RADIO

5

Dr. Mohammed IbahrineAL AKHAWAYN UNIVERSITY in IFRANE

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCESCOMMUNICATIONS STUDIES PROGRAM

Brief History The Birth of Commercial Radio. The Commercialization of Radio. The Depression Years and World War II. Innovation and Change: 1945-1954. Growth and Stabilization: 1955-1990. Consolidation and Specialization: 1990-

Present.

Birth of Commercial Radio Big Business: After the World War corporate America recognized the potential of radio. The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was formed and acquired the assets of the US division of the

Marconni Company.• Mass Audience: Frank Conrad built a radio transmitter in his garage and started broadcasting recorded music, reporting

sports scores, and showcasing the musical abilities of his sons he had attracted large number of audience.

Local department store started selling radio sets so that people could hear Conrad’s programs. Westinghouse built the radio sets and received « free » advertising because of its connection with the

station KDKA (the oldest station).• Better Receivers: Radio receivers were powered by an assortment of large, bulky, and sometimes leaky batteries. By 1926, new radios ran on household as fashionable piece of furniture. Between 1925 & 1930, 17 million radio sets were sold and radio was becoming a mass medium.

Commercialization of Radio Networks: Linking radio stations into a network made good economic sense. The first network was the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), a

subsidiary of RCA, set up in 1926. NBC got a competitor: Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). By 1937, NBC had 111 affiliated stations, while CBS had 105.

• Government Regulation: During the 1920s, interference became a tremendous problem and

the government lacked the authority to do anything The congress acted to resolve the situation by passing the Radio Act of 1927

This act set up the Federal Radio Commission a regulatory body that would issue licenses and try to clean up the chaos.

Depression Year and World War II FCC: The most development for radio during the depression years was the formation of

the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Congress passed the Communications Act of 1934 which consolidated

responsibilities for broadcast and wire regulation under a new seven member FCC.• Birth of FM: In the mid 1930s, Edwin Howard Armstrong developed a frequency-modulated (FM)

by his own. By 1940, he had sold the rights to manufacture FM receiving sets to several

companies.• Radio Programs: Network radio news grew during 1930s and live coverage of special events. Broadcast from Europe on the eve of World War II kept listeners attached to their

radio sets for the latest news.• World War II: Radio did well during the War since the number of dollars spent on radio ads

doubled from 1940 to 1945.

Innovation and Change: 1945-1954 Growth of FM: In 1945, the FCC decided to give the rapidly expanding TV service

the space formerly occupied by FM. The commission moved FM upstairs to the 88- to 108- MHz band.

• Emergence of Television: By 1948, TV took over the mass entertainment function served by

network radio. The percent age of local stations with network affiliations dropped

from 97% in 1947 to only 50% by 1955.

• Specialized Formats: Local stations start adopting a specialized format, a sound that had

distinctive appeal to a certain segment of the audience.

Growth and Stabilization: 1955-1990 Number of radio stations grew from 3343 in 1955

to more than 7000 in 1970. The most significant development in radio during

1970s and 1980s was the emergence of FM. The FCC passed the nonduplication rule that

prevented an AM-FM combination from duplicating its AM content on its FM station.

As a result, number of FM stations tripled.

Consolidation and Specialization: 1990 - Present The essential event for radio in the 1990s was the passage of

the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Before the act, just $2 billion was spent on radio acquisitions. In 1996 the number hit $14.4 billion; and by 1997 $15.3 billion

was spent.

HOWEVER, radio has lost its local roots since most stations are owned by big companies.

Also, Satellite radio has drained away listeners because people prefer to listen to their favorite music in their iPods.

Radio In The Digital Age

Interenet And Radio Internet is used to generate profits Give access to the programmes of the radio

station Traditional over-the-air broadrcasters Internet-only stations

Satellite Radio Satellite-to-car-radio digital service

Mobile Radio

The digital world made the radio closer from us

More gadgets and options to receive radio are borne every day

User-Generated Content Everyone can participate in broadcasting

Defining Features of the

Radio

Organization of the Radio Industry Made of three steps :

Programming Technology Format

Programming Programming can be split into two parts:

Network: An organization composed of interconnecting broadcasting stations that cuts costs by airing programs, meaning diffusing the same program in different stations at the same time .

Syndicated Programming: It is when the same program is diffused in different times on the stations.

• However, the distinction is no longer meaningful because stations use the two types in an interlinked way.

Radios were emphasizing on network programming but then they moved to news and public affairs.

However, in the beginning of the century, network programming had a mild resurrection in radio stations.

