Do you enjoy listening to the Radio? Have you always been interested in what goes on behind the scenes and how programmes are made and produced? Then this is the interview for you as we talk to professional Radio Producer, Script Writer and Script Editor Ian Kennedy who has worked for and with a host of top media companies including the BBC, as he shares his experiences and advice on how to forge a career in Radio production.
How did you get in to Radio Production?
I did a fair bit of student radio in my last year at University, for arguably the biggest (and certainly most successful in Student Radio Awards at the time) student radio station, URN 1350 (University of Nottingham), doing a variety of pieces from interviews to chat and music. Most significantly, a student soap I co-led and co-founded won 'Best Entertainment Show' at the 2003 Radio 1 Student Radio Awards, the highest award a student show could gain, and promoting it created the opportunities that set up myself and the Executive Producer for our careers in the industry. I was fortunate to have a champion in the editor of The Archers, Vanessa Whitburn, who invited me to see how they make the series and while taking me to lunch gave me great advice and links to the BBC staff who have given me most of my freelance commissions since.
A lot of people wonder if you need to know the right people, be clearly talented, or be in the right place at the right time. I think all three are necessary, because in the end almost all jobs in this industry are never advertised, so getting to know people in the industry who you can do favours for is the best way forward. But the good news is that all three are things you can achieve if you're keen enough. The best qualification by some stretch is being a nice person who's a pleasure to work with.
What is the Radio industry currently like are there enough jobs out there and work for freelance workers?
These were going to be extremely interesting times for radio; the new digital radio stations being set up under Channel 4's consortium looked like opening up exciting opportunities and several of their planned stations (eg E4 Radio, Channel 4 Radio) could have really shaken up the existing order. However, the collapse of the Channel 4 Radio Group was a big disappointment to a lot of people and will leave less opportunities for young people starting out in this area, and less slots for good new ideas.
Despite the Government-sponsored expansion of community radio, I doubt that there are enough non-permanent jobs to support freelancers, particularly if you don't live in London. Branching out into other audio production as I have done can be a way to broaden your scope, but this is no more dependable as a source of income and creates other issues. I think the ideal freelance job in terms of securing your income while giving you flexibility might actually be a permanent contract on a part-time series (eg producing a weekend programme for a radio station, or a dependable returning series such as a Radio 4 favourite). But then again, other budding freelancers may have much more targeted and focused experience than mine, and being focused certainly helps potential clients/employers to quickly identify whether they can use you.
If you could go back to when you were developing your career what things would you have done differently and what things worked well?
Well, firstly I think nowadays we're always developing our careers, and I've certainly not yet become all that I aim to; even making a living isn't yet something I can count on, nor is it likely to be unless I settle into a single job and give up on (or defer) a lot of my projects. I've come a long way by being extremely adaptable, but a far clearer route to success is choosing a specialism and nailing it. Of course, you might find that there simply aren't any jobs in your chosen area when you're ready for them, but I think the internet and the growing community radio sector present opportunities to create your own job description and get the material out there which will convince someone to give you a commission; the Creative Careers Surgery is a good example (www.creativecareeerssurgery.com). I certainly think that when you're looking for work (or any other kind of support) from people in the industry, it's far more attractive to have things in motion that you can ask for them to advise you on, than it is to simply ask for a job or help. It also shows that you're positive, committed and have initiative.
My career (as you can see from my website, www.iqkennedy.co.uk) has been extremely diverse and interesting so far, but never consistent and dependable. When I look at the patterns of the work I've undertaken, what's succeeded and what's not come off, there are certainly some patterns I can see that might make for useful advice. My best tips would be:
(1) Don't pretend you can live on promises and positivity - make a living as well or you'll make yourself unhappy and get into a real mess financially. Until a contract is signed and the money's in the bank, it hasn't happened. Likewise, don't overcommit yourself to a partnership unless you can be sure it's not going to fall through or be held up by any of your partners.. Getting things right takes time, so don't be afraid to take it rather than rush; but get the balance right.
(2) Freelance commissions are often (very small) lump sums for fixed amounts of work, measured in outcomes rather than timescales. Be honest about how long things are going to take, what it might cost you to undertake, and whether it actually represents value for money to you or not. Then double the amount of time you thought it was going to take, and see how it looks then - because your project might well be at the bottom of your boss's priority list, and getting feedback or closure might drag out endlessly - during which time you may have to survive on the same amount of money, assuming you were even paid upfront. This happened in the case of one £500 commission I was given by a radio station, and the features that resulted didn't finally air until a year after recording. (Fortunately I was able to balance this project with other commissions I gained during that time, but it was a valuable lesson learned. It is often the case that commissions like this will come along because someone has to spend up part of their budget at the end of the tax year, to avoid having their budget reduced in the next year because they underspent. It's great news for you because it's money they want to pay you asap without strings, but the sting in the tail is that they don't particularly care about the outcome as long as it looks acceptable to their auditors.)
