Let’s Go Prehistoric. And Talk About Radio

In the age of spotify and internet TV, it seems like there’s no room for radio. This morning, while travelling, I decided to radio channel surf, a habit I liked to do as a kid, when the medium was still not outdated.

Music aside (since I don’t need radio stations for music anymore), few could really garner my interest, especially as I have a short-attention span. As it’s the listenership survey period, some were going through the motions, giving out prizes but the content was really predictable and boring. One game particularly caught my attention as it was based on the prisoner’s dilemma (2 listeners have to decide whether they want to share the cash prize or keep it for themselves. If both parties choose to be selfish, no one gets the prize), which I thought was ingenious. How the game could garner traction among the zillion of options a listener has, I am not quite sure. I switched station after the game.

Other stations banked on discussions. One had a frivolous topic, so I stayed tuned to see how they would expand on it, but got annoyed after the talk set lasted more than its welcome. Another picked up listeners’ calls but I wasn’t really interested in the long-winded views.

Then finally, djs at this particular station started discussing their personal experience at a particular event. The talk set wasn’t short, yet I was hooked. In fact, when I reached my destination, I didn’t want to leave the car so that I could continue listening.

Obviously the various stations have different target audiences so they employ approaches most appropriate for them.

My point is, going forward, radio still has its charm. It’s not so much about coming up with the most creative segment or most to-the-beat jingles (tho these could help), but the core of radio is relating to the listener.

A decent, entertaining chat, one that you can imagine having with your friend over coffee, would still hook someone in. Easier said than done, but this is what radio is supposed to be about and how it can survive in the era of new media. Going back to the basics.