Yudster wrote:I have really enjoyed what I have heard from LA, and as a licence payer I don't feel like you are having a jolly at my expense. Well, I kind of do, but you're welcome!
However on this and other forums people have been complaining about exactly that - especially at the moment, when many people are forgoing or even cancelling holidays because of the economic climate, and everyone is looking at how money is and should be spent - do you think there might be an element of tactlessness about the trip?
The trip was planned a few months ago - when the worst of the credit crunch wasn't evident - house prices were dropping but it was never expected to get this bad. I've found this issue very interesting. Currently on the BBC there is a series of Stephen Fry touring the entire US, there are more British journalists in the US than feel like there are in the UK and Russel Brand (and his team) does his show regularly from America yet these people on the forums don't tend to feel the same towards these BBC projects in America as they did towards us.
Even if the worst economic conditions were upon us TV and radio have always played an important part in providing escapism when things are bad for the population - through holiday programmes, property or diy programmes abroad or dramas filmed abroad (of which there are countless).
With us being radio we can provide a week's worth of shows (that's 17.5 hours of broadcasting) plus some of the best online content and podcasts that will break any previous records all for the cost of an hour or two of a BBC1 primetime show - yet you're right there has been a lot of talk.
This may be because there are a lot of Moyles haters out there - which we all know of and this provides them with very easy ammunition - to paint this as a holiday, or maybe it's because they don't know how radio and tv works and costs. Maybe because we feel like friends or people they know down the pub they're seeing us through very personal eyes rather than as the entertainment medium that we are. Radio 1 and programmes within are set budgets during the year, every conversation about every feature and OB we do on the show and in Radio 1 revolve around the questions "what do the audience get from this?" and "is it the best use of the license fee and of our budgets?". It's at the heart of everything we do. It was felt that with the show relying on the very real and honest soap opera of the team the best results come from putting the team and the show in different and new circumstances. Whether it's Rallyoke, UK OBs, Portugal and Germany, Award ceremonies, TV shows or in this case Hollywood. In LA wel talked about different cultures, the team having dinner together and arguing, how "When Dom's met...." differs in the US to the UK, Carrie coming face to face with David Beckham, my LA-gay perception (and the comedy from that) plus when it comes to being visual there is nowhere better on earth and sexier looking for online content than Hollywood.
The videos were excellent, Dave and Dom going around celeb houses were excellent, Chris geek fest with Heroes and JJ Abrams was excellent and so on and so on. An added bonus to us being there for me was that I've built some new relationships with American agents, companies and talent out there which over the next few months will feed back into being better opportunities and guests for the show back in the UK. Win / win for us, the show and the listeners.
chrismoyles.net
