Radio with Pictures Show - Global

Interactive broadcasting works by incorporating web conferencing into a radio or television broadcast. As the audience are listening to or watching a programme, they can be logged into a web conference. In tandem with the interactive broadcasts there can also be discussion forums within which participants can interact and pose questions before, during and after the broadcasts. Participants can also share links and contacts and develop relationships with each other. At the end of the broadcast period, all the programmes can be archived onto CD-ROM and the Internet. They can be transcribed and translated into different languages to create a potential source of additional revenue.

A suggested format for this kind of multimedia experience is a chat show on a topic of special interest, featuring local and remote special guests sharing their experiences and knowledge with the audience. It is also well suited (with the technology available) either to local/community broadcasting or niche channels wanting to reach a specific interest group market.

The Radio with Pictures Show inaugural broadcast took place in May/June 2002 as a series of 15 breakfast radio chat shows based on the general theme of the Information Society. The programmes went on the air between 6:00 am and 7:00 am on the United Kingdom's Harborough FM community radio station and featured guests from the Harborough District, the UK, and around the world. These guests came from all sectors (public, private, academic, and civil society) and from all walks of life. The one thing they had in common was an interest in using computers and multimedia for their own and other people's benefit. Click here to view a list of archived programmes available for download as PowerPoint slideshows.

To detail the interactive nature of this broadcast, each guest was asked to complete an e-profile about themselves, their geographical location, the work they do, and their views on the future of the Information Society. This content - in the form of a web page template - was then displayed in the web conference, not only to guide the presenter but also to enable the interactive audience to see the same material on their screen. Each guest had an opportunity to talk about what and who has inspired them and to share their best practices. Additional material for the broadcast was accessed via the Internet and used to display as an on-screen picture show controlled by the presenter.

The programme uses HP Virtual Classroom web conferencing technology. The audience and special guests were effectively in a virtual meeting place in which they could listen to the broadcast, view the photographs and slides, ask questions, and chat to each other. The technology also enables audience polling and "web tours" - visits to websites.

Technology.

This tool was developed by David Wortley (BSc (Hons) CEng.), a UK-based freelance consultant and practitioner specialising in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for the social and economic development of sustainable communities. He claims that "Interactive Broadcasting is an emerging phenomenon which could provide new opportunities for creative radio broadcasting both for entertainment and education, and could create new business models for commercial sustainability." According to Wortley, there is no capital expenditure required to set up an interactive broadcast with The Radio with Pictures Show. A pilot broadcast, including all the content, logistics, management, and presenter, could be set up for as little as £1,000. Regular broadcasts can be made fully interactive for under £500 per 1-hour programme.