Radio days of imagination
Comfortable in a warm bed, thinking of getting ready for school, but not wanting to get out of that warm zone, I decisively move my right hand back under my secret pillow and feel the yellow square with many tiny holes in it. Yes, its still there, a slight smile forms on my face as I slowly pull out the shiny transistor radio my Father bought me a week back from a shop in Piccadilly Circus — London. It is the early seventies, and although I am not the TV series ‘Danger Man’ nor ‘The Prisoner’, I still think that I have the tools in the form of this transistor radio.
So I turn it on and push it towards my ear, turn the dial to a secret position for a clear quality of sound and listen to radio presenter Tony Blackburn in his early morning breakfast show. As the show begins with music, my imagination suddenly wakes up as I hear the dog barks in the show, I feel that the dog is in the radio studio, and as it is only my imagination, I can have the four legged friend look anyhow I want. It could be a Greatdane or a Mongrel puppy, anything, depending on my morning mood. I could also make it an alien dog from the 5th universe in the 7th dimension. Could this be the power of radio I think to myself in 2017?
The point I am trying to make is that radio is an effective medium, it has a place of its own. That place may be transferred to podcasts or various types of soundbites, nevertheless, radio has had an important part to play in our lives. More importantly, good radio makes you think, it actually make you use your imagination, as there are no pictures, therefore you have to create your own.
The radio listener should get the feeling of a one to one relationship with the presenter, the information given on air, topic and of course the music being played are all important factors. One now has radio on their smartphones along with the internet options of podcasts and other voice related applications. We have indeed come a long way, lets hope that we can keep in focus with the many interesting forms of communication coming our way.
Maybe one of the reasons that radio is still so prevalent in our society is because it is readily available. Most people listen to radio in their cars on their way to and from work, though after those times of the day, the number of listeners drops off as many end up at computers or are busy during the day. The morning breakfast show with timings from 6am till 11am to the evening drive-time show from 5pm till 8pm can also be one of the most commercial times for radio. The magical mix here is to hopefully keep the program and adverts in a healthy balance if possible, now that where more imagination takes place.
Blessings to you
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