Keeping It Real with Rory Auskerry - December 2008

Spenders not savers

AS we enter this period of economic recession and financial uncertainty I've been thinking more about my own money issues than I normally do. Because of the high level of media coverage, the subject of finance often crops up amongst my friends, both the ones who are working and those studying.

I've been brought up in a family which has always been careful with money, saving for a rainy day and generally living within our means. This has resulted in a strong feeling of financial security throughout my life. I might not have had the latest trainers or the coolest clothes but I never really wanted for anything. I'm very grateful for this and I'm keen to make sure that my own family might one day feel the same security that I have enjoyed.

During the discussions I've had recently I've discovered that very few of my friends have any money saved up anywhere.

There is literally a handful of people I know who have money in the bank for future use. I thought that anyone with a job, but still living with one or both of their parents would be able to afford, and therefore be saving. However, it seems that my generation are spenders. Despite being a full-time student I've managed to put a bit away from my summer jobs and DJing but it's become clear to me that people who are on the face of it in a much healthier financial situation than me, have not made any effort to prepare for the future.

I'm keen to understand why this might be as saving up for something I want or just saving for the future has been ingrained in my nature ever since I could count. I have a friend who I once lent a small sum of money to when I was at school. She wanted to buy a present for her boyfriend and hadn't been paid yet so I lent her about twenty quid. The fact that she told me she had no money until she was next paid should have rung alarm bells but I was naive and handed over the cash.

After weeks if not months of asking, pestering and eventually demanding my money back I got a phone call to say that this girl had my money and would bring it round to the house! I was so pleased to be getting it back because after all that time I'd begun to wonder if it was worth nagging about anymore. Anyway, I suggested she just put the money through the letterbox as there was no one at home and I would collect it later.

Her response was: "It won't fit through the letterbox Rory." Why on earth not I thought; has she got me gold ingots? "Well put it in a carrier bag and leave it under the garden shed then, I'll find it when I get back," I said. I got home about half an hour later to discover a carrier bag containing twenty pounds in unsorted one and two pence coins. As you might imagine after months of pestering I was a little annoyed and I promptly phoned her and asked her to give me 'proper money', which she did. I now think this is very funny and, in case you're wondering, we are still friends.

I have a hunch that once I started asking for my money back my friend had started a change jar and the excuses for not paying me back were simply because the jar wasn't full yet!

The other aspect to this is that many of my parents' generation saved enough money to buy property at a young age, especially in Orkney. If I knew where I was going to be in nine months time I too would be seriously thinking about this option as to get on the housing ladder in my early twenties would be excellent. Given that the housing market is coming down again I would love to see my friends investing in property and getting themselves some 'bricks and mortar' security for the future, but judging by what I've learned recently, most of them are not fortunate enough to even consider this option. Perhaps as parents my generation will go back to the older values of prudence and keeping some in reserve.

As you will know if you read last month's column, or heard my podcast, I was down in London for the 2008 Student Radio Awards. Although I didn't win in the end it was a very interesting and inspiring experience. To sit in a room with over 400 other people, many of whom are likely to become the next wave of producers, presenters, researchers and station managers was very exhilarating. I also got the opportunity to introduce myself to Andy Parfitt, the controller of Radio 1, as well as DJs Greg James and Steve Lamaqu. At the time I was disappointed not to have won, but getting down to the last 5 out of over 500 entries is still pretty cool and I will certainly be entering again next year.

As a final point this December I'd like to express my views regarding Christmas cards. I can see that people enjoy sending and receiving cards from people, especially those old friends or family they don't see very often. However, because my generation can contact their friends so easily by things like Bebo, Facebook and text messaging the need for paper greetings seems almost non-existent. I would far rather get a text or a 'wall message' than a card simply saying 'To Rory, Happy Christmas, Love Jo.' It just seems a bit empty, not to mention the cost to the environment.

If I don't get any Christmas wishes at all now, I'll know I've only got myself to blame. To all of you reading this, my friends and my family I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy Christmas and fantastic new year.

Keeping It Real with Rory Auskerry - November 2008

Gambling on an award

As I expected a lot has happened since last months column was printed. For a start we successfully completed Utopia’s two-week broadcast without too many hitches. I’m very proud of this because it was a heck of a lot of work, and by the end of it I was completely shattered. However, when we played the last record and I flicked the power switch on the transmitter I felt mixed emotions of relief and sadness.

Having had time to reflect on the broadcast I have been able to understand exactly what I’ve learned from it. I’ve had to manage people, overcome technical problems, coordinate promotional events and coach many of the presenters; not to mention juggling all this with producing and presenting a two-hour news and local affairs show throughout the week.

It’s been great fun and I’m extremely glad I took on the challenge back in May last year. That doesn’t mean to say I haven’t got regrets. There were plenty of things that could have been improved and I’m still kicking myself for things that I messed up with, both on and off the air.

Ultimately though, I think we all did a good job, it was great fun and everyone seems to have benefited from the experience. The university staff in the media department seem happy too which is a bonus.

I had some good news about my own work a couple of weeks ago; I’ve been nominated for a student radio award! Back in June I put together four minutes of what I thought were some of the best bits from the evening show I presented on Utopia last May, together with a covering sheet to explain a bit about me and the show itself. I posted this off to the Student Radio Association and didn’t really think much more about it.

Last week, to my delight I got a message from one of my lecturers congratulating me on my nomination. I suddenly remembered that the night before had been the date for each of the regional nomination parties so I checked the website and sure enough I’d won the nomination from the North East. This means that I’ll be heading down to London on the 6th of November to the awards party in the O2 arena. I’m one of five lads nominated in the national scheme for the ‘best male presenter’ award this year so it’s very exciting and could prove to be a handy career boost.

Now that term has started properly I’m turning my attention towards my Uni modules and most important of all; my final year dissertation. This is going to take the form of a half hour radio documentary, which I must research and produce by April next year. I have pretty much decided to take home education as the subject of the programme and look at the many different aspects of this method of teaching. Having been home schooled my self for several years it’s a subject I know a little about and at the same time I’m keen to find out more from other people who are currently, or have been, home educated.

