t
tsunamis, earthquakes or volcanic
eruptions – radio comes into its
own. Mobile phone networks often
fail, or are switched off, leaving
radio as the only information
service. In these situations, radio
can help people survive, explaining
what is happening, how listeners
can mitigate the impacts of a
disaster, where help is available
and how to recover from the
challenges posed. In these
situations radio can help reunite
families who have become
separated – something that has
been proven invaluable time and
time again.
BENEFITINGCOMMUNITIES
Radio also has an immensely
important role to play at the most
local level – in small communities.
The relatively low cost of building a
radio station and of transmitting its
signal enables communities to fund
their own broadcasting hub, where
the local regulatory regime permits
this.
A number of community stations
receive international development
aid, such as Mustang Broadcasting
Community in one of the most
remote parts of Nepal.
such as clips, music, narration and
so on, Responsive Radio will select
the parts that enable the story to be
told in a shorter time. To many
programme makers, this idea may
sound strange. Yet the BBC’s
producers are enthused by the
prospect of enabling more people
to listen to their programmes in
more places and at more times of
the day or night.
With these initiatives the BBC,
along with other broadcasters, is
making a clear statement: radio is
no longer a single platform
proposition.
SOCIAL PURPOSE
As technological advances continue
to cement radio’s place in the
digital age, its social purpose
remains core to the medium’s
success. Radio provides a public
space for the airing of ideas,
exchanging information, sharing
knowledge. Its universal
availability on a free-to-air basis
means that no artificial filters – of
the type sometimes created by
often self-serving digital social
networks – are put in the way of the
audience discovering and sharing
issues and ideas.
National radio broadcasters help
to bring a nation together through
shared experiences. Radio can
create the water-cooler moment:
“Did you hear that new song by
Adele on the radio last night?” or “I
cried when I listened to that report
on the migrant crisis this morning.”
Often, radio journalism can
spend longer exploring a story than
television does, creating
tremendous impact and long
lasting impressions.
Radio can also serve as a call to
action. Last year, the ambitious
Radio Everyone project,
masterminded by filmmaker
Richard Curtis, brought radio
stations across the world together
for special programming to
communicate the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals to billions of
people. The AIB worked with this
not-for-profit project to ensure that
Radio Everyone output was heard
on stations across the world, using
the AIB’s global network of contacts
in radio stations from Namibia to
Singapore to get broadcasters to
support the idea.
Lifeline broadcasting is another
of radio’s immense strengths. In
times of natural disaster – think
t
Far left
Object-based
broadcasting
creates
Responsive Radio
Topmiddle
Europe1’s visual
radio
Bottommiddle
Listening in China
Far right
Chiwetel Ejiofor,
Freida Pinto and
Richard Curtis at
the launch of
Radio Everyone
CONTEXT
|
THE BUSINESS OF RADIO
CELEBRATING RADIO
|
WORLD RADIO DAY 2016
|
07
t