National celebration of radio airs in Sheffield

11th April 2017

One of the UK's biggest annual celebrations of radio documentaries and features will come to Sheffield Hallam University this week.

This Friday (7 April) will see Sheffield Hallam host the Charles Parker Day, an annual event which brings together radio broadcasters, academics and other enthusiasts to celebrate the past, present and future of radio features. Charles Parker was a BBC radio producer who specialised in documentary radio and theatre. He is remembered for his work on the Radio Ballads series, which won an Italia Prize for Radio Documentary in 1960 and is seen as a landmark of study in oral history. The day will include a number of talks, features and live broadcasts, including an in-conversation event with Michael Barton to celebrate 50 years of local radio, the first manager of BBC Radio Sheffield (the second station to come on air), who will be talking to Radio Sheffield's Rony Robinson. Other talks include a discussion about the Asian radio scene in the UK; an event which looks at features made about Sheffield with producers from the BBC Natural History Unit; and a live reconstruction of the original BBC Radio 2 Ballad 'The Song of Steel' with producer John Leonard, and musicians John Tams and Barry Coope. The day will also include the Charles Parker Prize, which is awarded each year for the Best Student Radio Feature. The prize is open to students of radio production in the UK and should reflect an essence of Parker's own work. Martin Carter, principal lecturer in film studies at Sheffield Hallam, said: "Charles Parker remains hugely a significant figure in British culture for the way in which we document our lives. "His techniques and production values continue to inspire and resonate with new generations of broadcasters, and more importantly, their audiences. It's a privilege to host the Charles Parker Day at Sheffield Hallam and we look forward to the many enlightening talks and broadcasts at the event." Charles Parker Day will take place at The HUBS, Sheffield Hallam University on Friday 7 April (10:30am - 5.45pm). Click here for more information.