WEBVTT 00:00:01.100 --> 00:00:04.040 Hello, I'm James Cridland, the radio futurologist, 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:07.139 and this is Radioland, my weekly radio trends 00:00:07.139 --> 00:00:11.900 newsletter and podcast, and it is the 10th of 00:00:11.900 --> 00:00:15.720 February 2026, and this podcast is sponsored 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:20.059 by rss .com. rss .com gives you podcast hosting 00:00:20.059 --> 00:00:23.280 that's actually... Free, unlimited episodes, 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:26.359 unlimited storage. You can start your podcast 00:00:26.359 --> 00:00:30.039 for free with unlimited episodes, automatic distribution 00:00:30.039 --> 00:00:33.359 to major listening platforms and detailed analytics 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:36.780 from day one. You can get started for free at 00:00:36.780 --> 00:00:41.719 rss .com. Australian broadcast radio content 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:45.340 regulations are a little odd if you've ever worked 00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:48.179 in a different radio market. As I wrote about 00:00:48.179 --> 00:00:51.159 in mid -November, the ACMA, the media regulator, 00:00:51.420 --> 00:00:54.579 is surprisingly toothless. It has just one big 00:00:54.579 --> 00:00:58.460 weapon. an additional licence condition, which 00:00:58.460 --> 00:01:00.939 is a big heavy weapon and only brought out if 00:01:00.939 --> 00:01:03.659 it's got no other choice. And if those additional 00:01:03.659 --> 00:01:06.620 licence conditions are broken, the only thing 00:01:06.620 --> 00:01:09.099 the ACMA can do is turn the radio station off, 00:01:09.260 --> 00:01:12.040 either temporarily or permanently. There is a 00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:16.439 fine set by law at currently $165 ,000 Australian 00:01:16.439 --> 00:01:20.000 dollars a day. That's about $120 ,000 US, which 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:22.519 may be ludicrously large or pifflingly small. 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:26.040 They can't change it anyway. But for contents 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:29.560 of radio broadcasts, there is a co -regulatory 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:32.659 framework where broadcasters and their trade 00:01:32.659 --> 00:01:35.780 associations work on their own codes of practice, 00:01:35.939 --> 00:01:39.739 and the ACMA registers these and assesses compliance. 00:01:40.569 --> 00:01:43.469 And Commercial Radio and Audio has released a 00:01:43.469 --> 00:01:46.450 new code of practice today, which has just been 00:01:46.450 --> 00:01:50.150 registered by the ACMA. It's the first since 00:01:50.150 --> 00:01:54.189 2017. I've mirrored the codes just in case they 00:01:54.189 --> 00:01:57.390 go away on my website. The press release tells 00:01:57.390 --> 00:01:59.469 us that there are two new things in there. Firstly, 00:01:59.650 --> 00:02:02.810 something called special care at times when kids 00:02:02.810 --> 00:02:05.810 are most likely to be in the car. That's from 00:02:05.810 --> 00:02:08.949 8 till 9 in the morning and from 3 till 4 in 00:02:08.949 --> 00:02:11.500 the afternoon. It's not very clear what special 00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:13.939 care means, but you can bet that this is in relation 00:02:13.939 --> 00:02:16.099 to the stuff that Kyle and Jackie O have been 00:02:16.099 --> 00:02:18.719 broadcasting during this time slot. Without a 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:22.000 clear understanding of what special care means, 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:24.840 because it's not defined anywhere, it doesn't 00:02:24.840 --> 00:02:26.479 seem to mean an awful lot, but at least there's 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:29.199 something there, I guess. And there's also something 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:32.159 in there about AI transparency. It's a move, 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:35.240 I think, against ARN's horrible, dishonest radio 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:38.340 announcer called Tai, which was a badly produced, 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:42.099 badly written AI voice on KEDA and never disclosed 00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:45.159 as being AI. As you can tell, I'm a fan. The 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:49.099 devil is in the detail. Because if ARN wanted 00:02:49.099 --> 00:02:53.139 to disclose that Tai was just an AI voice, then 00:02:53.139 --> 00:02:55.599 they can post somewhere no one looks like a... 