http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2011/03/22/what-is-professionalism-in-community-radio/
What is “professionalism” in community radio?
March 22nd, 2011 by Matthew Lasar in community radio
In the world of community radio, there is probably no term more
contentious than “professionalism.” Say the word and watch the
conversation flare up. Why is the p-word so threatening? Probably
because at places like community/college/LPFM radio stations, most
community media people are volunteers. So when words like
“professionalism” surface, folks imagine themselves being replaced by
paid staff, or “professionals.”
Or, in other contexts, professionals see themselves being replaced by
volunteers. Hence lots of apprehension and defensiveness.
So maybe professionalism is not the word that I’m looking for. In any
event, here’s what I mean when I use it. Or, more precisely, here are
four things that I as a radio listener want from community radio public
affairs programmers when I use that word.
1. I want you to let me in on what you are talking about.
A couple of years ago Al Robles
died. He was a beloved San Francisco based Filipino American poet who
had been very active in the 1970s struggle to prevent the closure of
that city’s International Hotel.
The I-Hotel housed mostly Filipino immigrants. Keeping it open became a
Bay Area cause. Robles was a huge voice in that battle.
After Robles’ passing, I heard two programs about him on two
different Bay Area community radio stations. The hosts of both shows
read poetry and broadcast songs in his honor. Neither explained who he
was. Neither explained what the International Hotel struggle was about.
Both hosts were clearly in awe of Robles’ accomplishments and his
legacy, so much so that it did not occur to either that some of the
station’s listeners may never have heard of him. I am older, and I
remember the I-Hotel fight. But these programs impressed me as classic
examples of what I call Broadcasting To The Club. If you have to ask who
Robles was, this attitude seems to say, you are not a member and need
not apply.
I have lost track of the number of times I’ve listened to an
interview on a community radio station in which the host didn’t even
bother to identify the interviewee in the closing outro of the program.
If you are a community broadcaster, please make me and everybody else a
member of your club. Take the time to tell us about who and what you are
talking. Don’t assume everybody knows.
It’s a little more work, but not that much.
2. I want you to listen to your guest.
This one is harder.
A long time ago, I took a seminar on doing radio interviews. The
seminar leader told us this story, which I recount here as best I can
recall.
“I was hosting a cable TV interview show,” he explained:
“and one day the guest of a live program I was doing
called to say he might be late. I became terribly worried and
distraught. When he finally arrived just slightly before the hour, I was
so relieved. I rushed him into the live studio, sat him down, and
started the program. He said something at first, but I was in such a
hurry to get to my questions that I just nodded and went ahead.
A couple of hours after the program, my boss called and asked me to
come into his office. He played a video tape of the beginning of the
show, particularly the thing that the man had said that I ignored.
‘I’m terribly sorry I was late,’ the tape showed my guest explaining,
‘but my son has just died, and I’ve had to make arrangements.’
I looked at my boss. ‘I’m fired, right?’ I said. ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘I’m sorry
too’.”
This is probably the most disturbing example I’ve ever heard of a
host ignoring his or her guest, but I often hear far less dramatic
instances. These shows really comes off as dead air, so to speak. Please
listen to your guest. Put down your list of questions and pay
attention. Please react to what she is saying. When she says or refers
to something that you think the audience doesn’t understand, clarify it,
or ask your guest to clarify.
Show me that you are actually there. If you aren’t really there, why should I
bother to listen?
3. I want you to interview people with whom you disagree.
I find nothing so boring as a community radio show in which the host
only interviews people with whom he or she agrees. Conversely, I find
the most interesting programs those in which the host clearly doesn’t agree
with the guest. Sadly, there is an overabundance of the former type of program,
and a scarcity of the latter.
Too many community media people see themselves as propagandists,
anxious to “get the word out,” but uninterested in replicating over the
airwaves what makes life so interesting—dialogue and uncertainty. Be
brave. Have someone on your show whose ideas you oppose. Challenge them.
Maybe you’ll prevail. Maybe not. But you’ll be a lot more interesting
to hear.
4. I want you to act like you are part of a radio station.
Years ago I had a show at a community radio outlet. One day, as I was
getting ready to do my program, the previous host was wrapping up an
interview with a guest. “We could talk about this subject for hours,” he
gushed. “Unfortunately the next show is coming up.” Unfortunately that
was me.
Now I listen to community radio stations all over the US, UK, and
Canada. Like the situation I just described, not a few sound like time
sharing condo complexes. The host comes on, does her thing, and leaves.
There’s no reference to anything else that’s going on at the station—the
next show, the show after that. What’s going to be on tomorrow morning?
Nothing. It’s kind of sad.
How about a little esprit de corps, folks? How about a sense
that I’m listening to a whole bunch of great people making a radio
station work, and not just your show?
Back to my earlier question—is this “professionalism” that I want?
Well, these skills tend to come from people who do radio a lot. And most
people who do radio a lot tend to get paid. But you don’t have to be a
professional to try to do these things. So maybe the right word I’m
looking for is “accessibility” or “inclusiveness.” You pick yours.
Arti Jaiman
Station Director : Gurgaon Ki Awaaz Samudayik Radio Station 107.8 MHz FM
email: [email protected]
website: www.trfindia.org
Gurgaon Ki Awaaz is the first and only civil-society-led community radio
station in the National Capital Region of Delhi. We broadcast 24X7, in Hindi
and Haryanvi, with a team of community reporters, generating community content,
and community participation.
Join the Community Radio Forum. For membership details, please go to
www.crforum.in
