NOTE: I’ve added some additional polls based on early input.
I’ve been toying with this idea for a few months. As many of you know, I currently work in radio, having done TV for 25 years. Logically with that background, with the clear success of WUWT, I’ve been approached more than once about doing a live weekly radio program. Here’s what my radio voice sounds like.
You’re listening to WUWT (click for MP3)
I’ve looked around a bit at what others are doing, for example at the “science” section of BlogTalkRadio. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I didn’t want to be in the same listing with the other people there. Sheesh what a nuthouse.
Doing a radio program is a big commitment. It is also expensive in that I’ll have to setup a home studio and streaming server. My current radio station isn’t properly equipped with live Internet streaming and I worry about breaking what is running now by adding new software and hardware. The last person who tried a hardware/software experiment on live production systems took us off the air for about 15 minutes and is no longer working there.
A radio program also has rewards in that it can reach many people who might not turn to blogs. It also offers a chance to have guests, much like guest posts on WUWT.
I wouldn’t limit the format to just climate, since the namesake is rich enough to cover most any topic. There’s also such a wealth of news each week to easily fill an hour long program.
I welcome input on the idea, and also any software/hardware combos that might be recommended for live radio streaming. I already have several ideas, but readers often surprise me with new ones.
And if I do it, what would be the preferred format?
Audio, video, or both?
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You could include a video/radio segment here..occasionally.. much easier, same result
On a serious note,
In Australia, our Finance companies do shareholder casts, in two formats, Voice and slides seems the best for bandwidth issues.
I love WUWT because it has charts, I don’t need to wade thru mountains of verbiage.
So I think the min would be voice and charts, a lot of us are on down load limits in family shared plans.
Dear Anthony,
A friend of mine, Peter Strachan, who runs his own authoritative subscription-base oil and gas newsletter here in Australia (‘Stockanalysis’ http://www.stockanalysis.com.au ) recently added a weekly radio-style “Feedback Session” to the subscribers’ section of the webpage through which his newsletter is delivered. As a subscriber, I was unsure the value of this at first, but am now an avid fan who never misses a single edition: it has proved to be a resounding success.
Each session lasts about half an hour. The loose format consists of an overview and brief analysis of any significant economic events, then comments on relevant oil-industry, financial market and company-specific events, and then the main body of the session is a series of in-depth responses to clients’ specific questions, usually about particular companies, plus Peter’s own sometimes quite quirky observations of anything that amuses, intrigues or sparks his imagination.
It is delivered through streaming, sound-only Windows Media Player and MP3 formats, and in my case I run it at my desk on Windows Media Player whilst I am working on other more mundane tasks.
The reasons that it is such a success as far as I am concerned (and I think you will relate to these) are: a) The consistent high quality of content, which is a direct reflection of Peter’s depth of industry knowledge and the energy and effort that he puts in each week, b) the relevance of the content to the audience’s immediate interests, c) the originality and entertainment value of the material in the way that it is presented.
Peter started out as an industry professional from a specific scientific background, who then diversified into broader-based resources industry, financial and scientific analyses and commentary. He now appears regulary on televison, radio and in the press and is frequently asked for his authoritative comments on mining, oil and gas industry matters. You might recognise a few common factors between his CV and yours!
ANyway, if you would like to have a look at how his radio-style format works, you can either contact him through his ‘Stockanalysis’ website, or email me directly and I will be able to give you his contact details.
I must say, if you were to go ahead with the proposed radio project, I would be a very regular listener to a half-hour per week WUWT commentary delivered through Windows Media Player, and if it included responses to some of the more original and interesting listeners queries, I think that would be very entertaining.
Congratulations again on the excellence, interest value and high scientific integrity of your blog.
