UNIT 1 RADIO AND ITS POTENTIAL :

AN INTRODUCTION I

Aims and Objectives

Introduction
Radio as a Medium of Mass Communication
Characteristics of the Radio Medium
1.3.1 Radio and the Print Media
1.3.2 Radio Metre Bands
1.3.3 Radio Software
Substance of Radio-Programming
1.4.1 Entertainment
1.4.2 ldonnation
1.4.3 Commercials
1.4.4 Instruction/Education
1.4.5 Public Service Announcement
Production Techniques
Writing for Radio
1.6.1 Broadcasting Demands on the Writer
1.6.2 Good and Bad Writing
1.6.3 Radio Scripting-An Art of the Imagination
Limitations of Radio Medium
Summing u p
Aids to Answers
Key Words
~dditionalReadings for Block 1

1.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

-
After a study of this unit, you will be able to :
define the nature and characteristics of radio as a medium of mass communication;
state the basics of radio programming for entertainment, instruction and public
utility announcements;
explain the rudiments of production techniques of radio programmes;
describe the fundamental technique of scripting for radio; and
state the limitations of radio as a medium of mass communication.

One of the aims of this unit is to farniliarise the student with the nature and
cllaracteristicsof radio as a mass medium. Another is to briefly outline the basics of
radio programming for entertainment, information, instruction and education of
listeners, for advertisement of goods and services and for announcement of various
public utility measures. It also discusses the rudiments of techniques for producing
programmes and gives some guidance for effective writing for radio. The unit briefly
lists the typical demands on a writer, or a speaker on the radio, and explains,
particularly, the art of script-writing for broadcast. Radio as a medium has also its
limitations, at which the unit also briefly glances. Read the unit to get an idea of
Radio's potential. In the following unit (unit 2), we Gll elaborate upon the types of
programmes.
'Wireless telegraphy, the precursor of today's radio, was invented by a very young
];talianelectrical engineer, Gugliemo Marchese Marconi (1874-1937) in 1895-(the
same year as Rontgen discovered the X-ray)-and was patented by him on 02 June
.the following year. This eventually led to the discovery of the basic principle of radio
communication.
Radio came to India in August 1921, and the first broadcast, a special programme of
music for Sir Georg Llo d, the then Governor of Bombay provmce, was made from -
I"
the P & T Bombay, and was listened to by him at Pune at a distahce of about 175
kilometers. Two yetis after, from November 1923, programmes came to be broadcast
from Calcutta when the Radio Club of Bengal started them from a dingy lane, called
Garstin Place, near Dalhousie Square, on a small Marco transmitter.
After a taady develapment. radio stations came to beset up by a commercial concern
called Indian Boradcasting Company with stations at Bombay and Calcutta; it came
into being on 13th September, 1926, as a result of an agreement with the
Government. On 23rd July, 1927, the Bombay Station of the Company started to
function, marking the beginning of organised broadcastingin India. On 26th August
the same year, came the Calcutta Station; by the end of the year, Broadcasting
Receiver Licenses (BRL) had gone up to 3594.Two years later, on 01 March, 1930,
the Company went into liquidation and a month later, on 01 April, 1930, the
Government of India took over .broadcasting and designated it as Indian State
Broadcasting Service.
It passed through many vicissitudesfor the next six years and on 08 June 1936, it was
re-designated as All India Radio, or briefly, AIR, with Mr. A.S. Bokhari as the first
Station Director of Delhi as well as Deputy Controller of Broadcasting. Earlier an
Englishman, Lionel Fielding, had taken over as India's first Controller of
Broadcastingon 30th August, 1935, and Mr. Bokhari was the first Indian to become
the Deputy Cbntroller.
A revolution in radio broadcast occurred with the invention of transistor by three
American scientists in 1948. Mass production of transistorised sets by the mid-fifties
took radio to almost every household in a few years. The abolition of the licence fee
in respect of single and two-band transistor sets in August 1980, gave it a further
boost. With the colour transmission and expansion of TV network during and after
the Ninth Asian Games in New Delhi, in November-December 1982;radio did suffer
a setback but is gradually regaining its lost clientele by judicious re-planning of
programmes.
However, much still remains to be done, not only to make radio withstand the
competition from the TV but to help it grow further as a potent and parallel mass
medium. For instance, BBC Radio has become strong and vibrant inspite of its
extremely popular television medium. ?he electoral promise of the National Front
Government at the Centre to convert All India Radio and Doordarshan into a
Corporation, as and when it comes about, will be a milestone in the history of radio
broadcast in India, because a perestroika of this huge organisation and its ethos is
likely to revolutioni'sd the programme planning of All India Radio.

Exercise 1
Write your answers in the space provided and check with the aids to answers given
in 1.9.
i) Which organisation pioneered broadwsting in India? How long did it carry. on
broadcasting and from which places?

...........................................................................................................
'

ii) Which events caused revolution in broadcasting in India?

iii) Has radio broadcasting any competitor in India?

1.2 w I 0 AS AMEDIUM OF W S COMMUNICATION

]Mass cbmmunication, sulfating as an American concept in the early sixties in the
writings of Wilbw Schramm and other media experts, has, in three decades since,
I-evolutionisedimpersonal oommmication and its technology. Before the term
became popular, thdre were, of course, various modes of mass communication-
public lectwes and demonstrations,cinema, radio and TV-but an intensive research
Into the social and psychologicaI dynamics of communication gave precision and a
new lease of life to mass communication techniques.
Of the various modes of mass communication, radio is still the most immediate and
widespread in India. Take for examp16 a major train accident. If it has occurred after
0100 hrs, at night, it will be known to readers of newspapers the morning after next,
that is, 2 days later or after about 30 hours. Even on Doordarshan the accident will
featwe in the morning news about seven hours later. But it would go in an external
news bulletin of AIR within an hour, if an agency report on the accident lands in the
General News Room in New Delhi instantly. In about five hours, the news gets across
the country through its first home news at 0600 hrs (Hindi) and 0605 hrs (English).
\men hourly home news bulletins will be introduced after midnight-hopefully, in a
short while-such news will get across even faster, albeit to a small number of
Listeners who would keep awake. Thus, as a medium of mass communication, radio
i:; still the fastest in India and has the most widespread reach.
Another characteristic featwe of radio as a medium of mass communication is its
ubiquity. Receiving sets, owned and usedby people in fndia, now number 900 lakhs
as against 185 lakhs y s e t s ; in the peak hours, from 1800 to 2000 hrs, over 50 lakh
people are listening to one or the other broadcast from All India Radio, from Delhi
or from a regional station.

'4s a medium of mass communication, radio has also many unique featwes- some
lo its advantage, some not. It is an audio medium and with the invention of
stereophonid recording and Frequency Modulation (FM),it brings sound waves to
listeners in utmost perfection. Newer technology and circuitry have also improved
radio-listenifig to a great extent in recent years. This has particularly rendered music
broadcast by AIR extremely popular and made All fndia Radio the greatest
propagator of all forms of music in the country. The next area of broadcast, to benefit
fiom this feature, is news and news-based programmes. Although visuds on TV have
added a new and attractive dimension to newscast - because seeing is believing -
news over radio has more immcdiatly, bulletins bdng more frequent than on TV.
As TV does not reach the blind (except its sound component), radio does not reach
the deaf,there lies their complementarity too. In a crowded room, where others are
rret interestedin aradio programme, a listener can tune to itduough a headphone;
this is nbt possible for a TV progranime. Fdr, while you can listen to this sound through
h~eadphone,you can't switch off the screen pictures. Another unique featwe of radio
is its mobility. Modem-day transistors are small and portable; they can be carried
everyivhere- to a factory or a field, and even to the toilet as one shaves, or does
one's morning chores. Bekides,radio is ine~qnsiveand is within the reach of almost
all people. It is easy to operate and canibe switched on at any place even outside
home. We see transistors on a pedlar's pushcart or on the footpath where the
vegetable vendors and cobblers stack up their wares for'sale. It can be slung on a
bicycle handle or carried while walking one's way to and from the office.
Some changes are, however, taking place in the use of radio as a mass medium,
 - - - ..
mainly because af the spread of TV and the greater maneuverability of the
transistorised sets. Declamatory and formal broadcagts are going out of fashion; radio
is becoming more pervlasive and personal. The difference between TV-viewing and
radio-listening in India Is that while a TV programme is normally viewed by a number
of persons at a time (in one place) radio, because of its relatively lesser price and
easier portability and availability. can be listened to by hundreds of single individuals
at different places. Community radio-listening has become a matter of the past. In
this changed ethos, broadcasting techniques are shifting emphasis from mass
communication to pemnal communication, as if it is treating every listener
separately. The 'You' jn radio programme is no longer the plurality but the single
person who at the moment may have tuned in. The change is already well-established
in foreign radio stations but is gradually coming to All India Radio and would stay
when it fully arrives.

Why is Radio still the most immediate and widespread mode of mass communication
in India? (Check with aids to answers 1.9)

1.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RADIO MEDIUM

Before discussing the characteristics of radio as a medium, let us begin with an
understandingof its h$rdware technology. The passage of alternating current through
a conductor causes a loss of energy because of electro-magnetic radiation. This
radiation or radio wave as it is called, travelling with the speed of light, (01,86,000
miles i.e. 29,36,000knp,per second in air) induces in any conductor placed in its path,
an alternate cumnt similar to that which originally flowed in the transmitting aerial.
This current is amplified and received through an appropriate receiver.
The characteristicsof tadio as a medium flow from this hardware technology as much
as from its software socio-economicstatus. For example, radio is distinct from TV in
India in being more widespread; more peopk and homes own radio receivers than
TV sets. Radio is less glamorous and rivetting than TV because of its being cheaper
ahd therefore, having less of so-calledstatus value. It is so also because of its
exclu$vely audio technology; whereas TV brings a variety of visuals and in costly sets
in colour. Radio has $one stereophonic on its frequejncy aroddPtka (FM)bond
although this elitist technology is available only on expensive sets apd for a very short
duration. There are vprious gadgetry in TV sets like remote control and
picture-in-picture etc., which are tedrnologically out of place in radio.

Describe the relative and dbndvantaga~of Radio vie-a-vis TV. Write your
m e r in the space provided and check with aids to answem given in 1.9.
 So much for the contrasting characteristics of radio and TV. Radio's inherent
clraracteristicsalso distinguish it from other mass media like newspapers, periodicals,
m~agazines,i.e. the print media on the one hand and from the audio-visual media,
lilke cinema and video. on the other.

1.3.1 Radio and the Print Media

The pleasures from radio-listening like TV-viewing are more passing in nature than
reading newspapers, periodicals and books. One can keep a clipping or a photocopy
of newspaper or magazine article for re-reading, or further use. Although one can
tape a news commentary over AIR, hardly anybody does that. There are people, of
course, who record a lot of classical music broadcast over radio and TV on cassettes
and vidco tapes; newspapers do not lend themselves to be taped unless one reads
them out. The educative and informative aspects of radio and TV are thus weaker
arld less abiding than those of the print media but because of their auditory and visual
ar~daudio-visual dimension they possibly leave a deeper, even if passing, impact.

1.3.2 Radio Metre Bands

I
Some other characteristics of radio issue from another aspect of its technology. For
cxamplc, medium-wave broadcasts are better received than short-wave in less
expensive sets. In a mountainous terrain, medium-wave transmissioh is obstructed by
hills and valleys. On a cloudy day or night, the quality of transmission is affected by
lightning and clouds; the FM broadcasts are better at night.

13.3 Radio software

Software characteristics of radio derive from the social, cultural and even
gc:ographical situations and influence programme planning. For instance, while
Calcutta station of AIR carries a heavy chunk of Rabindra Sangeet, Lucknow
blroadcasts more thumris, khayals, ghazals and other forms of Hindustani classical
m~usic.Radio drama differs widely in content to cater to the cultural and social ethos
oif each region, and uses the region's lahguage and dialects. There are more of news
and news-based programmes from Delhi than from regional stations, because AIR
Dlelhi station is in the national capital. It is surprising but true that radio stations in
miany South-East Asian countries and island-countries like Fiji, Sri Lanka and
NIaldives broadcast a lot of Hindi and Tamil film-songs, because not only do they
cider to Indian settlers and migrants in these countries, but radio tuning gets a new
lease of popularity through these songs which are enjoyed by many. This is no cultural
in~vasion,because it is the result of a spontaneous wholesome respon$e of a large
number of people to these film (music, songs) broadcasts from these countries.

-
1.4
- SUBSTANCE OF RADIO-PROGRAMMING
Radio-programming,is essentially based on auditory values of the content of the
plrogramme. Howsoever good a news commentary may be, it can be spoilt by bad'
reading on the mike. Ravi Shankar's finesse on sitar may not get across if recording
orr transmission is faulty. With this basic condition in mind, let us briefly glance at
radio-programmingfor providing entertainment, information, instruction or
etlucation and at the basics of commercial broadcast and public utility
announcements.
I
t 1.4.1 Entertainment
It is not easy to separate entertainment from information or education. For example,
film-songs which ostensibly entertain, also educate a deep and careful listener about
the trends and socio-economic milieu through the words of the song. While
programming entertainment broadcasts, certain things are kept in mind. The first is
the quality of entertainment which in a mass unrestrictable listening, should be of
g t d taste and not smack of communal, casteist, chauvinist or any other kinds of
bilas. In a free society like ours, which is often prone to communal, ethnic ahd
sc:cessionist violence, entertainment matter for radio broadcast has to be carefully
chosen. The matter can be of mass appeal, like film-songs over Vividh Bharati, or of
restricted, even elitist/specificinterest like Hindustani Classical, or Western Classical
music, -or high-level informative programmes like 'Spotlight' and 'Current Affairs'
W r l U q for Rsdk8-1 produced by the News Services Division.