The night before I found out about my nomination I had my first experience of gambling. The fact that it’s taken me until the age of 20 before I’ve had a go should provide some indication of my general attitude towards this ‘pastime’. Despite being firmly against gambling I was persuaded to accompany my mates on a trip to the Sunderland Greyhound racing track. I think it was the free pint promotion that swayed it for me but I felt that trying it once would be interesting and fun. In total I bet the astronomical sum of seven pounds on a number of races and I’m pleased to say that I won absolutely nothing. This has reinforced my opinion that I’m right to avoid gambling and instead keep any spare money I have in a saving account. Having said that, in the present credit climate some may argue betting on the dogs is a safer bet than the bank! Of course if I had actually won some money I might have been tempted to try my luck again, but instead the experience has made me even less keen on betting, but that’s not to say we didn’t have a great night out.

Last month I was asked if I’d like to DJ in our brand new ‘Campus’ nightclub. I’ve always been keen to play there, so despite the fact that the Gig was an unpaid trial run, my ever present DJ’ing and radio companion; Chris Brackley, and I turned up on the night ready to rock the house. Although we only played for an hour and a half between us we had good fun and managed to get most people in the club dancing to our mad mix of Indie, R n’ B, Cheese and Dance. According to the management it was the busiest Monday night to date and I’m hoping we will get offered some more gigs in the future.

As I’ve mentioned before, my housemates and I are living in a private rented house just outside the city here in Sunderland. The five of us decided last year that as much as we enjoyed the security and ease of university flats it would be a good idea, and a nice change, to rent somewhere ourselves in our last year at uni. I think we are lucky that between us we can organise money, sort the computer, TV and wireless network problems, make simple D.I.Y. alterations and repairs and keep up a good relationship with our land lord. I’m counting on the things I learn this year standing me in good stead when I need to rent a place on my own for the first time.

I’ve been very interested if somewhat annoyed by the recent story concerning Russell Brand, Jonathan Ross and a series of phone calls to the actor, Andrew Sachs. I personally think the British press have shown little humour in escalated a small mistake into something that’s been blown completely out of proportion. Having said that maybe I’ll be lucky enough to meet the controller of Radio 2 at this awards ceremony. If I do I might as well give her a nudge and a wink for Russell’s job? Cheers.

Keeping It Real with Rory Auskerry - October 2008

Utopia management - an endless task.

I feel like a nocturnal animal at the moment. I'm up at half past six to supervise the breakfast show on Utopia. Then I stay in the building most of the day keeping an eye on proceedings and offering advice to the presenters. I might get a break for a couple of hours at home in the middle of the day, then I'm back in to produce and present our flagship community show 'The Community Drive' at five o' clock. It's good fun and so far I think the broadcast is going well. The new presenters who started off a bit nervous and hesitant are beginning to get confident about what they're saying and how to 'drive the desk'.

I'm trying to find a balance between overloading the newbies with constructive criticism and suggestions for ways to improve, and just letting them make the mistakes and learn it their own way. I'm by no means an expert but I have had more hands on experience in the studio than almost all the other presenters. I'm trying to pass on both what I've been taught and what I've figured out for myself without coming across as a know it all.

I find it amusing that when I'm on my own in the station with a couple of new presenters I'm basically being a sort of amateur teacher. It's very rewarding when I make a suggestion of a neat way to present something, then I leave the studio and listen in the other room to them making a good job of it. I don't think I could ever be a real teacher, but if you put all that marking and kids mucking about to one side I can see the appeal.

We've had a couple of disappointments with one of the events we had planned for the launch day of the broadcast. Up until the day before, we were on track to borrow the use of an empty unit in The Bridges shopping centre in Sunderland. The empty shop was going to be our base in the heart of the city from which we could promote the station, record 'vox pops', find stories and most exciting of all, put on some excellent local live acoustic acts to attract the public.

Chris and I had together met with the centre manager on three occasions to discuss the project and having completed the risk assessment, copies of the universities public liability insurance and other paperwork we thought we were sorted. Unfortunately we were told on the Thursday before we were due to go live that a business had expressed an interest in the store and we were unable to make use of it. I accept that the management of the centre are running a business and that must come first, however it has been a disappointment for us.

To come back to the Community Drive, this has always been a programme that I've wanted to do on the air. I love Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2 because he manages to mix great music with stimulating and often quite complicated news stories. I love the arguments and heated debates that ensue in the studio and on the phone with guests who feel very strongly about the various items.I wanted to try something similar myself and given the fact that Utopia FM is due to become a full-time community station soon, I thought it would make sense to schedule a programme that would attempt to form a link between the university, its students and the wider community.

To a certain extent I believe this is working, but the reoccurring problem of only having a small listener-base makes it difficult. Without a decent number of texts, emails and calls from members of the community it's hard to keep a programme of such a format relevant and interesting to its listeners.

In previous columns I've mooted that people who learn to drive in Orkney should have to go down to Inverness, Aberdeen or Edinburgh to do a few lessons on the motorway and dual carriage way. I don't believe that it's safe for anyone to learn in Orkney where there are no lane changes, heavy traffic or massive roundabouts and then be legally allowed to drive alone in these significantly more challenging situations.This is no reflection on the standard of driving tuition provided in the county, simply something that my own limited experience on major roads both with and without an instructor has led me being a bit concerned about. This feeling was reinforced last month when Mum and I drove my stuff down to Sunderland. I was reasonably confident during the trip and I'm convinced this was entirely down to the fact that I had previously spent at least 30 hours on the major roads in and around Sunderland while I was learning to drive.

Last Thursday, Northern Hype held our first club night in Newcastle at a cool, underground club called World Headquarters. We were all pretty nervous about it because although the thriving music scene in the city ensures there is a massive potential audience, we were going head to head with competition from national chain clubs that can afford to throw thousands of pounds at promotion and big name acts. Having neither of these assets ourselves, we had no option but to simply talk to people, put flyers in their hands and make good use of the internet as a promotional tool.

