I attended Sound Women’s event ‘Meet the Patrons’ where notable female radio presenters attended to speak about their careers, and to other woman in the industry who also attended and essentially network.
The first question was on how they started their careers.
Magic FM’s Angie Greaves was particularly quotable and I found her inspiring from what she had to say. She started off saying that she ‘got the bug’ when she started working in radio and couldn’t stop. She started off at Capital, working with people such as David Jensen.
BBC Radio 4’s Jane Garvey recalled that she had started off in radio by promoting the station by selling car stickers in a shirt two sizes too small, which sets the mood and speaks volumes about the industry when she first started.
BBC Radio 1’s Annie Nightingale, the first female radio DJ on the station, told us about how she was ‘crazy about the music’, and how the males didn’t know that women would be interested in being music DJs.
They were then asked the inevitable: did you have support as women, and how did you deal with the sexism?
Angie Greaves gave a straight forward, and empowering answer: ‘I just got in the studio and did my show.’
‘Focus on your contribution.’
‘There were no women doing the drive time by herself… If she was there, she was there to giggle.’
Annie Nightingale shared what she was told at the beginning of her career: ‘DJs are husband substitutes’. She described this type of sexism as ‘ridiculous’ and said it was all part of the society in the 70s.
She went on to explain that she was ‘worries about playing the right record at the right speed at the right time’. There was pressure on her to deliver, and to deliver well.
Annie believes that we have ‘come a long, long way from then’.
Jane Garvey pitched in saying that ‘there were no women in the position to encourage you’.
The next question fired at the patrons made them think: would you give space for a man to have a show if the main slot was taken up by successful females?
Annie Nightingale jumped in and expressed that she ‘doesn’t like tokenism’, and even went as far as to say that she believes Sound Women should in fact be called Sound People.
Angie and Jane both agreed with the ‘tokenism’ comment, which pretty much shut that question down.
The last question of the night opened up for lighthearted anecdotes: What were your best and worst moments in broadcasting?
Jane Garvey’s comment sets the mood for the worst moments: ‘I’d rather take a sack full of politicians before an actress.’
She explained that she had gotten into a situation with an actress where she was then asked to apologise and send flowers, but she simply refused.
Annie Nightingale, being the well experienced broadcaster she is, shared stories about Steven Berkoff and The Beatles.
‘You don’t know whether or not to walk out or hang in there,’ Annie shared.
‘You have to be a psychologist sometimes.’
She said that when interviewing celebrities of any sort, you need to get their attention and ultimately their respect. ‘I said to John ‘you’re the difficult one”, speaking about John Lennon. Annie told us how John Lennon soon paid attention after that comment.
The three patrons then went on to share general advice.
Jane Garvey:
- Links on local radio, you should worry about ‘how you emphasise the end of a link’
- ‘Be utterly honest’. She described BBC Radio 4 as a ‘manicured garden’, and BBC Radio 5 Live as ‘an allotment’. BBC Radio 4 has packages pre made, and sourced from other broadcasters, whereas BBC Radio 5 Live is made in the moment, much like real radio.
Annie Nightingale:
- The most important things are being there on time, and being reliable – but of course we all have our moments. ‘Be the person you want to work with… be pleasant.’
- Don’t treat anyone as anything other than important.
- Don’t moan about new people – they critique you.
- Ask people how they are – it’s not about you the presenter, it’s about the people you are talking to/about.
- Silence – if the interviewee hasn’t answered, wait and let them fill it.
Angie Greaves:
- She referred to a Gandhi quote ‘be the change you wish to see in the world’.
- Always write a link that makes people smile and talk. ‘Every week I talk about scandal.’
- Just be yourself.
- ‘There’s a time to talk, and a time to be quiet. It’s not about knowing your place, it’s about being on a team.’
- ‘Be aware about the male ego and how to work it to our advantage.’
- But equally ‘be aware of your male energy’ – you will get back as much aggression as you put out.
As well as these powerful and seemingly personal pieces of advice, Tate and I went on to ask Angie Greaves for additional advice on our venture to create a radio show. She told us to 1. Make more news than you need – so for our hour show, we should have an hour and a half’s worth of content. 2. The first two shows should be podcasts and not necessarily live, to allow ourselves to listen back and asses ourselves.
She went on to say that she would be happy for us to send her our show when it is done, which would be incredibly valuable and helpful for our progression into radio.
Tate and I also went on to talk to a few women who were there until the end of the event, which was a fantastic eye opener for us into the industry, and we now have a couple more contacts to add to Twitter and keep in contact with.
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