UK

A new free one-year academy for emerging podcast and radio creators has been launched by Accent, a production and strategy company founded by former Global, Bauer and Wireless executive James Brownlow.
The Accent Academy is open worldwide and will support a small number of selected creators with 12 months of development, coaching and editorial guidance while allowing them to retain 100% of their intellectual property.
The programme will offer format labs, content clinics, audience and platform strategy, editorial innovation, as well as leadership and creative coaching. James said: “Helping people find their format, grow their audience, and realise they’ve built something meaningful – is not only really important but is what we love doing.”
Accent is based in Manchester and is already working with media companies in the UK and Ireland, focusing on content development, talent coaching and audience growth. It is also helping teams explore how artificial intelligence can be used effectively while keeping human creativity at the centre of storytelling.
James said: “AI is still a blind spot for many. At Accent, we help teams excel in human collaboration – and thrive in human-centred AI environments. Great audio starts with people, not just prompts.”
With connections across Australia, Canada and the UAE, the company is designed to support cross-border storytelling and global collaboration.
More details can be found at accent.audio

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Adam Daniel has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Your Media Group after acquiring the majority shareholding in the business.
Adam, who has been Commercial Director for the past five years, played a key role in launching Your Harrogate Radio in 2020 and leading the acquisition of Rombalds Radio in 2023. The stations were later rebranded as Your Ilkley and Your Skipton.
He previously worked as Head of e-commerce at the UKRD Group before its sale to Bauer Media. At Your Media Group, he oversaw Your Harrogate’s expansion onto DAB in 2022, which was a major milestone in the company’s growth strategy.
Your Harrogate’s newly appointed Chairman, William Rogers, welcomed the news and said: “Adam has been the main driver of Your Harrogate’s commercial success since the business was launched and his appointment is just what the company needs to fulfil its true potential in the marketplace.
“He’s full of ideas for the future and his passion for the business, and the local patch, will make quite a big impact over the coming years.”
Speaking about his new role, Adam said: “It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to lead the business, especially with such a talented and committed team. There is so much more Your Harrogate can achieve and I’m determined to make sure we do just that. We have hugely ambitious plans for the future and I can’t wait to start putting them into effect.”
William Rogers, now Chairman of Your Harrogate, was formerly Chief Executive of UKRD until 2019.

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BBC Radio 4 has announced a major line-up of new comedy programmes, featuring Omid Djalili, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Slim, Alistair Green, Pierre Novellie and Ayoade Bamgboye.

Omid Djalili will front Noise Pollution, a mix of stand-up and conversations with fellow comedians on global issues. Slim, known as the “Godfather” of Black British comedy, presents Slim’s Guide to Life, drawing on experiences from childhood to grandparenthood.
Kiri Pritchard-McLean will lead Kiri’s Farm, set on her family’s 51 acres in Ynys Môn, while Alistair Green hosts a spoof podcast featuring misguided guests from the worlds of wellness, business and influencing. Pierre Novellie debuts Why In the Name of Pierre Novellie, tackling subjects from rude medieval poetry to pasta.
Ayoade Bamgboye, fresh from her Edinburgh Comedy Award win, pilots Matters of No Matter, exploring eccentric questions with pseudo-science and satire.
Alongside these, a series of one-off stand-up specials will include Emer Maguire, Amy Annette, Finlay Christie, Matt Hutchinson, Maria Shehata, Ray Bradshaw and Nina Gilligan. Topics range from navigating the Noughties to growing up with deaf parents, medical life during the pandemic and middle-aged memory lapses.
Radio 4 is also piloting new formats, including Sikisa’s Border Control, Colin Hoult’s The Making of Colin Hoult, Zoe Lyons’ Now What?, and Eleanor Morton’s Eleanor & Pals. A sitcom pilot, Crossing The Floor, written by Rosie Holt and David Quantick, follows the fictional journey of Rosie Holt MP defecting to Labour.
Popular series returning for a second run include sketch show P.O.V., Ian Smith is Stressed, *The Many Wrongs of Lord Christian Brighty and Laura Smyth’s Your Mum.