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:58.400 page buried on their website somewhere and the 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.020 letter of this new rule is complete as long as 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:03.280 it's been mentioned somewhere then it's fine 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:07.219 so not quite so sure whether either of these 00:03:07.219 --> 00:03:09.039 two clauses is going to be particularly helpful 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:11.560 not mentioned in the press releases headline 00:03:11.560 --> 00:03:14.860 but much more welcome is that the cra will publish 00:03:14.860 --> 00:03:18.460 an annual report with a summary of all the complaints, 00:03:18.740 --> 00:03:21.879 which will be quite interesting to look at. In 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:23.599 case you're wondering what all of the changes 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:26.620 are, well, there's a little bit of a change in 00:03:26.620 --> 00:03:29.120 terms of corrections to news broadcasts. They 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:32.439 must now be mentioned, be made as soon as is 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:35.340 reasonably practical. There wasn't any time guidance 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:37.419 before there, so you could just correct something 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:39.139 a couple of months later and that would have 00:03:39.139 --> 00:03:42.460 been fine. There are changes to the formats for 00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:45.539 Australian music content, OzCon, as I'm going 00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:47.240 to call it. it, which nobody else calls it here. 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:51.719 If you play hip -hop, then hip -hop has moved 00:03:51.719 --> 00:03:54.900 from a 15 % minimum Australian content to a 25 00:03:54.900 --> 00:03:57.680 % minimum content for some reason. And accordingly, 00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:01.860 25 % of that needs to be new instead of just 00:04:01.860 --> 00:04:05.300 15%. CADA is the only station, I think, that 00:04:05.300 --> 00:04:08.139 describes itself as hip -hop and R &B, at least 00:04:08.139 --> 00:04:12.020 that broadcasts on an FM frequency anyway. There 00:04:12.020 --> 00:04:15.659 is some... changing of words to clarify what 00:04:15.659 --> 00:04:20.800 a complaint is and what feedback is. Particularly 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:25.860 feedback appears to be able to be ignored, but 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:29.860 a complaint isn't. So I guess remember to use 00:04:29.860 --> 00:04:31.939 the C word in your letter, complaint, obviously. 00:04:32.740 --> 00:04:34.920 It does seem that there is a new requirement 00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:37.660 for an online complaint form to be made available 00:04:37.660 --> 00:04:40.279 on radio station websites. There used to be a 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:44.439 word if in that clause. It's gone now. I'm actually 00:04:44.439 --> 00:04:46.519 wondering if that's a typo, to be honest with 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:49.540 you. But still, there we are. And then there's 00:04:49.540 --> 00:04:52.100 the annual report and the brand new section about 00:04:52.100 --> 00:04:56.269 AI transparency as well. Elsewhere in the UK, 00:04:56.430 --> 00:04:58.269 the new radio figures came out. The Media Club 00:04:58.269 --> 00:05:00.790 with Matt Deegan has Adam Bowie on to talk about 00:05:00.790 --> 00:05:02.449 them. It's worth a watch if you'd like to know 00:05:02.449 --> 00:05:05.029 what's up in the country and what's down and 00:05:05.029 --> 00:05:08.009 what's up with Adam's thumb. Adam, what have 00:05:08.009 --> 00:05:10.790 you done to your thumb, mate? Anyway, LBC, a 00:05:10.790 --> 00:05:14.370 talk station, has record numbers, which is good 00:05:14.370 --> 00:05:16.810 to see. That was my station of choice when I 00:05:16.810 --> 00:05:20.079 used to live in London. Spencer Howson interviewed 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:22.379 me on ABC Radio Brisbane at the end of last year 00:05:22.379 --> 00:05:25.360 about AM radio and I managed to upset Peter of 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:28.660 Wavell Heights so much that he sent a t -shirt 00:05:28.660 --> 00:05:32.800 into Spencer to pass on to me. And I link in 