What a mess!

You might know my views on Preston's bus station, but incase you don't I'll just make them clear. The sooner that so-called `iconic building` is demolished the better. It's the embarrassment of our city.

I didn't think it was possible to make the concrete carbuncle even more unattractive, but in recent weeks it's grown new ugly boils in the form of `pedestrian safety`.
Obviously I don't want people to be hit by a bus and the fact people are now allowed to nip across the bus apron is most welcome. Lets face it, people have been doing it for years, and if this keeps them safer, then brilliant.

The eyesore is now surrounded in a steel fence, tall and thick enough it's seemingly being been drafted in from the Prison Service construction team. Large concrete barriers have also appeared stopping bus and funnelling pedestrians to safety. They've also taken on an unintended role in collecting all the litter, dead leaves and general mess. It looks horrible.

This area seems to be stuck in a time-void, a forever interactive 1960's museum experience.
It's served Preston well in the past but please open your eyes and see. It's run-down, dirty, neglected, unsafe and too big - It's out of place, it needs to go and make way for a new Preston that once again we can be proud of.

A welcome video

Hello..

See me in action... click the welcome video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUxosEvQaiw

Keith Macklin

I was sadden to learn of the death of my friend and former colleague, Keith Macklin.

I had the pleasure of working with Keith during my time at Rock FM / Magic 999 in Preston, the station he set up as Red Rose Radio in 1982.

He's worked as a reporter for local newspapers, national newspapers, was one of the first presenters of the BBC's regional TV news programmes `Look North West`, worked for Border TV, Yorkshire TV, presented on national radio, and of course Red Rose Radio.

He was the first Programme Controller of Red Rose, and was influential in establishing a strong commercial radio station that exceeded all expectations.

In the newsroom, Keith was the voice of reason, so well respected. Seemingly everyone in the sporting world knew Keith, and Keith knew them. His descriptive commentaries for Red Rose Sport were a joy to listen too, especially his partnership with the late Preston North End manager John McGrath who acted as his summariser.

Keith was a joy to be around, the calm voice of reason, thought and experience. Thanks for the memories, you'll be sorely missed.

Sony Radio Award Winner

Hello, sorry for the lack of updates recently, but I have some amazing news!

I am a 2009 Sony Radio Award Winner! I was a key part in the BBC Radio Manchester team that last night won a Gold Award in the 'Breaking News' category.
If you don't know, Sony Radio Awards are the equivalent of the radio Oscars.

Our entry featured 'The Rangers Riot' - It features the night Scottish Rangers football fans came to Manchester for the UEFA Cup Final against Zenit St. Petersburg in May 2008. Unfortunately one of the big TV screens in the fan zones broke, and combined with a day of drinking in the sun, it led to violence and riots.

http://www.radioawards.org/winners/?awid=170&awname=The+Breaking+News+Award&year=2009

Preston Bus Station

I was outraged to read that the London based Twenieth Century Society are to launch a bid to list Preston's controversial bus station.

I say; "Save your time and effort, go and List something more culturally important elsewhere."

I understand people have strong feelings about the structure and its proximity to certain shops and the markets, but it needs to be demolished and the sooner the better.

It is run down, unsafe, cold, dirty, smelly and over sized.

With the greatest respect, I suspect it's the older people of our city most upset at it's removal as part of Prestons Tithebarn transformation. To these people, and to the Twentieth Century Society particularly, I would appeal that you do not leave the dirty eyesore as your legacy to the next generation.

You need to think about the bigger picture, it's about more than a bus station. Preston is slowly rotting, slowly dieing. Preston Bus Station needs make way for a revitalised city for the next generation of proud Prestonians.

(please note: As with everything on this blog - These are my personal views and are not those of my employer)

Do I need an iPhone?