If you view a commission as an investment you're making in your future, then fine, it's not so important if the value for money is poor - but you can't do that for long, so don't let anyone get used to paying you less than it costs you to live. Profit isn't a dirty word - it's all you get to live on, and it's your right if you're providing a service.
What is key to getting a job in Radio Production is it either qualifications or experience?
I've got no qualifications in any of the production and writing work I do (unless an English degree counts, and I think everything else I did at University has made a much bigger difference, despite ending up with a First). So I'd say experience, experience, experience. But never give the impression you've "done it all" and have nothing left to learn; that's a big turn-off for your potential bosses and colleagues, who need you to be more accommodating in order to fit in with their organisation. Very few radio jobs are the same from one day to the next, so know what marks you out and use it to sell yourself, but show flexibility and adaptability. I've worked in various departments at Radio 1, BBC WM, and for Five Live as well as in many voluntary roles; the tone and working practices of different departments varies massively; each has its own working culture, and tends to employ people who will fit in. So I think getting any kind of route into the broadcaster that most reflects your own interests and approach might in the long term be your best bet.
How important is networking in media especially if you plan to work on a freelance basis?
Utterly. It's very hard to get the balance right; you can be in-your-face and get to talk to all the right people, but unless you've got the right attitude, you'll not get very far. If you're a little shy and nervous like me, it can be very useful to be attached to something that will be of interest to the people you're targeting, because it allows you talk about yourself through the vehicle of something positive that you can be more comfortable talking about.
And don't forget, the people you want to know are all people too, so treat them as such. If your email hasn't been responded to, it might just be that they're very busy, so don't give up; always think about their work and what their own motivations might be, and try to appeal to those in a genuine friendly way (without jumping to any conclusions). One thing that worked out great for me was saying in the first-contact email that I would look to phone them on a certain date if that was alright - so that unless they emailed back to arrange something else, in a sense I had the right to call them and pretend they should have been expecting it. But of course you need a good 'angle' to start with to make that sort of contact.
Where can young people go to get experience in Radio?
The community, hospital and student radio sectors are the best place to start and can provide lots of free training and hands-on experience - and many of them are surprisingly well-equipped, high quality, dynamic and ambitious. Why not also get some free software (eg Audacity) and cheap recording equipment to practice at home? If you've got something exciting or enjoyable you can record on a regular basis, think about setting up a podcast, it's a lot simpler than you might think and might just go places. But don't work in a vacuum, radio is probably the friendliest and most sociable area of the media and arts; it can be a very collaborative experience, which gives you plenty of chances to absorb the skills of others and become known to more people.
How expensive is it to buy audio recording and editing software to practise with in your own home?
It's all free. I've not used the free software before but from what I can tell it's perfectly adequate and even quite powerful. Your work is far more likely to be let down by poor quality recordings (good kit can help, but not nearly as much as basic training) and shoddy workmanship, but if you set your sights at being adequate for playing on a computer or MP3 player, the whole set is extremely easy and cheap to obtain. If you're working for an established radio station you'll probably be using their kit anyway, so yours doesn't have to be top-notch. Though I think a reasonable level of computer confidence is increasingly important to becoming a radio producer.
What changes do you see on the horizon for the Radio industry?
ThRadio is a medium that, contrary to many expectations, is undergoing a renaissance in the digital age. The buzz-word at the moment in broadcasting is "360 degree programming" with multiple formats of a single brand (eg Big Brother, Spooks) playing off each other across several platforms. If you've got an idea that'll work well in more than one medium at the same time, you could be onto a winner - though don't expect people to commission you to run your own series until you've got a track record.
Meanwhile, on a different scale, community radio has lately been empowered and greatly expanded and will hopefully give local commercial stations a much-needed wake up call to improve the quality, variety and depth of their output. Local BBC stations should continue to become more varied and interesting; they'll need to if they're going to survive the changes in the industry and the cuts in the BBC itself, but as their core audience are very loyal and are often left behind by TV channels in search of youthful audiences and 'edgy' outputs, my expectation is that they'll come out of the changes stronger too. So if you're starting out, I don't think there's ever been a better time to get involved.
What advice would you give to any wannabe Radio Producer?
I think it'll be a lot easier to get somewhere with the people you contact if you're clear about what you're looking for and what marks you out. Be realistic, have a medium-term and a long-term plan of where you want to be, and appreciate that your first paid job will be the least exciting you'll have. If you can keep smiling and charming your colleagues while you're putting up with it, it's an investment well worth making - and as a learning experience it'll be exactly the grounding you'll need.
I would also recommend joining the broadcaster you most admire and enjoy, on whatever level you can get in: see if you can find something good to offer to them as a starting point, whether in yourself or a product. Most stations use open-plan offices nowadays so there's a lot of scope for moving sideways as well as up to get you where you want to be in the organisation; you can find good excuses for getting to know people at all the other desks, and it's all a big community anyway.
To find out more about Ian, his work and services he provides go to:
http://www.iqkennedy.co.uk
