[robertclark125]

I suppose the golden rule is, always assume the microphone is on.

[Otis Crump]

I suppose the golden rule is, always assume the microphone is on.

"Every mic's a live mic"/"You're never alone with a microphone"...

[Steve in Pudsey]

That's even true in self-op radio studios in these days of digital desks

youtu.be 

(Tony didn't say anything inappropriate here but he had the mic fader closed)

[Spencer]

That's even true in self-op radio studios in these days of digital desks

youtu.be 

(Tony didn't say anything inappropriate here but he had the mic fader closed)

Even with an analogue desk, a closed mic fader can’t always be trusted.

I remember at a station I once worked at, an engineer tried to do a quick fix on the live, on-air desk and ended up putting the mic live to the left hand channel even though the fader was closed. The presenter was quite a sweary chap too. Thankfully the issue was spotted before any Ofcom issues arose.

At another station it was also possible to get a line out direct from all studio mics into the racks room, so in theory any ‘closed’ mic could still be patched directly to air.

[lookoutwales]

Peter Bolgar at closedown retiring from BBC TV Presentation after 28 years as a network announcer.

youtu.be 

He was also on late duty on BBC1 the year before when the famous 4th floor Pres operation ended transmission for the last time before the new NTAs went live.

That closedown was uploaded on another site but can’t seem to find it nowadays.

[Stooky Bill]

Even with an analogue desk, a closed mic fader can’t always be trusted.

I remember at a station I once worked at, an engineer tried to do a quick fix on the live, on-air desk and ended up putting the mic live to the left hand channel even though the fader was closed. The presenter was quite a sweary chap too. Thankfully the issue was spotted before any Ofcom issues arose.

At another station it was also possible to get a line out direct from all studio mics into the racks room, so in theory any ‘closed’ mic could still be patched directly to air.

Doesn't even have to be a microphone used for broadcasting, talkback microphones are just as bad. What you say won't appear on air* but colleagues or contributors could hear something they shouldn't. They can be left latched on very easily. Although with at least one system I know well you can route the talkback panels together and listen to the mic without the key being latched..... not that I've ever done that of course, someone told me about it 

Imagine though talking to a contributor before they go on air and then making a comment about them only to find out your mic is still live. 

* although it has happened, I think a Look East bulletin many years ago did

[Steve in Pudsey]

An ealy example of a contributor hearing a comment not intended for them is documented here

www.orbem.co.uk 

Trevor Hill's Memories of the BBC at 200 Oxford Street
Trevor Hill recalls his wartime BBC years at the 200 Oxford Street studios
  Source: www.orbem.co.uk

Seem to recall a story involving Stewart Morris and his unique brand of talkback etiquette being heard by contributors he would not have wanted to hear it.

[lookoutwales]

A radio advert for North East Tonight on C3NE / Tyne Tees, voiced of course, by Mike Neville.

x.com 

Interesting to read Tyne Tees recorded a midnight local news bulletin for Century Radio - presumably done by the late shift working at the Teesside studios.

Minster FM went one further and outsourced their local news to YTV’s newsroom in their early years.

Can anyone else think of such tie ups between local commercial radio (as it was) and ITV regions?

(one that does spring to mind is Westcountry doing a 2-way with the Drivetime host on Pirate FM to plug what was on Westcountry Live - and this was well into the ITV plc era)

[nwtv2003]

Century FM (NW) for a a couple of years in the mid 2000’s did often have a preview for Granada Reports during its drive time programme.

[Spencer]

Minster FM went one further and outsourced their local news to YTV’s newsroom in their early years.

It was no coincidence that Minster’s Chairman when they launched was a certain Richard Whiteley.

---

Can anyone else think of such tie ups between local commercial radio (as it was) and ITV regions?

(one that does spring to mind is Westcountry doing a 2-way with the Drivetime host on Pirate FM to plug what was on Westcountry Live - and this was well into the ITV plc era)

Quite a few stations used to do this with their regional ITV news, including some (or possibly all) of the Real Radio stations, plus Minster used to have a drive time two-way with Calendar in the early 00s, continuing their relationship with them.