| 'Remixes
are popular in London too!' |
|
Radio
City recently sent four of its best RJs to London with the objective of enhancing
their skill sets and providing a platform to learn and imbibe the best practices
in global radio.
RJ Vera, who hosts Lucknow's popular morning breakfast
show 'The Radio City Breakfast Show' was one of the four to be chosen for the
'The Radio City CEO Award for On-Air Talent'. Vera hosts a fun, light-hearted,
entertaining show which freely imparts information without making any demands
on her listeners' busy mornings. Vera
has been with Radio City Lucknow since its initial days. She has also worked with
All India Radio as an RJ. A postgraduate in English, Vera was a journalist at
one time.
Vera chats with Radioandmusic.com's Sonal Tirthani on her London experience.
Excerpts:
| Did
you go to London with any apprehensions?
I was thrilled to be able to
represent the Indian radio fraternity in London. I was anxious to see how differently
the same industry functions in another country. It was a great experience!
Was there a difference in the two radio stations you went to?
It was mainly the sound of the two stations, Kiss100 and Magic 105.4 that differentiated
the two; while one is targeted at the younger generation, the other appealed to
a broader segment. | | |
 | |
RJ Vera at Windermere |
Could
you relate to the RJs at the radio stations there? Did you find any differences
between the styles of working?
One of the most interesting things in radio stations there, is that Radio Jockeys
are addressed as DJs and it sure did take me a while to get used to being referred
to as DJ Vera. Among
other things, I observed that all the listener calls on London radio are recorded;
there are no live conversations with callers. The guidelines for RJs are very
similar to the guidelines we observe in Radio City. I also noticed that remixes
are quite popular and the in-thing in music in London. Contests on radio are extremely
popular too! The
show content in London stations are largely based on current events that are happening
around the city and then the RJ's take on it. In India as well, we follow a similar
approach. But unlike us, they usually avoid segments. They prefer keeping segments
limited to one to one interaction with the listeners. Plus, in most cases, they
have no introductions to the songs!  | |
On Cruise |
Were
you impressed or influenced by any particular RJ during your stay there?
Not as much! But, I definitely observed the finer nuances of the RJs and observed
how they host their shows. Does
India lag behind in its radio programming sense? Where should you think we need
to change?
After my trip to London, I can confidently claim that private
FM in India is no less than anyone! I felt really good to realise that when it
comes to programming, we are at par with them! For someone who has been in private
FM radio in India for so many years, my visit to London FM stations told me that
on-air contests specifically, is one area which is far more developed in the UK
FM market. | 