My mobile phone contract with Orange is coming to an end. I've been living a battered old Samsung U600 for many a month now.
I recently installed a java programme allowing quick access to my Gmail email over the phone. It's become quite addictive and I do find myself checking for emails whenever I have a moment to spare.
My boss has had an Apple iPhone since launch, and several colleagues have the new 3G version, but do I need one.
Yes I would appreciate the easy access to email, Internet and BBC iPlayer, but do I want to be spending a fortune on a monthly contract with O2? I pay around £20 - £25 a month with Orange.
I do take the occasional photo on my Samsung, but would I be disappointed with the camera on the iPhone, I've heard it's not too good.
I already have an iPod Nano, that's mainly used in the car for listening to podcasts - Would I be able to use the Nano and the iPhone on the same iTunes account?
Size is another thing too, is the iPhone too big for my pocket? The Samsung is quite small in comparison.
If I get one, am I being sucked into the iPhone cult? Do I really need it? Am I jealous? Am I envious? Is it too expensive?

- What should I do? I'd welcome your thoughts.

40th Anniversary

Hello - Apologies for the lack of updates.

It was nice to be asked to the 40th Anniversary of Chorley Hospital Radio last Friday. I cut my teeth at CHR learning basic things about radio craft before I started volunteering at Rock FM.

It was very basic during my time, an old studio hut was crumbling, with only one CD player and two Cd's! The rest was scratchy old vinyl and equipment that didn't really work. Now I learn that they are on-air 24 hours a day, it's all computerised and even link up with Preston Hospital and do live bingo! (Watch out ITV!)

Congratulations on reaching 40, hopefully the station will produce more professionals like me, Glen Hunt from Century Radio and Mick Coyle from CityTalk 105.9

A new Preston

- A small diversion -


I've just been to see the plans for the new Preston. The sooner the building work gets underway the better!

The plans are forward thinking and yet equally reflect the past and retain Prestons heritage. Careful consideration has been given to controversial issues like the location of the bus station. Locating it on Manchester Road, only a couple of hundred yards away from the current location, demonstrates to me that planners have listened to local concern.
Parking problems have been thought about too, and a light rail link to the docks can only help.

But it's more than just a new bus station and parking and people need to see past that. The project breaths life into our dieing city centre, righting a wrong caused by town planners decades ago.

This will bring people into Preston, bring big name stores, regenerate the markets and importantly create jobs. The multiplex cinema and restaurant area will bring a new dimension to the nightlife, moving the focus away from problem drinking zones.

I only hope provision will be made for small independent retailers who might not be able to afford large rents. One of the only good things about Leeds city centre is an undercover street full of these kinds of shops.

If you have time it really is worth seeing the plans for yourself.Our city has been on life-support for far too many years, and this is the re-birth.

http://www.prestontithebarn.com

So different

If you work in the newsroom at a commercial radio station you get to do a bit of everything. From reading the bulletins, reporting, sport and getting involved in the main shows on-air. I found it very different in the BBC.

I started at BBC Radio Leeds in January 2001. My job was to read the news bulletins in what was called the Night Network, my shift started at 4.30pm until half past midnight, reading the bulletins on Radio Leeds, Sheffield, Humberside and York four days a week. It wasn't a very social shift, as I was starting work everyone else was winding down and getting ready to go to the pub.

In hindsight I really regret working the unsociable hours, but I don't regret getting a staff job at the BBC. This was my first time away from Preston and from my parents. A couple of weeks earlier we'd been driving around Leeds looking for a suitable place to live. I ended up renting a room in a house owned by the son of a presenter who worked on Magic 999. Tracey would end up being my housemate for around the next 18 months. She worked for a company in city centre Leeds, formerly she operated the autocue at breakfast television stations TV-am and GMTV.

There was lots of learn, different computer systems, different studios and very different ways of working. I enjoyed the challenge of learning about the areas I would be broadcasting to, and trying to get to know some of my new colleagues.

Become a fan!

