Challenges of Radio In The Changing Media Scenario

Today (February,13) is World Radio Day. This year UNESCO has given its theme - ‘Youth and Radio’, with the goal of promoting greater participation of youth in radio, not only as listeners, but as producers and broadcasters.The last year the theme was - 'Gender Equality'. Radio is a medium that has unparalleled access to sonic space.

Marshall Mc Luhan says : Radio is a hot medium.

Again, he says, "Printing upset the balance between oral and written speech, photography upset the balance of ear and eye. With radio, oral speech and the sense of hearing regained their importance."

In India, radio is very popular and to great extent a credible medium of mass communication. Akashwani, as the name itself suggests, is supposed to be celestial announcement and has a glorious memory of its long and struggling journey.

India has seen its two Information and Broadcasting Ministers- I.K. Gujral and Indira Gandhi, who led the country as the PM and two I & B Ministers- L K Adwani and Sushma Swaraj, who have played their roles as the Leader of the opposition in Loksabha very efficiently. But unfortunately, the condition of public broadcasting service in our country is not very satisfactory.

Public broadcasters are expected to work with the spirit of :

Speaking truth to power,

Making truth powerful, and

Making powerful truthful.

Information is power in itself. Akashwani and community radios have miles to go for the empowerment of the people of India by serving appropriate, authentic and useful information with an eye to the uses and gratification of the audience. But when we start playing with facts and distorting information, just to make news unnecessarily interesting and sensational, media ( khabarpaalika / Samwadpalika) starts losing its moral autonomy. So, the public broadcasters should take care of these things, because in the villages of India, even illiterate people listen to All India Radio and they want to trust it and its credibility to be maintained.