1.4.2 Information
The major information broadcasts from every radio station are the news-based
programmes which are very popular in developing countries. Strictly speaking, "what
makes information" vaties from person to person. To a News Executive of AIR, for
example, much of the newscast from AIR is no information, because he is steeped
in it; while news from the BBC may be very informative to him. A midday women's
programme may be vety informative to rural women, but to a socialite, urban
woman, it may sound elementary.
News-programming will be discussed in detail in Unit 1 of Block 2, but suffice it to
say here that the infrasOructurefor news-gathering, editing, compiling and reading is
elaborate and expensive in every radio organisation. Programmes of information
broadcasts have to keep their content clear and direct, free of all emotional or
editorial comment. The information should be authentic, verifiable and given in a
manner that does not lead to a social or law-and-order turmoil. For example, the
immediate announcement of the death-toll in a communal clash or a police-action in
a partisan or provocative tone, in a sensitive situation, can aggravate it further.

1.4.3 Commercials
<
Commercial advertisiqg was started on AIR on 01 November, 1%7, to boost the
revenues of the organisation, by promoting goods and services in the private sector. '
As listeners generally resent commercial motives behind entertaining, informative
and educative programmes, a separate channel in twentynine AIR stations presents
commercial advertisements interspersed with lilting and light film-songs to keep
listeners glued to the channel. Planning of commercial advertising over radio calls for
mature auditory imagination and grasp of the essentials of advertising-like an
attractive slogan, an arresting sound or anecdote and subtlety in bringing in the
product and its merits, It is different from advertising in print and audio-visual media,
like TV,video and cinema, for the absence of visuals needs to be more than made
up by striking use of slogans and sound-effects.

A thin margin distin$uishes instruction from education. Instruction is a more

immediate input than education and affects the surface of the mind, while education
goes a little deeper a d is a never-ending process. Radio offers both instruction and
education to its listerlers through a variety of spoken-word-programmes. Both are
more than information and less than wisdom or elevation. A listeningfarmer can be
instructed, for example, about how to handle a new agricultural tool, but he needs
to be educated about pest control. Wisdom about mechanization of agriculture grows
slowly after years of introspection and analysis. The virtues of natural farming can
be absorbed in an elbvated state of mind which is the final and the deepest state
among the five processes, namely information, instruction, education, wisdom and
elevation.
Radio programming gbout instruction and education has to be predominantly verbal,
although sound-effedts can be employed imaginatively. An instructional brogramme
about repairing a motor engine, for instance, can be illustrated by various sounds of
the engine in a hea1th;y and sick state. These programmes need to be utterly objective
and repeated over a period of;time to drive home a complex lesson; they have also
to be simple in structure.

1.4.5 Public Service Announcement

Public Service or utility announcements are increasing over radio as the society
becomes more complex and listeners crave for various kinds of information.
Vacancies in goyembent offices and notices of mass recruitment have become
popular over radio, @sthese somewhat contribute to easing the unemployment
situation. Railway aqd airlines flight-timings about departure and amvals over the
radio relieve the anxiety of passengers, friends and relatives. These are of
informational value and have no value beyond the moment. The names of casualities
in train and air accidents, when announced over radio, serve an immediate social
purpose. Programming public service announcements presupposes authentic source, --.:
fa.ctual and correct information as well as unemotional and prompt delivery.
Similarly public service campaigns on social issues such as family welfare, health care,
hygiene, dowry, immunisation etc, broadcast over radio have great utility value.
Through the use of apt slogans, jingles, dramaticules, appropriate dialogues, these
social-issues can be highlighted and thus provoke social awareness among a large
majority of listeners.

i) Is there any need to carefully choose even entertainmentmatter for broadcast in

present-day India? (Check with aids to answers 1.9)

ii) How are commercial broadcasts over AIR different horn entertainment
programmes? Give examples.
.........................................................................................................

iii) What is the differencshtween instruction and edication in respect of radio

programmes? Exemplify.

iv) What purpose is served by Public Service Announcements over a radio system?
..........................................................................................................

-1.S PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

Production techniques have evolved a great deal since radio was invented by
hlarconi. These depend on both hardware and software components. For example.
 producing a programme on FM stereo is different from producing one on the AM
band. The FM stereo p r p g r m e r s have to decide a broadcast which can lend itself
to stereophonic values as, for example, music with elaborate percussion or string
instruments whose finesse can be captured in stereophonic sound.
The basic production technique for radio is tape-recording of the programme in ideal
sound-proof conditions. In the early days of radio, live programmes were the order
of the day; these days, almost everything except news is pre-recorded. This is an
improvement, because it eliminates the defects and hazards of live broadcasts. The
equipments used for recdrding a radio programme include a good microphone and a
recording machine with facilities for dubbing, editing and re-recording. Music-
recording, particularly of an orchestra, needs a number of microphones placed near
major components of the music, while a straight news commentary needs only one
mike. A 'Current Affairs: prograinme in which 3-4 peisons take part, needs 2-3 mikes
placed in such a manner that they give uniform sound levels.

Production techniques are not learnt in a day; one needs to have a good ear and quick
reflexes to edit or dub a programme. Surface editing eliminates undesirable sounds,
such as stammer, sneezes, coughs and choking of voice. A deeper editing cuts out
repetitions, arranges thd ideas in order and brings back and forth the matter that
needs to be in sequence, especially in a feature. Discussion programmes improve
vastly by imaginative editing. Dubbing adds extra sound-effects, or brings disparate
sounds together. Before producing and recording a programme, seating of
participants in the studio needs to be carefully planned so that sound-levels become
uniform and clear, partibularly while recording a discussion programme or an
orchestra.
Production calls for moqe care and efficiency in outdoor programmes than inside a
studio. The recording of a football match, for example, is more challenging than
recording a solo music programme in a studio. Spot interviews of eye-witnesses in a
crowd call for skill and ptesence'of mind. In outdoor recordings, it is difficult to keep
out extraneous sounds. A cock may suddenljl crow when a classical musician
demonstrates a raga or asonata and mar the entire programme. By re-recording and
taking advance care, such hazards of outdoor recording can be reduced to a great
extent, if not kept out dltogether. Handling and erasing of magnetic tapes can be
learnt only by demonstrition and experience. Sudden defects in recording or dubbing
equipment need to be promptly attended to with the help of the servicing and
maintenance staff.
Modem production techniques have replaced human ingenuity and judgement to a
great extent. In advanwd radio stations, production is wholly computerised.
Adjustment to sound-levels and frequency is done by the computer automatically.
And yet human judgempnt and ingenuity are still important inputs and an
experienced and imaginative producer can do wonders with old, antiquated
equipment. Orson Welles, the legendary Hollywood film-maker, once produced a
radio programme on inter-stellar journey which brought Americans out onto the
I streets to see the 'Alien' because it was so convincingly done that the reality sense of
listeners vanished for a moment.

-
1.6 WRITING FOR RADIO
Writing for radio is v g different from writing for any other medium, particularly the
print medium. Many gdod writers of books and newspaper articles have fared badly
when called upon to wfite for, or speak on the radio. On the contrary, many good
writers or speakers on radio have done equally well in the print medium; George
Orwell, Dylan Thomasl, Rudyard Kipling are well known examples.

1.6.1 Broadcasting I Demands on the Writer

The difference between a writer for radio and one for the print medium lies in the
recognition and underatanding of the sound-values of letters, words and sentences.
A Dickensian sentence! may read extraordinarily well in print but if it is too long or
full of multisyllable wards, or is of a complex syntax, it will fall fiat on tbe radio
listeners. It required Charles Dickens' spehal talent to read them equally well.
The style and content of a script for the radio are dictated, to a large extent, by the
pc~tentiallisteners. For example, a writer of a talk for housewives, say on cooking or
bringing up children, for midday listening, has to be extremely simple and yet has to
present the subject in a chatty and interesting way to keep the listeners off their siesta.
If hdshe does it like an article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, listeners will naturally
witch off, or change to another programme. Although good writing for radio is learnt
bynyears of patient practice and by development of what T.S. Eliot called, the
'a~iditoryimagination', some simple rules-do's and dont's--can perhaps be laid
dalnpfi. These are :
a) Think on the subject and digest the material in all its aspects before putting it
down in writing.
b) Imagine your potential listeners to be sitting next to you in real life and write as
you would speak to them as if they were listening to you in actual life.
c) Avoid dif6icult words; if you have to present complex ideas, explain them in the
simplest terms before repeating them.
d) Maintain a rigid time-frame and adjust your writing to the slot given to you.
e) Adjust your writing to the mood of the day, the time and the season. For
example, if you are doing a talk on sports in the peak evening hours, make it
interesting, conversational and jovial to appeal to the widest section of listeners.

Sometimes the writer for radio is also required to read his or hei own script over the
microphone; it is always better that way. A h t e r knows the nuances of his ideas and
sentence-patterns; a professional reader may not always be able to grasp them.
If you have to read your own script consider the limitations of your voice, modulation
and pronunciation so that the script is otherwise enriched to compensate for these.
For example some people stammer on a particular word or a group of words; these
wt>rdscan be cleverly avoided. 'I%eaim is to make an impression on your listeners
in a short while and let your ideas sink into their minds. To achieve this, a writer has
to avoid angry, partisan aqd biased remarks, avoid speaking in either a highbrow or
a lowbrow manner, and avoid giving an impression of condescendingto the listeners
as if he is obliging them with his erudition or authority.
At: the same time, a writer for radio should make his or her message forceful and not
be wishy-washy or mincing. Subhash Chandra Bose's or Hitler's addresses to their
tr<mpsover radio would have had little effect on the soldiers if they were not inspiring
and forceful. A talker on a social or an economic topic needs to substantiate his talk
with facts and figures;use them with imagination and force to make the talk objective.
Subjectivityis, to a large extent, the essence of creative writings -of poetry, novel
anld drama-after all; all creative writers reflect their own personality-but it mars a
talk on the.socia1,economicor political topic of the day. Because what the listeners
arc: interested to lnow are not your views on these topics only only an anal*
of the situation that you wish to get across.
Writing for radio b u l d preferably be typed, or neatly hand-written, so that neither
you nor the reader fumbles in-the studio. For adjustingto the time-slot, the talk can
be rehearsed at home before recording it at the radio station. Although spellings are
nolt very important in radio-writing, one should be careful, because sometimes good
brc~adcastsare sent out for publication.
Bellow are given two passages, exemplifying gdod and bad writing for the radio.

h6.2 Good and Bad Writing

Here is ah example of good for radio.
"Dust thou art, to dust returnest" says the Bible. Scientifically, it is however,
more appropriate to say, "Man is water and to water he returns", because
m r d i n g to Charles Darwin, man evolved from simple, unicellular fonns,
floating on water, called PROTOZOA; two-thirds of his body is watery
substance. When after death, he is either buried or cremated, the mortal
remains merge with water in the soil; in some communities the lifeless. body
. .. is
 still surrendered to a flowing river: while he a alive, he cannot Live without
water for long; water in fact is an alias of life. Curiously, as in the human body,
water comprises two-thirds of the earth's surface also, to be precise, 72 per cent;
and in chemical analysis, blood plasma in human or animal body has the same
saline content as sea-water; it is almost captured sea-water. Water is not only
the medium of food for plants and trees, it is also a staple food for man and
animals.
Bad Writing
The recognition that no amount of investment in power, irrigation, transport
and communica~onwill improve the well-being of our people if they remain
unlettered, led to the formal launching of National Adult Education
Programme in 1W8. The programme aimed at combining literacy, functionality
and awareness. kural functional literacy projects and State adult education
programmes were t&en up with the active involvement of voluntary agencies
to achieve the objectives of this societal responsibility. Parallel efforts were on
to achieve rapid universalisation of primary education so as to check the rapid
additions to the ranks of adult illiterates.
In the first example, $ententes are divided into short statements marked by
semicolons. The readar pauses at these divisions indicated by the punctuation marks.
The vocabulary is simple and easily comprehensible. In the second example, the
sentences are long; there is an imtating use of the passive voice in the first and third
sentences; words like "unlettered", "functionality" make the script difficult to Listen
to and comprehend simultaneously.

