Close-up: Is radio a good entry point for grads?

The medium offers fledgling creatives the chance to hone their craft skills, Anne Cassidy writes.

Undervalued and often ignored, radio continually struggles to win the respect, and even interest, of creatives made giddy by the bright lights of the telly.

It is termed by one ad exec as 'the shitty bit no-one else wants to do' For example, there were no executive creative directors, and few creative agencies, at this year's radio Advertising Awards. The radio industry needs to recognise and celebrate great creativity if it's to improve the medium's fortunes.

As a result of radio's poor status in creative agencies, or possibly as a symptom of this, radio briefs have historically been flung in the direction of wide-eyed new starters. One of the main reasons is money Paul Burke, a radio writer/producer at Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, says: 'There's less at stake with radio. TV is very expensive and there's more media spend.'

Also, those who create radio ads don't get the glory and recognition that creatives on TV …