On the night we decided to close the top floor of the club to make the place feel busier downstairs rather than have people spread out over two floors. I was pretty convinced it was going to be a lost leader but in the end we made enough to cover our costs and still have a bit left for ourselves. It was a great night and I was amazed at how friendly and polite the people were.I think we will certainly be doing another night in WHQ sometime soon, but having learned from last week, we will just hire one floor. It was an exciting learning curve and for me that's what university is all about. Cheers.

Keeping it Real with Rory Auskerry - September 2008

Act to tackle bullying

A large proportion of my time at school was blighted by bullying. As I've explained in a previous column, I was home educated for the majority of the year on Auskerry; only spending a few weeks in Stronsay School each winter. It was during these weeks and later during the first three years that I spent studying in Kirkwall Grammar School that I suffered at the hands of bullies.

At the stage I'm at now, having put three years between me and the bullying I now feel I can look back with a view to trying to figure out why I was bullied, and how we as a society might help to stop this from happening to other young people. I know a lot of my friends have been bullied; some of them have said that they were bullies themselves.

I'll be the first to admit that my upbringing was different. I think the people who gave me hassle in school might have found this a threat, and because I was trying to settle in I was over eager to impress, too loud and therefore was an easy target. However, I don't believe anyone deserves to be miserable and unhappy particularly when it's the result of a minority of children having a bit of sport.

Our society doesn't seem to me to be that committed to preventing bullying from happening, nor to adequately dealing with it when it has happened. My friends agree with me that all too often the victims of the bullying ended up being bullied even more as a result of telling the school or the police.

Teachers have lost the rights to discipline unruly pupils, parents have lost the ability to protect their children without fear of being abused or even attacked. The police seem equally unable to do anything when the aggressors are under 16. I believe this is because if the child is under 16 the police can only speak to the parents about the issue and the parents are within their rights to refuse entry to their home and decline to speak to officers.

Perhaps the most worrying aspect to this issue is the fact that nothing seems to be happening to sort this out. As a society we need to change our attitudes and our tactics. We need to establish a system that kids find easy to use to register every degree of antisocial behavior that makes their lives miserable. We also need to have a proper structure of adult response to those complaints so that the victims don't feel as helpless as I did. Apart from my parents I never knew who I could go and see on a regular basis that would be able to help me.

This said it may well be necessary to dig deeper into this issue to get to the bottom of it. Why do some kids become bullies? I just don't feel enough is being done by parents who are ultimately responsible for bringing up their children as well behaved, decent citizens. I also think teachers are not given enough support by the community to deal with bullying. I would love to see a real debate about the issue as I feel it's every bit as important as many of the other things councillors and politicians procrastinate over constantly.

Leaving the bullying issue behind for now and things are beginning to get exciting as far as Utopia FM is concerned. I've sent everyone the full schedule for our 16-day broadcast, we have had a half-page story and picture promoting the station printed in a local newspaper which circulates 55,000 copies, and we have all but signed a deal worth over two thousand pounds for full station sponsorship with the brand new student nightclub.

We are also progressing well with getting the community involved through service-level agreements and community programming. I'm now starting to think about getting the station imaging made. This is all the jingles and DJ idents (these are the jingles which are made specifically for the presenters) that give the station a lot of its character and consistency. I'm also trying to get the presenters to include interviews in their shows which have not really happened before. I have been very fortunate that everyone at Radio Orkney has taught me a lot about how to set about doing an interview and I'm keen to pass on what I've learned to the presenters on Utopia.

If you're reading this on the day it's printed I'm travelling back to Sunderland. There are things to be said for living by yourself; you don't have to argue about the remote control, you can play loud music whenever you like and you only have yourself to blame for any mess. But on the down side I find it pretty lonely a lot of the time. I end up going to bed early because there is nobody to talk to. For weeks I've been looking forward to getting back into Uni life and the way we live in our 'gaff'.

The prospect of moving into our new house with four of my best friends from Uni is unbelievably exciting. In the flat, or the house as it will be this year, there is always something going on. We all spend a lot of time together and a usual evening routine revolves around eating, drinking tea (or lager depending on our mood or the day of the week), watching TV and throughout all of this, constantly enjoying a healthy barrage of banter and good humor. It's just relentless good fun and it makes me feel really good.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you good luck if you're heading off to college or university this month. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Cheers.

Keeping it Real with Rory Auskerry - August 2008

On The Treadmill

As you might imagine I left Sunderland at the end of term in early June looking forward to a relaxing summer holiday break. On my way up the east coast main line I had images in my mind’s eye of beach parties, barbecues in the back garden and long lie-ins. The reality has been somewhat different.

I started a full time job at Radio Orkney while trying to juggle the tasks of getting my student radio station on air next month, writing articles for Living Orkney, seeing friends as well as finding time to visit the rest of my family who are, as usual on Auskerry. I am by no means complaining as I feel very privileged to be doing a job that is both thoroughly enjoyable and highly beneficial to my career progression. Nevertheless it is hard work and at the end of the day I often struggle to find the energy and motivation to start working on my other projects.

The experience of having a proper job and living alone is proving to be a real eye opener. It's giving me a good idea of what I can expect when my time in the cosy cocoon of student life comes to an end next June. I am finding that keeping on top of everything I need to do is like a treadmill. I start the weekend thinking that I'll be able to get stuff done that's been piling up all week; but just as I feel I have got the decks cleared it's Sunday night again! I go back to work on Monday morning feeling that I haven't really got anywhere. Is this what most ‘grownups’ feel?

I like to keep busy while I’m at uni because I don't like being idle and I can see that I'm not going to get anywhere in radio if I don't get down to some graft. Despite my various jobs such as the radio station, podcasts, being a student ambassador and my various writing commitments, my lifestyle down the road usually involves quite a bit less work than all my current activities in Orkney.

