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Radio: Who needs pictures in a digital

world? The medium is still remarkably
resilient
We live in a digital world, yet radio is proving remarkably resilient,
and more relevant than ever
Clare Dwyer Hogg | @claredwyerh | Sunday 23 February 2014 | 0comments

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Even in the digital world, radio is still proving popular Alamy

Well,itturnsoutthatvideodidntkilltheradiostarafterall.As
muchastelevisionstillenchantswithchimerafortheeye,
increasingnumbersofusarechoosingtocloseoureyesand
listen,too.Moreandmorepeoplearetuningintotheradio:
guresaresteadilyrising,yearonyear.
Somehow,eventhoughthisisagenerationthathasalwayshad
radio,itsclimbingpopularityfeelscounterintuitive:weexistin
anageinwhichnewtechnologyisercelycompeting,and
consistentlyevolving,toallowindividualstobeaspowerfulin
theirpersonallisteninghabitsaspossible.Andyet,despiteiPods
anddigitaldownloads,accesstomusicandprogramming,despite
independentpodcastsfromallovertheworld,playlistsand
geniusversionsofplaylists,andgigabytesworthofinformation
straightfromtheinternettoourear,themostrecentguresfrom
RAJAR/IpsosMori/RSMBshowthat91percentoftheUK

populationistuningin(orsearching,tappinginandscrolling
down)toaradiostationeachweek.Thattranslatesas48.38
millionpeople;36.22millionofwhomarelisteningtotheBBC
acorporationfoundedin1922,inanerawhenradioitselfwasstill
consideredsomewhatmagical.
Orperhapsitsnotcounterintuitiveatall.Wehavehadradiofor
solongthatithasimplanteditselfinourconsciousness.Itisa
mediumthatrequiresourimaginationtobeactiveinthe
listening,andsohasadierentandinherentlineageforeach
listener.Wecantseetheinterviewees,thestory-tellersorthe
musicians.Wehavetoimaginethem,listentowhattheyre
sayingrst,ratherthaninstantlyforminganimpressionofthem
becauseoftheirhaircutoroutt.Radioismorenebulousthan
television,butperhapsmorefar-reachingbecauseofit.
Inthesameway,familiarvoices,lessquicktoageandchange
thanfaces,aretriggersformemories,soundtrackstoperiodsof
life.Beforetellingmeastory,myfatherusedtosay,Areyou
sittingcomfortably?ThenIllbeginadirectquotefromListen
WithMother,theBBCradioprogrammethathelistenedtoevery
dayasayoungchildintheearly1960s.Theradioshow
ChildrensFavouritescamefromthesameera,too.Itbeganwith
thecatchphraseHellochildreneverywhere,andplayedtunes
suchasNellietheElephantandTheRunawayTrain.My
parentsnostalgicallyplayedmethecassettesfromtheradioshow
whenIwaslittle,andnowIlistentothesamesongswithmyown
smallchildren,fromwhattheycalltheputer(iTunes).Itsa
kindofheritage,alinethrough.

(Alamy)

Andjustlikevotinghabits,manyfamilieshaveanallegianceto
particularstationssport,news,musicthatbecomea
subliminalimprint.Mymother,fromthesouthofIrelandbut
livinginthenorth,wouldneverbewithoutRTE,thenational
radiostationofherbirthplace.Whenshecomestovisitmein
London,shelistensonline,andsuddenlymykitchenhovers
betweenworlds:globalnewsisheardfromadierentslant,and
hearingthattracisbadonalittleroadinCarrigaline,County

