Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Radio Program Format
Radio Program Format
FormatsofRadioProgrammes
Radio
11
Notes
FORMATSOFRADIO
PROGRAMMES
Youarebynowfamiliarwitharadiostation.Thepreviouslessonhelpedyoutounderstand
howaradiostationworks.
Whenyoureadapopularmagazine,youwillcomeacrossvariousthings.Therewillbeanattractivecover,
advertisementsofdifferentproducts,storiesorarticlesonissuesrangingfrompoliticstosportsandcinema,
interviewsandotherfeatures.
Similarly,aradiostationalsobroadcastsprogrammesofdifferenttypes.Thinkofthedifferenttypesof
programmesyouhaveheardonradio.Youwouldprobablyrememberfilmsongs,phonein
programmes,talks,discussions,news,cricketcommentariesetc.Thesedifferenttypesofprogrammes
arecalledformats.
OBJECTIVES
Afterstudyingthislesson,youwillbeabletodothefollowing:
listthefactorstobetakenintoaccountformakingaradioprogramme;
describethedifferentformatsofradioprogrammes;
explaintheingredientsofaradioprogramme;
identifythetechnologybasedformats.
FACTORSTOBETAKENINTOACCOUNTFORMAKINGARADIO
PROGRAMME
Thinkofthevillageortowninwhichyoulive.Youfindpeoplebelongingtoallcommunitiesmen
andwomen,richandpoor.RadioplaysaveryimportantroleinthelivesofthepeopleofIndia.
Thoughthereareplentyofrichpeopleandhighlydevelopedcities,amajorityofourpeopleare
poorandalargenumberofthemcannotreadorwrite.Sotheonlymediumthatcanreallyreach
themtoinform,educateandentertainistheradio.Radiostationsespeciallythoserunbythe
governmentperformapublicserviceduty.
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FormatsofRadioProgrammes
Nearestradio
stations/Televisi
onstations
Therequirementsoflistenersofradiostationsarenotthesame.Toserve
them,weneedtoknowmanyfactsaboutthem.Letusmakealistofwhatwe
Climateofthe
shouldknowabouttheaudience:
place
Numberofpeoplei.e.thetotalpopulationofthearea.
NumberofmenandwomenSexratio
Literatepeople/Illiteratepeople
Thelanguagesspokeninthearea.
Schools/Colleges
Childrengoingtoschool
Healthfacilitiesavailabilityofdoctors,primaryhealthcentre,clinics,
hospitals.
Anymajordiseases
Main
occupationof
thepeople
Incomeper
head/people
belowpoverty
line
Roads/transport
facilities
Irrigation
facilities
Numberof
peopleengaged
in
agriculture/othe
roccupations.
Religionsintheareapopulationwise
Typesofcrops.
Powersupply
Youcanaddmanymoreissuestothislist.Weneedtoknowthesefactsto
decidethelanguage,thetypeofbroadcast,timingofprogrammesetc.Radio
formatsthereforearedecidedonthebasisoftheneedsoftheaudience.
MODULE - 3
Radio
INTEXTQUESTIONS11.1
Listanyfivefactorsthatyouneedtotakeintoaccountaboutthelisteners
beforemakingaradioprogramme.
Writethenamesofanyfiveprogrammesyouhaveheardonradio.
Notes
Fllintheblankswithappropriateword/s:
Theonlymediumtoreachtheilliteratepeopletoinform,_______and
entertainthemisthe_______.
MASSCOMMUNICATION
137
MODULE - 3
Notes
Radio
FormatsofRadioProgrammes
Aradiostationbroadcastsprogrammesliketalks,discussions,_______,
_______and_______.
Itisimportanttoknowtherequirementsofthelistenerstodecide
ofbroadcast
and_________
and_________
ofprogrammes.
Radio
programmes
aredecidedon
thebasisof
_________.
11.2TYPES
OFRADIO
FORMATS
aregoingtolistento.Thesearecalledannouncements.Announcementshave
beentraditionallymadebypeoplewhoareknownasannouncers.The
commercialradiochannelsmaycallthemRadioJockeys(RJs)oranchor
persons.Beforeyoulearnaboutthedifferentradioformats,youmustknowthe
ingredientsofaradioformat.