I'm glad I'm getting a preview of what I can expect after university as now it won't be quite so much of a shock to the system. All I can say at the moment is well done to everyone who manages to juggle jobs and family all year round!

Having mentioned my commitments to our student radio station in Sunderland I thought it might be interesting to give you a bit of an update on how things are progressing. At the moment we are trying to finalise the schedule for the two weeks which we are on air for, get some promotion done to raise our profile in the community,( which will in turn help us to gain advertising), and encourage local groups and individuals to provide us with programme content.

One of the most frustrating things has been the process of going through people’s demo's and show proposals. I have to say that the general standard being sent to me by wannabe presenters is pretty poor for both the actual audio demo's and the supporting show proposal paperwork. Some people have handed in a reasonably professional sounding five minutes of audio accompanied by some neatly typed details of the proposed show, feature ideas, previous experience and contact details for the people concerned.

Others seem to think that an unlabeled CD in an envelope with an almost illegibly hand written sheet of A4 containing only a few sentences is going to cut it. To be honest I don't really know what action to take.

Obviously I want to do as much as I can to help these applicants both as a fellow student and also in my capacity as station manager. Should I be as encouraging as possible and put them on air however bad their demo? Whilst part of me can see we are a small student station here to provide students like me with their first experience of radio, the other part of me thinks that I should be running as professional a station as possible and to encourage students to think that sloppy demos will get them a job in the real world is far from helpful.

I would be willing to bet that several of the people who have submitted demo's will never get a job as a radio presenter. Some people have just been unlucky with their voice and lack a bit of charisma, but the biggest problem seems to be people who just don't have their hearts in radio. Many of them seem to be just in it for a bit of fun. That's fine, but usually this uncommitted attitude doesn't result in good radio and is therefore frustrating for everyone who wants the station to sound as slick as possible.

On the other hand I don't think it's my place to tell people they aren't very good – What do I know! Therefore I'm just going to have to try and help people to do the best they can and hopefully they will either improve or decide for themselves that being on the air isn't for them.

Finally this month, I have been interested in recent news that the government wants to increase to 21 the age at which young people can buy alcohol in pubs. I don't think they have thought it through very well because I'm convinced that people who use alcohol as a fuel for irresponsible behaviour will continue to do so regardless. Furthermore I think being treated like an adult and being allowed to drink in pubs helps many young people to learn to take responsibility for themselves in this area. I know from my own experience, turning 18 was seen by many as a ticket to a drink-fuelled funfare. As I soon discovered, the reality is somewhat less exciting and I think it would be a mistake for the learning of this important lesson to be put off any later than 18.

Keeping It Real - July 2008

Sick of Tunnel Vision

Having had sufficient time to settle back into life in Orkney I’m feeling glad to be home. As I’ve mentioned before in this column, making the necessary adjustments needed to fit back in here after being in the city for a whole term can take me a while, but I’m glad to say I’m over that now.

Some of you may already be aware that I’m working at Radio Orkney for the summer. As usual this is proving an excellent opportunity to learn a great deal of skills, including those in journalism and presenting which will be of great benefit to me in my planned career as a radio broadcaster.

Because I’m working almost full time at the station, with the rest of my family on Auskerry, I’m living in our Kirkwall house by myself. This is actually one of the biggest adjustments I’ve had to make since coming back from University. I’m so used to the constant humour, noise and general banter in my flat that coming home to an empty house at the end of a days work is a bit of an anti climax. I suppose this is just another part of life which I’ll have to get used to, for the time being at least.

Something which I have been meaning to mention for a while are the comments often made in Orkney Today’s ‘Hoo’s hid ga’an’ feature. The particular bit I’m referring to is the question which asks what one thing would improve Orkney.

I am sick of seeing some variation of the answer; ‘A tunnel to the mainland’, ‘Towing Orkney nearer the mainland’, ‘A bridge to Scotland’ etc. Why do people feel the need to find room in their head for these ridiculous statements, let alone in the paper? I rarely get annoyed by people’s opinions as I think healthy debate is crucially important in any community. However, if you genuinely believe that a fixed link to the Scottish mainland will improve the quality of life in Orkney you must be mad.

Orkney’s remoteness is one of its greatest assets. Amongst many other things it gives us a strong sense of community, offers tourists something exciting and adventurous, and keeps us comparatively free of crime. I would be willing to bet that the same people publicly suggest Orkney would benefit from more permanent links to Scotland would be the first to complain when the roads are blocked with Sunday drivers from Caithness. My point to such people is this; if you are irritated by the lack of a B& Q – or whatever the reason - the solution is simple. Move.

Please don’t use your opportunity to tell us about yourself and offer us something entertaining, as a chance to moan about one of Orkney’s most defining qualities. As somebody wisely said to me when I was struggling with some school work; ‘Nothing easy is truly worthwhile.’

You’ll be glad to hear that’s the rant out of the way! There are a couple of other things I think are worth mentioning. Since getting home I have been asked by several people about my post university plans. I will have completed my degree by this time next year and hopefully starting my first job, ideally in radio. The most common question I’m asked concerns the level of involvement I will have with Orkney after I graduate.

I will always be drawn to the islands. They are my home and I can honestly say that I love it here. However, my long term goal is to become a full time presenter on national radio. This presents me with quite a serious logistical problem. How could anyone realistically live here and still present a daily show on Radio 2 for example? Even with the constant advance of existing technology it’s still not particularly feasible. For example, live guests such as singers and actors are usually based in London and to get the best from an interview carried out from a studio over six hundred miles away would be quite difficult. Perhaps more critically, to put myself in a position where I might have a chance of getting such a job, I will need to be based in London, or at least one of the big cities like Manchester or Bristol.

As a result of this my plan is to spend some time this coming academic year compiling my CV and writing letters to prospective employers. In an ideal world I would graduate from Sunderland University with a job lined up. However, I suspect that given the extremely competitive nature of the media industry, I’m expecting things to be a lot more difficult than that. As a back up I’m planning to move to London in a bid to increase my chances of being ‘in the right place at the right time’.