Cork,callsuphalf-recollectionsofthis,oneofthesoundtracksto
myexistence.(Icanstillrememberoneoftheadvertsfromthat
stationobyheart,saidinafaux-American,butclearlyIrish,
accent:CometoBarrysHotel.Youllmeetallthestarsthere
theresDeclanNerney,andLouiseMarcy,andBigTom,too.
Thursdaynightisnursesnight!)
CerysMatthews,whoseSundaymorningprogrammeisthe
biggestsingleshowonBBCsdigitalstation6Music,isa
passionateadvocateofhowradiocanweaveintotheday-to-day.
Ilovethatyoucanhaveradiotoenhanceyourlife,Matthews
says,fromacracklingtelephone,asshedrivestoWales.People
arelisteningwhiletheyrecooking,painting,doinggraphic
designtelevision[canbe]intrusive,butradioisintimateand
all-giving:yourlifeisntonholdwhileitsucksyourattention.
Throughouthershow,shegetstweetsfromlistenersinNairobi
andUkraine,BrazilandAddisAbabaand,intheUK,people
areconstantlygettingintouch:great-grandmothers,parentsof
newborns,fansinshelteredaccommodation,andstudents.Itsa
mismatchofdemographicthatdoesnttintoanyneatstatistic,
yetallstrangelyunitedbywhattheyrehearing.Thisishowradio
reallyworksalongsidethedigitalrevolution.Andthisabilityis,
shethinks,oneofitsstrengths.Itfeelsfresh,shesays,and
moresothantelevision,withitscapacitytorespondtowhim.If
Ihearorreadsomethinginteresting,Icanputitintotheshow
hourslater.Lackofvisuals,shelaughs,circumventsallthose
horribledrearythingsmake-upandstylists[televisionhas]
becomeabitliketheSeventiesagain,alltoostylisedand
marketed.

Something in the air: ignoring genre boundaries, Cerys Matthews hosts the
biggest show on the BBC's 6 Music (Rhys Frampton)

Itstheoppositeofthisthecreativityoftheradioformatthat
reallydrivesher.Thefreedomwevegotnowtondandsource
musicontheinternetmeansthatpeoplecandigestthings
dierently,shesays,referencingthefactthatheradventurous
weeklyshow,whichbearsgoodcomparisontoBobDylans
emeTimeRadioHour,journeysthroughsoundscapesfrom
multiplegenresanderasthatareimpossible,asalistener,to

predict.Ithinkwecancopewithitwereintelligentenough
theearnevertires.Matthewsdoesntworkoacertiedstation
playlist:shepicksallthesongsandtheguestsherself.Her
listeninggureshavebeenincreasingsinceshestartedin2008,
andthestationrecentlyextendedhertwo-hourshowbyanhour.
BobShennanisafan,whichisagoodthingsincehes
Matthewssboss:and,asthecontrollerofRadio2,Radio6Music
andtheAsianNetwork,heismorethancognisantofthe
listeninggures.Weallthinkaboutitalot,hesays.Thereare
somanydierentwaysthatpeoplecanaccesscontentthe
challengeistokeepthemlistening.Shennanwasgivenhisrole
in2008,justas6MusicandtheAsianNetworkwereunder
threatofbeingslashedfromtheBBCportfolio.Ahuge
groundswellofpublicprotestsaved6MusicitisnowtheUKs
leadingdigitalstation,with1.96millionlistenersandhewas
chargedwithstreamliningtheAsianNetwork.Listenershipfor
thatstationnowsitsat668,000andrising,andasuccessasfaras
Shennanisconcerned,workingat45percentofitsoriginal
budget.Italsonowhasaremittodeliverwhathecallsimpact
journalismbybreakingstoriesthattransfertoothernews
outlets.Sowhilenon-Asiansmaynotspecicallylistentothe
station,theywillhaveheardsignicantstoriesthatoriginated
fromthere:BritishMuslimswhoriskedtheirlivestodeliveraid
toSyria,orhowAsianfootballersarerepresentedinthe
professionalgame.Whyisradiostillsomagnetic?heasks.It
isverypersonalinthewaytelevisionndsitdiculttobe.
Maybeitisthatinaworldwherechoicecanbecataclysmic,we
reallylikesomeonetocurateitallforus.Andifwendastation
thatappeals,itfeelsinourinternallandscapelikeahome.
Havingtobroadcastfromaboatjusttoplaycertaintypesof
musicseemsprettyalientoourdownloadculturenownotleast
whenguresthisweekshowdigitalmusicrevenuesfrom
servicessuchasSpotifyandDeezeraccountforhalfoftheUK
musicindustrysincome.Buttheethosofpirateradiononeed
tobowtothemainstreamplaylisthasntdisappeared.Ithasjust
evolved.

Thankstodigitalstreaming,enterprisessuchastheBoilerRoom,
whichstartedoasaclubineastLondon,havebeenborn.Since
itsrstlivestreamingofaDJsetin2010,theBoilerRoomisnow
amajorbroadcasterofundergroundmusic.Organisingexclusive
DJperformancesinsmallvenuesthatarethenstreamedliveto
listenersaroundtheworld(whoarevocalonsocialnetworks
throughout),theBoilerRoommixeshavegoneglobal.On
Twitter,itsprolereadsTheworlds[sic]leadingunderground
musicshow,whichseemsapt:itnowhasocesinNewYork,
BerlinandLosAngeles,isattractingbignamesandhasasteadily
risingTwitterfollowing,whichstandsat154,000.Itsatribe,a
community.