Asyouknowmostofwhatisspokenonradioiswrittendown.Asyouhave
alreadylearntthatwhatiswrittenforradioisheardandisreferredtoas
spokenwordasagainstthewrittenword.Butthespokenwordsonradio
iswrittendownorwhatisgenerallycalledscripted.ARadioformatcanbe
splitintothreeparts:Theyare:
SpokenWordorHumanVoice
Music
Doyou
rememberthe
programmes
youhaveheard
onradio.Try
andrecallsome
ofthem.You
mayhaveheard
thenamesof
radiostations,
fromwherethe
programmesare
broadcast.Many
ofyouwould
remember
VividhBharati,
AIRFMGold
orsomeprivate
commercial
station.Youmay
alsoremember
thetimebeing
mentionedand
what
programmeyou
SoundEffects
Allradioformatshavetheabovethreeingredients.Soletusfirstclassifythe
spokenwordformat.
SPOKENWORD
Announcements:Thesearespecificallywrittenclearmessagestoinform.They
canbeofdifferenttypes.Forexamplestation/programmeidentification.These
mentionthestationyouaretunedinto,thefrequency,thetimeandthe
programme/songyouaregoingtolistento.Asmentionedalreadyyoufindin
todayscommercialradiochannels,theseannouncementshavebecomeinformal
andresembleordinaryconversation.Therecanbemorethanonepresenterinsome
programmeslikemagazines.
Radiotalk:Theradiotalkprobablyistheoldestformatonradio.Therehasbeena
traditioninIndiaandBritaintoinviteexpertsorprominentpersonstospeakfor10
or15minutesonaspecifictopic.Thesetalkshavetogothroughaprocessofbeing
changedintoradiosspokenwordstyle.Overtheyears,
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FormatsofRadioProgrammes
theselongradiotalkshavebecomeunpopular.Instead,today,shorter
durationtalksarebroadcast.Ofcourse,youcanlistentothesetalksonlyon
publicservicebroadcastingstations.
Radiointerviews:Haveyoueverinterviewedanyone?Probablyyes.Inthemedia,
beitthenewspaper,magazine,radioortelevision,journalistsusethistechniqueof
askingquestionstogetinformation.Therecanbedifferenttypesofinterviewsin
termsoftheirduration,contentandpurpose.
Firstly,therearefullfledgedinterviewprogrammes.Thedurationofthesemay
varyfrom10minutesto30minutesoreven60minutesdependinguponthetopic,
andthepersonbeinginterviewed.Mostofsuchinterviewsarepersonalitybased.
Youmighthaveheardoflonginterviewswithwellknownpeopleinthefieldof
publiclife,literature,science,sports,filmsetc.
Secondly,thereareinterviewswhichareusedinvariousradioprogrammeslike
documentaries.Heretheinterviewsareshort,questionsspecificandnotmany.The
purposeistogetaverybrief,tothepointanswer.
Thirdlytherearealotofinterviewsorinterviewbasedprogrammesinnewsand
currentaffairsprogrammes.Haveyouheardsuchinterviewsonradio?
Withphoneinprogrammesbecomingpopular,youmighthaveheardlive
interviewswithlisteners.Theseinterviewshavebeenmadeinteractive.
Thereisanothertypeofinterviewbasedprogramme.Heregenerallyjustoneor
twoquestionsareputacrosstoordinarypeopleorpeoplewithknowledgeonsome
currenttopictomeasurepublicopinion.Forexamplewhenthegeneralbudgetor
therailwaybudgetispresentedintheparliament,peoplerepresentingradiogoout
andaskthe
generalpublic
abouttheir
opinion.Their
namesand
identitymaynot
beasked.Such
programmesare
calledvoxpop
whichisaLatin
phrasemeaning
voiceofpeople.
Youhavetobe
veryinquisitive
andhard
workingtobea
radio
interviewer
withgood
general
awarenessand
communication
skills.