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:37.100 my newsletter to a clip of some video of Spencer 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:39.939 waving it about. It's a big picture of an old 00:05:39.939 --> 00:05:42.980 AM transmitter which says something like 300 00:05:42.980 --> 00:05:48.120 kilometres total distance. or something like 00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:50.180 that. I'm sure that's not what PETA sounds like. 00:05:50.860 --> 00:05:53.660 There is also a big sheet of paper explaining 00:05:53.660 --> 00:05:57.439 why I am wrong as well. Let's just pull that 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:02.079 up for you so that I can maybe talk about what 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:06.129 it says, because what does it say? There's a 00:06:06.129 --> 00:06:09.089 thing. I've got it hidden away on this machine 00:06:09.089 --> 00:06:12.209 over here. Yes, so it whitters on about coverage. 00:06:12.389 --> 00:06:15.810 300 kilometre radius. Lovely. It talks about 00:06:15.810 --> 00:06:19.810 AM, which is ground waves or ground guided, as 00:06:19.810 --> 00:06:22.790 he says. We do learn that FM radio doesn't work 00:06:22.790 --> 00:06:25.870 in the rain, which is something that I was hitherto 00:06:25.870 --> 00:06:28.970 unaware of and you probably as well. So that's 00:06:28.970 --> 00:06:32.550 a thing. There's a long talk about the misguided 00:06:32.550 --> 00:06:37.410 legislation. that is happening in the US. No 00:06:37.410 --> 00:06:38.949 mention of the fact that it's only for seven 00:06:38.949 --> 00:06:43.110 years anyway in terms of making sure that AM 00:06:43.110 --> 00:06:45.750 radios are in new cars. I'm not actually sure 00:06:45.750 --> 00:06:48.930 whether that has been yet passed. I don't think 00:06:48.930 --> 00:06:52.899 it has been yet. And it says in remote Australia, 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:55.100 AM is more likely to be your companion. Peter, 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:58.259 I agree with that. Absolutely. Yes, I'm not talking 00:06:58.259 --> 00:07:00.600 about in remote Australia. I'm talking about 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:05.139 in the cities and in the cities. Really, an AM 00:07:05.139 --> 00:07:07.660 radio station needs to be on FM in order to be 00:07:07.660 --> 00:07:10.379 listened to. That's the important bit. Anyway, 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:13.019 it's nice to see that so many people feel so 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:15.139 passionately about this stuff. And if Peter from 00:07:15.139 --> 00:07:18.069 Wavell Heights would like to get in touch. then 00:07:18.069 --> 00:07:22.170 I will return the favour by buying him a DAB 00:07:22.170 --> 00:07:24.569 Plus radio so he can enjoy three times the choice 00:07:24.569 --> 00:07:26.490 of stations, and I'm sure that he will enjoy 00:07:26.490 --> 00:07:30.370 that very much. New York Public Radio has a new 00:07:30.370 --> 00:07:33.410 CEO. Christy Tanner has an impressive media background, 00:07:33.490 --> 00:07:36.100 if not any. particular radio experience to point 00:07:36.100 --> 00:07:39.660 to. I don't think I mentioned that the CEO of 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:42.720 RCS, Philippe Generali, is to step down at the 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:45.779 end of this month. Philippe is an unusual CEO. 00:07:45.939 --> 00:07:48.420 He's often really visible at industry events, 00:07:48.660 --> 00:07:51.540 a large number of which they support. And as 00:07:51.540 --> 00:07:53.779 you'll see from the RCS banner in the newsletter, 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.620 RCS has been a supporter of many parts of the 00:07:56.620 --> 00:07:59.060 radio industry for many years. A lot of that 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:01.860 is down to Philippe and his team. And I do wish 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:04.050 him all the very best for retirement. forward 00:08:04.050 --> 00:08:08.110 to RCS's next chapter as well. And last time 00:08:08.110 --> 00:08:11.610 on this podcast and in my newsletter I mentioned 00:08:11.610 --> 00:08:15.769 that Chanel Vela who's been doing ABC Radio Melbourne's 00:08:15.769 --> 00:08:17.730 Monday to Friday breakfast show was highlighted 00:08:17.730 --> 00:08:20.709 as a media trainer by her talent agency's bio 00:08:20.709 --> 00:08:23.529 which apparently shouldn't be allowed. Anyway 00:08:23.529 --> 00:08:26.790 that's been changed it now reads Chanel was highly 00:08:26.790 --> 00:08:29.529 sought after as a media trainer during her time 00:08:29.529 --> 00:08:31.759 in commercial networks. So I'm happy to make 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:34.139 that clear that she's no longer a media trainer. 