Radio 101 - The Power of Radio

Efren Pallorina

Radio is different things to different generations.

• Boomers - radio set at home (fixed)

• Gen X - radio in the car, in the pocket (portable)
• Millennials - radio in my ear (mobile)
• Gen Z - radio anywhere (on demand)
• Gen Alpha - radio is now only a part of the Internet-of-Things (news, entertainment, education,
career, social, travel, transactions)

Radio is the enduring medium.

1. Radio is a very human medium. It feeds our deeper needs. Unlike streaming playlists.
2. Radio is simple. It is plug-and-play.
3. Radio is vulnerable - subject to misuse and abuse.
4. Radio is valuable - it is a frontliner armed with critical information in a crisis,
companionship when needed.
5. Radio is adaptable - it integrates easily with other means of mass communication.
6. Radio is a survivor - it survived television, it survived the internet.
Will it survive future technologies (like AR)? People will not have to wait very long to find
out.

“In the distant future, we may be able to communicate by sending our thoughts through a
network directly into someone else's brain. We're decades away from such technology, but
scientists are working on creating brain-computer interfaces that allow people to transmit
thoughts directly to a computer. Perhaps 50 years from now we'll all use an electronic
version of telepathy.” - Jonathan Strickland, https://electronics.howstuffworks.com

Back to basics: Communication

• At the core of how God designed human beings is the ability and the longing to
communicate.
• To communicate is the sending and receiving of messages to create a shared experience.

Basic Communication model

sender -> message -> channel -> receiver -> feedback

Add: Environment

Evolution of Communication

• One to one - personal

• One to many - mass media
• Many to many - social media

Forms of Commnication

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Personal - face-to-face, in-person
Mediated - traditional, printed, airwaves, OOH
Virtual - internet technology, whether real-time or on-demand

Radio types

Analog radio - basic, traditional

Digital radio - with data
Visual radio - integrated with video
Mobile radio - portable, preinstalled in vehicles, in smartphones
Social radio - interactive
Streaming radio

Traditional radio - AM/FM

1. Reach - AM radio signals reach farther than FM. AM signals rol along with the terrain or
contour of the land, while FM signal need to have a clear line of sight between antenna
and radio receiver.
2. Audio quality - FM audio quality is superior to that of AM, making it suitable for music.
3. Suitability or compatibility with content . Although FM has been traditionally used for
music, that convention is now changing.

Strengths of Traditional Radio

• Personal - for the heart

• Immediate - always present
• Repetition = recall
• Connection = engagement
• Portable
• Affordable
• Unobtrusive

Challenges of Traditional Radio

• For the ears only

• Broadcaster is “blind “
• Interaction - one-way, no loop back
• Permanence - once content is aired, it’s gone
• Audience attention - drift, wallpaper, narcotic
• On/off switch, tune out
• Loyalty

Content Essentials

• Relevance - to establish connection

• Engagement - to start conversation
• Impact - to move towards change

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To think about:

1. Would radio continue to survive as a medium of communication in the PH?

2. What is the best use of radio in the ocntext of present realities in the PH?
3. If you were to manage a radio station, what would you want people to hear when they tune
in? Programs, personalities, overall sound or tone, what feels or vibes?

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