[AT HOME IN EUROPEIA] Behind The Scenes - The Ministry of Radio






Behind the Scenes
The Ministry of Radio

Written by Xecrio



The Ministry of Radio has seen a dramatic increase in activity over the past few terms, much of that can be attributed to Darkslayer. Indeed, it has perhaps become a fan favourite as citizens scramble to get their voices heard on radio. The ministry’s passion has certainly fed Europeia’s desire to see new shows and new voices- it is undoubtedly becoming the place to go to hear discussion, debate, and fun. However, as with all ministries, radio undergoes vital work behind the curtains. The minister and their deputies work together to ensure that the quality of the ministry is second to none. The Europeian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) got in touch with Minister of Radio Sopo, to get a quick peek behind the scenes.

Sopo is currently serving his second term as minister of radio, having previously served under President WritingLegend in 2017. Speaking to the EBC, Sopo indicated that the ministry of radio is one of his favourite ministries to be a part of, saying “...I've been involved with radio since the beginning.” Someone that has been in the ministry since the very beginning, the current minister of radio has undoubtedly seen some evolution in the way radio has been run. Sopo talks about “throwing things at the wall to see what would stick,” possibly highlighting the fact that in the early days, ideas were merely little specks floating in the air. More recently shows have been flying in thick and fast, a product of the two terms served by Senate Speaker Darkslayer and now minister of culture, Calvin Coolidge. These new shows have also perhaps been a result of a recent surge in population. Moreover, new shows have potentially inspired radio staff members to engage in creating their shows. Most recent examples include BritCast, Guilty by Association, and Talking Politics.

As previously mentioned, Sopo’s current stint as minister of radio is not his first. The EBC queried him about his first term and how it differs from his current one. “The last time I held this role, I was shaking things up.” The minister goes on to discuss how this revolved around cutting-back on editing, and cancelling EuroToday, which “eventually became pretty stale.” In regards to the ministry's current state of affairs, and how it differs from other, older terms, Sopo had this to say. “This time I've inherited a healthy and thriving ministry and am honestly just having fun getting new shoes out there.” The Minister of Radio discusses the possibility of training staff members to start hosting their own shows, and with the introduction of Twitch, seeing new content being streamed over there.

With all the new shows, new content, and new platforms, it’s unsurprising that Sopo finds radio “so fun”, as he states in our interview. The introduction of Twitch has perhaps not kick-started as fast as some may have liked it too. Despite the possibilities of streaming games and increasing audience participation, Sopo indicated that “finding people who can constantly run it” is the main obstacle. Currently, Madeline Norfolk serves as the deputy minister of radio for Twitch; however, lack of interest has pushed their role back somewhat. Pichtonia and Aexnidaral have both indicated that they would be able to stream shows and games on Twitch. This suggestion could imply that viewers are about to see some activity on Europeia’s Twitch platform reasonably soon.

Our interview then moved on to what running radio is actually like. Sopo stated that running radio “...can certainly be challenging, especially with limited staff.” Fortunately, the ministry of radio has seen a considerable influx of inactivity and being understaffed is not a worry for the ministry at this stage. In terms of the most important aspects of running the ministry of radio, Sopo states that “the most important things are drawing out good ideas, providing training, and making sure we're putting out content that people actually want to listen to.” In running day-to-day ministerial activities, the basis revolved around ensuring that there are enough shows and to plan shows if there aren’t. In our interview, Sopo had this to say on the matter: “I ask myself "do we have enough shows planned?" and if the answer is no, I try to plan shows or push others to plan something.” Of course, recently Sopo has appeared on several shows himself, including the revived Sopo Showpo, and more recently a series of Halloween shows in collaboration with the ministry of culture.

For the future, Sopo illustrated that he wanted to “increase collaboration with culture” We have already seen the beginning of this with the two shows that have centred around the cultural theme for Halloween. Where does the ministry of radio go from here? It’s hard to argue that the ministry of radio is not currently one of the most successful ministries having been taken from a dark place of limited activity to one of diversity, movement, and entertainment. Could the ministry improve any further? Of course. There is potential for newcomers to join the ministry and get active. Europeia’s Twitch program is looking more and more likely to hit the green light, and the passion of the minister and the staff is phenomenal. The Ministry of Radio, behind the scenes, is just as important as it is on the front foot. Planning shows, creating ideas; it’s full of imagination.
 
Radio always has a special place in my heart. It is one of the most creative and fun Ministries to engage in, and a lot of it you can do "on the fly". Even as host, there are many times where I'd only scribble down a few notes beforehand and then try to go off of how the show evolves. As a guest, it's even easier, you just have to take 30 mins or an hour of your time and then you're there live and just enjoy yourself.

Thanks for writing this article and giving us all a little behind-the-scenes look with Sopo, Nate!
 
I. Love. Radio. I'm really happy to see this article, and I feel it covers months of hand-work, dedication, and commitment. Not just by radio ministers but also by radio staff. Radio really changed from a place where inactivity was sinking the ship fast, and something needed to be done. And I feel, with 4 passionate radio terms in a row, it all contributed to stop that ship sinking. And now, the ship is on its way again.
The Ministry of Radio has seen a dramatic increase in activity over the past few terms, much of that can be attributed to Darkslayer.
My only issue with this is: it can't be attributed to me. This was only possible from the hard-work of the radio staff, and my deputies that I had over the two terms (apart from Pichto, he was hell). It's good to have a vision as a radio minister, but the people who implement that vision are the team you want; and radio, possess staff which can work together regardless of who you are. We're all there to have fun, talk shit on radio, and make ourselves look like fools for comedy.

Thank you for this article Nate, and good job to everyone in radio for this past 6 months! :)
 
Great article Nate! Not every region can boast having a radio ministry, let alone one like ours. I'm also especially enjoying the relatively recent thing of having more people host their own regular shows, those are a lot of fun.
 
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