Radio
discussions:
Whenyouhavea
probleminyour
familyorwith
yourfriends,dont
yousayletus
discuss?Yeswe
do.Througha
discussionwecan
findoutasolution
toproblems.In
anydiscussion
therearemore
than2or3peopleandthenideascanbepooledtocometosomeconclusion.Inradio,
thistechniqueisusedtoletpeoplehavedifferentpointsofviewonmattersofpublic
concern.Radiodiscussionsareproducedwhentherearesocialoreconomicissues
whichmaybecontroversial.Sowhendifferentexpertsmeetanddiscusssuchissues,
peopleunderstandvariouspointsofview.Generally,thesediscussionsonradioareof
longerdurationsay15to30minutes.Twoorthreepeoplewhoareknownfortheir
viewsandawellinformedseniorpersonorjournalistwhoactsasamoderatortakepart
anddiscussaparticulartopicforabout30minutes.Themoderatorconductsthe
discussion,introduces
MODULE - 3
Radio
Notes
MASSCOMMUNICATION
139
MODULE - 3
FormatsofRadioProgrammes
Radio
thetopicandtheparticipantsandensuresthateveryonegetsenoughtimeto
speakandallissuesarediscussed.
Notes
Radiodocumentaries/features:Ifyouseeafilminamoviehall,itisgenerallya
featurefilm,whichisstorybasedandnotreal.Buttherearealsodocumentaryfilms
whicharebasedonrealpeopleandissues.Alotofprogrammesyouseeontelevision
areeducationalandpublicservicedocumentaries.Radioalsohasthisformat.Unlike
documentaryfilms,radiodocumentarieshaveonlysoundi.e.thehumanvoice,music
andsoundeffects.Soaradiodocumentaryisaprogrammebasedonrealsoundsand
realpeopleandtheirviewsandexperiences.Radiodocumentariesarebasedonfacts
presentedinanattractivemannerordramatically.Radiodocumentariesareradiosown
creativeformat.Theproducerofadocumentaryneedstobeverycreativetousehuman
voice,script,musicandsoundeffectsveryeffectively.Radiodocumentariesarealso
calledradiofeatures.
Radiodrama:ARadiodramaoraradioplayislikeanyotherplaystagedina
theatreorahall.Theonlydifferenceisthatwhileastageplayhasactors,stage,
sets,curtains,
properties
movementand
liveaction,a
radioplayhas
only3
components.
Theyarethe
humanvoice,
musicandsound
effects.Radioof
courseusesits
greateststrength
forproducing
radioplaysand
thatisthepower
ofimagination
andsuggestivity.
Forexample,if
youwanttohave
asceneinaradio
playofanorth
Indianmarriage,
youdonthave
140
allphysicalarrangementsmade.Allthatyouhavetodoistouseabrighttuneon
theshehnaiandexcitedvoicesofpeopletocreateinalistenersimagination,a
weddingscene.Thevoiceoftheactors,musicandsoundeffectscancreateany
situationinaradioplay.
Runningcommentaries:Ifyoucantgotoseeafootballorcricketmatchina
stadium,youmaywatchitontelevision.Butforthatyouhavetobeathomeorat
someplacewherethereisatelevision.Butifyouaretravellingoroutside,thenyou
maylistentoradioforarunningcommentaryofthematch.Acommentatorwould
giveyouallthedetailsofthematchsuchasthenumberofplayers,thescore,
positionoftheplayersinthefieldetc.Sobylisteningtotherunningcommentary,
yougetafeelingofbeinginthestadiumandwatchingthematch.Thecommentator
needsgoodcommunicationskills,agoodvoiceandknowledgeaboutwhatisgoing
on.Runningcommentariesonradiocanbeonvarioussportseventsoron
ceremonialoccasionsliketheRepublicDayParadeoreventslikefestivals,melas,
rathyatras,swearinginceremonyofministers,lastjourney(funeralprocession)of
nationalleadersetc.Todayradiorunningcommentariesespeciallyofcricketand
othersportscanbeheardonyourmobilephones.
Magazineprogrammes:Youarefamiliarwithmagazineswhichareaformofprint
media.Theyarepublishedweekly,biweekly,fortnightlyormonthly.Therearegeneral
magazinesandmagazinesforspecificreaders.These
MASSCOMMUNICATION
FormatsofRadioProgrammes
magazinescouldbeforchildren,women,youthoronhealth,sports,science
ormusic.Ifyouopenanyoneofthesemagazines,youwillfindarticles,
reviews,features,photofeaturesetc.Radioalsohasmagazineprogrammes
likethoseintheprintmedia.
Aradiomagazineisbroadcastataparticulartimeonaparticulardayofaweekor
amonth.Thatmeansithasperiodicity.Similarlyithasplentyofvarietyin
contents.Someormanyformatsofradioareincludedinaradiomagazine.These
maybetalks,discussions,interviews,reviews,musicetc.Likewise,thedurationof
eachprogrammeoriteminamagazineprogrammealsovary.Another
characteristicofa
radiomagazineis
thatithasa
signaturetune.A
signaturetuneis
anattractive
pieceofmusic
whichisspecific
toaprogramme.
