Radio Review: Hearing that radio is dead first thing on a Saturday morning isn't exactly the best thing a radio reviewer could wake up to. Wired magazine announced the medium's demise in a cover story and it was picked up by Chris Vallance (World Report, RTÉ Radio 1) in a short but fascinating feature on a conference on podcasting taking place in California last weekend. Podcasting, the trendoligists predict, will kill radio as we know it.
If you're the sort of person who still thinks in terms of the "wireless", then podcasting may not be your specialist subject. Speaking of which, one of the most uplifting pieces of radio this week was an interview on Marian Finucane (RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday) with this year's Mastermind winner Pat Gibson (specialist subject: Father Ted) who told how he is spending the £1 million (more than €1,470,000) he won on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire by buying the most precious commodity of all - time. The money, he said, had allowed him to work part-time so he can spend more time with his young family.
But back to the podcast. This is a radio show that's loaded onto a computer and then onto your iPod - or other MP3 player. It basically means that anyone can be a broadcaster, making programmes at home using inexpensive equipment, which can then be made available on the web, ready to be downloaded. It's a world where specialist subjects - and geeky egoists - reign. Grape World is one example of a podcast - it's some American guy's opinion on wine - while Opinionated Ramblings is, if you could bear it, exactly what it says on the tin.
Google the word podcast and you'll get more than 93 million hits - this is not a minority interest - and as Vallance reported from the conference, which was attended by 25,000 people, "everyone now has a podcast - the Pentagon, the White House, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Catholic priests and Lutheran ministers". What's emerging, though, is that while there is a revolution taking place in the world of broadcasting, it isn't entirely a fight-back by the little guy against the giants who control much of the world's media. In theory, that's what should happen, but inevitably big business is muscling in.
Vallance reported that among the conglomerates trying to jump on the bandwagon are Disney and Simon & Schuster. National Public Radio in the US is a major podcaster and, on this side of the Atlantic, some BBC programmes are available to download as podcasts. Electrical appliance manufacturer Whirlpool recently launched a podcast full of domestic advice - a twist on the early days of radio when soap powder companies sponsored programmes. A survey by Apple (manufacturer of the iPod and accompanying software iTunes) revealed that of the 10 most-listened-to podcasts, six are owned by traditional broadcasters or big media companies.
For wireless listeners without access to webcasts or podcasts, Donal O'Herlihy's show (Round Midnight, RTÉ Radio 1, Tuesdays) is a chance to hear interesting items from radio stations around the world as chosen by his guests. This week's selections weren't perhaps the best examples - the main piece was a programme from the BBC's World Service, not exactly an exotic offering for Irish ears - but John Downing did pick a fascinating local history-type feature from Australian Public Radio.
Another programme on radio about radio was Frequencies (RTÉ Radio 1, Wednesday), the first in a new four-part series exploring how radio is used in various art forms, from movies to fiction. In Sleepless in Seattle, one contributor suggested, the central conceit of late night talk radio brings the two central characters together, driving the plot forward. Another contributor explored a Meatloaf song, Paradise by the Dashboard Light. "In an American context", he said, "radio happens in the car a lot, it's through which the outside world comes into the private space." All very interesting, but who was the "he" making this observation? There's an unfortunate vogue among RTÉ documentary makers to wait until the end of a programme to name the contributors, and even then it's not the presenter (if there is one) who does it, it's a continuity announcer. Listeners are expected to take on board opinions by people who they haven't been introduced to. A crucial piece of context and editorial is simply missing. Imagine a newspaper article full of quotes from several people who are only named in the small print at the end. It wouldn't work - and it doesn't work on radio.
This being a small country, voices are sometimes instantly recognisable. Justin Barrett (The Last Word, Today FM Wednesday) didn't need much introduction. His "they're over here taking our jobs" theory of immigration is unfortunately being given some ammunition by the Irish Ferries dispute. But who are "us and them" asked Cooper, after Barrett used the expression in one of his anti-immigration rants. "Us is us and them are them," said Barrett. Life's very simple on planet xenophobia.