Another thing I’m regularly asked about is to do with the origins of my surname. As I’m sure most people in Orkney know, I was named after ‘Auskerry’, the two hundred and fifty acre island which lies on the East side of Orkney. After the ‘new friend’ discovers I grew up on this island inhabited only by my family, the questions usually begin to flow thick and fast.

The one which amuses me the most, and has surprisingly cropped up a lot, is whether or not the island was named after me! I can’t understand why people would immediately assume that an island would be named after anyone. My response is a variation on the following argument. Auskerry, the island has been around for tens of thousands of years. I turned 20 last week. Which do you think had the name first!?

Next month I’ll be busy preparing for Radio Orkney’s outside broadcasts at the county show and the parish cup final, and for the return visit from the five university mates who failed to reach Auskerry last year because of poor weather. We all hope we are a bit luckier this time.

Keeping It Real - June 2008

Utopian Dream Job

The last four weeks have been a mixture of stress, great fun and very hard work. In the run up to taking over as Utopia manager two weeks ago, I’ve been busy contacting various people with a view to getting members of the Sunderland community involved in the September broadcast. This work has so far been a success and we have secured an empty unit in the local shopping centre to use for a launch event. We have also involved the local music forum and we’re currently in talks with Sunderland City Council.

As well as this I have held elections for the other management roles needed to run a radio station including a head of music, head of sales and a head of news. I’m really happy with the new team as they all seem enthusiastic and motivated. I’m looking forward to working with all of them over the summer and through the broadcast in September.

Perhaps the biggest chunk of my time has gone to the evening show which I have been doing four nights a week for the three weeks we have been on air. The Rory Auskerry Show has involved several of my friends and a great deal of time but has been thoroughly rewarding. Being on the air from 7pm allowed me to choose my own music rather than having to stick to the station’s play list, which was a real plus for me. I was also able to bring friends in to take part in the show. I recruited three of my flatmates as a co-host, a producer and a writer respectively. In addition; one of the Northern Hype team, Chris, who is also managing the station with me in September, did a live DJ set for an hour two nights a week. Caroline, a second year journalism student joined me on Thursdays to co-host, and another friend, George, took professional pictures of my guests and the team.

I suspect that having so many of my mates working on the show didn’t help the listening figures as they couldn’t be doing both, but it certainly hasn’t damaged my ego!

Every show across the week featured different voices and genres of music and I have really enjoyed the variety. However, the station has been incredibly badly promoted and as a result we have very few listeners. Although we have carried on as if we are being heard with a view to having fun and gaining experience, it’s difficult to maintain enthusiasm when you feel your efforts are falling on deaf ears.

On an established station, listener’s texts and emails provide the DJ’s with two important things. One is the encouragement which comes from knowing you are being heard and not simply sitting in a small room, with padded walls and no view of the outside world, like you were in a mental asylum.

The second is the fact that listener’s stories, jokes, opinions and requests provide an invaluable source of link material and feature ideas. It is also impossible to play games, run competitions or know if you are funny if nobody gets involved. Therefore the lack of listener interaction on Utopia has had a hugely detrimental effect on all the presents throughout this broadcast.

In an attempt to overcome this issue I will be making a huge effort to publicise and promote the station in September with things like a high profile launch event in the city centre.

I have also been very busy completing projects and assignments for my course. As hand in dates and deadlines for practical work approach, more and more people have been asking me for help and advice with their radio work. I actually love this and find it flattering that both my friends and people I barely know come to me for advice, or to get answers to technical questions. It only gets a bit difficult when I’m at home writing an essay or trying to edit my own work and the phone keeps going, but as I said, I really enjoy it. How much help I am is debatable!

May saw the end of another happy year of university, and many good times living in Flat 30. I’ve always found good times coming to and end a real wrench and this is no exception. I’ve spoken before about how important a good home from home is while studying away and the lads have done that for me for a second year. Andy and Phil are moving on with me to Elmwood Street next year but I will miss living with Dan, Andy B and Darren.

One of the biggest issues both parents and students have with the idea of university is understandably the financial implications. I am aware that finding the money can be extremely difficult, and the idea of a huge debt may well be the icing on the cake to put some off it all together. However, having reached the end of my second year with a little money still in the bank, and without needing handouts, must be reasonable evidence that it is achievable. What I can say for certain is that the money which has so far been spent on my university education has been entirely worthwhile, apart from perhaps the odd lager perhaps! Aside from the obvious academic benefits, the experience has helped me to grow up, I am more confident than I was before and I will certainly not regret my decision to go to uni. Bring on next term!

However I am very much looking forward to being in Orkney this summer. As the weather improves and the days get longer, I find being confined to a city quite frustrating at times. I miss the opportunity to get out in a boat or use my push bike. I also find it hard to adjust to the different lifestyle in Orkney when I’m only home for short time, so having a three month run will be great. Cheers meantime.

Whats coming up on the show...

Hi, here are the details for what you can expect on the evening show from Tuesday, May 6.

The show is all about phenomenal music, special guests and really great banter. My team and I will be playing everything from JX to Europe, Gina G to Eric Clapton and Oasis to the Ting Tings.

Already confirmed to join us on the show are Hungover Stuntmen, the fantastic band from Newcastle, who will be performing a live acoustic set on Tuesday 13th of May. We also have the amazing North East based virtuoso blues/rock guitarist, Paul Rose joining us on the show on Tuesday 20th of May for an interview and a live track.

As well as all that we have interviews with important people from the University of Sunderland and the wider community in Sunderland.

We also have some great features on the show including ‘Who’s mum is it anyway?’ and radio version of ‘guess who’!

