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Digital won't kill the radio star...

13 March 2009

...but it may make them better looking. Recently returned from the UK, Senior Radio Executive Dirk Anthony gives us his two cents on the differences between the current Australian & UK employment markets and some insight into how he sees the current relationship between Digital Media and Radio...

After 16 years working in media in the UK and Europe, I thought I’d finally found the right moment to make the move back to the sunshine and happiness that is my home land, Australia.

I came to Sydney in October last year to do some forward reconnaissance and to re-build my network. From the moment I landed I was amazed at how everyone believed that Australia was immune from the problems in the US and Europe.  My friends and acquaintances (and taxi drivers) were brilliantly confident.  Within that one month I saw a dramatic shift in attitude and since arriving two weeks ago sentiment has soured considerably more.

So what are the differences between the current employment market in the UK and Australia? I would say attitude. While It’s difficult to compare because of the different stages of the cycle each country is in. I think there is a lag here, so the real question is whether the Australia will go as deep in job losses as the UK.  At the moment there is a still a ‘can do attitude’ here, whereas in the UK the attitude is pretty pessimistic. 

In terms of Digital Media and Radio, my background is radio and my passion is motivating teams to grow audiences and revenue. I’ve spent the last 8 years working within the leadership team of GCap Media to move us from a traditional analogue media company to a multiplatform media business. During that time I’ve seen great ideas come and go and seen lots of money being spent with little or no return ever likely to come from the investment.  

Traditional media needs to stay relevant to the younger markets and ‘digital’ offers a whole host of new opportunities.   For radio, it offers a new visual component to content, it’s what I call Radio with Pictures. 

It also offers a new and improved way to do what radio has always been best at, consumer (audience) interaction.   In the 1930’s it was “send us in a postcard” in the 60/70’s it was “call us now” then in the 90s it was “text us your thoughts” and in the noughties, it’s “tell us what you think, create, share and shape the content”.

Radio is a 24/7 medium and the very best of the web is 24/7, consumers expect to be updated instantly, so radio is to my mind most culturally aligned to what consumers want from content.

Ultimately, it’s not about distribution platforms, it’s about devices. We’ve got to provide content and services to consumers in any way or shape that works on the devices they choose.   This is going to add to the cost base but smart media operators  ‘re-tooling’ and ‘re-staffing’ their businesses to deliver content and experiences that work on any device now or one that are not yet invented.

Dirk Anthony is one of the UK’s most commercially successful programming directors and has witnessed the convergence of traditional and digital mediums first hand. Most recently, Dirk has been responsible for programming and content delivery across the UK's largest commercial radio group, GCap Media PLC. He started when the business was GWR, working with it’s eight member leadership team to transform more than 30 local radio teams into a single function-led structure, resulting in double digit growth of audience numbers and hours and substantial increases in profit margin and sales revenue. When GWR merged with Capital Radio, Dirk was tasked with integrating the stations’ content teams, serving a combined audience of 15 million listeners, which he managed whilst contributing to savings of £27 million.  Dirk recently returned to Sydney where he now lives with his wife and two children.

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Written by: Dirk Anthony

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