Since 2001, Transparency Thailand (TT) has produced a series of radio shows dealing with the problems of corruption and the lack of transparency in government and business circles. The shows were aired on a major Bangkok radio station with an audience of over one million people. Later, TT was invited to broadcast an additional 15-minute radio slot on the country’s military radio network. This has allowed for coverage on more than ten other radio stations in many more remote and rural areas of Thailand.
Over the first two years of the initiative, the shows have been aired more than 100 times, and over 200 guest speakers have appeared from various government agencies, independent organisations, the private sector, academic institutions and civil society groups. The radio station has agreed to continue supporting the programme by providing assistance and airtime.
Although digital recorders are increasingly the norm, either an analogue or digital recorder will do the job. Whichever you use, when you input it into your computer it will be converted to digital sound, which you can then edit with free digital sound editing software. You can use a minidisk recorder, any type of digital recorder, a professional-grade analogue recorder, or a simple “walkman”-style cassette recorder. If you plan to pitch your piece to on-air radio broadcasters, you should not use a mini-cassette recorder, because the sound they produce is not broadcast quality. Two important factors that distinguish recorders from each other is the presence of a time counter and the ability to adjust sound levels. Neither are necessities, but both are extremely helpful.
Note that you'll need a special converter to get your analogue sound into digital format to edit on the computer.
It’s best to have an external microphone so you can put it as close to the sound source as possible. Any standard microphone, uni or omni directional, will do. Many recorders have a built in microphone that is often more than sufficient for nonbroadcast quality recording but may not produce clear enough sound for radio play. If you have to use a recorder with a built-in mic, be sure to hold the recorder as close to source of the sound as possible — if it is an interview, hold it relatively close to the person’s mouth.
You will need a set of headphones so as to gauge sound levels as you record. The headphones enable you to hear the sound exactly as it is being recorded, and therefore exactly as the audience will hear it.