Radio

Radio Broadcasting

All India Radio (AIR), officially known since 1956 as Ākāshvāṇī (literally, "Voice from the Sky"), is the national public radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1930, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national public television broadcaster. AIR has covered more than 99% of the Indian Population as per the latest information given by Minister of Information and Broadcast. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks in the world. Its headquarters is at the Akashvani Bhavan in New Delhi. Akashvani Bhavan houses the Drama Section, the FM Section and the National Service.Doordarshan Kendra (Delhi) offices are also located on the sixth floor at Akashvani Bhavan.

In British India, broadcasting began in July 1923 with programmes by the Radio Club of Mumbai and other radio clubs. According to an agreement of 23 July 1927, the private Indian Broadcasting Company LTD (IBC) was authorized to operate two radio stations; the Mumbai station began on 23 July 1927, and the Calcutta station followed on 26 August 1927. On 1 March 1930, however, the company went into liquidation. The government took over the broadcasting facilities, beginning the Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS) on 1 April 1930 (on an experimental basis for two years, and permanently in May 1932). On 8 June 1936; the ISBS was renamed All India Radio.

On 1 October 1939 the External Service began with a broadcast in Pushtu; it was intended to counter radio propaganda from Germany directed to Afghanistan, Iran and the Arab nations. When India became independent in 1947, the AIR network had only six stations (in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Lucknow, and Tiruchirappalli); three radio stations at Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi fell in the share of Pakistan. the total number of radio sets at that time was about 275,000 in India. On 3 October 1957 the Vividh BharatiService was launched, to compete with Radio Ceylon. Television broadcasting began in Delhi in 1959 as part of AIR, but was split off from the radio network as Doordarshan on 1 April 1976. FM broadcasting began on 23 July 1977 in Chennai, and was expanded during the 1990s.

One of the most famous services is Vividh Bharati (All India Variety Programme) which offers programmes such as news, film music; comedy shows etc. in several cities of India.

Now, let us find out how AIR operates.

AIR has a three-tier system of broadcasting, namely, national, regional and local.

 The National channel of All India Radio started functioning on May 18, 1988. It caters to the information, education and entertainment needs of the people, through its transmitters at Nagpur, Mogra and Delhi beaming from dusk to dawn. It transmits centrally originated news bulletins in Hindi and English, plays, sports, music, newsreel, spoken word and other topical programmes, to nearly 76% of the country’s population fully reflecting the broad spectrum of national life.

The languages of broadcast are Hindi, English and Urdu apart from some music from other Indian languages.

The Regional Stations in different States form the middle tier of broadcasting. This also includes the North-eastern service at Shillong which disseminates the vibrant and radiant cultural heritage of the north-eastern region of the country.

Local Radio is comparatively a new concept of broadcasting in India. Each of these local radio stations serving a small area provides utility services and reaches right into the heart of the community.

FM Channels

What do you understand by FM?

FM stands for Frequency Modulation which is a broadcasting technology or method in radio.

You may have all listened to one or more FM channels. The FM service of AIR has two channels FM Rainbow and FM Gold.

There are 12 FM Rainbow channels and 4 FM Gold Channels. The programme content of these channels is mainly popular Indian and Western music, presented in a style which is highly popular with the urban youth.

News bulletins and current affairs programmes are also broadcast from these channels.

There are also other AIR stations on the F.M. mode. There are several private FM channels which can be heard all over the country.

Let us learn about them.

Private radio stations ( FM channels)

Radio Mirchi, Radio Mango, Big FM, Times FM ……The list is becoming longer. You must have heard about one or more of them. But have you wondered what they are?

These are private or commercial radio stations which have been given a license to broadcast programmes on radio.

Most of them cater to the younger generation by providing a mix of music and fun.

Community Radio is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a limited area or a community which is homogenous. It broadcasts programmes that are popular and relevant to the local audience. A community radio license is required to operate a community radio station.

These stations are expected to produce programmes as far as possible in the local language or dialect.

Although the stress is on developmental programmes, entertainment is not banned on these radio stations.