How is writing for rado different from writing for a newspaper? 'What are the points
to be borne in mind while writing a script on a current topic for radio broadcast?
(Check with aids to abswers 1.9)

1.6.3 Radio Scrigting-An Art of the Imagination

We have seen how wditing a script for radio broadcast calls for qualities different from
those required for wtiting for the print medium; some of these have been discussed
in the preceding sub.section(l.6.1). A radio script can be of various kinds-a radio
play, an illustrative t d k punctuated with sound-effects,a straight tallt on an
educational, cultural4 social or economic topic. These variety of scripts demand from
the writer very diff'etlent kinds of treatment a d approach. A script for a radio play
is perhaps the most difficult to write and inexperiend playwrights can prove
failures. A playwright for the stage din& himself constricted w e writing a play for
the radio; there is no Stage for the viewers to see; no dramatis personae are seen; no
action or spectacular scene can be conveyed in physical terms. In fact, apart from the
voices of the personde there are only sound-effects to compensate the absence of
visual communicatioli. Music can play a great part, as it does on stage. The playwright
for the radio has to imagine his play in only one dimension-that of sound-ad b
to make listeners oblirvious to the absence of visuals. A good play helps the Listeners
to imagine the scene, The listeners of a radio play accept the limitation of of
visuals but if their expectationsfrom the play are not fulfilled by compensatorysound
effects, the script does not succeed. Similarly, scripts for talks, commentaries and
illustrative narrations have to be auditorily sound, that is, fit for listening within a
rigid time-frame. Idgination comes into play in devising a proper structure-a
striking beginning, a patient elaboration of the idea contained in the script and a
convincing conclusion.
An illustrative talk needs a highly imaginative approach. A talk, for example, on the
evolution of Beethoven's music needs a lot of research and homework. The
introduction should be such that it can arrest the attention of even a lay listener who
has merely heard the name of the great 18th century German composer but has not
heard any of his music. Dovetailing commentary with the illustration requires
considerable imaginative depth and skill. To satisfy both a lay listener and a
h~owledgeablelistener calls for balance, authenticity, accuracy of details and last,
but not least, great sensitivity. If the programmer or the talker is not interested in
Beethoven's music or has neither heard much nor appreciated his music, he can
hardly make the illustrative talk interesting to the listeners. Radio scripting thus calls
for research, imagination and skills to fill the void of visuals and letting the listeners
nlot miss them.

VVhat are the techniques involved in producing a radio play?

(Check with aids to answers 1.9)

I-fowwould you plan an illustrative talk on your favourite music for All India Radio?
Iliscuss your answer with fellow students and your counsellor.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF RADIO MEDIUM

Limitations of the radio medium are not so much inherent as flowing from its
comparison with other mass media. For example, before the invention of television,
listeners of radio never missed the absence of visuals. The limitations of the radio,
flowing from its very nature, have been accentuated in the public mind after the
spread of the TV.
Some other limitations were, however, there before the invention and spread of the
TV.For example, radio programmes are auditory and unless a listener has recorded
them, they cannot be re-played for renewed entertainment or deeper education. Even
information given on radio can be missed or misunderstood, if it is not repeated. A
listener can miss an important (to him) information if he is engaged elsewhere but if
it comes out in a newspaper, he can collect a copy and have access to it. Whatever
be the role of radio-entertainment, information or education-it is often transitory
if the listener is not too attentive or receptive. Although a good talk or a musical
programme on the radio can Bake a lasting impact on a receptive listener, the
limitation remains, because it cannot be replayed unless the station chooses to
re-broadcast it after some time. Many radio stations do re-broadcast many of their
popular programmes. Calcutta station has been broadcasting, over the years, an
extremely popular musical programme called Mahishashur Mardini on the morning
of Mahalaya ushering in the five-day worship of goddess Durga in autumn; it never
tales on the Bengalees. When another version was produced and broadcast during
the Emergency (1975-77) there was uproar among the public and the station had to
broadcast the earlier version, some days later. Ordinarily, however, when a good
programme is missed, or is not heard to satisfaction, it cannot be retrieved.
Newspapers, video and TV have an edge over radio in these respects only-in
repeatibility and visual appeal. Although these are limitations for the radio, the
medium also compensates its clientele in many other ways.

1.8 SUMMING UP
 To sum up, radio has ample potential as a mass medium and much of this has been
harnessed in more thah half a century of its existence in our country. Its widespread
occurrence in urban atld rural India, and its unabated popularity in rural and
backward areas, where newspapers and television have not yet reached, are still
enormous. At a small cost and smaller recurring expense, a whole family caa be
entertained, informed Cnd educated in such ample measure as no other mass medium
can give at such a price.
Radio's potential reaches not only the economically backward or poorer people; it is

it does not distradt thm!L

still prized by many se ions of the urban and rural intelligentsia, precisely because
visuals. Television has earned the nickname, 'Idiot-Box'
in the West; radio has m t earned any. There are certain kinds of programmes where
visuals are not only unnecessary but actually irritating and disgusting, e.g., in classical
music programmes, both vocal and instrumental, or vocal music concerts in which
the emphasis is on the 'words and not on the singer, and similarly, in serious talks
and discussiohs where the emphasis is on the content more than on the speaker.
Radio still thrives on the psychological principle that when only one sense is engaged
the message goes deeper than when more than one is involved. Seeing is believing
but hearing only has itsl own sensory compensation in inducing greater absorption
than does the visual or audio-visual media.

1.9 AIDS TO mSWERS

Exercise 1
i) Indian Broadcastink Company. It functioned from 1927-30 from Bombay and
Calcutta. I
ii) Transistor revolutidn, and abolition of license fee in respect of single and
two-band transisteds in 1980.
iii) Yes, radio has a stirong competitor in television.
Exercise 2
The hourly news bulletias on Radio make Radio the fastest mass medium in India
with the most widespread reach. Radio's ubiquity and mobility are other factors
in its favour. As an audio medium, with the invention of the stereophonic
recording and FM broadcasts, the sound waves reach the audience in utmost
perfection.
Radio is inexpensive to Own and radio programmes comparatively inexpensive t o
produce and broadcast.
Exercise 3
Radio I TV
Inexpensive to own , Expensive to own
Mobility (transportabilitk) Not possible to move it wherever one moves
Longer hours of broadcabt Shorter hours of broadcast
Fidelity to sound reprodiction Not so perfect In its audio function
Lack of visuals Visuals add to its value
I
No use for new gadgetneb like Makes use of new gadgetry and so
remote control etc. I technologically progressive
Exercise 4
i) Yes-where there is mass, unrestrictablelistening entertainment programmes
should be of good takte, without any communal, casteist or chauvinist bias.
ii) Commercials are geared to advertising of their products by different commercial
organisations. Hence the focus is not always on excluding entertainment
programmes. Often advertisement jingles and slogans intrude into the
entertainment programme.
I= I

16 -. iii) Instruction is of an iwmediate impact while education is a never-ending process.-

 instruction on a radio progiamme thus has the immediate range of vision for its
field while education is of a far reaching and wider range of vision. Radio can
instruct the audience about the u~ of contraceptives but when it comes to
discussing the merits of a family planning programme, its value is educative.
iv) Refer to 1.4.5.

E'xercise5
VJhile writing for Radio, one must have an understanding of the sound value of
lc:tters, words and sentences. Carefully the sentence structure is to be framed avoiding
long sentences, multisyllable words, unfamiliar directions. The rigid time frame of a
radio broadcast calls for precise and comprehensive scripting.

E,xercise6
Sound-effects,music interludes, background music, careful dialogues that will reveal
the location, personality of the characters and conflict of the play are some of the
techniques involved in a radioplay production.

1t.10 KEY WORDS '

P~daptation: Making a literary work-a play, novel or a poem-suitable for anather

ndedium like radio, TV or film
Angle : A specific approachlbias
I~udio: Relating to hearing only, as opposed to both hearing and seeing together
(VIDEO). A system for hearing through wirelesslradio
Ibulletin : Official statement; in radio context, of news
(3hrmnel : Band of frequency on which radio/TV programme is pet out on the air
C h n k : (Colloquial) A specific period of time at which a radio/TV programme goes
on the air
Cue : A signal for the successive programme on radio/TV
Ikspatcb : A news-based coverage sent by telegram, telex, fax or on phone
Ihmentary : A film or a radio programme, based on actuality
]Dubbing : Replacing, or adding to, the sound-track of a film or a magnetic tape
]Editing : Preparing a recorded tape (in respect of r a d i o m ) , by putting together
parts in a suitable sequence, by erasing or rearranging
IFIash : An important news, received and put out briefly, when a news bulletin is
going on the air
1F.M. Band : A noik-free--often stereophonic-frequency channel in modem radio
!;tation; F.M. meaning 'Frequency Modulation'
lGharam : Style of rendering Indian classical music, named after, and originating in
,a particular place where it has been cultivated by eminent experts
Hanlware : Mechanical equipment necessary for broadcasts like studio, transmitter,
microphone, machinery, etc: Opposite of 'Software'
Hesdllnes: Highlights in a news bulletin; AIR describes them as 'main points'
l e p t : What is put in, or supplied, for a programme; data requiredput in for a
decision
Listener :'One who listens to a radio programme
Uve Broadcast : Broadcast which is not pre-recorded, made from the venue of the
eventlsite itself, e.g. Sports Relay
M w e d ' i : Through which communication is made with the masses, e.g.
newspaper, radio, TV-the last two are called 'electronic media'
Megawatt/Kilowa&.(StatSon) : A radio station's area of broadcast measured through
the power of its transmitter
M h a p h w : Instrument for changing and enlarging sound waves into electrical
- -
current
..
 OB : Outdoor Broadcqst, usually through a vehicle-mounted transansmitter/wireless, to
the nearest Radio Stadon
Output : Power, Energy, etc. produced; information produad from a Computer,
opposite of 'Input'
POP : Colloquial abbreviation for 'popular', e.g. pop music, meaning light Western
songs
Prasar Bharati : The proposed Public Corporation under which AIR and
Doordarshan are to be brought, as a result of a Parliamentary Act, pawed in 1990,
to give these two media more autonomy and to free them fr$m Government Control,
redeeming a promise tb the electorate made by the National Front and the
~ n g r e (1)
s Paw
Rndio : Transmission af sound on electro-magnetic waves without a conu-g wire,
invented by G. Marconi, an Italian elecEric.1engineer in 1895
R e d : Bringing forth some information, already broadcast in an e a r k r news
bulletin, to give more tleptb and ciarity to a related news item
Script : A written matter for broadcast
Serial : A long play or film, broadcast in episodes
S M :(Colloq.) Right ot suitable place in a broadcast p r v ; the fixed time taken
by such a programme
S a g : Brief heading given to a news item for quick sortingheady reference
Software: The content of a broadcast apart from its mechanical componentddds;
Opposite of 'hardwaret
Sorrnd Effect : Variouslsounds that accompany,or are added to, a broadcast matter,
as sound of storm or river in a radio play
Stereo : Abbreviation of 'Stereophonic', meaning a recordinglbroadcast involving
two separately placed loud-speakers, giving @e effect of naturally distributed sound
Takes : Separate clips of an agency coverage in the context of radio
Transistor : Small electronic semi-conductor device used in radio sets instead of
thermionic valves. The advantagesof a transistor aver a valve are that it is less bulky,
it requires no heater cupent, and that the voltage at the d e c t o r need only be a few
volts
Transmitter : An appqatus, usually vedcal, for sending sound-waves from a radio
station I

Technology.: Systematic application of know-how to practical tasks in industry

Video : Relating to (reamding for) broadcast of photographicimages, as opposed to
-A

AUDIO
Voice-Over : Voice added to a tape, to illustrate an image or a sound on a broadcast
medium

1 . 1 ADDITIOlNAL READINGS FOR BLOCK 1

Year of
Title Author ' Po- availnble
edition
This is All India Rbdio U.L.Baruah Publications
Division, 1983
New Delhi
Broadceting in India G.C. Awasthy Allied Publishers,
New Delhi 1965
The Universal Eye ~ Timothy Green Stein & Day,
New York 1972
I

Radio Power I Julian Hale Paul Elik,

London 1975
18
UNIT 4 RADIO TALK AND PROFILE
Structure
4.0 Aims and Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Characteristics of eadio Talk
4.2.1 Attractiveness
4.2.2 Clarity
4.2.3 Content-density
4.3 Technique of Radio Talk
4 3.1 Clarity
4.3.2 Informality
4.3.3 Self-Explanatory
4.4 Target Audience
4.5 Radio Profile
4.6 Summing Up
4.7 Aids to Answers 1

4.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

By the end of the unit, you should be able to :
explain the feature of radio scripts in the 'spoken-word' mode;
describe the technique of radio talk;
present a good talk after 'rehearsing' your script;
distinguish between a radio talk and a radio profile; and
plan a radio profile.

4.1 INTRODUCTION
The previous unit (3) of this Block has made you familiar with certain general features
of writing for Radio. This includes writing for the ear, the use of spoken language,
narration and sound-effects and the formats for radio scripting. The present unit aims
at equipping you with the understanding of what makes a good radio talk. The
guidelines given should help you to discern the basic requirements of a radio talk -
the audience and - the situations. This unit prepares you for the task of writing a
radio talk. In order to write and present a radio talk successfully, you must
understand what are the essential elements which make for communication between
the talker and the listener. Communication will take place only if these elements are
included in the talk. Some of these requirements may seem obvious, but the fact is
that talkers neglect them, both in the writing and in the delivery of talks.
We will learn that language skills, like mechanical skills, require endless practice. The
activities interspersed in the unit merely give you an idea of how to go about refining
and polishing your skills. You should be able to construct similar exercises on your
own for further practice.