Itcanbelikethe
masthead(title)
ofamagazine.A
magazine
programmealso
hasanameand
oneortwo
presentersor
anchorpersonswholinkthewholeprogramme.Inthebeginning,thetitlesofthe
daysprogrammewillbegivenbythepresentersafterthesignaturetune.Theyalso
givecontinuityandlinkthewholemagazine.
MODULE - 3
Radio
Magazineprogrammesaregenerallybroadcastforaspecialorspecific
audience.Asthenamesuggests,aspecificaudiencereferstolistenerswith
specificneedsasmentionedinthebeginning.
NEWS:Amongallthespokenwordformatsonradio,newsisthemostpopular.News
bulletinsandnewsprogrammesarebroadcasteveryhourbyradiostations.InIndia,
onlyAllIndiaRadioisallowedtobroadcastnews.Durationofnewsbulletinsvary
from5minuteto30minutes.Thelongernewsbulletinshaveinterviews,features,
reviewsandcommentsfromexperts.
Notes
MUSIC:Whenwesayradio,thefirstthingthatcomestoourmindismusic.Somusic
isthemainstayinradio.Thereisnoradiowithoutmusic.Musicisusedindifferent
waysonradio.Thereareprogrammesofmusicandmusicisalsousedindifferent
programmes.Theseincludesignaturetunes,musicusedaseffectsinradioplaysand
features.IndiahasagreatheritageofmusicandradioinIndiareflectsthat.Letus
understandthedifferenttypesofmusic.
ClassicalMusic
Thereare3typesofclassicalmusicinIndia.Theyare:
Hindustaniclassical
Carnaticclassical
Westernclassical
Therearealsovocalandinstrumentalmusicforms.Therearealsolight
classicalmusicformslike,ThumriandDadra.Insturmentalmusicforms
includestring(sitar,sarodetc.)wind(likeflutes,shehnai)andpercussion
(drum)instruments.Youmighthaveheardsuchmusiconradio.
MASSCOMMUNICATION
MODULE - 3
Radio
141
formofmusic?Youwouldmostprobablysayfilmmusic.Whiletherearefilm
songsindifferentlanguages,theonewithanationalappealandpopularityis
Hindifilmsongs.Onmostradiostations,beitpublicserviceorcommercial,
Hindifilmssongsareheardeverywhere.
Lightwesternandpopmusicarealsopopularamongsomegroupsoflisteners
andthereisalargesectionofyoungpeoplelisteningtowesternpopmusic.
SOUNDEFFECTS
Letusseehowsoundcanbeusedinradioformats.
Notes
Formatsof
Radio
Programmes
Soundcanplayamajorroleinevokinginterest.
Soundcanbeusedforcomiceffectstoevokelaughter
Soundcanbeusedtocreatecertainmoodsorenhancethem.
Youmayknow
ofalarge
varietyof
devotionaland
INTEXTQUESTIONS11.2
folkmusicin
yourareaand
acrossthe
Fillintheblankswithappropriateword/s:
country.Which
arebroadcast
onradio.
Announcersarealsoknownas____,_____.
Butwhichisthe
Whateveriswrittenforradioisalsoknownas____.
mostpopular
Differentiatebetweenaradiodiscussionandaradiodrama.
Announcements
mentionthe
________you
aretunedinto,
________
Matchthefollowing:
i)
and________
ofbroadcast.
announcements
a)
republicdayparade
Therecanbe
differenttypesof
radiointerviews
intermsof
________,
ii)
commentary
b)
oldestradioformat
________and
purpose.
iii)
interviews
c)
Afilmbasedon
realpeopleand informlisteners
issuesiscalled
iv)
a________.
discussion
d)
Listthe
ingredientsofa askingquestions
radioformat.