So, here is the all important line up for each week on the show:

Mondays – Chris Brackley will be spinning the decks live for the second hour of the show with an indie themed mix. Oasis, Wombats, Futureheads, Cribs, Pigeon Detectives and much more. As you’d expect, we want you to text or e-mail in with your suggestions for the mix too. Texts must starts with FM, then your message to 077 66 40 41 42. They are the cost of a standard text so if you have free texts, it’s free!

Tuesdays – Andy Cheeseman come in to co-host the show with Rory. The theme will be more blues and classic rock based on Tuesdays. Rolling Stones, Clapton, Jeff Beck, Free, Led Zep etc. Plus we have the live music on Tuesdays too!

Wednesdays – Chris Brackley is back and we have the Phatplastic midweek mix form 8pm. All the best tunes for a Wednesday disco. JX, Livin’ Joy, DJ Quicksilver, Sash, BBE, The Source, Dario G etc. Again, you get to influence the mix. Text or e-mail the studio.

Thursdays – Caroline Henderson comes in to co-host the show with Rory. As she is a journalist we thought we might as well have a look at what’s been going on in the city of Sunderland and take a look ahead to the weekend. Anything good on the telly? What’s on at the cinema? And of course, what’s going on at Utopia! Plus, a great big bag of records that you are going to love!

That’s all on the Rory Auskerry Show – Monday to Thursday, 7 til 9 pm.

Join us live online from Tuesday 6^th May here on the website www.utopiafm.net

And don’t forget we are on 87.7 FM all over Sunderland from Monday 12^th May!

Keeping It Real - May 2008

Towards the Utopian Team.

JUST after I finished last month's column I set off to London on a visit to several radio stations. There were ten of us in total and we planned to spend three nights in the capital visiting radio stations by day, and taking in the social life by night.

I went on a similar trip last year which was fantastic. This one would have been an equally great trip if not for the fact that six members of the group went down with a nasty, although short lived sick bug. This was a huge pity because a lot of effort was made by the society president in organising the trip. However, the four of us, including me, who did not fall ill, tried to make the best of it.

Something which I have often wondered about is whether someone's mental attitude can make much difference to things such as travel sickness or getting ill.

As a result of this trip I have decided that a positive mental attitude can influence whether or not someone avoids getting sick, even against all the odds. Eight of us were sharing a very small room in a hostel next to Hyde Park, and once two members of the group had succumbed, everyone else was convinced we would all get it. I must admit I was concerned.

I can't explain why I didn't get it in the end but I'm sure it was partly down to a positive mental attitude. I just kept telling myself, and the rest of the group, that I was not going to get ill. On the second day I even woke feeling not great. It sort of felt like hunger but I was nervous so I didn't eat all day for fear of feeding the bugs. By 4 o' clock I decided it must be hunger, ate a sandwich and immediately felt perfectly OK!

I think this positive mental attitude thing is also relevant to sea sickness. I used to suffer from this, which as you would imagine is a bit of a disadvantage to someone who lives on an island. However, I don't seem to be bothered by a rough trip on the boat anymore and I put it down to a change in my attitude.

When I was about ten, I was always scared that every wave would roll the boat enough to cup it over. Since then I have seen a few boats out of the water and I learned that there is a lot more under the surface keeping it on an even keel than I thought. The point is, although I have a great respect for the sea, I am no longer scared of it like I was as a child, and I can therefore relax on the boat. I think it's this ability to relax that has made the greatest difference in making me actually enjoy a rocky boat journey.

On a different note, I have recently been elected as the new station manager for our student radio station - Utopia FM. I will therefore be responsible for the three-week broadcast coming up at the start of term in September. Later this week we will be holding a further election to decide who will form the rest of the management team.

I'm very keen to put more emphasis on teamwork and good production of shows on the air. I'm keen to have a flagship community-orientated show at tea time on week days, and a Sunderland-specific sports show on a Saturday and Sunday at 5pm. In the past the station has gone for a very music-led format with very little constructive speech. I think while this is a traditional and successful element of student radio, Utopia needs to move closer to public service community output in preparation for it becoming a full-time community station in a year's time.

It's going to be a challenge to both get the station ready to go on air in September, and to make changes which will hopefully improve the station. I am looking forward to the task and I hope I and the rest of the team will be able to make a success of it. Having this kind of involvement with a project like this can only be good for my career as it will gain me both valuable experience and something good for the CV.

Coming back to the impending broadcast which starts on Tuesday, May 6, I'm very excited to be presenting the weekday evening show between 7 and 9pm. Because it's after 7pm in the evening I'm allowed to play my choice of music instead of having to follow the scheduled play list. This will allow me more creative freedom and hopefully make the show more unique and interesting. I also have some great live guests lined up and plenty of features to keep the pace of the show going. I will have a live DJ set for an hour twice a week, and a weekly round up of the top news stories both internationally and in the Sunderland area with a friend of mine who is a journalist. I also have a couple of other mates co-hosting and producing the show.

I've spent the last couple of weeks at home in Kirkwall working on various bits and pieces and enjoying the relaxation that Orkney life has to offer. Every time I come home I find the differences between life in the city and in the islands more apparent. I assume that this must be a natural part of the growing up process but it does take me a couple of days to re-adjust at both ends of the holiday. Nevertheless I enjoy my time at home very much.

You can listen to my shows on the internet at www.utopiafm.net at 7pm from Tuesday, May 6. I hope some of you get in touch with a shout out or tune in to hear the show. Cheers.

Keeping It Real - April 2008

Home schooling is no barrier to being sociable

DURING recent weeks I've had an unusually high number of discussions with various people about my being home-educated. I don't really think about being taught at home by my parents as being more worthy of discussion than most other things, however there seem to be quite a lot of people who do. As a result of these various discussions, I have discovered there are a great deal of myths and misconceptions surrounding its various advantages and disadvantages.

For those who don't already know, I was home educated by my mother from school starting age, until I was 13. I then went to Kirkwall Grammar School in my third year of secondary education. During those nine years of home schooling I did spend about six weeks each year as a pupil in Stronsay School. This was because my family left Auskerry every winter to spend the festive season in the company of others, and it meant that we could go away on family holidays.

