Monday 31 January 2011

Glamorgan University gets interactive with Exposure Radio

Video killed the radio star then the internet reinvented the radio and the video stars and gave birth to podcast stars, the blogosphere, social media, content sharing, citizen journalism, and a whole lot more…

Next week Glamorgan University's 'Exposure Radio' launches and the work has already begun. Documentaries are being recorded and interviews put in the diary. There is an air of nerves and excitement as we hurry to get everything ready in time. Next Monday at 10am the big red 'on air' light will go on.

Run by students of various disciplines, we'll be working on every aspect of running the station - from presenting programmes to marketing and PR. The station is aimed young-ish adults and, in addition to the rock and indie playlisting, will broadcast documentaries on a diverse range of topics - from the Assembly referendum to a documentary following a day in the life of a Big Issue vendor.

Exposure Radio will be live streamed from the ATRiuM at www.exposureradio.org and, as an MA Interactive Journalism student, my job will be to work on the website.

The internet has opened up a wealth of opportunities for the media and our challenge is to use this to the full. Radio, television and the written word no longer exist as separate entities – everything is now expected to be integrated and journalists must be able to work cross-media.

We'll be complementing the live radio stream with podcasts, videos, photo slideshows, live blogging, social networking… The possibilities are endless.

James Stewart, a senior lecturer in radio and journalism, said: "The project is designed to accurately reflect the way the media industry is going. Nowadays, if you work in the media there's an expectation for you to be multimedia-literate. Journalists have to be able to move between print, web and radio, as well as master social media. Radio producers have to be conscious of the web - how it enhances the listening experience and can be used to broaden its appeal. Interactivity is the name of the game."

MA Multi-Platform Radio students will be the senior producers for the radio station, overseeing the work of third year undergraduate radio students.

Ben James, Jordan Selig and Aimee Dewitt, all students on the MA Multi-Platform Radio course, are part of the senior production team for the station.

Ben, 22, from Cardiff completed a creative writing degree before starting his MA and is enjoying taking on such a challenging project: "It's daunting, definitely. I'm excited about it though, it'll be a lot of work but I appreciate that that's what it takes to get results. I'm really looking forward to doing a documentary piece on the upcoming Cardiff-Swansea football match."

Aimee, 27, from Swansea, plans to pursue a career in presenting after her course. She will be interviewing celebrities for the station, including tenor (and Go Compare advert star), Wynne Evans, and Wales football international, Ashley Williams. "We're learning skills like presenting and producing - but we're also gaining experience of management and taking responsibility for a major project," she said.

Jordan, 24, from Newcastle, studied law for his first degree. He said: "My undergraduate degree had a very theoretical focus. This is the polar opposite. It's as close as you can possibly get to the real world in a classroom."

The University's Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries hopes to pass on the lessons learned in this project to community radio stations around Wales, helping them to enhance the impact of their web presence.

Exposure Radio will be streamed live from the University's ATRiuM campus at www.exposureradio.org. The station will broadcast from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, from 24 January to 18 February. Follow @Exposure_Radio on Twitter.

Published: The Guardian (Cardiff), 20 January 2011

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