Ham Nation is On the Air, or should I say On the Network?
I previously posted about Bob Heil (K9EID) hosting the Ham Nation netcast on the TWiT network. The show is off to a great start with the first few episodes: The History of Ham Radio, Emergency Communications and Ham Radio Basics. You can view Ham Nation on iTunes or go to the TWiT website.
Check it out.
73, Bob K0NR
I’ve watched all the episodes — they need some professional help. Who is this show geared to? If it’s to current hams, it’s too simple. If it’s to non-hams, it’s too freaking boring. There has to be a better format than 2 or 3 old farts laughing at their own jokes and stumbling along trying to tell stories.
And editing. They need to shoot the video and then edit it together into a show; it looks, sounds, and is completely unprofessional.
I have yet to find Ham Nation compelling.
I’ve commented frequently that those who believe that creating a successful program only requires sitting down in front of a microphone and/or a camera and shooting the breeze – without a script – underestimate the rare talent that requires. Most ham radio podcasts are downright painful to endure for that very reason.
Leo LaPorte excels at witty banter without a script – but he’s a professional broadcaster.
As for Ham Nation, I’m really not certain that the image of a couple of older hams setting around talking about the good old days and their prized boat anchors will really inspire a new generation.
On the other hand, it’s been said that there is no such thing as bad publicity and given the potential reach of the TWiT Network maybe some good will come of it?
I’m certain that Bob Heil and his guests are trying very hard to make it a success – and perhaps it will improve with time…
73, Jeff KE9V
OK, yeah, there’s plenty of room for improvement but I think they are doing pretty well. As I reflect back on it, I think I am swayed by the enthusiasm that Bob and his crew display. I see so many sourpuss hams that act like they really don’t enjoy the hobby but are astounded that the entire world isn’t begging to be part of it.
What do the rest of you folks think?
73, Bob K0NR
Couldn’t agree more that the show needs a little work. That said it was enough to get me to renew my license – I’ve been off the air for quite a while and even in those basic shows I couldn’t believe how much new stuff there is in ham radio, which intrigued me. Also, my sense is that we’ll see some special guests over time who the average ham has heard about but would probably never get to hear unless some known person like Bob Heil asked them to show up.
Relax, and let Bob and the folks grow it.
bob….
I agree with the critics. Indeed I Tweeted weeks before the first show that it would be poorly done.
Consider who is doing it? Bob Heil. A prominent Ham with a significant financial stake in the hobby. But a Visual media producer or engaging communicator he is not.
Chris’s remarks, are spot on.
Mike Whatley
WA4D.Net
Well, it’s never going to be a “scripted” show, or an edited one. That would take far too much time, too many people and resources. Look at the other shows on TWiT – they’re all inexpensive talk shows. I spent about 12 hours prepping the videos we rolled in to my segment on Field Day (Show #5). I couldn’t afford the time to do that every week. (see them at youtube.com/kn4aq2.)
Could it be a better TALK show? Sure, and it will become one as Bob figures out how and gets feedback. It does suffer from the dual focus on hams and non-hams. It’s very hard to tune for both audiences. And Bob doesn’t pretend to be a professional broadcaster.
I agree, the interest level will have to rise for non-hams to be intrigued. I’m not sure I’d consider attracting a non-ham audience as important as Bob does. I think I’d focus more on the ham audience, and let those interested non-hams come along for the ride. I think anyone who truly has potential to become a ham will prefer eavesdropping on the real thing. We all spent some time more or less in the dark about things as we slowly absorbed the fine points of this hobby.
Either way, the show has a lot of potential. Ham radio has very few regular media outlets. This can be a really good one.
73,
Gary KN4AQ
My comment about “scripting” wasn’t to imply that every bit of multimedia content needs to be scripted.
But consider AR Newsline – it’s done in a professional manner and every bit of it is scripted. Too often there are those who hear it and assume they can just plop down in front of a microphone and begin recording their own experiences with a dipole installation that went wonky and they do it off the cuff – with the result being something fairly painful for the listener. My point was that only a tiny subset of the population is capable of doing what, say, Leo LaPorte is capable of doing when he just wings it…
Obviously YouTube videos are a medium intended for ad hoc recording of events. Holding a cell phone up to ask someone what they bought at a hamfest usually turns out fine. But sitting down and doing an hour+ a week in front of a camera requires a rare talent for it to grab, grow, and hold the attention of an audience.
There are plenty of boring shows on the TWiT network that I avoid religiously. There are others that I wouldn’t miss. It’s not because of the content – it’s dependent on the ability of those presenting it to keep me interested in not only what they say, but how they say it.
The fact that Bob Heil is a long time ham who runs a successful business has no impact on his ability to produce an interesting and lively hour of video content – why on earth would anyone think otherwise?
Thanks for the comments everyone.
I’ve been pondering this a bit more. First off, HamNation is a “talk show” format which some folks are going to like and some won’t. This means minimal editing and a loose script. That leads to the question of “what makes a talk show interesting?” or “why the heck do people watch Oprah?”…interesting is in the eye or ear of the beholder, I suppose.
I have viewed up to HamNation 6 and I think I am seeing some improvement in delivery. (On HN6, I noticed that Bob asked for feedback to his k9eid at arrl.net email address.) I thought HamNation 5 was better than average due to Gary’s (KN4AQ) involvement…I consider Gary a bit more focused than Gordo and Bob H. Including some of Gary’s videos seemed to help the show.
The question of “who is the target audience?” seems very valid. It is not clear to me and the show would benefit from a bit more focus. My thought is to center the show on the “new technician”, where I see a real need from people that have gotten their license and are looking for those next steps in ham radio. This would likely appeal to most non-hams, as well.
Again, I really appreciate the genuine enthusiasm by Bob Heil and his crew. My advice is to limit of the number of war stories and focus on what is happening right now in ham radio. There is a trap in reinforcing that ham radio is all about looking back to the good old days. There is plenty to tell about the here and now.
But what do I know? I have a face for radio and a voice for CW 🙂
73, Bob K0NR
I just watched HN 7 and liked most of it. The section on Field Day with W3AO was great. I’ve been to dozens of Field Days over the years but never a large operation like this. It shows that it is important to choose good guests and topics. The rest of the show was still a bit too rambling for me.
If they mention the 75M AM net one more time, I may just puke 🙂73, Bob K0NR