With best regards,
Larry Kirk
(Perth, Western Australia)
The day has only 24 hours. Unless you have many, many hours of free time (hard to imagine), this is going to erode time normally devoted to the blog, no? But perhaps the plan involves talented employees, I suppose. Talk Radio can get pretty goofy (sensible folks just laugh once & then tune out permanently, so preaching is only to the choir – i.e. useful for things like fundraising), but maybe there’s a way to avoid looking like part of that unsavory movement. For example, perhaps weekly is too frequent – maybe quarterly would better-balance competing + & -? …Or maybe this is about natural craving for growth, diversity, & change (for reasons that are not necessarily practical). In any case: Wishing +.
When are you getting a Facebook fan page? You can reach more people through invites from existing members….
Suggestions:
Nah, you’d be spreading yourself too thin. If WUWT ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.
At least do an audience demographic study first. You might find that those listening to a radio broadcast have no influence on outcomes. Or might they?
Send an email to Andrew Bolt in Melbourne. He’s just moved from dominantly blogging and newspaper articles, to radio as well. He’s quite influential here, I think you know him. I hope you’ll meet him in mid-June.
http://www.mtr1377.com.au/index.php?option=com_contact&task=view&contact_id=97&Itemid=445
I could imagine a radio talk back format with Anthony and an ‘expert’, inviting discussion following an introduction to the topic. The questions could be written, texted or live.
The live callers would necessarily be US, the others from around the world, how?, you invite questions before the topic is discussed,by announcing the topic ahead.
Radio in Australia is kept alive by talk back, guess it is the same the world over.
Talk back radio has always puzzled me, but is democratic, inclusive and may be worth a try. Avoiding ‘elitism’ is not easy, as scientific discussion can sound condescending.
Consider the time it could take to do a one hour show. It probably takes a lot of planning, especially if you are committed to doing it every week. On the other hand, if you do MP3’s, there’s no need to commit yourself to the same amount of time from one week to the next. It could be 10 minutes one time, 45 minutes another. It wouldn’t even necessarily have to come out on the same day all the time.
If there’s no money in it for you, it would probably cut into your volunteer time for blogging, which would be a big minus. However, it does seem as if it’s worth an experiment. Maybe it could expand your audience.
Had to listen to it TWICE to realize it was not a “normal professional radio voice” doing an intro FOR you Anthony, but rather it IS you!
I think it PASSES the “sounds like a professional broadcaster muster.
We have a fellow in my church choir, who was the ‘morning voice’ for a popular local radio station…for 40 years! Now having listened to you three times, I’m realizing you SOUND LIKE HIM. Thus, if he can do 40 years, you’d better prepare for the long haul.
Max
On YouTube, I could send your stuff to concerned friends. Under the condition that you translate some of that high falutin’ technical jargon into something regular folks understand. Most all my friends are college educated. They just weren’t college educated in science.
I sent one of your pages to several and the general response was: ??????!
Go for it.
Mr Watts,
You are a GLOBAL ASSET, without WUWT I doubt much of the NASA/NOAA/CRUT chicanery of the last 30 years would have made its way to the public, imagine that,….chilling.
A weekly summary of the WUWT site would be a genius move, as long as it didn’t sap too much of your energy, I’d love to hear Mr Goddard and Lord Monckton comment too, that would make my week every week. And you could go global, get Jo Nova by phone, or Ian Plimmer, just to add a touch of the south to the show.
But better still, would be the polite, cogent and well tempered responses to the MSM’s doom mongering, you’ve already proven you can convey real information minus the Ad Hominen and vitriol. That puts you leagues above anything in any broadcast media today, imagine the BBC trying that for a change…
I wish you luck Sir! And what ever you choose to do, you’ll have several hundreds of thousands of bloggers enthusiastically listening.
Anthony.
It’s a great idea.
good wishes with it
First thing is: What is your goal?
Second thing is: What is your goal?
Third thing is: Do you have a plan to achieve it?
If you can answer these questions in a positive note, then go for it.
Oh, and one more thing. How will if affect you if it fails?
“I’ve been approached more than once about doing a live weekly radio program.”
That means they’ll pay you? They offered a contract?