4.2 CHARACTER$STICSOF RADIO TALK

Radio talks are of different kinds - longer or shorter in duration, addressed to
special groups such as students, community workers, field workers, educated elite,
teachers and instructors and so on. But whatever the audience, it is the business of
the talker to formulate for himself, with the help of those who commission the talk,
some idea of the projected Audience. What is their level of information on the
subject? What are the issues which are upper most in the minds of the people? The
talker must attempt to answler their questions and meet their needs. Only thea will
the talk be relevant.
Let us note the unique characteristics of a radio talk.
a A talk is something which is listened to. It is not something which one reads. It is Radio Tdk and Profik
true, of course, that a talk may subsequently be published and can be read or
referred to. But that is another matter; and in any case, only a small number of
the talks delivered find their way into print.
A talk may be listened to by individuals, alone, in a room, in a home, or in the
company of members of the family or friends. In this respect, a talk differs from
a speech or a lecture, which is addressed to a collective audience or a group.
In a radio talk, the speaker is not face to face with his audience. They do not see
each other. Communication is in one direction only, from the speaker to the
audience, and it is totally dependent on words and the manner in which they are
delivered.
The talk is something which can be enjoyed in retrospect. But you should
remember what the speaker has said in order to be able to think over it, understand
its full implications, and thus appreciate it.
The talk is personal. It is a particular person who is speaking to you.

4.2.1 Attractiveness
The two most important subjective factors which make for-recall are interest and
attention. They are closely connected. If you are interested in something you will pay
attention to it, and if you listen to it carefully, you will remember it. So the first thing
the talker must do is to rouse the interest of the listener. If something concerns him,
he will naturally become interested in it and will pay attention to it. But if it is of
remote or merely academic interest, he will at best listen to it without closely
following its argument.

If a radio talk is on the functioning of the Railways, the focus should be on the safety
aspezt rather on a budgetry analysis. The radio talk is aimed at the listening public
and therefore should centre round points that will hold the listener's attention.

4.2.2 Clarity
Similarly, any material +thatis retained and remembered possesses certairi
characteristics. The listener perceives.the talk as 5 whole or as a pattern, and in
remembering it also it is this pattern that comes to the mind. Experimental evidence
shows that the listener tries to get hold of the pattern, the central theme oi what is
communicated in the talk.
Psychologists have described this process, the process of reacting to given material,
as an effort after meaning. We not only seek to find a meaning in what we perceive,
we also recall more easily something which we have understood. The lesson for the
talker is to ensure that there is a central theme in what he says. A talk which is a
series of disjointed observations will not be recalled. It will leave little impression on
the listener.
Psychologists have also drawn attention to a factor, described as the 'dominant detail'
which facilitates recall. What is dominant detail? If you ask a friend the story of a
film, the answer might be 'Oh'! it is the eternal triangle; but this is not the whole
story. The friend may add that it is the eternal triangle with a difference. This
difference is what gives the clue to the dominant detail. Thus, while huqan beings
attempt to perceive objects as unitary wholes, there is some detail which stands out
apart from the rest and influences what is perceived. This dominant detail is a kind
of nucleus around which the other images cluster in a process of recall. It sets the
stage for remembering. Take the well-known film Arth. It is the eternal triangle, but
right through we see the heroine trying to forge a life of her own. This movement
towards the woman's self-identity is the dominant detail.

4.2.3 emtent-density
Do not burden your script with details which in any case make little impression, and
which are easily forgotten. Chief among these are figures. Once they get into lakhs
and crores, they mean nothing to the common person. It is much better to give
comparisons. For example, if you want to say that the population of Australia is very
small, it would be more revealing to say, the total population of Australia is only
equal to the number of children born in India in just one year. If you must give
 figures, give round figures.
Also easily forgotten are names, especially unfamiliar names, like those in a Russian
novel, where, additionally, you discover that characters have several names. You
have to face a similar prablem if required to discuss a border dispute between our
country and China. Somatimes one town may have three names - an Indian name,
a Tibetan name and a CNinese name. A wise talker who is anxious to communicate
will choose one name, the one that is least unfamiliar to his audience. The person
who is concerned to show off his learning will use all the three. The former will
succeed as a radio talker, while the latter may not.

Activity 1
Given below is a passage, Read it carefully and do the exercises given :
1) List the reasons why 9ou think that the passage given below is unsuitable for a
radio talk.
2) Select any four words which you would like to replace with other simpler words
or phrases of similar meaning.
3) Are there any facts or figures which can be deleted without loss of meaning?
More than half of the urban population is in cities, with more than one lakh
population. The urban agglomerations of Calcutta with a population exceeding
10 million followed by Bombay, which is about :o reach the 10 million mark are
the thickest populousurban areas in India. In addition to these, Delhi, Madras,
Bangalore, Hyderabdd, Visakhapatnam, etc. are the other cities growing by
- leaps and bounds in terms of size and populations., This abnormal growth in the
number of urban arehs and population therein demands the supply of more
transport facilities.
Serious consideratio0 is, therefore, required to be given to the transportation
and traffic problems of these fast growing cities. They are no longer capable of
satisfying excessive travel demands because of phenomena1 increase in
population. \

Transport is a servica catering to the mobility needs of rural populations and

urban dwellers with a wide range of modes and means. In modern times urban
transport installation4 operation and its management have become a challenge
in many of the develbping countries. The impact of ecortomic activity on urban
transport results in the demand for travel between work place and residential
places and the same has increased rapidly. Hardly any attention has been paid
for alleviating the trdnsportation and traffic problems in the cities.
(Check your answer w i t h l ~ i d sto Answers 4.7)
 Radio Talk and Profile

4.3 TECHNIQUE OF RADIO TALK .

Fladio talk demands meeting certain basic requirements. They are :

Clarity
Informality
Self-Explanatory
How is the talker to meet the special requirements of the radio talk? Let us discuss
each requirement and see what it demands. Of course, these requirements are
interrelated, and if you satisfy one you may also be satisfying one or more of the
clthers at the same time.
4#.3.1 Clarity
In 4.2.2, we have discussed clarity which helps the listener to recall dominant details
a t the talk after a certain lapse of time. Let us see how we can achieve clarity. It is
commonly agreed that, unlike the written articles, the radio talk is heard; it is not
read. Therefore, the meaning of each sentence must be clear when heard only once.
You cannot listen to it a second time to unravel its meaning. In the case of a printed
article, if you do not get the intention of the author on reading it once, you can
re-read the article or parts of it which you find obscure. But this is not possible in
the case of a talk. So, the first principle of writing a radio talk is to make each
sentence transparently clear. This can be achieved in the following ways :
Sentences should be short: A good rule to follow is to keep the sentences down to
about three lines each. Long sentences frequently involve qualifying clauses. You can
simplify them by putting the qualiing clauses into separate sentences.(see unit 3).
-
Activity 2
Read the passage given below and make this effective for a Radio Talk.
The Indian Constitution, said to guarantee freedom of religion, hedges it with
so many restrictions such as the ability of the state to prohibit religious practices
endangering iaw and order, health and morality and also determines to itself
the right to distinguish essentially religious practices from those which are
secular in nature and merely associated with religion, so that the so-called
guarantee actually amounts to precious little.
(Check your answer with the answer given in 4.7)

Sentences in the active voice tend to make for easier comprehension than those in
indirect speech in the passive voice.'For instance, it is better to say, "Several
distinguished economists believe that a huge budgetan deficit tends to result in
inflation", rather than to say, "The view that a huge deficit in the budget will tend
to result in inflation, is held by many distinguished economists."
Difficult and uncommon words should be avoided: Remember that the listener
neither keeps a dictionary close on hand, nor has the time while listening to refer to
it, if difficult or uncommon words are used in the talk. Easy communication is basic
to radio talk.
 ~ Radio-I
W r f t l for

Activity 3
Read the sentence given below and convert into active voice.
Mental peace and the continuation of mental and physical faculties with passing
years was sought W be achieved by the eastern mystics by the practice of yogic
exercises.
(Check your answer wivh the hints given in 4.7)
..............................................................................................................
i

4.3.2 Informality 1
There is an important despect in which a radio talk differs from a public speech or
lecture. A speech or lecture is heard or listened to by a.collective audience or group.
In the case of the radid talk, however, it is the individual, a few family members,
perhaps a friend or two,who constitute the audience. The radio talker speaks to them
- thousands of such small groups - in the intimaq of their homes.
The radio talk is like a iconversation with friends. It is informal, it is chatty. True,
the other party, the listeners, can not butt in, they cannot interject. It is the talker's
job to do that for them by raising questions and doubts on their behalf, and trying to
answer them. The succq!ssful talker will attempt to do so.
In a radio talk, the persqnality of the presenter is important. One may have made a
special study of a subject, another may have inside knowledge, a third may have been
an eye-witness to an imhrtant event. That is why listeners are interested in what the
thlker has,to say. The talker is not a disembodied voice which is presenting
dry-as-dust fact. So, when you prepare a talk, assimilate your material thoroughly,
consider the main thesid you want to put across', and harness the crucial facts which
articulate your case. 'Tlje upshot of the issue as I see it is this....', '"This is what I
can make of the p r o b l e ~... . . Statements of this kind, in the first person, are entirely
in.order in a radio talk.

Activity 4
Read the passage given below and make it personal, informal and chatty.
A widow becomes the.flotsam and jetsam of Indian society washed ashore at
the portals of exploitative ashrams in the hope of dying there and attaining
moksha salvation)^, or remains prey to the predations of relatives who enslave
or mentally tortureher. Reduced to virtual non-status through a series of rituals
masquerading undbr obscurantist religious sanctions - the breaking of her
bangles or banishidg her from auspicious functions - she loses her
independence and capacity to fight for her property rights.
(Check with answer in 4.7)

...............................................................................................................
I

~
...............................................................................................................
'in
 Radio Talk and Rdlk
4.3.3 Self-Explanatory
The talker is not face-to-face with his audience. This is another point of difference
between the radio talk and the public speech or lecture. In the latter two cases, the
speaker faces his audience. The talker does not have this advantage, and so has
problems. Facial expression communicates a great deal. The audience can see from
the hint of a smile on the speaker's face that he is making a mild joke, or that he is
saying something tongue-in-cheek. Again, on the other hand, one can see from his
expression that he is serious- about the point he is making. Such visual aids are not
available for a radio talk. So the talker has to make up for them in the way he or she
reads the sqipt.
Reading out a script is rather like speaking lines in a play. The talk has to be carefully
rehearsed, so that every nuance of meaning is brought out. However, the talk must
on no accpunt be over-dramatised, because it would then cease to be a conversation,
and would sound unnatural.
One of the important advantages which face-to-face communication gives the speaker
is the feedback through the expressions on the faces of the audience. If he sees them
looking puzzled, he can explain the point further. If they look bored, he can move
on to the next point, and so on. The talker on the radio has to manage without these
important signals. The talker must, therefore, anticipate audience response when
writing his script, or when rehearsing it. If he finds anything lacking in clarity or
taking t60 much time, he should find a corrective for it.

Activity 5
Given below are some opening sentences (a-f) from excerpts.
1) Identify those you think can be used, as they are, as opening for radio talks.
2) Give the ones selected, suitable titles to focus the theme.
a) Three o'clock in the morning - dark, cold, peaceful. The telephone rings
with a start, I get up and lift the receiver : Kaun?
b) It is found out that in the manufacture of safety matches the material contents -
chlorate of potash, sulphur, phosphorus, red antimony, black antimony,
glue, veneers, splints, blue paper and gun powder form 61 per cent of the
total cost of production.
c) There is a convenient penchant to sweep under the rug some of the most
grotesque evils that plague society until some apocalyptic incident jolts
people from their escapist reveries.
d) One can watch the varying moods of rivers - almost human - in the
ceaselcss cycle of the seasons. A narrow, slow, silvery streak of water during
the hot summer, a wide roaring broad-bosomed torrential spectacle during
the monsoons.
e) The second Asiad, the tenth Asian Games, will be remembered for the
emergence of a new power in sports arena of the Continent : While China
reasserted its supremacy by maintaining the dominance gained at the New
Delhi games four years ago, the host country, South Korea, rewrote history
by toppling Japan for the secmd position.
f) Voltaire, enumerating the advantage that animals have over man, observed
that they have no theologian to instruct them, their funerals cost them
nothing and no one starts lawsuits over their wills. This set me wondering.
What is the advantage man has over animals?
(Check your answers with Aids to ~nswers'4.7)

4.4 TARGET AUDIENCE

The radio talk is usually enjoyed in retrospect. While it is on the air your attention
is f w s e d on what is goint on. You dare not relax your attention for fear of missing
a crucial link. It is only when it is over that you can think over what has been said,
especially the main point, to grasp the significance of what has been said. But in order
to do this you must be able to remember it. The secret of writing effectively for the
Writing for Radio-I
- radio is to write so as to Be remembered. Radio writing must be memorable.
Broadly speaking, there afe two sets of factors which determine recall. They are
subjective factors and objective factors, and a talk should be organised keeping these
factors in mind. The subjqctive factors relate to the mental make-up of the person
who has to remember, and the objective factors to the material which has to be
remembered.

