Trevor Dann hosts a #ukriots special looking at how UK radio coped with a difficult week of public disorder.Featuring LBC’s Nick Margerrison who presented a 6 hour show overnight when rioting broke out in Tottenham; BBC Radio Manchester’ Sarah Collins who was the on-air producer throughout the night when rioting broke out in Manchester on Tuesday evening; and AudioBoo’s CEO and Founder Mark Rock whose site saw their biggest peak of listening since launch.
Sarah introduces the harrowing audio of the BBC Radio Manchester radio car being set on fire, and Mark brings a stand-out AudioBoo from a member of the public who witnessed one of the many fires in Croydon on Monday night.
We tackle the issues around staff safety when broadcasting from a riot, how to screen callers effectively before putting them on air, what citizen journalism means, what happens in the studio when adrenalin takes over, what is impartiality, and how do we connect with the disconnected?
Trevor also speaks to Ralph Bernard about the sad passing of Michael Bukht who founded Classic FM, Britain’s first national commercial radio station.