Anna FM is India’s first campus community radio operating from Anna University in Chennai, Tamilnadu. This was launched on 1 February 2004.

How does a radio studio look like? Let us see. There is a table and a microphone. The room has just one door, which is not very easy to open, as it is very heavy. Before one enters this room, there is a small enclosed place, which has another heavy door. This empty space is called a sound lock, which prevents unnecessary outside sounds from entering the studio. Note that we have used the term ‘unnecessary outside sounds’.

A studio is so designed without any interference to ensure that outside noises are not recorded and you hear the voice of the speakers clearly. For this, besides the sound lock and heavy doors, you will find the ceiling and walls with perforated woollen panels. Of course the studio is nice and cool with proper air-conditioning. There will at least be two studios in a station. You have just learnt about one of them. Now you will learn about the second one. This may be smaller in size with the same type of doors, walls and ceilings. Here you will find the announcer or the anchor person sitting on a revolving chair with a microphone in front of the table. There will be a computer, CD players, tape decks and a mixer .This is the actual broadcast studio from where presenters make announcements. This may be called an announcer’s booth or a transmission studio.

Station Director

The Station Director is in charge of the radio station and also the head of the programme wing. In some stations they are called managers.

Station Engineer

The Station Engineer heads the engineering wing and is responsible for all the technical work at the radio station.

In addition there is a group of technicians and engineers, working quietly behind the scene. They operate and maintain broadcast equipment and oversee the control room. They are responsible for the technical quality of the broadcasts.

Programme personnel

These are persons who are engaged in planning, production, preparation and presentation of radio programmes. They are known as progamme executives or producers. They are part of the pogramme broadcast process.

Transmission staff

Persons who are responsible for a smooth and trouble free transmission process are known as transmission executives.

Radio Announcer

The radio announcer presents the programmes and is responsible for making them interesting. The announcer has to convey feelings through his voice only. If the announcer is dull, his description will also be dull.

Artists

In addition to the above staff, there are also music artists such as vocalists and instrumentalists who form part of the programme staff. They are all eminent performers in their own fields and graded according to their experience.

Characteristics of Radio

Concepts of radio broadcast

􀁺 Common terms used in radio broadcast

􀁺 Listener, broadcaster, broadcasting, pre-recorded programme, script,

tuning into radio

Objectives of radio

􀁺 to inform

􀁺 to educate        inter related

􀁺 to entertain

Charactersitics of radio

􀁺 radio makes pictures

􀁺 fast medium

􀁺 simple medium

􀁺 inexpensive medium

􀁺 portable medium

Limitations of radio

􀁺 one chance medium

􀁺 lacks visual images

􀁺 messages on radio are easily forgotten

􀁺 not useful for those with hearing disabilities

A Radio format can be split into three parts: They

are:-

(a) Spoken Word or Human Voice

(b) Music

(c) Sound Effects

Factors to be taken into account for making a radio programme

􀁺 Area population, sex ratio, languages spoken, number of schools and colleges, health facilities, religions, climate, types of crops, transport facilities, main occupation of people

Radio Formats

SPOKEN WORD

1.   Announcements : These are specifically written clear messages to inform. They can be of different types. For example station/programme identification. These mention the station you are tuned into, the frequency, the time and the programme/song you are going to listen to. As mentioned already you find in today’s commercial radio channels, these announcements have become informal and resemble ordinary conversation. There can be more than one presenter in some programmes like magazines.

2.   Radio talk : The radio talk probably is the oldest format on radio. There has been a tradition in India and Britain to invite experts or prominent persons to speak for 10 or 15 minutes on a specific topic. These talks have to go through a process of being changed into radio’s spoken word style. Over the years, these long radio talks have become unpopular. Instead, today, shorter duration talks are broadcast. Of course, you can listen to these talks only on public service broadcasting stations.

