Communicating information to others had a lasting impact from time immemorial to this day when human civilization has advanced so much that he is now curious about other heavenly bodies apart from his home- the Earth. It was due to communication that early humans were able to transfer the gained knowledge to the next generations and the process is still going on today. In prehistoric times communication was made through crude paintings and other non-verbal forms like gestures mostly but as the civilizations progressed, the art of communication got a flip and advanced to a much more refined form that is in today’s written form. It aids our thought-sharing, emotional expression, and propagation of accumulated knowledge and experience, and abets our actions. Among other factors is the communication on which the progress and prosperity of a society depend.
Writing on dried leaves, clay tablets, and dried plant pulp were early attempts to have a reliable recording of information. With time, the urge to communicate with people fromfar-off places and to know their thoughts went further. Then came the era of letters and books. And this led to the never-ending race to get our words to reach far and far and as fast as possible. The discovery of electromagnetic waves led to further discoveries and inventions among which is the RADIO. The invention of RADIO had a notable impact on the overall scenario of long as well as short-range communication. It instantly became an integral part of the defense infrastructure of the nations at that time, particularly in the USA and Britain. Soon it was employed for public broadcasts also BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.) and VOA (Voice of America) were the prominent ones.
By the end of the last century, hardly there was any household that didn’t own a RADIO. It was a miracle never seen before to listen to another person’s voice who was speaking from oceans away through a plastic box thatcontained only a few transistors and capacitors. It seemed as if the person was speaking his heart sitting in front of us. The play of music made its use more and more prominent and an inseparable part of one’s life with each passing day. Contemporary technologies like televisioncame but due to its high cost at that time, it could not compete with the fame of RADIO. It revolutionized the prevalent media of communication which gave further impetus to awareness regarding world affairs, scientific research, and innovation to make it more refined and widespread.
Given the impact Radio has on our societies, February 13 was proclaimed World Radio Day (WRD) in 2012 by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and is celebrated every year with different themes. This year also, WRD has been dedicated to “Climate Change”. Human intervention in the past century has plagued the earth with detrimental climatic effects. Landslides in North India, wildfires in California, a foot of snow on US beaches, and frequent floods in China are some of the top headlines that we may not have forgotten yet.
Climate change is not a future phenomenon, it is happening right now. Every step whether at the local, national, or International level needs to be taken by everyone in every domain- literature, media (both print and electronic), government, educational and research institutions, and all allied ones. Radio is playing its part too.
Radio has contributed much to human progress and development, especially in the 20th century.The daily news updates, promotion of music, and provision of a platform where every aspect of life was discussed be it agriculture, education, politics, economy, or science to name of few. This in turn led to the inculcation of interest in all these fields among its listeners. Before it, the print media had its hard-core audience but it never affected the readership of the same. Unlike today’s social media and other platforms like YouTube which have eroded or made obsolete their previous technologies and platformsapart from the other cons, Radio never interfered with its contemporaries. It enjoyed its unique status and relevance. The listenership of Radio may certainly have come down but its core purpose to enlighten its listeners with diverse field knowledge has found new ways to serve the same.
Discussions on emerging issues due to climate change, radio podcasts to gain and share views from varied interested persons from across continents, expert panels to get exposure about how it needs to be dealt with scientifically, interaction withpolicy-makers to apprise them of implications/revisionsrequired to be taken into account for any proposed plans can be some of the ways Radio can be used in preparations if climate change is indeed a matter of concern for us. Engaging communities especially illiterate and technotard members in climate-centric discussions, and sharing experts’ views in the local language would have a more far-reaching impact as far as the challenge of climate change is concerned.Radio continues to be one of thetools still thriving in the competitive digital era and will remain so.
Due to cost-cutting and the shift of listeners to other digital platforms, many radio stations were shut down including the infamous BBC Urdu service which was liked by all young and old. Still, Radio remains a low-cost medium of awareness, entertainment, and real-time happenings around the globe for a wider audience. The Internet needs elaborate and high-resource equipment to access its services. In the event of any disaster, as we see today, unlike Radio communications, it is first to get affected. There is no issue with the Radio communications. Its services if affected in a certain area can be stored locally in a matter of hours through a low-power transmitter to cater to the demands of unforeseen situations. We still remember the 2014 deluge of Kashmir where Radio was last to get affected and first to get restored.
Indeed the younger generation prefers instant and interactive platforms for any change in society to happen for which their participation is imperative. Today, Radio lacks those characteristics and it is manifesting the symptoms, that is, a reduction in its listenership especially in the millennials and Gen-Z. That deficiency can be met with the innovations at production and broadcasting levels. Programs targeted to all age groups can revitalize the relevance of radio in the digital age.Realizing the importance and impact Radio can have on societies, the Government of India issued an advisory in 2023 to mobile phone manufacturers to make FM radio easily accessible on smartphones.
At least, there are three things no technology/ies we see or use today can match with the RADIO:
- No rentals after initial investment,
- Credible content at the time of emergencies and the like situations,
- Not so energy-consumptive.
The HAM radios- less known in this region of India are an integral part of the response stage of a disaster. Amateur HAM operators assist government agencies in sharingreal-time information with the relevant quarters. Unlike social media platforms, Public Radio broadcasters have a strict content regulatory watch which effectively avoids the menace of disinformation, fake news, and fallacy which have their consequences. The need of the hour is to employ new-age technologies like AI in production and DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) in broadcasting so that our ever favourite Radio catches up with its contemporaries and we can enjoy the conveniences it was invented for.
(Author is a columnist and can be reached at: [email protected])