4.5 RADIO PROFILE

The radio profile is usually a talk, feature, magazine or even documentary on a
certain personality. There is no one way of doing a radio profile and very often its
presentation depends on circumstances. Say for instance, Salman Rushdie, the
distinguished writer, wins a Pulitzer Prize for writing. There can be a Radio Profile
of him so that Indian listeners get an idea of Salman Rushdie. There are various ways
one can go about:
i) We may want to interlriew him as part of the profile. If Salman Rushdie is is
India, we can make an attempt to get him for a brief interview. We can write a
script about him and get him to speak on cekain important issues.
ii) We may discover that Salman Rushdie is in England and has no immediate plans
'
of visiting India. We make a hurried attempt to find out whether anyone has ever
recorded a conversation with Rushdie, If yes, can we have access to it and use it
for our programme? Our script would certainly become more lively if it
incorporates excetpts from interviews from the archives. In which case we can
have a scripted profile of Rushdie intercut with archival material (i.e.
prerecorded interviews).
iii) We search high and low for archival materials and discover that no one has ever
interviewed Rushdie. Even if there has been one there's no trace of any such
material. We do not want our programme to be a straight talk. Why not interview
people who know Rushdie or are familiar with his work? We manage to track
down several people who are familiar with Rushdie and his work and have a lot
of interesting informatlion to share. In which case, we can have a scripted profile
of Rushdie that incorporates several other speakers.
iv) We discover that we ate very lucky and have access to all of the above. In which
case we have a script& commentary, Rushdie himself as well as some archival
interviews of Rushdie, If we have all these resources at our command, we can
even go to the extent of producing a radio commentary.
v) If we do not have access to any of the above, all is not lost. We can produce a
well scripted talk that will both inform and interest listeners.
Now, all the rules for writing that we have talked of in unit 3 and the present one
are relevant for producing a radio profile. Even though options 1,2,3 and 4 may
needdemand a lot of running around, it is hard to produce a well written 'talk'. On
the other hand it runs the iisk of being monotonous and dull, How does one get out
of that? Well, there are no hard and fast rules, but keeping the following in mind can
certainly help.
i) Research is always most important. Whether you include all your materials into
the programme or nott you should know everything that there is to know about
that person. Your facts should be checked and cross-checked several times over.
ii) Avoid dates, numbers, and technical jargon. For instance, nobody is interested
in knowing how many articles Rushdie has published, on which day and in which
magazine and in what edition.
iii) Your presentation should be informal. You may be writing about a writer but
there's no need to get into any high-flown emotional rhetoric (....As the sun sets
to the west and the hills are tinged with pale orange, Salman Rushdie, writer,
thinker and 'lost soul in hiding, makes a secret vow to himself...) It should also
be noted that the script writer cannot run away with infoimality. So when,you
make a programme on say, a pop singer, think twice before using words like
'ripoff, 'rap', 'funky', etc. Not only do these words risk extinction but they are
probably not found in the dictionary. It's always preferable to use words that
 . - -- R d o Talk and Profile
everybody is familiar with.
iv) Selection is an important part of praducing a profile. Human beings are
multifaced. It's quite impossible to deal with everything all at once. Take one
aspect of that person and write about it. Of cmrse, you should acknowledge the
existence of other aspects but do not attempt to deal with everything in depth.
v) An attempt must be made to concretize the abstract with specific examples.
Anecdotes and examples come in very handy here. If say, we are making a profile
of famous theatre director Peter Brooke, we may say; "Peter Brooke's work is
replete with symbolism" (generallabstract statement). This could be concretized
with: "Peter Brooke's work is replete with symbolism. In The Mahabharata for
instance, Arjuna is a character who changes constantly. In the end, he is
victorious but not above blame. We watch him increasingly become besmirched
with mud and blood from his wounds."

4.6 SUMMING UP
A Radio Talk implies communication between the talker and the listener. There are
certain essential elements which, if ignored or neglected, will render the talk
ineffective. 'They are interrelated, and in satisfying one you may be satisfying one or
more of the others at the same time.
As thje Radio Talk is usually listened to by individuals, it should be informal, even
chatty.
The talk should concern the issue uppermost in the mind of the listeners.
The writer must, therefore, use appropriate language to hold the interest of his
listeners. For instance, short sentences, simple words, personal interjections,
rhetorical questions, etc., make for clahty and liveliness in delivery.
The talker should not burden his talk with figures which are usually forgotten.
Likewise, he should not use unfamiliar names, and, if forced to use. them, he
should choose the name least unfamiliar to his audience.
The talk should be personal and should reflect the talker's knowledge and his own
v i l w or perspective.
The talk should be memorable at its first presentation, since it will not be repeated.
If the theme is clearly expressed, the dominant detail highlighted and irrelevant
matter struck out, there is no reason why the talk should not leave a lastina
impression on the mind of the listener.
Radio profiles could be talks, features, magazines or even a documentary on a
personality.
Research and organisation are equally importantin the writing of a radio profile.

- 4.7 AIDS TO ANSWERS

Activity 1
i) a) Some sentences are too long.
b) The vocabulary is pedantic with quite a few words of four or more syllables.
c) The presentation will be dull.
d) There is no effort to link the talk directly with the urban commuter's
problems, so he can see himself in the picture.
e) Think of other reasons.
ii) Agglomerations, phenomenal, installation, alleviating
iii) a) Too many figures make a radio talk monotonous.
b) The fact of .rapid population growth has been repeated in at least five
sentences.

A c t i v i ~2
The sentences consists of nearly seventy words, and the listener would lost the sense
of it before he gets to the end. To make it effective in a radio talk you should break it
up into diffcrcnt sentences. and the key idea should come into the first short sentence.
thus : 'The Indian Constipution is said to guaranteeofreedom of religion. hut thi4
freedom comes to naught in view of a e power of the state to restrict it'. (27 words)
"These restraining power4 include the right to interfere with any rcligio~h'~racticc if
it endangers. etc. etc."

Activity 3
a) 'Eastern mystics, becbmes the subject of your sentence.
b) 'Achieved' becomes '$chieve'.

Activity 4 I
a) Write in the first p e m n , 'I; - 'you' form.
b) Substitute simple words for the more pcdantic ones. i.e.. cxploit;ttivc.
predations, obscurantist, etc.
C) Replace the cliche 'flotsam and jetsam' with words indicating your scnsc 01
. disgust at the status allotted to widows in scxiety.
Activity 5
a) The Day Everything Went Wrong
My Past Catches U p y i t h Me
d) The Seasons of a Riv r
Rivers Make Me Thin
e) The'Second Asiad
1
f) What Makes Man ~ u k r i o tor Animals?
The Simple Life
I
IJNIT 5 RADIO AND MASS
COMMUNICATION

ti.0 Objectives
!i,l Introduction
5.2 Communication
5.2.1 Mass Communication
5.2.2 Inrcr-Pcmnal Communication
5.3 Effects Theory :An Overview
5.3.1 The HypodermicN&dle Model
5.3.2 The TwvStep flow Hypothesis
5.3.3 R m t Trends In Communication
5.4 Development Communication Models
5.5 Theory Development and Research
5.5.1 Content Analysis 1
5.5.2 AudiamResearch I
I
5.6 The Role of Radio in Mass Communication
5.7 Summing Up

5.a - OBJECTIVES
At the end of your study of this unit. you will be able to:
def111e mass communication
explain the role of mass communication in development process
state and describe the theory of wmmunication research and
describe the role of radio in mass communication

5.1 INTRODUCTION
I
m e 20th century has made rapid strides in wmmunication technology. This revolution in I

communication technology is comparable to the Industrial revolution of the previous 1

Let us list some of the developments in communication technology that we an familiar

the telegraph to the teleprinter and the telex

the telephone and the various related telephonic devices
the radio
television and cable television (more common in developed countries)
communitiation satellites with the capacity to transmit simultaneously
thousands of messages to different parts of the globe . I

telecommunications
videos, audios, compact discs etc.
These are a few of the well-known and important gifts of communication technology to us
in the last one hundred years. This has brought about a rapid development in communication
which, in hun, has ushered in a new information-based society with its two-fold emphasis
on right to communicate and right to receive communication. In this unit we
discuss the theory of communication followed by a discussion on the role of radio as an
important medium of mass communication.
I

52 COMMUNICATION
What is communication? Try to mall what you do when you communicate with your friend.
You will reach the conclusion that communication is the art of transmitting one's thoughts.
ideas, philosophy or message to others. Thus, it involves an interaction between a minimum
of two persons -the sender (or the communicator or the encoder) and the receiver (or the 5 ,
J
Reaching the Public listener or the decoder). The other components of comnknication are the message, the
medium, the method of communication and th6 response or effects on the receiver.

Thus the six elements of communication are

the sender
the message
the medium (print, radio, video, cinema etc.,)
the method (oral, written, visual, drama, song etc.,)
the receiver and
response or effects
Communication can take place between two or more persons. When it is meant for a large
number, it is commonly known as "mass communication".

5.2.1 Mass Communication

1
Mass Communication is not a 20th century phenomenon. It has been there since pre-historic ,
times when messages were relayed to people at far off distances by means of drum beats or as
in the early Greek times by means of drama. But what is new today is the development of
communication sciences that has drawn upon scientific theories and concepts of social and
behavioural sciences such as Economics, Sociology and Psychology. This has made
communication easy among large numbers of people, cutting across regional and
geographical boundaries. The term 'mass communication' has two terms - ''massV and
"communicationw.

The term 'mass' refers to 'a large body of people in a compact group'. (Ref. : Longman
Dictionary of the English language.) In the context of mass communication, the 'mass'
consists of an audience unseen and unknown except that more often than not, the addresser
shares with it certain common cultural and social attitudes.

The term 'communication' has, two distinct meanings. The first sees communication as the
'transmission of messages'. This, as we have seen, involves a sender, a receiver, a channel or
a medium through which the message is transmitted. This also looks upon communication
as a process by which A sends a message to B to produce an effect or change on the attitude
or behaviour of the latter (B). The sender, in this case, occupies the centre stage and
determines the effect of the message on the receiver, who remains passive.

The second meaning of communication relates to 'the production and exchange of meanings',
as a result of the interaction between the sender, the text and the receiver. In short, it is clear
that the text or message is a construction by the receiver of the signs therein to produce the
meaning. The sender is no longer the central actor here. The emphasis shifts to the 'text' and
how it is read by the receiver. The receiver reacts to the text based on his own cultural and
social experiences.

Both the meanings are valid up to a certain point. Putting the two together, we can arrive at
a broad definition of mass communication as 'the practice and product of providing leisure,
entertainment and information to an unknown audience by means of ... print, screen
audio and broadcast media' (O'Sullivan, Hartley, Sounders, Friske : Key Concepts in
Communication).

Activity 1
Either now or sometime later, listen to a few advertisements on the Vividh Bharati
broadcast of All India Radio. Assess their impact on you and find out if your response has
been that of a passive receiver or of an active one. Discuss with your counsellor and fellow
students at the counselling centre.

Mass communication media (Print, Radio, Television etc.) serve a number of purposes:

i) A single message can reach many simultaneo~sly.

 Radio and Mass
iii) The regular news bulletins on the radio and TV along with the newspapers in the Commu~~ication
mornings and evenings give people, at fixed times, the latest infomation on
various happenings all around the world.

Self Check Exercise 1

i) What are the two meanings of communication?

......................................................................................................................
..............................................
.......................................................................I

......................................................................................................................
ii) Define the purposes served by mass communication media.

5.2.2 Inter-Personal Communication

Mass communication thus involves a process in which not only can one communicate with
many, but also many with one or many with many. Unless people respond to the
information they receive and in turn, make known their point 6f view, we will have just a
one-way flow of communication from an active sender to a passive receiver. In modem times
it is becoming increasingly clear that successful communication depends on the interaction
between the two-the sender and the receiver. Inter-personal communication is a significant
development in the field of development communication (Communication for development).
It means face to face communication between people unmediated by media-technology such
as television, print, radio or film. It can take the form of DYAD - face-to-face interaction
engaged by two people-or Group communication that takes place between and within
groups.
Reacblng the Public
53 EFFECTS THEORY : AN OVERVIEW
-

Of the six elements of communication, the 'response' or 'effect' is of utmost significance,

for all successful communication is dependent on its effect or impact on the receiver.

The term 'effects' in the context of mass communication is commonly used to refer to the
direct impact of media messages on individuals. But often this term takes a highly pejorative
meaning for it implies media authoritarianism whereby you are compelled or forced to adopt
certain attitudes and behaviourialchanges or accept certain ideas and ideologies, which
would not have otherwise entertained, but for the media. The concept of one-way flow of
information from the sender to the receiver to create a pre-determined effect has thus come in
for severe criticism. The theory of wmmunication of effects, as stated above, has been
challenged and countered by rigorous academic and critical examination of the assumptions
underlying it. Further, the charge against media effects has also a lot to do with the negative
effects the media has on the public, in terms of generating violence, juvenile delinquency and
other social problems. It is pointed out that certain groups, especially children, young
impressionable people and the uneducated am vulnerable to the negative effects of the mass
media. Here one should add that the term 'effects' is different from 'effectiveness' of the
medin .-"
Activity 2
Today there is a lot of discussion going on about communalism. You have access to
different view points on the print, radio and television. Read about it in a news magazine,
listen to the topic on current affairs programme on the Radio and try to watch a programme
on communalism on the TV,(you can also borrow a video cassette and an audio tape on this
issue). Analyse the effects of each of these media on you. This will help you recognise the
positive and negative effects of the media.

5.3.1 The Hypodermic Needle Model

There are 3 basic models of communication, each producihg varied effects on the receiver.
Let us discuss them in the next few subsections of this unit.
This is a linear model of communication that produces an instantaneous effect on the receiver
after helshe receives the message. It is an early and outdated model which sees the media as
injecting ideas, values or ideology d~rectlyinto the individual to produce a direct and instant
effect. Hence it goes by the name 'the syringe model' or 'the hypoqlermic needle model' and

r ~ f i ; ~in<
.