Become a fan... check out my Facebook page and keep up to date

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Steve-Saul/10569506836

A Lancastrian on the wrong side of the Pennines

I had heard many things about BBC job interviews, or "Boards" as they call them. Boards summons up the impression of a great panel of suited men around a big table making you feel very small.
Acquaintances talked of interviews lasting hours, spending time searching out an exclusive story, being grilled on journalism law, showing knowledge of the local area and explaining which stories you would include in one of their news bulletins. Needless to say, I spent hours researching the recent history of West Yorkshire, its industries, communities, politicians.. you name it! I'd come up with what I thought were original news stories and a plan on how I would cover them.

My interview was at 1130 at the BBC North, Leeds building on Woodhouse Lane in the city. I'd left Preston and set off with plenty of time, allowing for bad traffic on the M62. This was January 2001, and a time when satellite navigation was the preserve of the military and mega rich. I had never travelled to the wrong side of the Pennines before. Naturally I was armed with maps, directions and hastily scribbled directions from people who had a knowledge of the city.
Getting to Leeds was fine, and I don't know if you've ever been there, but trying to understand the spaghetti like ring road was another thing. By now I was starting to panic that I would be late, I didn't want to give the impression that I couldn't keep to deadlines. I abandoned my car in a supermarket car park and set out on foot.

I arrived a little breathless at BBC Radio Leeds, eager to impress. I was taken to the Managing Editors office expecting the aforementioned suits and table, but was surprised to learn it would be just him and his assistant. Phew! We chatted about how I would cover a news story and how it would develop throughout the day, and a little about journalism law. Then they wanted to hear what I sounded like and I was taken to the studios. At Rock FM (Red Rose Radio) I had been used to a pretty modern set-up, and expected the same at the BBC. The studio looked like something from the BBC Home Service during the war, with big knobs and switches and huge faders. I constructed my news bulletins while another member of staff recorded it.

That was it. I was sent on my way, all that worry just for an hour. Three hours later I got a call asking if I wanted the job and if wanted to join the BBC.
It was hard decision to make. I had never lived away from Preston before. I had good friends at Rock FM and had good times, but things were changing and thought it would be best to move on.

No adverts please - This is the BBC

(Apologies for the lack of recent updates, I've moved house and it's been a nightmare trying to get back online! All that to come in another posting)



I'd been working full time at Rock FM for three years after they paid for my training. I got to do some amazing things, being involved on the Breakfast shows with Kev Seed, Brian Moore and John Gillmore, producing the sports show in the days when Magic 999 did full match commentaries on PNE, Rovers, Blackpool, Burnley and Wigan. I covered some amazing news stories; the high court appeal of millionaire Owen Oyston, the trial of a Preston nurse accused of killing her husband on Valentines Day in Florida, Tom Finney claiming his knighthood and the sad death of Stanley Matthews to name a few.
The people I worked with both on and off the air were great, welcoming and so much fun. Many remain close friends. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to learn my trade at my local station.

My path to the BBC started with a trip to the University of Central Lancashire, were Rock FM had previously released me to complete the nationally renown Postgraduate Journalism Course. I'd been invited in by course leader Mike Green to explain what it was like working in a commercial radio newsroom. I explained to the students the differences between Rock FM and the BBC. One of the lecturers on the course was the breakfast show presenter on BBC Radio Leeds and we got chatting. I told him how I was getting getting ready for a change after spending so long at St. Paul's Church. He explained how Radio Leeds were advertising for a newsreader and would I be interested in applying?

Eight weeks later I was leaving Preston for Leeds and my first BBC job interview....

Happy Birthday - 25 years of Red Rose Radio

As Rock FM and Magic 999 (Red Rose Radio) celebrates its 25th Anniversary, I thought I would acknowledge it's pedigree in training local Lancashire people to become media professionals.

If you've been reading my blog you'll know how Red Rose Radio gave me a chance. If it wasn’t for the time taken by its news staff to explain and show me the skills to become a broadcast journalist, I wouldn't be working in my BBC job now. But it's not just me. Many people have passed through the doors of the converted church on St. Paul's Square and gone onto bigger things. Richard Frediani is now the News Editor at ITV Granada, Georgina Bowman presents `Newsbeat` on Radio 1, Paul Kenyon had his own BBC 1 series "Kenyon Confronts" - There are countless other presenters and journalists, too numerous to mention, who owe their successful careers to Red Rose.

