right well, there we are then,... Why should we pay any attention to his ramblings ? He doesn't seem to understand that radio is not exclusively restricted to back to back records, linked seamlessly by inane and meaningless chatter, (although there is a undeniably a significant market for that, even I consume it at times). It can be far more conversational and thoughtful ( rather like the 'real life' he ends his blog with.)
From someone who's worked in radio for 13 years the training I was given from day one was not to allow any silence and keep talking or play a tune. Easy if you're on a music station like Heart, not so easy if you're trying to handle a Breaking News situation on 5 Live.
I've done both music and speech based radio, the former is much easier than the latter.