1de;ticq mass audience members

Fig 1

5.3.2 The Two-Step Flow Hypothesis

This model takes on the concept of interpersonal communication. It moves away from the
earlier hypodermic needle model of mass communication. Here the mass media message
passes to a member of the a u d i e n ~ f e r r e dto as "opinion leader' and then, moves to group
members and then to a larger audience. The audience is no longer seen as a mass of
unconnected individuals and the message is relayed in varied ways through the opinion
+ .
8
leaders who select and interpret the message to the mass audience. They act as 'conductors' Radio arnd Mass 1
between the media and the community (see Fig. 2)
Commu~rication j

Individual group member

Media -(influence)
opinion leader q Individual group member

\L Individual group member

The development of the model shows that the media message is not a fixed message that is
to be understood in identical terms by one and all; on the contrary, it could be interpreted
differently by different people.

5.3.3 Recent Trends in ~omm6ication

This is known as the multi-step flow model. It is an extension of the two-step flow
hypothesis and moves still further away from seeing the audience as passive individuals and
from viewing the media message as uni-dimensional, (i.e., one identical meaning for all
individuals). Here the empasis is shifting from "what media can do to people" to "what
people can do with the media". This is a participatory model of communication with free,
uninhibited interaction betwee0 the sender and the receiver. This includes 'feedback' whereby
the receiver's reaction to the message he has received is transmitted back to the sender -
sometimes referred to as the encoder or communicator. This helps the sender/communicator
:o know how the message has been interpreted and received, and in turn, facilitates change if
necessary in transmitting subsequent messages. The feedback of the receiver's reaction to the
:sender is relevant to any successful communication. Recent trends in communication study
:;how that mass media is no longer viewed as 100 per cent predetermined.
'There is always scope or freedom to change the communication strategies to achieve the
tiesired results especially those which concern development programmes. There is a constant
effort to increase the degree of participation and democratisation in the media functions, so
ihat communication has a free flow throughout the social fabric.
Activity 3
Listen to the public service announcements on the radio with regard to family planning. Do
they have the desired impact on the people? In the light of the three ways of communication,
which will you recommend for producing the maximum impact? Write down the answers and
 -- -- - -.-
Re.cMag the h b l k
5.4 DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION MODELS
There is no denying the link between mass communication and the social and economic
development of a nation. The underdevelopment of the communication network can be seen
as the underlying cause of the general underdevelopment of the nation. Hence every nation
recognises that for any developmental plan to succeed, the development of the
communication sector becomes imperative. Thanks to communication technology,
government developmental campaigns have been able to spread knowledge about new
methods of cultivation, the need for vaccination, family planning, health and hygiene etc. to
villages and remote places. Such a process of change can be rapidly brought about if vast
networks of mass communication are built up and the communicators act as powerful
transmitters of infomation and knowledge.

The newly emerging independent nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America, initially looked
upto the developed countries of the West (America and North Atlantic nations of Europe) for
technology transfer which included techniques of communication and a proper and effective
use of the media. But soon it became clear to them that dependence on Western technology
only perpetuated, in a different way, the same old colonial dependence which they had
recently shaken off.

Hence the earlier diffusion of innovation models that the West had transferred to these
developing nations had to be replaced by indigenous models referred to as Dependency Model
or self-reliant model.

Let us look at these three different kinds of models:

a) The Diffusion of hovations Model.

b) The Dependency Model.
c) The Alternative Development Communication Model (self-reliant model).
Let us briefly discuss each of them below:

Diffusion of Innovations Model

The post World War 11era is marked by the rise of the power of science and technology and
the emergence of the social and behavioural sciences such as Economics, Sociology and
Psychology.

Drawing on all these is the science of communication and media studies. After World War 11,
the USA and the North Atlantic nations (Western Europe) developed rapidly in all spheres of
agriculture, industry, power and development communication. Desiring to shape the world in
tems of their own interests, they were keen to transfer their technical know-how to the
backward non-Western world. Techniques of communication and use of mass media were part
of this technology transfer. This was one way of having control over the information
networks of the developing nations and thereby bringing them under their influence. This
model of development communication rested on the "modernisation paradigm"
(approximately from 1945-65) that sought to transfer modem technology as well as the
socio-political culture of modernity to traditional societies of the developing nations of Asia,
Africa and Latin America.

Dependency-Dissociation Model -

The newly independent counaies of Asia, Africa and Latin America were initially attracted by
the promise of technical assistance from the developed West, which they believed would
rapidly solve their problems of hunger, illiteracy and bad communication facilities. But soon
they realised that this Western aid was introducing yet another f o m of dependency which
would in course of time lead to the Western domination over them. So to safeguard their
economic, cpltural and communication independence, these newly emerging countries decided
to band themselves to f m h aunified block of non-aligned nations and seek to establish a
New World Economic and Information Order. Hence this communication model based on
dependencydissociation paradigm (fromthe early 1960s to the early 1980s) sought to
preserve the political, cultural and economic independence of the developing nations and to
move towards a New World Order.
 The Alternative Development Communication Model Radio ind Muss
Commltnication
Along with the non-aligned nations' demand for a New Information Order, came the
Alternative Model or the Self Reliant Model of development communication. This favours
people's communication through mass movements to bring structural changes in the society
thereby preserving and strengthening the individual national cultures and traditions. On the
national level this model advocates decentralisation which in essence means propping up
local and regional cultures, languages and traditions for a smooth flow of information to all
sections of people.

Recent research in Development Communication has laid emphasis on the following

I
aspects:

a) Instead of an exclusive focus on rural development, there should be a focus on

urban development as well. This has become important because of the large
scale migration of the rural poor to the urban areas. So the media has to
address itself to the new urban poor also.

b) Combined use of traditional media and modem media through the participation
of the entire community in all communication programmes.

C) Identification of the needs of the different communities and use of

cornrnunication strategy towards the filfilment of those needs.

d) Popular communication forms such as folk songs, folk theatre etc. to be

broadcast through the new communication media such as Radio and
Rteching the Public
THEORY DEVELOPMENT AND RESLARCH
~
Recent and current advances in communication technology have made mass communication
reasonably effective both in the dissemination of information and in the introduction of a
New World Information Order. There has been much speculation as to how the new
techniques of communication would affect man and his society. Communication Revolution
can prove both beneficial and harmful; it contains within itself intrinsic benefits and inherent
dangers.

Hence there is a growing concern for research into the consequences of this progress in
communication technology. There is in existence a bulk of research findings on the
effectiveness of mass communication, but much less study on the effects of the media in
their newly developing forms on society. The early research findings about mass media and
rnass communication have underscored the omnipotence of the media whereby the
communicator could influence his audience at will. This view is no longer favoured and
those in the developing countries seem to be awake of the potential dangers in the use of the
mass media. There has been considerable research done in the field of rnass communication
in the industrialised countries, but to a lesser extent in the developing countries of Asia,
Africa and Latin America. The role of the media and the functions of mass communication in
these countries differ significantly from those of the industrially advanced nations.

With the mass media forming an integral part of national development, communication
research has to orient itself to relate it to developmental campaigns relating to national
unity, agriculture, health, education, family planning, adult literacy etc. Research assumes
added importance here because the practitioners of mass communication campaigns should
approach their tasks on the basis of some fundamental knowledge of their media, of their
audiences, of the process of information flow and the possible effects of their campaigns and
messages on people. Communication research is to be done continuously before, during and
after the message reaches the audience. Before, because the communicators need basic
knowledge; during, because they should know whether they are on the right track and
whether changes are called for; after, towards assessing the effectiveness of their message and
towards obtaining feedback information.
1
Broadly speaking, communications research can be categorised into content ~nalysisand
audience research.

5.5.1 Content Analysis

This is a research technique for the objective, systematic quantitative description of the
content. For example this involves assessing the kinds of programmes or items that have
been broadcast such as news, commentaries, features, sports etc. Other areas that research
should focus on include
a, the use of media in education

b) the role of media in developing societies that are transitional

c) the impact of mass communication on youth

d) the relationship of mass communication to violence and aggression

e) the development of indigenous models of communication that will protect the cultural.
integrity of every nation

f) the role of the mass media in promoting national and international understanding

g) news transmission and the coverage of events and issues without bias, sensationalism,
neglect of background etc.
 Radio and Mass 1
Comr~unication
This involves the study of audience patterns (listenership, viewershiplreadership) with
reference to radio / TV /journals. It also includes the gathering of information about a large
number of the characteristics of the audience, how much do they listen to the radio or watch
TV etc.. their reaction to what they hear and see, their attitudes to and opinions on various
subjects and issues, their responses to specific campaigns and messages, and finally their
adoption or rejection of the new practices and innovations communicated to them. The
importance of audience research in developing countries cannot be exaggerated. Since people
have to be actively participating in the developmental programmes, it is necessary that they
discuss and express their opinions' on the changes that are being introduced through the
media. It is equally useful to know their needs and concerns. This information has to come
back to the communicator telling him what reactions his receivers had to the message he had
-- .
sent out.

Self Check Exercise 5

Discuss briefly the significance of communications research.

5.6 THE ROLE OF RADIO IN DEVELOPMENT

COMMUNICATION
Despite the immense technological innovations in the field of mass media, Radio continues
to enjoy popularity and utility value among the developing nations. This is partly due to its
cost-effectiveness and partly due to its easy availability and purchasability at a reasonable
price. The invention of battery operated transistor sets has made d i o accessible to people in
the lower income groups.

As pointed out in the earlier sections of this unit, communication and transfer of information
play a key role in the development plans of many of the developing countries. Most of the
rural people in a country like ours are illiterate and therefore have no use for the newspaper.
Nor can they afford television sets in their homes. But a growing number of people even in
distant places and remote villages do listen to the radio. Hence governments in most of the
newly emerging nations are more and more concerned with the effective use of radio to
inform and educate people about the development plans and programmes for their betterment.
Reaching the Public i) Formal Education
Studies on the effectiveness of radio indicate that instructional radio, supplemented with
appropriate printed material is almost as effective as traditional classroom instruction. Radio
has been effectively used in language instruction - especially to teach English iq Thailand,
the Phillippines and the People's Republic of China. Other areas where radio instruction is
useful are those of basic sciences, natural science, hygiene, public health etc.

Radio instruction is also used in Distance Education, sometimes referred to as ''Learning

through Extended schools". The hours of instruction are made suitable to the student's
convenience -most of the time in the evening after a day's work. This helps a potential
student to find time to continue his education. The Open University in the United Kingdom
is perhaps the best known distance learning system where the use of radio with
correspondence for learning has proved both successful and cost-effective. Though radio may
do no better than a competent teacher, it may be valuable in areas where neither schools nor
competent teachers are available to serve the populations. For example, Nicaragua's Radio
Mathematics Project has done commendable work in teaching Mathematics to the elementary
school students. It is a daily lesson of 30 minutes duration on the radio. During each lesson,
two main characters join with one or two subordinate characters to sing, play and talk
Mathematics and invite the children to join in. The children are asked to respond orally and
later in writing and they do so upto one hundred times during this 30 minute lesson.

ii) Development Communication

The purposes of development communication are to motivate, to inform, to teach and to

change attitudes / behaviour. This is more in line with non-formal education where
there is no formal cumculum to be followed in instruction. Radio programmes can be used
to motivate people to think; analyse and act on the basis of their own reasoning. For
example, programmes on environment will help people to thlnk about ecology; programmes
on history and other political matters will give them something to analyse the state of the
nation and motivate them to think about national oneness and patriotism.

Radio's use to inform includes presentation of news, current affairs, matters of social and
community concern etc. Public Service Announcements can serve both to motivate and to
inform. Kadio programmes that teach can be aimed at telling mothers about nutrition and
child care; farmers about crop planting; rural people about medical care and hygiene and
young people in particular about first aid in case of accidents. As regards the fourth purpose
- to change attitude or behaviour - the programme on family planning, on vaccination, child
marriages, dowry, secularism etc. will give the people the right direction to follow. This
will help them give up irrational faiths, superstitions, beliefs and traditional customs that
have impinged on the health of men and women and open their eyes to a different way of
living on a rational foundation.

111) Interactive Communication

This is a participatory kind of communication, that accommodates exchange of information

on various matters relating to finance, taxes, national savings schemes, public
administration, health, books etc. This involves participation of both the communicator and
the receiver with the latter seeking directions from the former. This takes the communicator
to different places, where he meets people and discusses with them the problems and
solutions.

iv) Entertainment

The role of radio in entertainment has in recent times been outweighed by the television
programmes. Though radio entertainment is strictly aural with no supporting visual aids,
radio plays and radio adaptations of stories from classics and novels continue to enjoy
popularity among the listeners. You will read more about Radio and Entertainment in
Block 3 of this course.

Activity 4
Listen to Radio Programmes related to Development communication. List out the different
programmes presented on rhc AIR. Comment on their usefulness and effectiveness.