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Radio 1’s Live Lounge Month returns on 29 September with performances from some of the world’s biggest artists.

The annual event will air on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 12pm in Rickie, Melvin and Charlie’s mid-morning show, with sessions also available on BBC Sounds, BBC iPlayer and YouTube.
This year’s line-up features Olivia Dean, Conan Gray, Myles Smith, mgk, PinkPantheress, The Last Dinner Party, Skye Newman, Reneé Rapp, Lewis Capaldi, Demi Lovato, Wet Leg, Mumford & Sons, Louis Tomlinson and Florence + The Machine.
A new addition is the Radio 1 Anthems Live Lounge, part of the launch of the new Radio 1 Anthems station on DAB+. Robbie Williams will headline the first of these on Friday 10 October.
Lewis Capaldi will also perform a special Live Lounge Late on Monday 20 October, with extra tracks airing later in Jack Saunders’ New Music Show.
Reneé Rapp said: “I love being in the UK and I love when I get to sing songs that aren’t my own, it’s a fun switch up.”
Rickie, Melvin and Charlie said: “Artists stripping things back, surprising us with covers you’d never expect, and creating those unforgettable moments that only the Live Lounge can bring.”
Head of Radio 1 Aled Haydn Jones said: “The magic of the Live Lounge is in its intimacy: stripped-back performances that let fans experience their favourite artists like they’ve never heard them before.”
Live Lounge Month has been a fixture on the station for nearly two decades. Previous performers include Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande and Noah Kahan, with some sessions drawing tens of millions of views online.

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Bauer Media Group has celebrated its 150th anniversary with a simultaneous staff party across 16 countries, featuring performances from major artists including David Guetta and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
The event, held on 5 September, was part of the company’s 150 Years of Now campaign and connected employees in cities including London, Oslo, Paris, Helsinki, Čadca, Dublin, Stockholm and Brussels.
More than 12,000 employees across Europe were invited to take part, including hundreds from across the UK who gathered at the Roundhouse in Camden, and staff from stations across Ireland attended the Mansion House in Dublin.
Alongside the celebrations, Bauer Media Audio UK marked the milestone year with record listening figures, and handed out awards to its own stations at the Bauer Media Awards held on the same day.
Founded in 1875 in Hamburg, Bauer has grown from a family-run publisher into one of Europe’s largest commercial media companies, operating radio, publishing and out-of-home businesses across multiple markets.

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A number of Sunday afternoon specialist music shows on BBC Local Radio stations have ended, making way for a new networked programme across England.

The Make a Difference show will launch on Sunday 14th September from 2pm until 6pm, presented by a host still to be announced. It will air in areas not broadcasting live local sport. Before that, a one-off Award Winners special is airing today (7th September).
John Leech’s Soul Show, which aired across BBC Eastern stations, is among the shows that will no longer be heard. John said the decision to end long-running regional shows in favour of a broader national programme “seems puzzling” and could reduce local flavour and engagement.
He added: “I’m honoured to have been a part of people’s lives, sharing experiences through the highs and lows.” More information about his work is available on his website.
Other shows brought to an end include Lisa Marrey’s 80s and 90s show on BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC Merseyside and BBC Cumbria, and John Marshall played the same decades of music on Humberside and Lincolnshire. In the Midlands, Paula White’s retro music show aired across five stations, while Sile Sibanda hosted a music and conversation show on BBC Radio Sheffield, BBC Radio York and BBC Radio Leeds.
In the South, Mel Everett presented a shared show on BBC Radio Somerset, BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Cornwall and and Erika North’s programme across BBC Radio Kent, BBC Radio Solent, BBC Radio Berkshire and BBC Radio Oxford.
The new show also replaced Gaby Roslin on BBC Radio London.
Chris Burns, Head of BBC Local Audio Commissioning, said: “Make a Difference is something that has deeply resonated with our audiences since inception. It is hugely popular and something we really want to champion while prioritising our unrivalled commitment to covering local sport.”
The BBC has said the new Sunday afternoon programme is designed to highlight positive stories from communities across the country, with the balance between shared and local output dependent on sport schedules.

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