It was a great place to work - The fun we had in and out of the office transferred to the airwaves, making an entertaining listen. The unique building of the converted church of St. Paul's helped make it such a special place. I was proud to be a Preston lad working on Preston's own radio station.

Now you are spoilt for choice in radio listening, whatever your favourite music you can generally find a station that plays it. There's thousand of stations from all over the world available on the internet. Back in 1982, there was only the BBC.
Red Rose Radio helped to shake up the world of radio and was just one of the reasons why BBC Radio Blackburn became BBC Radio Lancashire. Red Rose was the first station to form a radio group under the guise of Trans World Communications owning Radio Aire in Leeds, Red Dragon Radio in Cardiff and Piccadilly Radio in Manchester.

My biggest tribute is saved for one of the original people responsible for lobbying for and launching Red Rose Radio, Keith Macklin. Originally the first Programme Controller, then presenter and news/sport reporter. 25 years later Keith still works for Red Rose covering sports stories. He's the foundation stone that's helped secure success. Offering words of advice and wisdom, fighting people's corners, sharing a joke, watching people, like me, learn my craft and build on it. Keith's recently celebrated 50 years as a broadcast journalist and commentator, and Lancashire's radio is all the better for the 25 he's spent in Preston.

Now mainly a music station, Rock FM and Magic 999 are not the same as what Red Rose Radio once was, but times and radio market places change. Lancashire and Preston in particular, should be proud of it's two favourite stations committed to telling you what's happening where you live in its news bulletins, playing great music and making you smile.

The big job offer!

I can't believe it's ten years ago now, but I'd completed my A-Levels at Cardinal Newman College in Preston and moved onto a journalism degree course at the University of Central Lancashire. Why didn't I travel further a field for University like my friends? Two reasons actually, the first is that UCLAN is one of the best for Journalism courses in the country, and secondly my feet were well and truly under the table at Red Rose. Throughout college I'd been helping out in the mornings, crucially getting paid (a little!) at last and reporting and reading the news on-air.

I was about half way through my degree course when I had to make the biggest decision of my life. Two of the journalists at Red Rose had left to work elsewhere and the news editor suggested I apply for one of the jobs. He argued that I had worked in the newsroom long enough and `knew the job like the back of my hand`. It was a great offer, but one that sent me into turmoil. I couldn't decide whether or not to drop out of University and take the job. I was worried that I might be disadvantaged later in life if I didn't have a degree. In the end I decided the reason I was at University was to get a job, and here I'm being offered one.

Needless to say I got the job and I accepted on the condition that Red Rose provided some training for me, something that would be officially recognised. We agreed that I would complete on-the-job training through an NVQ Level 5 and I would be released to complete the Journalism Law and Public Administration elements of the Postgraduate Journalism Course at the University.

So there I was, officially a journalist, reading the news on Rock FM and Red Rose Gold and going out and about covering news stories in Lancashire.

Red lights

I'd stumbled through my first live bulletin, and after that I never looked back. The news editor and station management at Red Rose were happy with my impromptu appearance, and from then on I was allowed to voice up reports for the bulletins and go on-air when needed.
At the same time I'd still been presenting a show at Chorley Hospital Radio and had been busy with exams at college and eventually something had to give. Reluctantly I resigned from CHR to concentrate on getting a career.
I'd been working unpaid for Red Rose for a while when the Sports Editor asked if I would be interested in working on the sports show. Back then the 999Am service used to carry full football commentary of PNE, Rovers, Blackpool, Burnley and Wigan games. I jumped at the chance of paid work preparing scripts and audio for the show.
It was during this time Red Rose needed to broadcast local Saturday afternoon news bulletins, as I was already in the office I was asked if I'd like to present them. Of course I did!

- Next, off to University and the big job offer.

