future of radio
I was just interviewed by a researcher for a consultancy firm on the future of radio. He doesn't pay me for exclusive information, so here's about what I said:
In this digital age, I think it is important that we take apart the cluster of genres we think of as a medium, and free these genres from a specific technology. Radio, then, is for me at least:
- Sound-only; something you can listen to while doing something else.
- Current: it has traditionally been the medium that is fastest in delivering breaking news.
- Live: it may be broadcast while something unfolds, be it a football match, a press conference or a talk show.
- Social: Many successful radio formats are built around of a limited selection of music that attracts a certain target audience. Music is, after all, one of the most powerful markers of identity. Between the tunes, a skilled talker creates a happy social atmosphere somewhat like a party, a reception or a lunch, chatting with interesting guests and funny callers. Listening to such a show is being part of a larger community of listeners, taking part in the same distributed social event.
Any of these four characteristics may be reproduced in many different technologies, and I think they will be.
The guy who phoned me added a fifth, clever fellow he was:
- Interactive. Letting audience members influence on media content is the latest fashion, from reality shows to games and chat on the TV screen with internet or SMS as return channels. Web news add chat and comments, and entire magazines like Slashdot or Plastic are made by readers. Radio doesn't need to change to fit with this trend. Radio has been interactive for fifty years, the researcher said. Phone-ins and requests always were a big part of radio programming. And with many formatted radio channels, you could sort of select your content by tuning your radio.
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