Two weeks ago I wrote about a possible new strategy for local radio stations. It was a long post, but it boils down to a single question:

Can local radio operators use the web to increase the volume of local output, while also lowering costs?

If the answer is yes, this approach might just be more effective than progressively centralising/'networking' production and losing local flavour. Some thoughts on how you, the large commercial radio group, might make this work in practice:

1. Launch a simple web-based tool for members of the public to make radio shows

When I last worked in the radio industry, more than a decade ago, the elaborate equipment of a radio studio was already overkill for most music-based shows. Computers played out the music, ads, and other recorded material, while digital audio processors set the levels. News, travel, and weather reports were often mixed in automatically.

The budding presenter at home just needs to stop and start things in the right place. Add a half-decent microphone and sound card, and some headphones, and you're all set for less than the cost of an average digital video camera. The hard bit is making the web tool work well, but if you do that once, it can be used many many times. This is not a big cost in the context of a large radio group.

Ideally the presenter gets to build a playlist of music and other content from your library, maybe upload their own audio segments too, record in some links and tweek to make sure it all sounds good. It should be a pretty quick process.

2. Start distributing the shows via a low-traffic part of the company web site.

You'd need to be comfortable with best effort moderation, and it may take time to build up the quality. But if the tools and positioning are right then some talented people are likely to get involved fairly quickly. At this stage you might already be able to add some advertising, if it fits with your existing processes.

3. Involve a few in-house creative staff in picking the best shows to feature more prominently.

Staff could also provide a little advice and coaching to the best presenters. Maybe the tech team can automate some hints too (e.g., links are too long, music choice too niche, mic quality poor etc). Importantly, you should provide staff with tools to keep track of the most promising talent. In a few hours per week, an experienced staff member could probably keep tabs on 10 up and coming presenters, guiding their efforts to the point where they reached professional standards. Think of this as super-charged demo tape screening.

4. Broadcast some of the best shows.

At first it's probably just a replacement for automated output, and confined to small stations. But the shows produced are going to keep getting better, so it's only a matter of time before the content is good enough for more prominent slots.

You probably want to pay the presenters, but fees can be pretty low to start with – remember, the shows were quick to build, and many of the presenters are just starting out.

5. Consider new models.

If it's gone well, you've got a growing library of high-quality, interesting shows. Many of these are specialised or local. Maybe you can start charging listeners for some of them? Maybe you'll start thinking about broadcast as a way to showcase the best paid-for content? Maybe you'll be able to mix the links from the web tool with custom music and mainstream national content, to make bespoke stations, as Tris suggested?

What do you think? Has this been tried, and failed before? Or do you think it's feasible? If so, what's the best way to get started?