v)
radiotalk
e)
moderator
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MASSCOMMUNICATION
FormatsofRadioProgrammes
11.3INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGYBASEDFORMATS
Indiahastakengiantleapsinthefieldofinformationtechnologyandradio
asamedium,hastakenaleadinapplyinginformationtechnologyinits
broadcasts.Letusdiscusssomeoftheseformats:
PhoneinprogrammeInthisageoftechnologicaldevelopment,phoneinisthe
mostimportantformat.Thisiscalledinteractiveprogrammingwherethelistener
andthepresentertalktoeachother.Theirtalkgoesonairinstantly.Thelistenerhas
thesatisfactionthathisvoiceisbeinglistenedtoandrepliedimmediately.Other
listenersalsolistentohim.Suchpresentationsneedadvancepublicitysothatthe
listenersgetreadytoairtheirgrievances/queriesorrequests.Theydialupthe
announcedtelephonenumberatastipulatedtimeandgettheirproblemsdiscussed
withexpertsinthestudio.Initiallythisformatwasintroducedforplayingthe
listenersrequestbasedfilmsongs.Nowitisbeingusedforhealthrelated
Fig.11.1:Phone
programmes,ruralbroadcasts,complaintsagainstthegovernment/administrative
inprogramme
machineryetc.
Radiobridge:
Radiobridge
meansconnecting
differentstations
throughoutthe
lengthand
breadthofthe
country.Inthis
technique,for
example,an
expertsittingat
Chennaican
interactwiththe
commonmanin
thestudioin
Delhi.This
formatwasfirst
usedbyAllIndia
Radioduring
elections.
MODULE - 3
Radiooninternet:Radiooninternetisagrowingphenomenonwiththousandsof
radiostationsoperatingthroughcomputermodems.Itisaltogetheranewformatthat
removestherestrictionsoffrequencyorlicense.Itisrelatively
Radio
Notes
MASSCOMMUNICATION
143
MODULE - 3
FormatsofRadioProgrammes
Radio
cheaptosetup.Ithascertainadvantagesaswellasdisadvantages.Nowall
thenationalandinternationalradiostationslikeBBC,VoiceofAmerica,and
AllIndiaRadioareavailableoninternet.Itisnowpossibletolistentothe
programmesfromaradiostationwhileworkingonthecomputer.
Notes
Fig.11.2
AllIndiaRadiostarteditsservicesoninterneton1stMay1998.Withthis,itwaspossibleto
extendthecoverageofprogrammestoallpartsoftheworldincludingUSAandCanada.
INTEXTQUESTIONS11.3
Fillintheblankswithappropriateword/s:
Aphoneinprogrammeisalsocalled_________programming.
AIRstarteditsinternetserviceson_________.
Phoneinprogrammesneedadvance_________.
Radiobridgemeans_________differentradiostations.
ListanythreeITbasedradioformats.
Mentionanythreeareaswherephoneinprogrammesareused.
Nametheradioformatwhichisavailablethroughacomputer.
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MASSCOMMUNICATION
FormatsofRadioProgrammes
MODULE - 3
Radio
11.4WHATYOUHAVELEARNT
Formatsofradioprogrammes
Factorstobetakenintoaccountformakingaradioprogramme
Notes
Areapopulation,sexratio,languagesspoken,numberofschoolsandcolleges,health
facilities,religions,climate,typesofcrops,transportfacilities,mainoccupationofpeople
Radioformats
ingredientsofaradioformatspokenword,musicandspecialeffects
typesofformatsannouncements,radiotalk,radiointerviews,radiodiscussions,radio
magazine,radiodocumentariesandfeatures,runningcommentaries,radiodrama,news,
music
Informationtechnologybasedformatsphonein,radiobridge,internetradio
11.5TERMINALEXERCISES
Discussindetailthefactorstobetakenaccountbeforemakingaradioprogramme.
Explainwithexamplesthedifferentformatsofradioprogrammes.
Describeinformationtechnologybasedformatsusedinthemediumofradio.
11.6ANSWERSTOINTEXTQUESTIONS
1.Pl.refertoSection11.1
examples:news,musicprogrammes
i)educate,radio
news,commentaries,magazines
communities,rich,poor
language,time,type
needsoftheaudience
1.i)Radiojockeys/anchorpersons
spokenword
MASSCOMMUNICATION
145
MODULE - 3
Notes
Radio
FormatsofRadioProgrammes
station,frequency,time
duration,content
documentary
spokenword,
music,sound
effects
Pl.referto
Section11.2
1.i)interactiveii)May01,1998iii)publicityiv)connecting
Pl.refertoSection11.3
Pl.refertoSection11.3
i)c)ii)a)iii)d)
iv)e)v)b)
Radiooninternet
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