Andy Sennitt

Andy Sennitt was URB's Director in 1972/73. He hosted a regular late night phone-in request show, but filled in on many other programmes when presenters didn't turn up. 'I once had to do a Motown show at two minute's notice', he recalls. "Fortunately I had two Best of Motown albums, so I stuck one on each turntable and played tracks from them alternately. I managed to get away with it". Another memorable moment was hosting a phone-in show unaware that a colleague had forgotten to switch on the transmitter.

Amazingly, despite gaffes like that, Andy's first job in 1974 was with the BBC - not making radio programmes, but listening to them. BBC Monitoring, near Reading, is where foreign news broadcasts are monitored and transcribed. Andy's job was to ensure that the correct programmes were being sent to each monitor with the best possible reception.

After 4 years, the opportunity arose to join the World Radio TV Handbook, a directory of international radio and TV stations, as assistant editor. The editor was Danish, so Andy moved to Copenhagen. When the editor retired in 1987, Andy took over, and moved south to The Netherlands where the publisher, Billboard, had offices in Amsterdam.

Throughout his time with the Handbook, Andy took part in the award-winning Media Network programme on Radio Netherlands, the Dutch International Service. When, after 10 years as editor, Andy decided it was time for another career move, he formed his own company AGS Media. His first project was to research and recommend ways of automating production on the Radio Netherlands Website. This led to him being invited to take over responsibility for the media section of the site, known as Real Radio.

Initially working on a freelance basis, Andy was offered a staff contract in January 1999. He is now employed four days a week at Radio Netherlands, and says he has never been happier. "Working for a commercial publisher brought with it all the stress of meeting financial targets. Now I can concentrate on being creative and the stress has gone".

Andy says that the one common theme throughout his career has been working and communicating with people of many nationalities. "This fascination with other cultures began when I was at Lancaster", says Andy, "and has never left me". The Internet has enriched that experience. "But despite all the travelling I have done, and the people I have met", he says, "some of the warmest memories are of the years I spent at Lancaster. I like to think that URB gave me the confidence and the communications skills that have shaped my career so far".

Member Bios:

Craig Pilling
(Presenter 1995-98)

Andy Sennitt
(Director 1972/3)