3.   Radio interviews: Have you ever interviewed anyone? Probably yes. In the media, be it the newspaper, magazine, radio or television, journalists use this technique of asking questions to get information. There can be different types of interviews in terms of their duration, content and purpose. Firstly, there are full-fledged interview programmes. The duration of these may vary from 10 minutes to 30 minutes or even 60 minutes depending up on the topic, and the person being interviewed. Most of such interviews are personality based. You might have heard of long interviews with well-known people in the field of public life, literature, science, sports, films etc. Secondly, there are interviews which are used in various radio programmes like documentaries. Here the interviews are short, questions specific and not many. The purpose is to get a very brief, to the point answer. Thirdly there are a lot of interviews or interview based programmes in news and current affairs programmes. Have you heard such interviews on radio? With phone-in-programmes becoming popular, you might have heard live interviews with listeners. These interviews have been made interactive. There is another type of interview based programme. Here generally just one or two questions are put across to ordinary people or people with knowledge on some current topic to measure public opinion. For example when the general budget or the railway budget is presented in the parliament, people representing radio go out and ask the general public about their opinion. Their names and identity may not be asked. Such programmes are called ‘vox pop’ which is a Latin phrase meaning‘voice of people’. You have to be very inquisitive and hard working to be a radio interviewer with good general awareness and communication skills.

4.   Radio discussions :- When you have a problem in your family or with your friends, don’t you say “let us discuss?” Yes we do. Through a discussion we can find out a solution to problems. In any discussion there are more than 2 or 3 people and then ideas can be pooled to come to some conclusion. In radio, this technique is used to let people have different points of view on matters of public concern. Radio discussions are produced when there are social or economic issues which may be controversial. So when different experts meet and discuss such issues, people understand various points of view. Generally, these discussions on radio are of longer duration-say 15 to 30 minutes. Two or three people who are known for their views and a well-informed senior person or journalist who acts as a moderator take part and discuss a particular topic for about 30 minutes. The moderator conducts the discussion, introduces the topic and the participants and ensures that everyone gets enough time to speak and all issues are discussed.

5.   Radio documentaries/features: If you see a film in a movie hall, it is generally a feature film, which is story based and not real. But there are also documentary films which are based on real people and issues. A lot of programmes you see on television are educational and public service documentaries. Radio also has this format. Unlike documentary films, radio documentaries have only sound – i.e. the human voice, music and sound effects. So a radio documentary is a programme based on real sounds and real people and their views and experiences. Radio documentaries are based on facts presented in an attractive manner or dramatically. Radio documentaries are radio’s own creative format. The producer of a documentary needs to be very creative to use human voice, script, music and sound effects very effectively. Radio documentaries are also called radio features.

6.   Radio drama: A Radio drama or a radio play is like any other play staged in a theatre or a hall. The only difference is that while a stage play has actors, stage, sets, curtains, properties movement and live action, a radio play has only 3 components. They are the human voice, music and sound effects. Radio of course uses its greatest strength for producing radio plays and that is the power of imagination and suggestivity. For example, if you want to have a scene in a radio play of a north Indian marriage, you don’t have all physical arrangements made. All that you have to do is to use a bright tune on the shehnai and excited voices of people to create in a listeners’ imagination, a wedding scene. The voice of the actors, music and sound effects can create any situation in a radio play.

7.   Running commentaries: If you can’t go to see a football or cricket match in a stadium, you may watch it on television. But for that you have to be at home or at some place where there is a television. But if you are travelling or outside, then you may listen to radio for a running commentary of the match. A commentator would give you all the details of the match such as the number of players, the score, position of the players in the field etc. So by listening to the running commentary, you get a feeling of being in the stadium and watching the match. The commentator needs good communication skills, a good voice and knowledge about what is going on. Running commentaries on radio can be on various sports events or on ceremonial occasions like the Republic Day Parade or events like festivals, melas, rath yatras, swearing in ceremony of ministers, last journey (funeral procession) of national leaders etc. Today radio running commentaries especially of cricket and other sports can be heard on your mobile phones.

