13/11/09 - PRESS PRAISE FOR 1XTRA DOC
From Elisabeth Mahoney in The Guardian, Friday 13 November 2009
CHEMISTRY IN THE CLASSROOM
A look at the temptations and perils of pupil-teacher relationships kept to the 1Xtra documentary strand's usual high standards.
The 1Xtra documentary can sound a bit generic, with what feels like exactly the same backing track for each programme. But they always find terrific sources, especially on stories some might prefer to dodge. This was certainly the case in Chemistry in the Classroom, a frank look at teacher-pupil relationships in schools and universities.
Anecdotes ranged from innocent crushes ("Mr Matthews! It's only because he looks like Justin Timberlake") to inappropriate behaviour. "They met up and had sex in a car in a car park," one young woman explained, referring to a fellow student and their PE teacher. The programme also considered the risks to teachers of befriending pupils, with a spokeswoman from an organisation for falsely accused carers and teachers saying: "Our helpline cannot cope with the numbers of people who contact us."
A theme of power emerged: staff abusing it, and some students flaunting it. "If I wanted a relationship with a teacher," said one determined young woman, "I'd get him fired first". Interestingly, the documentary ended with a woman who has been dating her former teacher for three years. She worries he will leave her for "someone more like him" and didn't exactly sound thrilled to be in a relationship which, as she put it, is "slightly forbidden, slightly taboo and slightly judged".
14/09/09 - CAMBRIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL TV COVERAGE
 This year's Cambridge Folk Festival TV coverage, produced by Smooth Operations, airs during September/October. Three programmes were originally contracted but a fourth was commissioned at short notice in order to showcase UK performer Martin Simpson's stunning set.
19:30 Monday 14 Sept - Booker T
19:30 Monday 21 Sept -
Oumou Sangare
19:30 Monday 28 Sept - Lucinda Williams
19:30 Monday 12 Oct (tbc) - Martin Simpson
07/09/09 - PRESS PRAISE FOR IN SEARCH OF THE HOLY QUAIL
 From Elizabeth Mahoney in The Guardian,
Monday 7 September 2009
Marc Riley's alternative guide to birdwatching was a quirky, charming journey, with or without the quails. The only puzzling note, as Marc Riley presented In Search of the Holy Quail (Radio 4, Saturday) was how he introduced himself. "A BBC music-based broadcaster for the best part of two decades," he said, which is true, but felt unnecessary. Is the show being sold abroad, where people don't know Riley (at least) for Mark and Lard? Or is Radio 4 regarded as another country?
Beyond this, the programme – in which Riley, Guy Garvey and Martin Noble went to Shetland to bird-watch – was a delight. There was lots of laidback, funny banter, including definitions of the different grades of bird-watcher. "Twitchers", Noble suggested, are obsessed like trainspotters; "birders" are keen, but more relaxed ("they don't go to the extremes of losing their wives and jobs"), and "robin-strokers", he said, are "people who just look at birds in the garden".
It was the antithesis of earnest bird-watching programmes, but a sense of wonder remained, not least when they heard 6,000 pairs of storm-petrels breeding at midnight. The sound was extraordinary. "We're talking weird Krautrock music from 1973," said Riley. But the quail proved elusive. That was fine, though, in this charming, quirky audio journey, in which quails were never really the point.
See Mark Riley's photographs from 'In Search of the Holy Quail' on Flickr
01/07/09 - RADIO FESTIVAL 2009
The Radio Festival is over for another year but 2009, produced for the first time by Smooth Operations, was a great success. Delegates at the Nottingham Playhouse enjoyed some fantastic sessions, brilliant contributors and a really great atmosphere.
Organised by The Radio Academy, the Radio Festival is the biggest event in Radio's year, an unparalleled opportunity to hear from the industry’s most influential people, learn new techniques from the masters of the medium, debate the issues facing us all and enjoy some beneficial networking time.