Other than this very short stint in 'normal' school I was completely taught by my parents. Mum, (with occasional help from Dad), taught me, and latterly my two brothers, every subject in the curriculum. I imagine that it was at times quite difficult to teach three children, all at different age levels, whilst also trying to run a business and a family on a remote island. I know that the decision to choose this way of life, and to home school, was not a decision taken lightly.

Mum taught us for four hours from 8.45-1pm with a short break in the middle and she stuck strictly to a curriculum to ensure that we covered all the subjects. There were often times when I did not want to do what she asked and we would argue but in the end Mum always insisted as she wanted to make sure that we did not get behind. People often wonder how the amount of work completed by pupils during an average school day can be fitted into four hours. The answer is simply that without the distractions of a peer group you work more efficiently.

I don't see why my education is worthy of all this attention but here is a comment I frequently get when the subject is discussed: "Didn't you miss out on all the social side of school?"

I can answer this question with a very decisive, no! I believe that I have benefited greatly from my unusual upbringing. I think the argument people make about home-schooled pupils lacking social ability is based on the simplistic idea that if a child has nobody at school to talk to they wouldn't learn the skills needed to be sociable. I also believe that I developed an ability to be happy on my own and to use my imagination creatively because of the island life which has helped me to adapt to student life away from home.

I feel I am just as sociable as many of my contemporaries who went through the conventional school system. In my mind, this is because I grew up listening to adult radio and constantly participating in adult conversations; with my parents, with friends, family and strangers who visited the island, and also from our family holidays to cities in the UK and abroad. In fact research has shown that peers are not nearly as important for socialization as the interaction with other adults is during childhood.

One of my best friends at university, Chris Brackley, has always been skeptical of home education. Both his parents are head teachers, which may be part of the reason for this, but he believes that most parents home-school because the parents want to bring the child up in a strict regime of their own beliefs. It is true that this is the case sometimes and that home-schooling is used as a way to prevent any other influences from, 'contaminating' a child's mind, but my experience was totally the opposite; my parents wanted to teach me to investigate and question everything so that I developed my own ideas and learnt how to find out the information that I needed to do so.

Another common question people have is, is your mum a proper teacher?

Well if they mean, 'Does she have a teacher's qualification?' then the answer is no.

But if they mean, 'Has your mum got the skills to educate you to the standard needed to pass your exams,' then the answer is yes. Obviously I learned a great deal in my four years at KGS, but without the foundations mum had built in terms of my education, most of that would have been almost useless.

I can empathise with people when they find home-schooling difficult to accept because it is always hard to understand things which you have not experienced yourself. However I see it as having been of immense benefit to me on many levels and certainly do not feel I have been disadvantaged in any way. Apart from anything else it's a great talking point!

On a different note, this month has seen some significant developments in the future of Northern Hype. We have taken the decision to stop doing our Friday 'Hype' nights in Independent at the end of May. All six of us feel that despite the night being a success, we have not been able to achieve some of our original goals, particularly promoting and running one-off 'parties'. The weekly club night has been both a fantastic experience and a great deal of fun, but we want to try something new after the summer. The fact that we will all be starting our final year in September is also a consideration. As a result we have signed a contract for our first event in Newcastle at World Headquarters, a 600 capacity night club, where we plan to do one off events each month. This will enable access to a vastly bigger audience and therefore we can try some new things which were not possible in Sunderland.

I'm now in Orkney for two weeks Easter break and I'm really looking forwards to spending some time at home. Cheers.

Keeping It Real - March 2008

Live on BBC 6 Music

Another busy month has passed since I last wrote for Orkney Today. Talking of passing, I was very pleased to have at last successfully completed my driving test on Valentines Day. I have been talking to several of my friends who have already got their pink licence about their test. It seems to me that in most cases its nerves rather than lack of ability that prevents young drivers from nailing it first time. I make no secret of the fact it took me four attempts to pass. However, when I did pass I only made three minor mistakes. The fact it has taken me so much time, and so many lessons to get to this stage has not done my bank balance any good, but I am convinced it will be of benefit in the long term. This is because all the extra time I’ve spent with an instructor has meant that good habits are now firmly ingrained, whereas had I passed quickly and been driving on my own ever since, I may well have already developed a ‘bad practice’ driving style.

It’s a big relief to have passed but only time will tell if the extra lessons help me avoid an accident, or at least mean an accident is not a result of poor driving on my part.

I mentioned my disappointment in a previous column that I was never taught how to build websites at school. After some deliberation and discussion with friends I have decided to make an attempt at correcting this. I have bought a step by step book on how to build sites using html and css code and with the help of my flat mate Andy; I hope to have mastered the basics by the summer. I feel that being a media student in the era of the internet, and not being able to construct even a simple website is ridiculous. I’m finding it quite rewarding and I’m already making progress.

Staying with the internet I think its worth commenting on the power of social networking sites, in particular, Facebook. Such web networks receive a lot of media attention, both good and bad. I must admit to using several of them on a regular basis because I find them to be a convenient and free way to keep in touch with my friends both here in Sunderland and at home in Orkney. In the last couple of weeks I have been amazed at the power of such sites as marketing tools.

Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles now has over a quarter of a million fans on the site. This may not seem that amazing considering he gets over seven and a half million listeners every morning, but when you think that each and every one of those online fans can now be bombarded with promotional messages by Radio 1, you can see why the station was keen to get involved. Perhaps even more staggering is the fact that even if you have not added yourself as a fan you will still get adverts for his page on yours in the ‘news feed’. This is because the news feed tells you what all your friends have been doing. Therefore you will get a message saying ‘12 of your friends have become fans of the Chris Moyles Show’ inviting you to add yourself as well. The result is a snowball effect.

We have begun using the same thing as a PR tool for Northern Hype and I have created a fan page for my podcast. Although it’s working on a fraction of the scale, it does seem to be making a difference. Last week was the busiest week we have ever had at Hype – with almost 300 people turning up at Independent.

