“Radio is a powerful medium. It's not dead but ... it has lost its soul. Radio is a companion. It's a very personal medium, and they've taken the personal aspect out of it."
"The media today does not seek truth, it seeks success," say Harrison of Talkers. "It seeks victory. Nobody is hired to do a talk show because they are going to save the world or educate people or benefit humanity. Radio historically has been a street medium - a mass medium of popular culture. That's what radio is. Radio is not dead. It just doesn't have much of a future, because of monumental changes that are unfolding as we speak. Radio in the future will be very street, it will just be less magical."
"What I call mono-media," he says, "that is to say, radio, television, newspapers, film - all of these different institutions of the 20th century - will no longer exist on separate venues. Looking at McLuhan's 'the medium is the message' - the venue of radio being an appliance that has AM and FM, the venue of TV that is an appliance, the venue of film that you watch on a disk or you go to a movie theater, the venue of a book that you put on a shelf and hold in your hand, a magazine on the stand - these venues will no longer exist as entities separate from each other. Thus, the culture of creating programming for them will become different because culture is so impacted by the venue, meaning, the medium is the message. When the medium changes, so will the message. So will the culture. And the medium now is a medium that combines all of those hitherto separate concepts. The idea of a radio station coming in on an appliance that is specific to radio, that is an audio-only medium, the theater of the mind, if you will, is, in fact, going to be obsolete. This is happening right before our eyes, and it is accelerating so quickly. Will there still be radio stations on AM and FM in five years? Yes. But they will seem weaker and far less important than they do today.
"Your typical radio station will become a production company as opposed to a broadcast facility. Everybody will be a production company."
Harrison's prophecy is borne out in a conversation I have with Charles Kireker, the new owner of Air America.
"It's definitely a new frontier situation, a listener, a viewer, a reader, they are all doubling back on each other with all the new technologies ... PDA, the cell phone, Internet and so forth."
I asked an old-fashioned question, using my limited vocabulary. "What made you decide to buy a radio network?"
"We're a media company," he says. "We're not a radio company."
Whether it is called a media company or radio company, will the radio still be around in say 40 years?
Works Cited: “The Future of Radio.” www.hear2.com. 29 Sept. 2008. 4 Aug. 2009 <>.
"The media today does not seek truth, it seeks success," say Harrison of Talkers. "It seeks victory. Nobody is hired to do a talk show because they are going to save the world or educate people or benefit humanity. Radio historically has been a street medium - a mass medium of popular culture. That's what radio is. Radio is not dead. It just doesn't have much of a future, because of monumental changes that are unfolding as we speak. Radio in the future will be very street, it will just be less magical."
"What I call mono-media," he says, "that is to say, radio, television, newspapers, film - all of these different institutions of the 20th century - will no longer exist on separate venues. Looking at McLuhan's 'the medium is the message' - the venue of radio being an appliance that has AM and FM, the venue of TV that is an appliance, the venue of film that you watch on a disk or you go to a movie theater, the venue of a book that you put on a shelf and hold in your hand, a magazine on the stand - these venues will no longer exist as entities separate from each other. Thus, the culture of creating programming for them will become different because culture is so impacted by the venue, meaning, the medium is the message. When the medium changes, so will the message. So will the culture. And the medium now is a medium that combines all of those hitherto separate concepts. The idea of a radio station coming in on an appliance that is specific to radio, that is an audio-only medium, the theater of the mind, if you will, is, in fact, going to be obsolete. This is happening right before our eyes, and it is accelerating so quickly. Will there still be radio stations on AM and FM in five years? Yes. But they will seem weaker and far less important than they do today.
"Your typical radio station will become a production company as opposed to a broadcast facility. Everybody will be a production company."
Harrison's prophecy is borne out in a conversation I have with Charles Kireker, the new owner of Air America.
"It's definitely a new frontier situation, a listener, a viewer, a reader, they are all doubling back on each other with all the new technologies ... PDA, the cell phone, Internet and so forth."
I asked an old-fashioned question, using my limited vocabulary. "What made you decide to buy a radio network?"
"We're a media company," he says. "We're not a radio company."
Whether it is called a media company or radio company, will the radio still be around in say 40 years?
Works Cited: “The Future of Radio.” www.hear2.com. 29 Sept. 2008. 4 Aug. 2009 <>.
Will the radio still be around in 40 years? That is a very thought provoking question. Recent news reported that Radio Shack will change its store names to “The Shack”. The change of name is probably an effort to have consumers take a new look at this long standing chain store. Radio Shack will keep their corporate name as Radio Shack to retain the advantage of long term name recognition. Radio Shack is doing its best to continue to be profitable in a society that now has technologies much more advanced than the old time radio of years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe radio has continued to evolve with new technology to bring us satellite radio (Sirius/XM) which appeals directly to individual tastes. Consumers who in the past would not pay for the convenience of something they could get for free (i.e. bottled water) were hooked by the individual appeal of satellite radio. New technology brought a new radio experience where eager listeners flip easily between old and new music styles, local weather and traffic reports, business news or step-by-step instructions on “how to make a turkey” with Martha Stewart. Like other technologies, the radio will continue to evolve to meet the personal needs of society by bringing personal art, music and news directly to consumers through the latest digital devices. Each new era of radio will take on a newer, modern name, for example “The Media Shack” to draw consumer attention to the old art form that has become new again.
I think that while the physical radio will be phased out, the soul of the radio will live on. Instead of picking up radio waves out of the air, the future of radio will rely on the internet. Internet radio apps are getting more and more popular. You will be able to listen to the radio on any electronic device that has is connected to the internet.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought about what would happen to the radio. It has seemed as if it’s taken a backseat to all the new technology. Even satellite radio has lost its pizzazz. Every one listens to iPods and the radio has been put aside. If someone wants to listen to a favorite radio show you can now find most of them as a podcast. Even cars are now being made with ports so you can connect your iPod and listen to it through the car speakers. I wonder what will happen to the radio. Will it truly disappear for better technology? I guess we need to wait and see.
ReplyDeleteI hope the radio will continue to survive in some form for decades to come. My heart says yes but my mind says no. While there will are many challenges ahead, radio can continue to survive. My MP3 player has a FM tuner built-in to it as does my video capture device for my PC. I believe radio stations needs to rethink their approach and find a way to make music the primary goal while still making money. Yet, I also see many new wireless devices that allow for steaming of music and information. Why tune into the radio for a traffic report when you can get the latest conditions on your GPS or listen for school closings when you can get a text or email? I guess the end is near for radio. I can hear the Queen song Radio Ga-Ga (http://www.lyricsdownload.com/queen-radio-gaga-lyrics.html) in my head as I write this.
ReplyDelete