Nicky Campbell hosted two days of debates, workshops, presentations and demonstrations at the Nottingham Playhouse, designed to equip everyone in radio with the information and skills needed to survive media meltdown. To see photos and hear all the audio from this year’s event visit the Radio Academy website.
12/05/09 -
TWO SONY GOLDS FOR SMOOTH OPERATIONS
Out of the four Gold awards presented to independent companies
at this year's Sony Radio Academy Awards, Smooth Operations
scooped 50% - a Gold for Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! and
a Gold for Mark Radcliffe as Music Broadcaster of the Year.
The company is celebrating after two of its four nominations
came up Gold at this year's Award ceremony held on Monday 11th
May.
 Mark
(pictured left with the New York Dolls), as a Count Arthur Show
co-producer, gets a double bite of the Sony cherry this time
round and will add the trophies to his growing collection of
Sony Awards. The judges described him as: "A classic music
broadcaster not afraid to probe. He sounds so comfortable and
natural, thus making it all seem effortless. Mark displays a
great sense of humour and a real love for music."
 Count
Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (team pictured left), produced jointly
by Smooth Operations and Komedia Entertainment for BBC Radio
4, was deemed to be "A traditional format made contemporary
and edgy by strong writing and great performances. It simply
makes you laugh out loud."
07/04/09 -
SMOOTH OPERATIONS LEADS THE WAY FOR INDEPENDENTS WITH
FOUR SONY AWARD NOMINATIONS
In this year's Sony Awards nominations, the Mark Radcliffe
and Stuart Maconie Show (Mon-Thurs 8-10pm, Radio 2) is nominated
for The Music Programme Award, while the pair are each individually
nominated for Music Broadcaster of the Year. Count Arthur Strong's
Radio Show! which Smooth Operations jointly produces with Komedia
Entertainment for BBC Radio 4, has been nominated for The Comedy
Award.
The awards will be presented at a gala night on 11th May at
London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, hosted by Chris Evans.
26/03/09 -
RADCLIFFE & MACONIE WIN AT THE 35th BROADCASTING
PRESS GUILD TELEVISION AND RADIO AWARDS
Congratulations to the Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie Show
team, who won the Radio Programme of the Year category at this
year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Awards.
The Awards, sponsored by Turner Broadcasting, are described
as “[supporting] the recognition of quality programming
across all genres … acknowledging the very best in the
UK entertainment business” and the Radcliffe & Maconie
Show was one of the 12 awards (from a total of 15) which the
BBC collected.
For more info on the Awards see www.broadcastingpressguild.org
26/03/09 -
FOLK AWARDS NOMINATED FOR NEW RADIO ACADEMY AWARD
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, produced by Smooth Operations
annually for Radio 2, has been nominated for one of two new
Radio Academy Radio & Music Forum Awards focusing on Live
Music. The Live Concert Award recognises the production and
broadcast (either live or recorded) of a public concert or other
musical performance staged outside a radio studio.
09/01/09 -
STARTING THE YEAR WITH A SUCCESSFUL COMMISSIONING ROUND
FOR THE BBC
Smooth Operations is pleased to announce a promising start
to the new year with another successful BBC commissioning round.
Among the programmes we will be producing in 2009 (in addition
to our regular output) are:
Marc Riley’s Musical Time Machine – Series 3 (BBC
Radio 2, starting 23 June)
With wit and possibly wisdom, Marc Riley turns musical time
lord for a third whirlwind tour unearthing seminal rock interviews
from the dusty BBC Archive.
Black Diamonds: The Ballad of The Miner’s Strike (BBC
Radio 2, September 2009)
A brand new Radio Ballad commemorates the 25th anniversary of
the miner’s strike through first hand memories and original
song.
Payola and The Pluggers (BBC Radio 4)
Continuing his fascination with maverick radio DJs, Nick Barraclough
tells the story of Alan Freed and the history of plugging.
In Search Of The Holy Quail (BBC Radio 4)
Three unlikely twitchers - Marc Riley, Elbow’s Guy Garvey
and British Sea Power’s Martin Noble - make a three-men-in-a-boat-style
journey to Shetland. |