Stumbling on-air

After being given the chance to help out in the Red Rose Radio newsroom every weekend I made the most of the opportunities to develop my skills. I developed my news writing techniques, worked on my editing and importantly used the news studio in between bulletins.

After the main bulletin had been read on the hour, I would go into the studio and practice read the same scripts. I learnt how to use my voice, when to stress certain words, and when to lower and raise the intonation. The newsreader of the day would then give me feedback and offer advice on how I could improve. It was during this process I lost my Preston accent. I had been quite broad before, and there was hardly any difference when I said "hair" "her" and "their" !! - I still have a slight hint of Preston twang... keeping true to my roots.

At 1130 on Saturday mornings there would be a news bulletin on Rock FM and a sports bulletin on Red Rose Gold. The sports editor normally came into read his update ahead of the afternoons football commentary. At 1125 he called to say his car had broken down and couldn't make it in. The newsreader couldn't present the bulletin as he had his own update on the FM station....

So I was given a pile of tapes and scripts in no particular order and was pushed into the studio. I tripped on the heavy sound proof door and dropped everything on the floor. I hurriedly picked things up, the sports jingle played and the presenter said "Now at the Red Rose Sports desk..... Steve Saul" - I breathlessly said "Good Morning...." My first live bulletin!

And we're back!

Sorry for the delay in updates, I've just been really busy at work.

It was quite daunting being in the Red Rose Radio newsroom, surrounded by experienced journalists arguing over what stories to cover. They asked me if I would go out and get a `voxpop` in Preston town centre asking people what they thought about the launch of the national lottery. A voxpop is when a reporter asks anyone in the street for an opinion. I was a shy lad at the time and was quite scared to approach shoppers and ask if I could record their thoughts. Standing on Friargate I spoke to about ten different people.
I took the audio back to the studio and was shown how to edit it into a twenty second clip of audio for the news bulletins. Now it's quite straightforward using digital editing software, but then you had to physically cut the tape removing what you didn't want, and sticking back together the bits you needed to keep.
After all that was complete you then had to write a script. The newsroom was still using typewriters, and old ones at that. One had no `M` so you had to write them in! The scripts had to be really short, no more than three paragraphs with a local reference in the opening sentence. This was my first script that was broadcast on the radio...

"People in Preston say they will go on a long holiday, buy a big house and treat their friends if they win the first National Lottery jackpot this weekend. The draw is made around eight o'clock tonight, with the main prize said to be over a million pounds. These shoppers they're buying a ticket...."

By the end of the week, I'd learnt how to edit audio and write scripts. I asked the news editor if I could help out at the weekends to learn more. She said `yes, we do need a weekend receptionist` - I didn't care that I'd be opening the post and making the brews for free, I was given the chance to watch and learn more skills.

News Just In....

After visiting all the departments and learning how the radio station operated, I spent a couple of days in the newsroom, this was the place that I was really keen to get into.
I was shown how the journalists got their news stories and where the national news came from. I followed the reporters out on stories and watched as they edited their audio for the news bulletins and programmes.

It was 1995, before the internet was being used publicly, and the back of the Red Rose Newsroom was full of reference books and research material. It also housed huge filing cabinets full of scripts dating back years. Amazingly the newsroom was still using typewriters, and all their scripts were being stored in the cabinets in case of any issues relating to the stories that had been broadcast.

My first task was to sort through most of the scripts and make some much needed space. It was something I was dreading, but I found that I actually enjoyed reading through what was effectively Lancashire's recent history. More importantly I was absorbing like a sponge the writing style and radio journalism techniques. From Keith Macklin and Mike Green's coverage of the terrible Abbeystead Disaster, through Richard Frediani's coverage of the IRA bombing of Weeton Army base to high profile cases at Preston Crown Court. I was given the task to decide what to keep and what to save.