14
 Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 The Advertisement: Need and Function
6.2.1 Advertising Campaign
6.2.2 Advertising Classification
6.3 Public Service Announcements
6.3 1 What is PSk?
6.3.2 Difference between Commercial Advehsements and PSAs
6.3.3 Themes ln PSA e
6.3.4 Regular PSA
6.3.5 Current PSA
6.3.6 Public Service Announcements/Campaigns
6.3.7 Audience Research
6.4 Radio Advertisement vis-a-vis Press / TV Advertisement
6.5 Radio Advertisement and Time
6.5.1 Radiospot
6.5.2 ' Sponsored Pmgrammes
Programmes
6.5.3 Sponsored Song and MUSIC
6.6 Scripting the Advertisement ,
6.6.1 Target Audience
6.6.2 Creative Strategy
6.7 The Selling Approach
6.7.1 Appeal Strategy
6.7.2 Humour Strategy
6.7.3 Comparat~veAdvenising as a Creat~veStrategy
6.7.4 Samples of Radio Advertisements
6.8 Summing Up
6.9 Reading List
6.10 Appendix -General Rules of Conduct in Advertising

6.0 OBJECTIVES
After a study of this unit, you will be able to :
defme advertisement and state its need and function
explain the two types of advertisement-commercial and public service
announcements
describe the different social themes taken up for public service campaigns
state the differences between Radio and Press / TV advertisements and
script a radioadvertisement.

6.1 INTRODUCTION
Radio has a significant role to play in the shaping of our society. This is specially true of
our country where more than 95% of the population listen to the Radio. Till a few decades
back, Radio was being primarily used as a medium for mass entertainment and for broadcast
of News and Features. But today it is being increasingly used in the service of the public to
communicate important messages, announcements and information. In this context, we shall
discuss the effective use of Radio for public service announcements and commercial
advertisements. You are well aware of the strengths and limitations of Radio as a medium of
mass communication. We shall also discuss the specific use of language in the preparation
of the copy for radio advertisements and announcements.

At the end of the unit we have attached an Appendix on General Rules of Conduct in
16 Advertising, which should prove useful.
 Public Servlce Annwncernents
6.2 THE ADVERTISEMENT: NEED AND FUNCTION
What is advertisement? It is a means of communicating to people on a nonpersonal basis. It
uses the media of mass communication such as radio, television, newspapers, magazines and
public display hoardings. Advertising is defined as "...paid, nonpersonal communication
through various media by business f m s , nonprofit organisations and individuals who are in
some way identified in the advertising message and who hope to inform or persuade members
of a particular audience." (S.S. Dunn and A.M. Barban, Advertising: Its Role in
Modern Society Hindale: The Dryden Press, 1978) p.8
From the above definition, it is clear that advertising is not restricted to products but
encompasses services and ideas also. It is also evident that the two basic functions of
advertisement are (1) to inform and (2) to persuade. Thus advertising leads to
promotion of sales, change of attitude and arousal of awareness. Because of
its persuasiveness, advertising has to be specially concerned with the economic, social,
ethical and moral issues of advertising.

6.2.1 Advertising Campaign

There are many types of advertising campaign. But basically any campaign strategy has to
address itself to the following six questions:

1) Who is advertising?

2) For whom is the advertisement intended ?

3) What is being advertised?

4) What is the purpose of the advertising campaign?

5) Which geographic area does it cater to

6) Which medium is to be used?

The process also involves five important decisions to be made-namely, advertising
objectives, estimation of the budget in the selection of the medium, creative strategy as to
how to communicate the message, media strategy with reference to the delivery of the
message and evaluation of the effectiveness of the message.

6.2.2 Advertising Classification

Advertising can be classified into a few broad categories. These are :
1) Product Reputation Advertising: Here the word "product" includes both goods and
services. Finns that produce or distribute goods or provide a service devote the major portion
of their advertising efforts to selling them. (Examples: Consumer goods, Courier Service
etc.).

2) Institutional Advertising : Here advertising is towards selling ideas. There are three
forms of Institutional advertising -
a) Patronage Institutional Advertising which sells the ideas of patronising a producer
or retailer other than specific product merits. For example "Ford has a better idea" without
mentioning'lhe individual product (Car/ Truck1 Bus) tells the listener the importance of the
manufacturing finn FORD, so that he patronises the fm,

b) Public Relations Institutional Advertising: Designed to improve a firm's image

or reputation either through presentation of the firm's point of view in any labour dispute or
through an elaboration of the benefits and utilities for the public by the f m ' s concern.
Examples are the ad. releases given by major Public Sector and Private Sector f m such as
BHEL, OIL INDIA, Larsen & Toubro etc.
c) Public Service Advertising: This is a means of using advertising to promote non-
controversial causes in the interest of the public--such as road safety, cleaner environment,
hygiene, family planning, child welfare etc.
Reuhing (be Public
63 PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Radio, more than any other medium of mass communication reaches more than 95% of the
public and hence its use in making PSA is more effective than that of newspapers and
television. If PSAs are carefully and precisely worded for broadcast over the radio medium,
they are likely to reach a large segment of our population and to be equally well understood
by it.

63.1 What is PSA

The main purpose of PSA is the dissemination of information on a public problem and in
the public interest.
For example,
"THEREIS ONLY ONE INDIA. IT BELONGS TO ALL OF US.
WE THE PEOPLE M LJST ACT FOR UNITY".
(National Integration Campaign)
"SIGHT-YOUR CHILD'S MOST PRECIOUS GIFT. PROTECT IT".
@ye Donation)
These are advehsements issued in nationaUpublic interest.
Communications which urge its audience to implement or support some
kind of social or economic cause deemed beneficial by the consensus of
tbe general public is Public Service Advertising. It is also likely that most of
the PSAs do urge some kind of action.

63.2 Difference between Commercial Advertisements and PSA

In elementary terms, we can say that commercial advehsement seeks to share the market
while PSA seeks to share the mind. By advertising specific consumer products, commercial
advertisement satisfies a felt need of the consumer. In contrast, PSA provokes the audience
to recognise a need. For example by advertising a slogan "Save water" the PSA makes its
audience recognise the need to save water for a dry season. So the arousal or awakening of
one's awareness is primarily a function of the PSA, while the commercial advertisement
caters to the felt need of the consumer. PSA is created by advertising professionals and
exhibited free of charge by the media which donates both space and time. Many business
f m s sponsor PSAs without any reference-totheir own sale products. This is a
manifestation of the new philosophy of business.
PSA by Eleemosynary institutions: Besides business firms, PSA is done by
charitable institutions, known as eleemosynary institutions such as Helpage, Care, Unicef
etc. Their messages are sometimes contributed to by business concerns, but more often, they
are funded by these charitable organisations themselves.
BSA by Governments : Developing countries have the need for an informed citizenry.
PSAs are effective means of reaching the public with necessary information. Such
advertising is used to promote issues without any bias or partisan slant in the interest of
public good.

63.3 Themes in PSA

We can look at the theme from three aspects-regular PSA, current PSA and Public Service
Campaign. They all deal with affairs related to our daily living, social issues and information
on essential matters. Over the radio, these PSAs reach out to all segments of society all over
the country. For the PSAs to make an impact on the listeners and for them to be effective,
the time of broadcast, and its duration are of considerable importance and the message has to
be precise and in unambiguous terms. Often it is said that television, being an audio-visual
medium, can prove more effective than radio which has no visuals to support it. But
television can only cater to 16-24 inches of one's imagination but the appeal of radio gives
full scope for the free play of imagination.
63.4 Regular PSA Public Service ~nnc~lncements

1) Railway bulletins

2) Inter-state Bus timings

3) Employment News
4) Weather bulletin

5) Market rates/ Bazaar rates

6) Announcement of new policies, programmes and proposals on important days.

7) Book reviews1New publications

8) Lost persons

9) Highlights of the day's broadcast programmes. I

While preparing the text for such announcements, care is to be taken to provide correct
information and details so as to leave no doubt in the minds of the listeners. In preparing
Railway bulletins, the name of the train mail or express, the destinations, both to and fro,
the number of the train and the time are to be given in a serial order. Instead of making
announcements in terms of "a.m." and "p.m.", it will be better to give the time in figures.
For example, 4 p.m. can be stated as 16 hours. If there is a delay in the arrival or departure
of a train, the original scheduled time and the new time have to be given. 7
1
Note the time of the Railway bulletins broadcast on your Radio station. Listen to these
announcements. Attempt a sample announcement of a Railway bulletin. Discuss with your
counsellor and fellow students at the study centre.

All India Radio has a special form to be filled in for "Lost persons" announcement. This
form has the following format:

Name of the person : Mahesh

Father's Name : Sunderlal
: 10 years
Name of the place where he disappeared from : Kanpur
Dress worn : Blue shorts and checked Bush shirt
Identification Marks : A cut on the right cheek
: Wheatish
: 4 feet
Places where he is likely to be found : Kanpur, Lucknow and Allahabad
Address for intimation : Sunderlal,
House No. 36, Gali No. 12,
Station Area, Kanpur.
The copy to be made for the announcement from the above form will run thus:
Shri Sunderlal informs that his son, Mahesh, aged 10 has been lost from April 3,1990 from
Kanpur. He is of wheatish complexion and is four feet tall, with a cut on his right cheek .
He had worn blue shorts and a checked bush shirt. If you have any information about his I

The following points are to be borne when preparing the announcement:

Easy l a n g u a g ~ i m p l and
e direct sentences

Precise and clear diction

A certain degree of friendly appeal without being casual and informal

Listen to Lost Persons announcements on the Radio and prepare a sample copy of a lost
pup. Discuss with your coumsellor at the study centre.
Rewhiag the Ppbllc
63.5 Current PSA
Under this category, information and announcements relating to basic daily amenities are
given:

1) Water supply at low pressure in certain areas

2) Dates of examinations/results

3) Security warnings to workers in factories

4) Warning about weather-floods/stonn/ hurricane/ Earthquake etc.

5) Latest sports results

6) Blood donation for a patient in need in a hospital

On the Radio, there are specific times allotted to such PSAs. Usually these announcements
are sandwiched between two programmes i.e., at the conclusion of a programme and before
the commencement of the next programme. The most important announcement is given
precedence over the others and the rest made according to their order of importance. If there is
time left at the end of all these announcements, the first and the most important one is
repeated. Here is an example of a current PSA:
This is All India Radio, Gwalior. Here is an important announcement.
Jiwaji University, Gwalior announces the 1991 B.A. and B.Com.
examination dates. They are to begin from March 14,1991. Candidates
have been sent all information regatding time and place of the examination
along with their respective hall-tickets.
Those who have not received our mail can contact the University directly and get the
necessary information.
This can be given a second repeat before the end of the programme announcements.
Activity 3
Make a copy of a cumnt PSA after listening to some of the PSAs on All India Radio.
Discuss your result with your counsellor at the study centre.

63.6 Public Service Announcements / Campaigns:

This does not provide information, but is more in the nature of periasion. The aim is to
make the listeners aware of certain basic issues and principles governing the health and
welfare of the society. For example, given below are a few of such PSAs:
1) Use/ Waste of water
2) Observation of rules ( M I c )
3) Blood enation
4) Eyedonation
5) Family welfare
I

" 6) Health and Environment

7) Wild Life
In preparing these slogans, the following points have to be kept in mind:
1) Extreme precision
2) Clarity of expression
3) Appeal to emotion
4) Friendly intimacy
For example on "eye donation", we have these slogans: (1) "All that stands between darhric \

20 and him is your signature" (2) "Set your sights on the nearly blind. Give" (3) "They walh I %
 i

faith, not by sight, let us give that they may see". "Blood donation", "Your
blood.. .someone's life-blood".
On "Helmet wearing", "Accidents get either your head or your helmet" I "Keep your head
Wear your helmet".
I

63.7 Audience Research

i

I
I
1) the area covered by the broadcast
2) the degree of clarity of the message in its apprehension by the audience

3) the percentage of audience who listen to the message

4) what special groups have felt its impact

5) the utility value of such PSAs
I
j
In India, PSAs on radio have been less than adequate in comparison with PSAs through the 1
other media. For example, the cyclone warning for fishermen on radio or farm news for the I
farmers have not had as much desired impact on the respective class of people for lack of ii

Self Check Exercise 1

i) What do you understand by the term Public Service Advertisement? How does it differ
from commercial advertisement?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
ii) Prepare a copy for a PSA on radio on a free eye clinic to be held on 1.4 October. 1991 at
Govt. Boys' School. Napier town, Jabalpur.
......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................

6.4 RADIO ADVERTISEMENT VIS-A-VIS PRESSITV i

ADVERTISEMENTS
1

Advertisement, as you have seen, has two functions-to inform and to persuade. It draws the
attention of the audience (listenerhiewerlreader) to any particular issue and then gives the i
relevant information. A successful communication is measured by the degree of persuasion it i!
achieves. On All India Radio, advertisements are on the Vividh Bharati channel and they are I

made in between programmes either at the commencement or at the conclusion of a

programme. This maximises the number of listeners for.they tune in the radio for those
programmes. Some of the important PSAs are now made through the primary channel as I
well. Advertisements are made through all the major media of m a s s ' c o r n m u n i c a t i o ~ e
most important are Newspapers, Cinema, Radio, Television and hoardings both on public
Reaching the Public sites and buses. But Radio amongst all these has got its own characteristics with its plus and
minus points, its limitations and scope. Even though radio suffers from its lack of visual
appeal, it has certain distinct advantages which gives it an edge over the other media in
relation to advertisements. Let us see the difference between Radio advertisement and Press
advertisement:
Radio Advertisement Press Advertisement
1) On the radio, time is precious. 1) Here, space is precious.
Advertisements are time-bound Advertisements are space-bound.
2) Music and sound are used 2) Cartoons and pictures are used. I

3) Press Ads are only for the literates.

