by Jamie Fletcher, Director
Could AI Rid us of On-Air Gaffes? Would we Want it to?
It’s five past seven in the morning and the newsroom phone is ringing.
“Hello, newsroom,” I answer.
I’m greeted with uncontrollable laughter. It’s the Head of News, who had just listened to my 7am news bulletin.
“Camp B******!??” she exclaimed.
A slip of the tongue during the breakfast show meant I’d temporarily given Camp Bastion a new name.
Like the now-infamous Nicky Campbell “Man Hunts” (and he did it twice!) I corrected it within a split second. I continued the bulletin like nothing had happened, despite the breakfast presenters, producer, and back producers all rolling on the floor in laughter. We were all in the same studio in those days - no separate news booth. Nowhere to hide.
There were others …. “The town cryer rang the balls” - instead of bells. Or perfectly nailing “Abdelbaset al-Megrahi” but tripping up on the next word.
Of course, every single member of the team decided to tune into the Camp Bastion bulletin that day! And it was the topic of conversation for the rest of the week - all that was remembered was the hilarity in the studio.
The station received some fantastic texts from listeners - “That’s made my week!” one read. I wouldn’t want to repeat the mistake, but it felt very good to have our listeners in on the joke and laughing along with us. We felt the human connection, and it felt good.
The best news readers have personality as well as good diction
Believe it or not, I was a competent newsreader back in the day. I did breakfast for ten years - the peak shift, the career goal for many in the profession. The late, great Howard Hughes was the voice of authority on breakfast for decades. There were many others, most of whom I’ve been lucky enough to work with at some point in my career.
While I don’t pretend to have been anywhere near the legend that was Howard, news readers need personality. It’s not just about reading a script. It’s about bringing the story to life.
There’s a buzz in telling someone what’s happening in the world while they’re getting the kids ready for school or stuck on the M62. It’s about being empathetic when it’s needed and jovial when it’s allowed. But never robotic.
In truth, the reason everyone found those slips so hilarious was because they were rare. Depending on the story, sometimes we couldn’t help but break down in laughter on-air too.
AI in a radio newsroom
Times change, and AI is a tool that newsrooms across the world must embrace. It’s a valuable support tool, and at Radio News Hub, that’s exactly how we use it.
It’s fantastic for forward planning, discovering new contacts – and even for copy suggestions. It can find potential stories within seconds – that our team can then firm up and decide whether to write up and record.
However, AI is not a substitute for a genuine, human voice. It’s simply not ready to replace human newsreader. And I doubt it will ever do that.
Even with advanced voice cloning, AI is still a computer and still prone to legal and factual errors. It’s still missing that critical ingredient: a human touch.
Imagine for a moment, it was an AI that decided Camp Bastion was Camp B******, or declared the balls were ringing. There would be no correction and the bulletin would just continue. The human connection with the audience would be immediately lost with the obvious give-away that it wasn’t a human being reading the news.
And there would be no amusement for us in the studio either! No colleagues turning up making fun of the hapless newsreader. No spark.
Radio and human connections
While we’d never encourage our presenters at Radio News Hub to routinely collapse into fits of laughter, we do encourage personality. Scripts are vital to impart the information to our audience, but the occasional ad-lib or comment will remind listeners there’s a real person behind the mic and create an extra connection.
Radio is evolving in terms of how people access it, from live radio to online catch-up and podcasts. According to RAJAR’s latest report 86% of the UK population listen to radio. It’s our constant companion in the background, day and night.
I may no longer be on the mic every morning, but I’ll always believe in the power of a real voice because radio isn’t just heard, it’s felt.
This former breakfast newsreader and radio lover wrote this blog without AI.
If you’re looking for quality news content for your station or are curious about how radio can drive results for your next marketing campaign, please get in touch.