Next I was given my first taste of recording audio to be used within the news bulletins. I was shown how to take the national news feed. IRN supply many commercial radio station newsrooms with audio of national and international stories. Like all things, it's all done online now, but every hour they used to send selection of `clips` - short bits of interviews with people making the news - via satellite from London. I had to record them on the equivalent of an 70's `8 track` cartridge tape, known as a `cart`. It was an important and stressful role, because if you messed it up, the newsreader would not be able run the clip of John Major, or equivalent, in the next news bulletin.

Next: I'm sent on my first assignment, and the typewriter with no `M` !!

Radio Radio Radio

The story how I ended up on the radio continues.....

I'd completed my work experience at the Lancashire Evening Post, and I was playing my part in entertaining the listeners at Chorley Hospital Radio.Ever keen to grab any opportunity that came my way I was out shopping in Preston, I was in the middle of buying some jeans from Debenhams in the Fishergate Centre when I heard over the shop speakers, `Debenhams Network Radio` - The store had its own instore radio station! I hunted around and on the lower ground floor found a man in the smallest studio you have ever seen, playing CD's and making store announcements. I got chatting to the presenter/manager Brett Harley, and he agreed that I come in and help out. So every Saturday I'd turn up, play songs, write news and devise competitions for the presenters, some of whom would become professional colleagues in a few years.

It was now the school summer holidays and I'd arranged a couple of weeks unpaid work experience at Red Rose Radio (Rock FM/Magic999). I loved it. I spent a couple of days in each department, watching and helping out when possible. In the Sales department I watched as they wooed clients and got them to spend lots of their money, selling different advertising packages. Then on to the Creative department as they made an entertaining adverts based on the sales reps brief. I learnt how the jingles were constructed, and how trials are used to promote presenters and programmes.

Then I was allowed into the newsroom.... I got bitten by the news bug.

On-Air !

More now on the continuing story of how I got into radio....

I'd finally been given a chance at Hospital Radio Chorley, the chance to gain some much needed experience for my future career. Every Sunday afternoon, I'd turn up, collect requests from patients and play the songs from the hospitals studio base.
It was an interesting experience collecting the requests. More often than not, the patients were hard of hearing. I would come along asking if they wanted a song played, and they would say, `sorry love, what are you saying?` ! - When I did get a request, it would probably be Jim Reeves, I love You Because. I must have played that song a hundred times.

I attended All Hallows R.C High School in Penwortham, and time had come for our work placement, a release from classes to gain valuable real life experiences. Naturally I was keen to go somewhere media related. Several months prior I had contacted the Lancashire Evening Post, and arranged my own placement at the paper. This was my first chance to experience a big newsroom, and compare how newspapers journalists work in comparison to the radio journalists at Red Rose.

I was fascinated. I was shown how the paper was put together, the stories, the features, the articles, the classifieds, the printing and distribution to shops. I got to shadow reporters, trying to see if I could vaguely work out their shorthand scribblings, watching as they transformed it into the story of the day. It was very different to how the radio reporters worked.

I spent a couple of afternoons with the LEP's court reporter in Preston. I remember feeling really intimidated by the grandeur of the court room watching as the proceedings were transformed into an interesting story, more often than not, about some fight or stabbing in the town centre. With email and internet, I'm sure the process is very different now, but then reporter turned his notes into shorthand which was then dictated over the phone to a copy-taker in the newsroom at the Fulwood base.

During my placement I got the chance to write a couple of stories that were published, nothing major, it's not as if they would have let me write the front page lead! My stories were photo stories about children dressing up as characters from their favourite books at the local library, and plaque unveiling type events.

I enjoyed my two weeks at the Lancashire Evening Post, and back at school I was inspired to get involved with the poetry magazine Harlequin, run by my English teacher Mr Garlington.

Back then there was no internet, no mobile phone text alerts, no LEP TV style services, and personally I was frustrated about the lack of immediacy. Yes a paper gives a journalist the scope to investigate stories, write creatively and get involved in the community, but on the radio you can tell people what happens, when it happens, as it happens.

With my look around Red Rose, my Hospital Radio Chorley show I knew now that radio really was for me...