8.   Magazine programmes : You are familiar with magazines which are a form of print media. They are published weekly, bi-weekly, fortnightly or monthly. There are general magazines and magazines for specific readers. These magazines could be for children, women, youth or on health, sports, science or music. If you open any one of these magazines, you will find articles, reviews, features, photo features etc. Radio also has magazine programmes like those in the print media. A radio magazine is broadcast at a particular time on a particular day of a week or a month. That means it has periodicity. Similarly it has plenty of variety in contents. Some or many formats of radio are included in a radio magazine. These may be talks, discussions, interviews, reviews, music etc. Likewise, the duration of each programme or item in a magazine programme also vary. Another characteristic of a radio magazine is that it has a signature tune. A signature tune is an attractive piece of music which is specific to a programme. It can be like the masthead (title) of a magazine. A magazine programme also has a name and one or two presenters or anchor persons who link the whole programme. In the beginning, the titles of the day’s programme will be given by the presenters after the signature tune. They also give continuity and link the whole magazine. Magazine programmes are generally broadcast for a special or specific audience. As the name suggests, a specific audience refers to listeners with specific needs as mentioned in the beginning.

9.   NEWS: Among all the spoken word formats on radio, news is the most popular. News bulletins and news programmes are broadcast every hour by radio stations. In India, only All India Radio is allowed to broadcast news. Duration of news bulletins vary from 5 minute to 30 minutes. The longer news bulletins have interviews, features, reviews and comments from experts.

MUSIC : When we say radio, the first thing that comes to our mind is music. So music is the main stay in radio. There is no radio without music. Music is used in different ways on radio. There are programmes of music and music is also used in different programmes. These include signature tunes, music used as effects in radio plays and features. India has a great heritage of music and radio in India reflects that. Let us understand the different types of music.

Classical Music

There are 3 types of classical music in India. They are:-

􀁺 Hindustani classical

􀁺 Carnatic classical

􀁺 Western classical

There are also vocal and instrumental music forms. There are also light classical music forms like, Thumri and Dadra. Insturmental music forms include string (sitar, sarod etc.) wind (like flutes, shehnai) and percussion (drum) instruments.You might have heard such music on radio. You may know of a large variety of devotional and folk music in your area and across the country. Which are broadcast on radio.

But which is the most popular form of music? You would most probably say ‘film music.’ While there are film songs in different languages, the one with a national appeal and popularity is Hindi film songs. On most radio stations, be it public service or commercial, Hindi films songs are heard everywhere. Light western and pop music are also popular among some groups of listeners and there is a large section of young people listening to western pop music.

􀁺 SOUND EFFECTS

Let us see how sound can be used in radio formats.

􀁺 Sound can play a major role in evoking interest.

􀁺 Sound can be used for comic effects to evoke laughter

􀁺 Sound can be used to create certain moods or enhance them.

India has taken giant leaps in the field of information technology and radio as a medium, has taken a lead in applying information technology in its broadcasts. Let us discuss some of these formats:

1. Phone in programme – In this age of technological development, phone-in is the most important format. This is called interactive programming where the listener and the presenter talk to each other. Their talk goes on air instantly.

The listener has the satisfaction that his voice is being listened to and replied immediately. Other listeners also listen to him. Such presentations need advance publicity so that the listeners get ready to air their grievances/queries or requests.

They dial up the announced telephone number at a stipulated time and get their problems discussed with experts in the studio. Initially this format was introduced for playing the listeners’ request based film songs. Now it is being used for health related programmes, rural broadcasts, complaints against the government/ administrative machinery etc. Radio bridge : Radio bridge means connecting different stations throughout the length and breadth of the country. In this technique, for example, an expert sitting at Chennai can interact with the common man in the studio in Delhi. This format was first used by All India Radio during elections.

3. Radio on internet: Radio on internet is a growing phenomenon with thousands of radio stations operating through computer modems. It is altogether a new format that removes the restrictions of frequency or license. It is relatively cheap to set up. It has certain advantages as well as disadvantages. Now all the national and international radio stations like BBC, Voice of America, and All India Radio are available on internet. It is now possible to listen to the programmes from a radio station while working on the computer. All India Radio started its services on internet on 1st May 1998. With this, it was possible to extend the coverage of programmes to all parts of the world including USA and Canada.