Year: 2024

Benztown, a global leader in radio imaging, voiceover, programming, podcasting and jingles, and P1 Media Group, providing research, strategies and consulting to radio stations worldwide will host a free webinar for radio professionals around the globe, entitled “Getting the Most From Your Station Imaging Voice,” on Thursday, June 13.The free 40-minute webinar will be hosted by Andreas Sannemann, CEO, Benztown, and Ken Benson, Partner, P1 Media Group.It features one of the world’s top radio imaging voices, Rachel McGrath. A Chicago native, McGrath started her radio career as a promotions intern for 97.9 The Loop/WLUP-FM, and quickly realized that being a VO talent and producer was her true calling. In 2012, after years working as Imaging and Commercial Production Director for iHeartMedia in Atlanta, she signed with Atlas Talent Agency and transitioned to full time VO. McGrath’s tenure in radio gave her something treasured – her intuitive ability to know exactly what PDs and Imaging Directors want the second she sees the copy.Rachel’s fearlessness and recognition that she could – and should – be the lead VO, not the archaic secondary, echoey female, has generated tremendous success. With a massive roster from Country to CHR, Rock, and all ACs, it’s nearly impossible not to have heard Rachel being herself. Going off script and into the very core of her stations’ brands, McGrath is known for putting her heart, soul, and life experiences into everything she does, and getting it right – the first time.In Thursday’s webinar, McGrath will share her insights, tips, and tricks for getting the most from your station’s imaging voice, including:
The importance of copywriting to effective station imaging.
How AI will change how she approaches station imaging and how it will affect how stations work with VO talent.
Her practical advice and tips for those who are interested in moving into voiceover as a career, for those just starting out, and for those wishing to grow their VO careers.
Her nonconformist view on giving your station voice direction and why it works.
What does the ideal relationship between the Program Director and VO talent look like?
How she’s overcome challenges in building her VO career, especially as a woman in a male-dominated field.
Her personal favorite stations for imaging and what those stations are doing right.
Register at: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/89/xqxm1hwz. Upon registering, you will receive a link with webinar information. […]

In a context marked by record military expenditures and global tensions exacerbated by persistent conflicts, the Executive Education HEC Montréal, in collaboration with Pale Bleu Dot Foundation – Japan, is launching the Global Media Peace Awards.This initiative aims to encourage and support peace-building efforts on a global scale. Open to all, these awards will recognize the contributions of radio, television and digital in conflict prevention and resolution.Considering relevant storytelling on peacekeeping as the main topic of the Awards, the accepted media genres in this competition are documentary, reportage, and docudrama. News programs and radio drama will also be accepted for these Awards. The theme / message of the story/ program should be on conflict prevention or conflict resolution.The Awards are presented to the most innovative and remarkable radio, video/television and digital programs/ contents/ stories focused on the proposed topic, with the intent of encouraging high-quality program production.Entries across each category will win C$5000, C$2500 and C$1500 as first, second and third award winners.The awards are open to all public and private media organisations as well as individual content producers.Radio Jury members include:
Dan Santa (Chairperson), Ph. D., director-International Relations, Radio Romania
Andrea Borgnino, Journalist, author, and radio host, Rai – Italy
Irina Kornienko, Director of the Radio Culture Channel of the Ukrainian Public Broadcaster
Giedrius Masalskis, Head of Radio – The Lithuanian Public Broadcaster
Colleen Holder, Dir. Corp. Comms. & Productions, Parliament of Trinidad, and Tobago
Ade Irosadi, Head of LPP RRI- Indonesia
Flavia Voinea, Journalist, Manager of Bucharest FM Radio Romania Regional Network
Digital Media Jury members include:
Manuela Kasper-Claridge (Chairperson), Editor-In-Chief of Deutsche Welle, Germany’s International Public Broadcaster
Rebecca Hanson, Director-General, North American Broadcasters Association (NABA)
Kyung Heekim, Executive Producer of KBS Radio’s Hanminjok Channel
Wendy Everett, Journalist – leading her own media consultancy in Australia
Chevaan Daniel, Group Director of The Capital Maharaja Organization Sri Lanka
Steve Ahern, Manager of ABC Radio Sydney
Akim Mogaji, Expert trainer, Change-maker and Producer-Co-funded New Media Networks (NMN)
Serge Lafrance, Director, Executive Education HEC Montréal, and Associate Professor Member of the UNICON Board of Directors said: “The Russo-Ukrainian or Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, among others, exacerbate global tensions, while the rise of racism and intolerance constitutes another major concern. In the face of these challenges, Executive Education HEC Montréal, in partnership with international actors, is honored to participate in the Global Media Peace Awards, whose main objective is to promote and support efforts to strengthen peace on a global scale.”Shigeru Aoyagi, Founder and Director General, Pale Bleu Dot Foundation, Japan – Former UNESCO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific said: “Global Media Peace Awards (GMPA), presented jointly by Executive Education HEC Montréal and Pale Bleu Dot (PBD) Foundation, Japan, is more than just an event. It is a platform to recognize and celebrate the critical role played by media creators in promoting peace and its fundamental element, sustainable development. Our planet, Earth, is precious, yet facing crises from conflict to climate change. Peace and sustainability, rooted in our minds, are crucial for a brighter future. Media holds immense power to shape societies and influence our world. As Johan Galtung highlights, positive peace goes beyond the absence of wars and conflicts to foster harmony. Amidst crises, understanding and presenting diverse realities are vital. Let us embark on this joint endeavour for a better tomorrow.”“Today, humanity is facing unprecedented challenges, from natural and man-made conflicts and climate change to environmental degradation. These crises inflict immense suffering on humanity and pose severe risks to our planet. More than ever, there is an urgent need to foster peace, tolerance, mutual understanding, and sustainable development by changing our mindsets, behaviours, and actions. Media can play a crucial role in shaping the public opinion and help bring peace and sustainability,” said Dr Javad Mottaghi, Adjunct Professor, Department of International Business, HEC·MontrealRegister for the awards here. […]

In Europe this week, public service broadcasters from Asia and Europe are gathered at the ABU-Rai Days conference to build a global perspective on Artificial Intelligence.The conference aims to unite decision makers, thought leaders and stakeholders from Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa to understand how AI is reshaping the media landscape.Opening the conference, the Italian public broadcaster’s Chairwoman Marinella Soldi said, “in a world where dialog seems to be faltering, public service media needs to help citizens to form their own options in the context of knowing the complete facts.”To achieve this “requires trust between Public Service Media (PSM) and citizens. Trust must be built and earned through transparency,” she said. “Large language models and generative AI are changing the media landscape, so trusted public service broadcasters must join forces so they can move faster and become stronger together.”In his opening remarks, ABU Secretary General Ahmed Nadeem pointed out that just this week Apple has announced the integration of AI into its phones.EBU Deputy Director General & Media Director Jean Philip De Tender (main picture) told delegates the relationship between AI and broadcasters “is inspiring but sometimes worrying, but it never stands still.”“AI was introduced into broadcast companies to seek more efficiency, such as captioning and language translation… then we noticed the deeper storytelling ability of AI. Speech recognition software added inclusivity… Today AI is a multifaceted reality in the PSM space, including news.“It is used to deliver personally relevant content delivery. But the danger is echo chambers… we must guard against filter bubbles. AI is currently the EBU’s number one priority. “We don’t have the luxury to wait and see what happens, anyone left behind will fade into irrelevance… None of the benefits comes without risks, so regulation and governance guidelines development will be crucial,”  he said.De Tender said the EBU is collecting a series of case studies on how AI is being used in broadcasting. […]