Radio
Day
Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee
13 February is observed as the World Radio Day. It was proclaimed on 3 November 2011 by UNESCO's 36th General Conference after originally being proposed by
Spain. Interestingly celebration of World Radio Day corresponds to the date of
creation of the United Nations Radio (UN Radio), on February 13, 1946
Every year
since 2014, Radio day is observed around a theme. Theme
of 2019 Radio Day is Dialogue, Tolerance and Peace.
World Radio Day 2014 had the theme ‘Gender
Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Radio’. 2015 Radio Day was observed around the theme of Youth and Radio, with the goal of increasing the participation of
young people in radio.
2016 had the theme Radio in Times of Emergency and Disaster, with the goal of
building partnerships with the humanitarian and emergency sector, as well as
the community at large.
2017 had an interesting theme "Radio is You" with the goal of
celebrating how audiences interact with radio.
2018 Radio Day was observed around the
theme of "Radio and Sports"
to celebrate momentous sporting events. It celebrated traditional sports that
connect people to their cultural heritage, the grassroots sports that play
important roles in communities, and the ways in which sports challenges gender
stereotypes and provides positive role models for young people around the
world.
Invented towards the fag end of
nineteenth century, Radio became a popular mass medium fairly quickly. On
November 2, 1920 Station KDKA made the first commercial broadcast in USA. Other
countries followed suit fairly quickly.
The
first experimental radio broadcast in India took place in Bombay (now Mumbai)
in 1921. More systematic radio broadcasts began in 1923 through radio clubs
located in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bombay and Madras (now Chennai). The Radio Club of Bombay broadcast the first
programme in 1923. This was followed by the setting up of a Broadcasting
Service that went on air on July 23, 1927 in Bombay under an agreement between
the Government of India and a private company named The Indian Broadcasting
Company Ltd. It marked the beginning of organised broadcasting in India.
Calcutta began its service five weeks later.
The first ever news bulletin in the
country went on air from the Bombay Station on July 23, 1927. A month later on
August 26, 1927 a news bulletin in Bengali was started from the Calcutta
Station. Until 1935, two bulletins, one each in English and Hindustani
were broadcast from Bombay and a bulletin in Bengali and English was broadcast
from Calcutta.
The Indian Broadcasting Company went into
liquidation in March, 1930 following which broadcasting came under the direct
control of the Government of India. It was Sir John Reith, founder and the
first Director General of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), who persuaded
the Government to have a national broadcasting service for India. The
Government appointed a BBC producer Lionel Fielden as the chief architect and
controller of what was initially named the Indian State Broadcasting Service
under the department of ‘Controller of Broadcasts’. It was renamed All
India Radio on June 8, 1936. (It also came to be known as Akashvani in
1956)
The breakthrough in news
broadcasting came after January 1936 when the first news bulletin from the
Delhi Station went on air on January 19, 1936 coinciding with the start of its
transmission. Besides, news bulletins in English and Hindustani, talk
shows on current affairs were also started in both the languages.
Decades later, Radio is still the most dynamic,
reactive and engaging medium there is, adapting to 21st century changes
and offering new ways to interact and participate. Where social media and
audience fragmentation can put us in media bubbles of like-minded people, radio
is uniquely positioned to bring communities together and foster positive
dialogue for change. By listening to its audiences and responding to their
needs, radio provides the diversity of views and voices needed to address the
challenges we all face.
Radio, besides being one of the most popular mass
medium is also recognized as a powerful communication tool and a low cost
medium. Radio is specifically suited to reach remote communities and vulnerable
people: the illiterate, the disabled, women, youth and the poor, while offering
a platform to intervene in the public debate, irrespective of people’s
educational level. Furthermore, radio has a strong and specific role in
emergency communication and disaster relief.
That precisely is the crux of the message of Un Secy
Gen. Antonio Guterres on the occasion of World Radio Day 2019[1]
“Even in today’s world of digital
communications, radio reaches more people than any other media platform.
It conveys vital information and raises
awareness on important issues.
And it is a personal, interactive platform
where people can air their views, concerns, and grievances. Radio can create a
community.
For the United Nations, especially our
peacekeeping operations, radio is a vital way of informing, reuniting and
empowering people affected by war.
On this World Radio Day, let us recognize
the power of radio to promote dialogue, tolerance and peace.”
Ms
Audrey Azoulay, DG of UNESCO elaborates on the theme of inclusive nature of Radio
in her message on the occasion of World Radio Day 2019
“Since its invention –
over a hundred years ago – radio has sparked new conversations and broadcast
new ideas into people’s homes, villages, universities, hospitals and
workplaces. To this day, dialogue across the airwaves can offer an antidote to
the negativity that sometimes seem to predominate online, which is why UNESCO works
across the world to improve the plurality and diversity of radio stations.
Radio is still one of
the most reactive, engaging media there is, adapting to 21st century changes
and offering new ways to interact and participate in the conversations that matter
– especially the most disadvantaged.
Rural women, for
example, constitute one of the most under-represented groups in the media. They
are twice as likely to be illiterate as men, so radio can be a critical
lifeline to express themselves and access information. UNESCO provides support
to radio stations in sub-Saharan Africa that enable women to participate in
public debate, including on often-neglected issues such as forced marriage,
girls’ education or childcare.
In former conflict
zones, radio can dispel fear and present the human face of former foes, as in
North-West Colombia where community radios – supported by UNESCO – are healing
old wounds by highlighting the good deeds of demobilized combatants, such as
clearing polluted waterways.
Linguistic diversity on
air is also crucial – people’s right to express themselves on-air in their own
languages, which takes on special meaning this year as UNESCO leads the
international community in celebrating the International Year of Indigenous
Languages.
Around the world – from
radio stations for shack-dwellers in Kenya, to minorities in Mongolia or
indigenous communities in Mexico – inclusion of diverse populations make our
societies more resilient, more open and more peaceful. The challenges we face –
whether they be climate change, conflict or the rise in divisive views –
increasingly depend on our ability to speak to each other and find common
solutions.”
In India growing number
of Community Radio Stations are doing precisely this. By end 2018, there are
258 Community Radio Stations (CRS) in India, 16 functioning CRS in Odisha.
There is also a changing face to radio services, which
in the present times of media convergence, are taking up new technological
forms. Internet Radio and podcasting are changing the radio ecosphere like
never before.
However, the basic tenets of radio as a mass medium
remain intact. Now it is up to us- to
utlise the strengths of radio to our benefit- worldwide.
***
94370 26194
12.2.19
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