Radio News

Fleur, Greg & James lined up for Tuning In North

Fleur East, Greg Burns and James Barr are the first speakers to be announced for Radiocentre’s Tuning In North event this September. The event will be the industry body’s biggest conference outside London and will bring together radio stations, agencies and clients for a full morning looking at the world of audio. Attendees will hear about the latest trends and opportunities in the evolving world of radio, be provided with insight into the latest in creativity and binaural sound and learn how advertisers can capitalise on the audio revolution.

Union JACK goes live from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

A live radio show will be broadcast each evening live from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by Union JACK this year. On the Mic will be broadcast every single night of the Fringe, from the 2nd to 26th August between 9pm and 10pm. Each show will feature four comedians who are performing at the Fringe, interviewed alongside highlights from their shows. Hosted by Fringe veteran and comedian, Martin Walker, the show will act as a guide to the festival for the uninitiated, allowing listeners to experience the comedy and atmosphere on the radio.

Phil Williams returns with a week on talkRADIO

Former BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Phil Williams has been hired by talkRADIO to host Drive for a week. He’ll be on-air Monday 22nd July to Thursday 25th July from 4pm till 7pm, covering for Eamonn Holmes. His colleague, and talkRADIO breakfast presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer tweeted that he’ll also be live from College Green on Tuesday and Wednesday. Phil left 5 Live in May after 18 years, where he presented the Late Show since 2013. Before 5 Live, Phil worked at BBC Radio 1, GMR in Manchester and XFM London.

Nadiya Hussain, Dany Cotton, Harriet Wistrich, Amika George and Cressida Cowell to takeover BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour

BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour Takeover returns, where five incredible women each choose the content for one edition of Woman’s Hour from 22-26 July 2019. The line-up across the week is cook, author and television presenter Nadiya Hussain; retiring Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, Dany Cotton; activist Amika George; the lawyer who represented victims of the ‘black cab rapist’ John Worboys and founder of The Centre of Women’s Justice, Harriet Wistrich; and Children’s Laureate and author of the How to Train Your Dragon series, Cressida Cowell...

BBC Radio 1 returns to Ibiza for 24th year

BBC Radio 1 presenters Annie Mac and Danny Howard will present a night of back to back sets from some big DJ names next month in Ibiza including David Guetta and Idris Elba. The station is celebrating 24 years of creating special events on the island on Friday 2nd August 2019. Joining Radio 1 on Friday night will be some performances from CamelPhat, David Guetta x Jack Back, Idris Elba, Kölsch, Krystal Klear, Monki, Paul Woolford and Rebüke Solardo.

Radio minister Margot James resigns from government

The minister responsible for radio in the UK, Margot James, has resigned and voted against the government as part of efforts to stop parliament being suspended. She had been the Minister for Digital and Creative Industries since January 2018, taking over the job from Matt Hancock when he became Culture Secretary. Today’s vote in the House of Commons saw Margot James and 16 other Conservative MPs vote against their own party to ensure that parliament has a say on a No-Deal Brexit...

Young ARIAs to become Young Audio Awards in 2020

Radiocentre and the BBC have announced plans for next year’s radio industry awards for those aged 8 to 18, with a slight change of name for 2020. The Young Audio Awards will take place in March 2020, following the success of the first ‘Young ARIAs’ at the BBC Radio Theatre in May this year. The awards are aimed at children involved in radio, podcasts or audio projects, with ‘money can’t buy’ prizes on offer including industry mentorship, VIP studio tours and a show on a national radio station. Entries for the 2020 awards will open in November 2019.

Concerns expressed in Parliament over SSDAB ownership

Concerns have been raised in Parliament over the future ownership of Small-Scale DAB and funding options for Community Radio stations. In a session to consider the draft Small-scale Radio Multiplex and Community Digital Radio Order 201, Margot James MP explained the restrictions in place to prevent single companies owning multiple Small Scale multiplexes in the same or adjoining areas. Operators of the Small-Scale DAB multiplexes will be required by law to reserve space for Community DSP licence holders and publish information about...

Graham Liver named as Freeman of the City of Lancaster

BBC Radio Lancashire and North West Tonight presenter Graham Liver has been named as a Freeman of the City of Lancaster. He was surprised with the news on his Breakfast Show on Friday morning. Graham said: “Wow! Seriously, am I? Wow! I love this. This is amazing. Hopefully my love of the county, particularly Lancaster where my family are, where I was born, where I grew up, where I went to school… Hopefully that [love] comes across and anything I can do to promote Lancaster, Morecambe and all round there"...

Jennifer Reoch joins Heart Scotland for Drive

STV presenter Jennifer Reoch is joining Heart Scotland to co-host Drive with Des Clarke. The former Miss Scotland is best known for hosting STV shows such as Live at Five, Scots In Paradise, Edinburgh Festival 2018 and the Scottish Children’s Lottery, and will be joining Des every weekday from 4pm-7pm. Speaking ahead of her first show on Monday, Jennifer told RadioToday: “This is an absolute dream job for me and I could think of no one better to work with than the legendary Des Clarke.