00:08:34.340 --> 00:08:37.159 The conflict of interest only really arises if 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:40.200 she's interviewed anyone who she trained. But 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:42.639 we don't know whether she has. But she's off 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:44.779 very shortly on maternity leave. So perhaps that's 00:08:44.779 --> 00:08:48.399 one that we can leave for now. Where am I speaking 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:50.679 next? Well, I'm speaking in New Delhi in India 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:54.519 today at the Radio Festival. I am on video. I 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:57.480 recorded that in this very office three or four 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:00.899 days ago. Live mixed it as well. It's all very 00:09:00.899 --> 00:09:04.580 exciting. Anyway, that is all done. It's talking 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:07.539 about where the future of radio is going. Radio 00:09:07.539 --> 00:09:09.919 Days Europe is where I'm speaking next in person. 00:09:10.220 --> 00:09:13.440 That's in Riga in Latvia in mid -March, talking 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:16.200 about the future of audio being people -powered. 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:19.639 And very much looking forward to doing that. 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:25.419 And the podcast show in London in mid -May. I'll 00:09:25.419 --> 00:09:28.460 be keynoting. I'm also recording a Pod News weekly 00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:31.259 review. And that keynote may be slightly different 00:09:31.259 --> 00:09:34.240 this year. I'm just seeing if I can get approval 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:37.830 from the podcast show folk. It's probably an 00:09:37.830 --> 00:09:41.690 email already saying yes or saying hell no. One 00:09:41.690 --> 00:09:45.009 of those two. So we'll find out what they say. 00:09:45.230 --> 00:09:47.850 But it should be a good event. Very much looking 00:09:47.850 --> 00:09:50.549 forward to doing that. I'm there in London pretty 00:09:50.549 --> 00:09:52.490 well all week. And it'd be great to catch up 00:09:52.490 --> 00:09:55.549 with you if you are in London too. And thank 00:09:55.549 --> 00:10:00.850 you to the many supporters of the newsletter 00:10:00.850 --> 00:10:04.379 and of the podcast. including Greg Strassel and 00:10:04.379 --> 00:10:06.980 Sam Phelps, Richard Hilton, Emma Gibbs, Jocelyn 00:10:06.980 --> 00:10:10.720 Abbey and James Masterton for being regular supporters. 00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:13.279 If you would like to support my work in any way, 00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:15.779 you can buy me a coffee. You can become a member 00:10:15.779 --> 00:10:18.500 if you like. Kevin Watson has done that as well. 00:10:18.539 --> 00:10:21.580 And I should probably say thank you to him in 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:24.600 the newsletter version. So I will probably do 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:27.740 that. See if I remember to do that a little bit 00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:29.940 later. Anyway, you can give me a one -off coffee 00:10:29.940 --> 00:10:33.720 or five or... sign up regularly buymeacoffee 00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:36.320 .com slash james cridland is the place to go 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:38.120 and if you want to follow me on the socials the 00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:41.320 only social i'm really on is mastodon or the 00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:44.379 fediverse you can find me there james at bne 00:10:44.379 --> 00:10:48.139 .social that's brisbane bne .social my website 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:50.299 has more details about who i am and what i do 00:10:50.299 --> 00:10:52.700 and whether i can help you further radioland 00:10:52.700 --> 00:10:56.360 .email will get you to the email bit but james 00:10:56.360 --> 00:11:02.070 .cridland .net That's right. We'll get you to 00:11:02.070 --> 00:11:04.149 the rest of that where you can find out what 00:11:04.149 --> 00:11:06.389 I do, who I am and whether I can help you further. 00:11:06.470 --> 00:11:09.450 And until next time, keep listening.