If it’s at all practical, definitely go for it!
It’ll take time, of course, but you are an old hand with 25 years of TV experience under your belt and understand what sort of commitment it will entail. Can you get any backing?
A free Ipod app would be nice Anthony. The only thing I listen to on my Itouch is the Alex Jones show. I would definitely tune into the Anthony Watts Up With That show if it was available.
Radio Free Climate!
I like that!
Live or download is not necessarily an either/or option.
Arbitron, as far as I know, only rates live broadcasts, so if you want radio ratings, stream live. I rather like live better, but maybe thats just me.
And you can follow with an mp3 at-your-convenience download.
OK S.
Go for it Anthony!
You have given me a great deal at WUWT to research and find answers, so much so, that I have been advised to open a Web School on the mechanics of Planetary science.
The last piece of the climate puzzle came a couple days ago with the discussion on the growth of Arctic Ice. CO2 has absolutely nothing to do with warmth or cold except in a closed lab with no exterior perameters.
Thank you very much Anthony.
I won’t offer a response to your poll, as it’s your decision Anthony — it sounds like a lot of work to me, and I’d hate to make you feel you “owed” this to your supporting public.
You could find other ways to channel the urge to go into broadcast, with a lower energy barrier. For example, why not pitch the possibility of a “weather and climate” stream for PJTV? If you’re really not wanting a video format, they might even give support to a radio format. I think the PJTV regulars can get by with simply a skype-type interface from a home office, and most of the production end of things is handled by the PJTV professionals; most of their personalities are amateurs, but I suspect they’re growing to the point that they might even be offering small stipends to regulars.
I’m sure they’d be keen to have you on board, considering your profile and their need for growth. But perhaps their partisan slant (which I personally find refreshing — at least they wear their bias on their sleeves and don’t pretend to stony impartiality).
On the other hand, you might worry that their political slant could deter your regulars or clutter your message with unrelated baggage. Besides, they have a few … um … loose canons. I wouldn’t say PJTV qualifies as “nuthouse” in the sense you used, but let’s just say there is a bit of spread in the quality of their offerings, from just plain dumb to really sharp political commentary (I recommend their satirical Trifecta and Andrew Klavan on the Culture, and the more serious Afterburner). If you’re not familiar with them, look around a bit on their channels. A feature on weather and climate along the lines of their “medically incorrect” slot would fit their format well.
If you do go into radio, would you keep the acronym as call letters? I have a hard time imagining this tongue-twister being recited 5 times an hour:
How about “penta-yew-tee”, which at least flies off the palate a little easier and has a built in bit of drollity?
I love the content on WUWT due to the inclusion of data, graphs, maps etc. A good conversation brings vibrancy to be sure, but an audio-only broadcast will have difficulty competing with the rich format of this blog. If a podcast is the stepping stone to some videos then I would be very excited indeed.
mods, Anthony,
Do it as simple as possible, will be much better all around.
A digital camera a tripod a microphone computer to crunch the video to mp4 podcast.
here is an example (note the increment for direct access) 10(2010) 18( eighteenth week 2010)
http://podcast.jvim.com/video/1018.mp4
http://podcast.jvim.com/video/1017.mp4
http://jvim.com/tv/
http://jvim.com/
audio only
http://podcast.jvim.com/audio/1017.mp3
follow the K.I.S.S. just ask any engineer here!
a bed sheet with a logo for the back ground two chairs a sheet of plywood cut in a curve etc. contact me if you need/want to.
Tim L.
oh ya and do it linked through here WUWT
Good radio voice. Better than those Nature news podcasters.
The cool thing about blogging is there is no right thing. People can guest host a podcast if you have no time. People can go without one for a week or two if they subscribe your podcast. It’s just one more media to play with.
My feelings are mixed. I initially voted “don’t do it” because I figured any time taken away from the WUWT blog would be detrimental to its content. OTOH if it could be packaged in such a way as to draw more eyeballs to the blog, it could be a very useful service.