I had an exciting day a couple of weeks ago when I received an email asking if a member of Northern Hype would do a live interview with Steve Lamacq about Hype. Obviously we jumped at the chance and I was picked to do the interview. We got a five minute interview at the end of Steve’s show on BBC 6 Music and I talked about the origins of our group, what the night is about and what kind of music we play. One of my friends did some filming before and during the interview and made it into a short documentary just as practice. Afterwards the production team at 6 Music found the film on youtube, and I got another message saying how they all thought it was hilarious that their phone interviews were being made into documentaries!

The deadline for the completion of Utopia FM demo tapes has now passed, thankfully. I have been constantly in the studio working with different groups or individuals trying to coach them into producing something good enough to get them on air in May. In some cases I see a great deal of emerging talent but sadly in others there is not much there worth a letter home. Interestingly, the people who could, with a little help, be great presenters tend to be very unsure of their ability while the ones who just lack the spark are deluded by a notion that they are actually, and I quote; “the, next Chris Moyles.”

I have thoroughly enjoyed helping all of them and it has been a useful learning curve for me. Partly as I’m re-enforcing my fairly inexperienced understanding of what makes good radio, but I’m also beginning to understand what it must be like to be a teacher. I am simply trying to tell them everything I have learned and give them plenty of encouragement as I feel that’s the most useful thing I can do to help them.

This month I have worked my first open day as an ambassador for the student experience at this university. Because I never went to an open day I was unsure of what to expect but by the end of the day I felt that I had hopefully helped encourage some people to subscribe to student life. Aside from the fact that I get paid to do these jobs, it feels nice to be putting something back in some small way. Cheers.

Keeping It Real - February 2008

Dispelling midwinter blues

A lot of people have told me that the post Christmas term is the hardest. They say it’s when people studying away from home are most likely to suffer from home sickness, or the dreaded ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’.

As far as I’m concerned this is nonsense. I’m willing to admit that waking from the bed of festive warmth into cold weather, long hours of darkness and a somewhat forlorn bank balance can easily get people down. However, it is a new year of opportunity and instead of thinking about how cold and dark it might prove, we ought to be looking optimistically towards Easter, and the inevitable summer sunshine. My policy is simple; if I feel a bit low I put on some happy music, do something productive and find something that makes me laugh.

January has been yet another exciting month for me. I have been ‘on air’ at BBC Radio Newcastle, ‘Hype’ is continuing to go well, my podcasts are receiving positive feedback and the new semester has begun.

Some of you may remember Martin Emmerson, the sports commentator who came up to Orkney last summer for Radio Orkney’s parish cup final broadcast. He lives very near me in Sunderland and he suggested a couple of weeks ago that I might like to come into Radio Newcastle while he was temporarily presenting their ‘drive’ show. As you may expect, I jumped at the chance and had quite an eventful week helping the show’s producer put people on air, take calls and usher guests in and out of the studio. On the Thursday I went in for the whole day and was lucky enough to be allowed to sit in the studio with the presenters for two consecutive shows before ‘drive’ started at 4 o’ clock.

After the first presenter realised I had some previous radio experience I was invited to talk on air about how long it takes to get from Sunderland back to Orkney. During the next show which is presented by TV actor and comedian, Alfie Joey, I was invited to chat to him on nearly every link throughout his three hour show!

I find being around radio studios exciting as it is, but getting to go live on air and chat about things as random as garlic crushers, which James Bond actor is the tallest and daft names for driving schools is, for me, pretty cool.

While I was on air, one of the senior station staff asked Martin who this student was that he had taken in to the station. To which he said; “He’s here as a fellow BBC employee from Orkney.” The senior staff member then asked why I didn’t have a proper BBC pass. Martin had to explain that having seen the relative size of Radio Orkney, a pass was not necessary!

I am very much hoping that this is just the beginning of my involvement with BBC Newcastle as I have been very keen to get involved in some way ever since I started studying in Sunderland.

The decisions as to who I’m going to live with next year, and where, are currently in full swing. At this stage it looks like I will definitely be living with two of my current flat mates, Andy and Phil as well as two girls that the three of us have been best friends with since our first week in Sunderland. Jo and Kate both study the same course as the lads and I, and they are also fun and up for a laugh. They have been living in private accommodation this year but this will be a first for the boys and I. We are currently making some final decisions about which property to rent and then it’s just a case of signing contracts.

I have been keen for a while to do some communal cooking in the flat. This is mostly because I like cooking and enjoy making a meal and having everybody sit around and eat it together. It is also a great deal more efficient and healthy than everybody shoving a frozen pizza in the oven every night. Unfortunately, despite being keen to do it, it hadn’t really happened much until a couple of weeks ago when I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.

I made sure the lads in the flat were available and invited Jo and Kate round for a beef casserole. It was the first time I had eaten boiled tatties and broccoli since Christmas and I think the lady in Tesco was about to give me a medal for the amount of veg on the conveyor belt!

The six of us had a great evening and my culinary skills seemed to go down well. I have to thank mum for the book of family recipes she made me for my 19^th birthday!

Hype has been going well since we started again after the Christmas holidays. We have been doing some special promotions with free Absinthe, glow sticks and the popular ‘Guitar Hero’ Playstation game. We don’t think that giving away random unrelated free gimmicks is necessarily a good way to increase business, but we do believe that if something we give away enhances the night, it is worth doing. There are also plans brewing for us to book some big name bands in the next few months which is exciting.

I really enjoy recording and producing my podcasts every couple of weeks. It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to spend more time in the studio, as well as to find out more about some of my friends by inviting them to take part in the shows. It’s also a good vehicle for me to get feedback from people as to what elements of the show are entertaining as well as what things could be improved, or sometimes removed altogether! I’m hoping this will enable me to decide on a popular format for my show on Utopia FM this May. Don’t forget you can get the shows free by searching for me in your iTunes store! Cheers.