{"id":6116,"date":"2016-11-03T11:27:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T11:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.adambowie.com\/?p=6116"},"modified":"2016-11-03T11:29:06","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T11:29:06","slug":"diversity-in-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adambowie.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/diversity-in-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"Diversity in Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"portrait\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yesterday, two things happened.<\/p>\n

I got an email from Sound Women telling me that the organisation will be closing down<\/a> at the end of next year.<\/p>\n

And I went to a radio and audio conference in London. <\/p>\n

I’ll explain the link in a minute. But let’s just say for the moment, that I learnt a new word yesterday too: manel.<\/p>\n

It’s sad news that Sound Women is closing, because I think it’s fair to say that it has achieved a lot in the five years of its existence. As their blog explains, it’s a consequence of time (of their volunteers) and resources that has led to the decision. <\/p>\n

What’s clear is that while the issues raised by Sound Women have been tackled to some extent, that does not mean that sexism in the radio and audio industry is over. <\/p>\n

The medium still has a lack of diversity, and when I say this, I include sex, race and social background. I trust that their legacy will live on.<\/p>\n

I received the email as I sat in a London radio and audio conference – the RAIN Summit Europe – in The British Museum. Overall I like this event, and there are a good range of speakers including some really excellent ones. <\/p>\n

Notably Megan Lazovick of Edison Research gave a really good talk about in-car radio listening. It included some frighteningly dangerous footage of drivers explaining how they used their mobile phones to stream audio while in the car (coming in the week that a truck driver was imprisoned for ten years after killing a family while using his phone). But there was some really good insight into usage in the car.<\/p>\n

Then in the afternoon we got entertaining presentations from David Cooper of Spotify and Sam Crowther of A Million Ads.<\/p>\n

But there was also this. <\/p>\n

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Turns out you *can* have too many people on a panel. Not exactly diverse either… pic.twitter.com\/Haxjx9R85o<\/a><\/p>\n

— Adam Bowie (@adambowie) November 2, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n