by Alex Roldan
The constantly changing face of media in recent times, coupled with the changes in technology, make it an exciting and challenging time to be working in radio broadcasting. I have been with the commercial radio broadcasting industry for some time, and that it is only during this decade that the challenge to connect with your audience as the primary news source has become so intense, not only against your traditional competitors which are other radio stations, but from varied sources that also deliver news instantly.
The age-old question of “have you heard the news?” is as appropriate today as it’s always been in the past. This is the only constant in this competition, but radio’s leadership in the news and information business has been relentlessly challenged from all sides. Radio listenership has declined significantly as claimed by the surveys of ad companies. They concluded that television has outdone everybody else in the business and there were talks in the past that the age of radio as main news source is already in its twilight. The remaining radio followers are believed to have been swallowed up by modern electronic communication gadgets, cable TV and the internet.
I can’t agree that radio has ceased to become the prime news and information source of the people. You may be right to say that most of the time people watch television and if they listen to radio they listen for news music only on very limited time. But radio’s significance as a news source remains as it still is the handiest companion of a fast-paced generation which does not have the time to sit and watch TV, read newspapers or surf the internet! It is only the listening habit that changed.
Surveys confirm that most people still listen to radio during different times of the day, depending on the shows or programs of interest. This makes leading radio survey firm AC Nielsen change its evaluation of radio listenership. They are not only determining the station with most listeners, but, more importantly, the time or program that people listen to and the type of listeners. This would effectively guide businesses where to properly place their ads.
The real challenge for radio station management lies in understanding the listening behavior of the market and how to adjust their products to the need. The good thing is that, the end of the radio era prophecy is simply a myth. In fact, the challenging future of the trade has just begun.
But if you are a small player in the industry and already tired or afraid of fighting the big players, there is always an option. Radio broadcasting business opportunity made a quick turn towards the once insignificant market that is now starting to assert its presence. These are the once rural communities that were considered insignificant by product advertisers who relied heavily on urban centers for the simple reason of numbers. If they see some opportunities, they just demand existing stations to increase power – to reach the people living in the outer reaches of their perceived market, but with limited effect.
As communities grow, activities increase, politics step-up and along with it is the need for more people interaction to act on the development challenges of their place. People are starting to crave for more information. But, unlike in the past by simply being on the sidelines listening to “big stories” from the centers, this time they need to be updated on what is happening in their respective localities. They start to assert their right to know what is happening to their place and instinctively assert their right to be heard. This is where the opportunity lies for local radio stations – by filling that gap. And you don’t need to be large that packs high powered radio transmitters. These communities need, at least for the moment, smaller, low-powered radio stations to help push forward the democratization process expanding in their midst.
Local small radio stations have to endure the task of cultivating these areas, help the communities become more dynamic, which will eventually become everyone’s market! Thanks to these pioneering guys.
If you move around the country, there are so many of small radio stations sprouting and up and operating illegally – by NTC standards. Aren’t the stations operating below 500 watts deregulated by law? NTC has to explain this.
These stations survive on the support of local advertisers, such as small bakeries, tailoring, shops, stores and the like. But crude as they may be compared to their richer counterparts, they play a very important role in the development of these places. It is a very important tool to make communities feel how democracy works – as active participants in the whole process as their voices can now be heard, but most importantly they are informed of what is going on in their localities.
Yeah, the world is becoming smaller in many other ways, but a small low-powered radio station can connect with its audience the way large radio groups or big market players can only dream of. But there is only one problem for the small players, and that is the industry’s regulating agency.
I can only hope that the National Telecommunications Commission would instead help these fledgling broadcast entrepreneurs operate legally instead of making them as virtual “gold mines”—if you know what I mean.
For comments, e-mail to: roldanalex@yahoo.com