Both James Naughtie, left and Andrew Marr, right, have got themselves in hot
water for mis-pronouncing the name of cultural secretary Jeremy Hunt

Thesenseofcommunityinaradiostationholdstrueacrossthe
spectrum.In2008,Radio4sTodayprogrammeintervieweda
BritishbusinessmanoverthetelephonefromMumbai,justafter
hehadsurvivedtheshootingsbymembersofLashkar-e-Taiba.
Hebrokedownintearshalfwaythrough:thesoundofthe
interviewersvoice,hesaid,wasreassuring;backintheUK,he

listenedtotheTodayprogrammeeverymorning.Thevoices
werehometohim,ever-present,incontrol.Maybethatfeelingis
whyitseemsfunnywhenordinarilycomposedpresentersmake
mistakes.ThenotoriousslipofthetonguethatbothJames
NaughtieandAndrewMarrmadeonaironRadio4inDecember
2010whenintroducingJeremyHunt,theculturesecretary,as
somethingratherdierentsparkedgreatmerrimentandmade
headlinesitself.AndtherecordingofTodaysordinarilysupercomposedCharlotteGreencollapsingintogigglesasshetriedto
recoverfrompresentingtheearliestrecordingofthehuman
voice(whichsoundeduncannilylikeabee),hasbeenlistenedto
onYouTube191,654times.

Inthisway,radioseemstobemovinginharmonywiththe
constantlyevolvingtechnologyswirlingaroundit.Lastweek,
Radio4sMishalHusainpresentedafeatureaboutthespecial
eectsusedforthe(nowaward-winning)lmGravity,and
conductedaveryintelligiblediscussionabouthowthespacesuits
youseeSandraBullockandGeorgeClooneywearingonscreen
dontactuallyexist.Itallseemedperfectlyreasonableuntil
Husaintweetedalinkafterwardstoananimation,aprevisualisationthatthelm-makersused,toimaginewhatthenal
resultwouldbe.Sheexplainedthatshehaddonethistobackup
ourattemptstotalkaboutvisualeectsontheradio.Thisis
whereradioreallychimeswiththedigitalage.Ithasthe
immeasurablereachofmillionsofimaginationsandithas
backup.Husainhas130,000followersonTwitter:suddenly,what
radiostationscalltheirreachismagnied.

Punk pioneer Iggy Pop remembered one of his inuences, the writer William
Burroughs, in a documentary for the BBC

Radiohasrediscovereditsoldeetoffootvalues,agrees
DavidPrest,themanagingdirectorofWhistledown,an
independentradioproductioncompanywhichisalsooneofthe
largestsupplierstotheBBC.Theresanappreciationfrom
programmemakersthatwehavetoberespondinginthehere
andnow.Peopleexpecttohearthenewsrstonradio,andthen
expectbetterqualitydiscussionandanalysis,andmorequickly.
Prest,asrecipientoftheRadioAcademysIndieoftheYearin
2012,isverymuchalivetohowradioisevolving.Anon-air
listencanbeturnedintoaviraldownloadovernight.Itgives
programmesanafterlife,aglobalaudience,andisrapidly
changingthewaypeopleconsume,hesays.Hemadetherecent
Radio4IggyPopdocumentaryonWilliamBurroughs,andfeels
thatradioisbecomingincreasinglyedgy,commissioning
programmesthatbeforewouldhavebeenconsidered
dangerous.(PrestalsomadetheTonyHarrisonVpoem
lledwithtaboowords,noFreudianslipsneededfortheBBC,
whichisasclearanexampleofhispointasany.)

Meanwhile,overonRadio1,theTwitterfeedisfollowedby1.67
millionpeople,whoreceiveconstantupdatesaboutsongchoices,
competitions,upcomingguests.Andthelisteners,mostlyteens
andstudentswhoaretooledupwhenitcomestosocialmedia
tweetback.Aconversationishappeningintheether,
simultaneoustowhateverishappeninginthesoundwaves.The
wirelessreallyhasgonewireless.
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