WHAT IS RADIO?LectureJune 27, 2014 – Friday3:00 – 6:00 p.m.

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES DEPARTMENT

WHAT IS RADIO?•Radio is the radiation (wireless transmission) of electromagnetic signals through the atmosphere or free space.

•Transmission and reception of electromagnetic waves of radio frequency especially those carrying sound messages

•Communication of audible signals encoded in electromagnetic wave

•Radio is a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is used for a wide range of business and non-business purposes.

ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY IS A TERM USED TO DESCRIBE ALL THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF ENERGIES RELEASED INTO

SPACE BY STARS SUCH AS THE SUN. THESE KINDS OF ENERGIES INCLUDE SOME THAT YOU WILL RECOGNIZE AND

SOME THAT WILL SOUND STRANGE. THEY INCLUDE:• Radio Waves• TV waves• Radar waves• Heat (infrared radiation)• Light• Ultraviolet Light (This is what causes Sunburns)• X-rays (Just like the kind you get at the doctor's office)• Short waves• Microwaves, like in a microwave oven

•We are living in an age of scientific wonders. One of these wonders is broadcasting. The meaning of the word is to send the news to people everywhere. But in modern times the term has come to mean to relay programs by wireless to the owners of radio sets. Now every country has its own radio-station from where all sorts of programs are broadcast to the nation and to the world at large.

ADVANTAGES OF BROADCASTING

•Radio is often considered as a talking newspaper where people can update themselves with the latest news and be in touch with the world events.

• We do not need to read the newspaper and exert our eyes. Lying down in our easy chair or bed, we may listen to the important news from the farthest corner of the world. Even illiterate persons can keep themselves abreast of world events by listening to the radio. So broadcasting is a boon for the literates and illiterates alike.

•Broadcasting is very useful for educating the people. People can listen to the talk and lectures of the great thinkers sitting in their rooms. The whole mankind can know the views of some great philosopher or leader of any country through his own words. Through special radio programs, classroom lessons of schools and colleges can be supplemented by broadcasting. Even the subjects which are said to be very dry can be made interesting by specialists.

•Broadcasting has placed entertainment. Radio station plays different types of music that range from hard music to jazz, rock, soft and classic, which the people can listen to the music according to their personal choice. Lovers of classical music may listen to the best singers. Those who have no ears for classical music may turn to light music. Still others like to enjoy short stories or dramas on their radios.

• The radio enables us to listen to the running commentaries. Even the clapping and the shouting of the spectators can be heard. The rural folk can listen to the programs, specially meant for them. • The radio can be used in commerce and industry. We hear advertisements of so many medicines, cosmetics and other articles. Business-men will know the ups and downs of the different markets. Hence, market reports are regularly aired on the radio.

•Broadcasting is a powerful medium of propaganda. The public can be educated in civic sense, health rules and other rules of public conduct. Corrupt politicians or considered as social evils can be removed by broadcasting. In war time, the radio helps the warring nations to keep up the morale of the people. Radio is also being used to explain the Government Develop Plans to the people. Thus it is an important medium of reconstruction.

•But now the Radio is facing stiff competition from the TV. There is a network of TV receivers all over the country. TV programs can now be viewed in every corner of the country. But the Radio will always have its own role and significance in the life of the nation.

THE IMPORTANCE OF RADIO IN THE 21ST CENTURY

• Advances in technology have given people more ways to access an increasing amount of information. Local and international news can be read in the newspaper, listened to on radio, watched on television and found on cell-phones or online. For those with access to these options, a wealth of information is always readily available. In countries where free expression is suppressed, access to technology is expensive or illiteracy rates are high, radio continues to play an important role in information sharing.

REPORTING OVER INTERNATIONAL

AIRWAVES• Radio broadcasts can provide real-time information, broadcasted 24 hours a day to provide the most recent updates to listeners. Stations have the ability to reach across borders and become a source of information where reliable news is scarce. When access to the internet is blocked and phone lines are cut, people can still search the airwaves for trustworthy sources. Even electricity is not a necessity for battery operated and hand-cranked radios.

RADIO JOURNALISTS AT RISK

• Radio journalists are at risk of harassment, intimidation and physical threats for their work. Stations around the world have had their signals blocked, their licenses to broadcast revoked and have been the target of attacks. Violations such as those below demonstrate that radio remains a powerful tool in disseminating information and are perceived as threats by some governments. Somalia and China are examples of countries where the authorities have taken steps to silence radio broadcasts.

THE ELEMENTS

OF RADIO

THE ELEMENTS OF RADIO

1.Human voice2.Music3.Sound effects4.Silence

HUMAN VOICE

Voice is a crucial element in radio. It can provoke different reactions to the listeners depending on its characteristics

• Speak slowly. Do not hurry!• Move your mouth as much as you can while pronouncing words• Do not laugh! (if not on script) take note there are people listening to you.

If we do not take care of our voice and the way we speak, it is not easy for the listener to understand your message

MUSIC

Music is very important. Its purpose is to generate the appropriate atmosphere so as to make language work on the listener and with the desired objective.

Music does not transmit ideas or concrete realities,

instead it works on emotions. The listener

would understand and feel different emotions

depending on the images and feelings generated by the music. It is one of the most meaningful elements

of the radio language.

MUSIC FUNCTIONS•Grammatical: it joins different spaces and identifies different contents and sections of the programme•Descriptive: when the music is part of the narration•As content: in musical programs

SILENCE

Silence is a very useful resource to put emphasis and atmosphere to the radio message.

However, there is usually not much place for silence in radio scripts. Silence can provide a message with tension, emotion and very deep feelings.

SILENCE FUNCTIONS:• Expressive: to represent emotional states.• Interactive: when doing interviews, the interviewer does not speak to stimulate the thinking time.• Narrative: to represent a gap in time.

SOUND EFFECTS

Sound effects are sounds produced by a human voice or by other things (e.g. animals, objects) which are neither words nor music. Noises and effects provoke the listener to imagine, thus they are very important in a radio message.

Sound Effects Function:

•Descriptive: effects are crucial in the process of building a sound landscape.

SOUND LANDSCAPES

Radio listeners create images in their minds with the help of these sound elements. A radio piece makes your listeners imagine.

Human voice, music, sound effects and

silence are the

that creates sound landscapes or sound images to the listeners