AM Signals• AM signals travel farther than FM signals.• They are classified by channels:

1. Clear: single dominant station that is designated to provide service over a wide area.

2. Regional: channel shared by many stations that serve fairly large areas.

3. Local: shared by a large number of stations that broadcast only to their local communities.

Technology AM: Amplitude Modulation

A method of transmitting signals, such as sound or digital information, in which the value of the signal is given by the amplitude of a high frequency carrier wave.

FM: Frequency Modulation A method of transmitting signals, especially in

radio broadcasting, in which the value of the signal is given by the frequency of a high frequency carrier wave.

FM Signals FM signals have the advantage of

producing better sound qualities than AM. They are also less likely to be affected by

outside interferences. They are divided into classes:

Class A and Class B are less powerful Class C is the most powerful

Digital Radio Much of radio station’s operation is

automated. 0’s and 1’s represent various sound

frequencies and the digital receiver translates these numbers into sound waves.

Format Format is a way to organize radio stations. Format is a type of consistent programming

designated to appeal to a certain segment of the audience.

The format gives a station a distinctive personality and shapes the target and its specific advertisement.

Three basic categories of radio format:

1. Music

2. Ethnic

3. News/Talk

Music It is the largest category and is divided to

many subdivisions and variations. It includes many types according to the

target listeners: contemporary music for adults, R’n’B and Hip Hop for teens and country music for more mature people.

Ethnic Those formats aim for special audiences

that are defined primarily by race and nationality.

For example stations for Hispanic minority or for French-speaking people.

Format Homogenization Radio stations sound the same insofar as they

have all the same programs. The reasons behind this homogenization is the

consolidation of the industry since what works for one market is likely to work in another.

It is also cheaper to program the same music from market to market.

And finally, radio has become so competitive that programming decisions are based on the recommendations of program consultants and on surveys and focus groups.

Voice Tracking We notice the rise of voice tracking. Voice tracking makes use of a single DJ

who prerecords song intros and extros and chatter for music programs on several different stations.

News / Talk Format National, regional and local news reports

are broadcast periodically throughout the day.

The talk format requires the attention of the audience in order to follow the program.

Noncommercial Radio Many of the radios were founded by

educational institutions. After this, commercial broadcasters bought

those stations. Most noncommercial radio stations are

owned by educational institutions or private foundations and they are financed by taxes, foundations and listener donations.

Ownership in the Radio Industry

We noticed a consolidation that left the industry controlled by a few big media companies.

Producing Radio Programs

Departments and Staff: Departmental structure of a radio station

depends on its size. Two top management positions: general

manager and the program director. In the sales dep.: the sales manager and the

station’s sales force. The news department. The engineering department.

Producing Radio Programs

Putting together a program: This section concentrates on how radio

programs are produced for: Music Talk shows All news

Putting together a program:

Music format: A format wheel is generally the first step while putting

together a program. Music is structured to flow from one segment to another.

Talk format: The makeup of the audience is taken into account in

producing talk shows. Producing a talk show requires equipment like speaker

telephones and extra telephone lines, or the telephone screener

Putting together a program (Cont’)

All-news format: The all-news station also works with a

programming wheel like that of the music format. The news wheel shows the spacing between

headlines, weather, news, sports, business reports, and commercials.

A large staff is involved in producing the all-news format including anchor-persons, a managing editor, local reporters, editors, rewrite people, a traffic reporter and stringers.

The Economics of Radio

Radio revenues have slumped in 2001 comparing to what they were during the 1990s.

For instance, in 2005, advertising revenues were about $20billion, up just 2% from 2003.

The industry is facing competition from satellite services and also the new technologies like iPods and other MP3 devices.

Next few years will be crucial for determining radio’s future.

Sources of Revenue

Selling advertising time: the amount charged for the time is included in its rate card depending on how large is the city where it is broadcasted. 3 sources sale of time:

on network programs to national advertisers (5%) on local stations to local advertisers (17%) To local establishments (78%)

General expenses

Expenses in radio are divided into five areas and were ranked as the following :

General administration expenses: 40% Programming costs: 20% Technological expenses: close to 20% Sales costs & News expenses: both

account for about 15%

Feedback for Radio The way to measure feedback in the radio

industry is done trough ratings and share of the audience, ending up in rating books.

Ratings is the ratio of listeners of a particular station to all people in the market.

Feedback for Radio(2) Share of the audience is the ratio of listeners of a

particular station to the total number of listeners in the radio market.

Statistics about radio audiences states that on a typical day about three-fourths of adults will listen to radio, for about three hours and during the early morning or the late afternoon.

The Radio Industry If a person is interested in working in the

radio industry she must acquire experience first.

There are two areas where it is easy to find a first job: programming (announcers ,djs) and sales departments.

The Radio Industry(2) For programming there is a rude

competition, but can access to chief announcer’s spot and program director.

For sales departments can access to sale manager position and general manager.