On Thursday the 3rd December I visited the media & entertainment group Global’s headquarters and saw first hand how a news story makes it into the radio broadcast, with LBC.
I visited Global as part of my Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) Fellowship in the Cultural and Creative Industries.
The visit focused on the wider concept of “Life as a broadcaster in a world of charter review”. During my time at the studios I was shown how Global has changed over the years and the impact which the BBC and regulations have had on the way the business functions.
Global is home to some of the UK’s best-loved commercial radio brands including the four most popular commercial radio brands Heart, Capital, Classic FM and Smooth and the country’s only commercial news talk station LBC. Collectively, Global’s brands reach 24 million people on the radio alone. I also found out about the charity work carried out by Global to help disadvantaged youngsters and specifically Global’s Make Some Noise – a charity set up by Global to give a voice to small charities that struggle to raise awareness.
I have had a fascinating morning at Global, and it provided me with an excellent insight into the radio broadcasting industry. This visit had a very different focus to my previous one to the National Football Museum and I am extremely pleased that due to my broad Fellowship I am able to see so many different aspects of the cultural and creative industries. Today’s visit and my Fellowship as a whole will prove invaluable in my role as PPS to John Whittingdale MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
Will Harding, chief strategy officer at Global, commented on my visit: “It was great to be able to show Heather all the different things we do at Global. Heather is obviously passionate about the cultural and creative sectors and this really came through during her visit. I am very grateful to the IPT to arranging this visit and the work they do in helping to bridge the gap between Parliamentarians and business.”