RADIO AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Throughout its history the radio industry has had an evolving relationship with audiences and society in general. During radio’s nascent years of de- velopment, the new medium captured the attention and imagination of the public by bringing information and entertainment into the home. Radio be-

10. THE ECONOMICS OF RADIO

came an important source of news during World War II, and the primary form of evening entertainment in a pretelevision world.

As television emerged in the late-1940s to early-1950s, the radio industry was forced to change, as its principal entertainers and advertisers moved away from the medium. Pundits predicted the demise of radio. Instead, the industry responded by emphasizing music formats, and moving away from being a national medium to becoming more of a local medium. Radio stations embraced the communities they served and built new relation- ships with audiences as rock and roll and other format innovations were in- troduced. Radio networks refocused their mission, providing news reports and various types of feature programs to affiliates instead of 30- and 60- minute programs.

The medium continued to evolve with the growth of FM in the 1960s and 1970s, and expansion of formats and programming. When MTV (Music Tele- vision) debuted in 1981, there were concerns that music videos would lead to the end of radio. Likewise, AM radio was given little hope to survive during the 1980s, only to experience a renaissance with the surging popularity of talk radio in the 1990s. Despite these concerns, radio audiences continued to grow, as well as the amount of individual time spent with the medium.

So where is radio in the young 21st century? Radio remains an important medium for audiences, with its ability to provide local audiences with news, weather, and traffic information, as well as entertainment in the form of music and personalities. Many individuals wake up with radio, and spend time listening to the radio while commuting to work or school. Radio is also a source of companionship, or background material while perform- ing other tasks.

But radio also competes for attention in a very crowded media land- scape, where individuals have many options for entertainment and information from other types of radio services (DARS, Internet), television, and other media forms. Consolidation has enabled radio to embrace economies of scale and financially stabilized the industry, but it has not guaranteed success in delivering audiences. In order to attract and maintain audiences, radio must continue to embrace localism and provide the information and entertainment local audiences need and want—otherwise there is nothing to separate a local radio station from any other type of audio service that simply delivers music.

Successful radio stations in the 21st century will use their promotion and marketing efforts to uniquely brand their stations, and engage the communities they serve with a variety of programs and events. Sponsorships, civic activities, and community involvement will strengthen the audience–station relationship, and promote loyalty and return listening. In turn, advertisers will continue to support the medium, knowing it has the ability to generate desired audiences for their messages.

ALBARRAN

Stations that fail to embrace the communities they serve, and instead simply focus on selling advertising and increasing the bottom line will, in the opinion of this author, suffer in the long run. This is why innovations like voice tracking can actually end up harming radio over time. A station using voice tracking with a friendly professional voice that offers no local ties will be no different than a service delivered by satellite or via the Internet.

RADIO AND SOCIAL ISSUES