4) Audio medium 4)
Visual medium
5) Does not call for concentrated 5)
To read the Ad., you need
attention to hear the Ad. concentration and time.
6) Ad. announcements are fleeting 6) One can pick up the paper Ad. any
time and read it.
Let us see the difference between Radio and TV advertisements:
Radio Advertisement TV Advertisement
1) Only an audio medium 1) Both an audio and visual medium.
2) You can listen to it even outside 2) You have to sit before your TV set to
your roomlhome. Even when you follow the Ad.
are moving, you can listen.
3) Sound is important 3) Visuals are important
4) Music and sound are used 4) Here also sound and music are used.
5) Jingles are specially made for 5) Jingles are used, though they are not
Radio Ad. very essential.
6) Time factor is significant 6) Time factor is equally significant.
7) This is an inexpensive set. 7) TV is an expensive item.
8) Production is less expensive. 8) Production is very expensive.
Self Check Exercise 2
Giver three distinguishing features of Radio, TV and Press advertisements
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................

6.5 RADIO ADVERTISEMENT AND TIME

There is a close relationship between Radio advertisement and the time given for its
broadcast on the radio. Depending upon the hour of broadcast, the advertisement rates are
fixed. Usually a Radio advertisement is for a duration of 7-30 seconds. The hour of broadcast,
the channel on which the broadcast is beamed through, and the duration of the advertisement
has its impact on the audience. There are three distinct slots into which the timings of
Radio broadcast are divided

22 1) 7.05 a.m. - 11.30 a.m.

2) 12.00 Noon - 5.30 p.m. and 3) 5.45 p.m. - 11.10 p.m.
6.5.1 Radio Spd
Advertisements of 5 to 60 seconds at the beginning or end of a programme or between film
songs are known as "spots". Ads. during fixed important programmes are known as "fuced
spots". Depending on the three periods of broadcast as given above, the advertisement rates i
are as follows: I
Rates I

25% Extra for mixed/special spots

6.5.2 Sponsored Programmes

Rs. 4401- 25% surcharge levied between 9:30 a.m.

and 3:00 p.m.

Rs. 12001- 30% extra charge levied for film based

sponsored programmes
Rs. 23501-
The timings of the sponsored programmes are as follows:
7.45 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.
9.30 p.m. - 10.00 p.m.
I
11.30 a.m. - 3.00 p.m. (only sundays) I

1.30 p.m. - 2.30 p.m. (only saturdays) I

10.30 p.m - 10.45 p.m.

6.5.3 Sponsored Song and Music Programmes

The format is song for 4 minutes followed by 15 seconds advertisement, then song. The 15
seconds advertisement calls for choice selection of words that can convey the advertisement 1
matter with great force and appeal. Besides being conscious of time limit (5 or 10 or 15 1
seconds) the choice of words is also dependent upon pronunciation. I
I
For example, it is said that
in every 30 seconds 65 words can be pronounced
in every 20 seconds 40 words can be pronounced
and in every 20 seconds 20 words can be pronounced (where the words are long and complex)

There are two kinds of sponsored programmes :(1) during sports commentaries or other
programmes broadcast by the Radio Station, advertisements can be made (2) the advertiser
can also sponsor a special programme like quiz or a play or film-based songs or serials and
the advertisements can be made during the period of broadcast of these pmgmmmes.
Reaching the Public Self Check Exercise 3
i) What is the difference between "spot" and "fixed spot"?
...........................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
ii) What is a sponsored programme? What are the two kinds of sponsored programmes?
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
"

6.6 SCRIPTING THE ADVERTISEMENT

Advertising is a form of communication. Communication, says Wilbur Schramm, the noted
communication specialist, "is the fundamental social process". It is a relationship between
the sender and the receiver, "an act of sharing". This means that the receiver is not a passive
decoder of information and the effort should be to get the message through, getting it
accepted and getting it decoded in approximately the same form as the sender intended.

w inform teach -please -propose/ persuade -

1

nd

Fig. 3

Thus the communications objectives is a two way process and the advertiser (sender) has to
meet the objectives and felt needs of the audience (receiver).

6.6.1 Target Audience

Radio reaches a large segment of the lower income groups and therefore is a very effective
medium for dissemination of information to the illiterate poor. The PSAs over radio can
make this group aware of isques and motivate it towards action. So those who write and
. design advertisementscommercial and PSAs must know the consumers who are expected
to listen to them. The target group should be measured both quantitatively and qualitatively.

6.6.2 Creative Strategy

Creative strategy is related to the content of the message. The basic message content is to be
understood a d analysed before preparing the copy. The creative message is usually based on
such questions as

1) What features of the product are unique to the product? (in the case of PSA
what features of the message are to be highlighted)
2) What features or attributes of the product are important to the consumer?
24
 Publlc Service Announcements
3) What attributes of the product are to be highlighted in relation to other
comparable brands?

4) What 'position' has the product in the consumer's mind?

5) What benefits is the consumer likely to get?

The creative process of a copy involves 6 phases:

1) Orientation:.Pointing up the problem

2) Preparation: Gathering pertinent data

3) Analysis : Breaking down the relevant material

4) Hypothesis : Piling up alternate copies to convey the ideas

5) Synthesis: putting the pieces together

6) Verification: judging the resultant ideas.

(Source : Maurice I. Mandell, Advertising Englewood cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1974)

6.7 ,THE SELLING APPROACH

I
The basic purposes of advertising messages (commerciaVPSA) are to inform, to persuade and
to remind. All advertising messages have one or two or all these elements embodied in them.
The objectives of the message are to stimulate (demand (commercial product) and
awareness (PSA)), to promote a brandlidea and to cause direct or indirect action to be
taken by the consumer (buy/motivate to act).

The role of the informational aspect of an advertisement is to build awareness in the

consumer. This is done by introducing a product or an idea. The persuasion aspect
concentrates on why the consumer should buy the producdidea. The consumer is first made
aware of a problem and then he is told how to solve the problem. The goal here is to
influence his attitudes. The reminder advertising is to make the consumer take, not
necessarily, direct and immediate action, but to bring a gradual change in his attitudes so that
he takes to a new idea through his own reasoning.

Any strategy for advertising a product or an idea has to have (I) ap'peal strategy, (2) Humour
strategy and (3) Comparison advertising.

6.7.1 Appeal Strategy

Advertisement, if it has to have an appeal should engage the attention of the consumer
create interest in the idea or message promote his desire or awareness and
motivate him/to take action. For example, a statement "Tomorrow morning when you
open your eyes, think of those who can't" arrests the attention of the listener. He wonders
what the message is aiming at. After a pause, comes the rest of the PSA : "Sight". A gift
only you can give." Yet another begins thus : "On your birthday, give the earth a present"
... (pause) follow it with "Plant a treew./A few more examples:
"Don't just practise, Preach". .. (Pause) "Tell someone who is less aware, less
experienced, less educated how simple it is to plan a family"
"Your daughter will never be as good as a son" (Pause). .. "unless you give her a chance"
"We are two; we are three" (Pause) ... "We are one. Let us act for unity."
"The only thing Priya can do with her eyes.. . is cry (Pause) You can give her sight."

6.7.2 Humour Strategy

Humour as a stratcgy enhances audience's attention, at least when they listen to the ad. for
the fust few times. Those who advocate humour in an ad. say that the consumer will accept
the message. There is the opposite view that humour detracts attention from the message.
-
Reaching the Public The advertiser who prefers humour as a creative strategy should bear in mind the following
points:
1) Humorous messages attract attention.

2) They may detrimentally affect comprehension

3) Humour increases persuasion

4) Hurhow tends to enhance source credibility

5 ) A humorous context may increase liking for the source and create a positive
mood.

6) To the extent that a humorous context functions as a positive reinforcer, a

persuasive communication placed in such a context may be more effective.
(Source : Brian Strentshal and C. Samuel Craig, "Humour in Advertising",
Journal of Marketing 37 no. 4 Oct. 1973 : 12-17)
One of the effective slogans with humour as its creative strategy is that of Limca, which
presents the conversation of a few collegians. One of them tries to give a rational
explanation as to why he drinks Limca -because it contains isotonic salts.. .He is
intercepted by another who gulps Limca down saying "I drink Limca because I like it"
followed by laughter. Onida's advertisement with the devil beating the drums to the chant of
"give us work" suggesting that Oni& W s don't require after service care is equally
humorous and stays in the viewer's mind.

6.7.3 Comparative Advertising as a Creative Strategy

While in commercial advertisements, this strategy generates heated controversy in respect of
advertising ethics, in PSAs, this comparative strategy does enhance the audience's attention.
In the family planning ads, the comparison between a planned family household to the
disadvantage of the latter is more effective than a slogan that says "a small family is a happy ,
one". The slogan can be an effective punch line, but its message gets credibility and
authenticity through an institution of comparison between the two types.

6.7.4 Samples of Radio Advertisements

, In conjunction with the strategies given above (6.6) let us see what are the different kinds of
radio advertisements that prove effective:
Simple and dirict slogan: "The tyre that never tires" (Modi tyres)
"Utterly, butterly delicious - Amul"
"Neighbour's envy-Owner's pride - Onida"
DialoguelDramatisation: This can be a 30 seeonds ad. with two or three engaged in a
conversation. This is useful more in PSAs than commercial. Example: Limca ad.
(See 6.7.2)
On Eye Donation:
A : If your heart goes out to the blind during your lifetime.
\
B : Let your eyes go out to them after death.
C : Donate your eyes today
D : It may be the most important gift you c h give".
Jingles : Sung to the accompaniment of music, Jingles prove effective.
Example : "Don't let litter spoil the glitter"
"Don't tap your life in Ashes Devote it to your country" (Anti-drug campaign)
\

"Keep your house clean

Keep your country green"
"Keep your head. Wear your helmet"
-
 I
I
I

"Woman is more than man's equal Public Service kmouncernents i

If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be here" 1

"Mango F m t i
Fresh and Juicy"
On the whole the points to remember while preparing a radio ad. are
1) Use of short simple sentences to make the maximum impact I
2) Clear and simple diction that can be easily understood 1

3) Conversational tone to increase sense of involvement and participation

4) Appeal both to emotion and intellect

5) Urgency to invoke action
6) Presentation with maximum conviction.

Make copies for Radio advertisement for the following products/issues :

I '

i) Adetergent powder ' a

ii) Promotion of awareness about environmental pollution

iii) Communal harmony
Discuss with your counsellor at the study centre.
1
I
6.8 SUMMING UP
In this unit, you learnt about:
a

a
a
The need and function of advertisement
Advertising campaign strategy
The definition of public service announcements and the difference between commercial
~
l

I
advertisement and PSAs
a The themes taken for public service announcements I
a Radio advertisements and its distinct characteristicsvis-a-vis press and TV
advertisements
a How to write a copy incorporating three strategies-appeal, humour and comparative
advertising.

6.9 READING LIST

Mathur, J.C. New Lamps for Alladin :Mass Media in a Developing Society
Yadava, J.S. & Mahnot, Abhilasha, Advertising and Social Responsibility
Barton. Roger, Handbook of Advertising Management
Times of India facsimile edition on Ashok Jain Awards for National Awareness Advertising
Anderson, Robert L. & Barry, Thomas E., Advertising Management.

6.10 APPENDIX

General Rules of Conduct in Advertising

(Verghese Committee Report, 1978)
Reaching the Public 1) Advertising should be so designed as to confiom to the laws of the country and
should not offend against morality, decency and religious susceptibilities of the
people.

2) No advertisement should be permitted:

i) which derides any race, caste, colour, creed, nationality except wherein such
usage would be for the specific purpose of effective dramatisation, such as
combating prejudice;

ii) which is against any of the objectives, principles, or provisions of the

Constitution of India;

iii) which will tend to incite people to crime or to promote disorder, violence or
breach of law;

iv) which presents criminality as desirable, or furnish details of crime or imitation

thereof;

V) which would adversely affect friendly relations with foreign States;

vi) which exploits the national emblem, or any part of the Constitution, or the
person or personality or national leader or state dignitary;

*vii) on cigarettes and tobacco products;

viii) No advertisement shall be permitted the objects whereof are wholly or mainly of
a religious or political nature; advertisements must not be directed towards any
religious or political end or have any relation to any industrial dispute; .

*ix) Advertisement for service concerned with following are not acceptable:
(a) Moneylenders; (b) Chit Funds and saving schemes other than those conducted
by nationalised or recognised banks; (c) Matrimonial agencies; (d) Unlicensed
employment services; (e) Fortune-tellers or sooth-sayers, etc., and those with the
claims of hypnotism would be excluded from advertising on T.V.;

*x) Betting tips and guide books, etc., relating to horse-racing or o+er games of
chance shall not be accepted;

*xi) No advertisement shall contain references which are likely to lead the public to
infer that the product advertised or any of its ingredients has some special
property or quality which is incapable of being established,e.g. cure for
baldness;

*xii) Scientific or statistical excerpts from technical literature, etc., must be used only
'k with a proper sense of responsibility to the ordinary viewer. Irrelevant data and
scientific jargon must not be used to make claims appear to have a scientific
basis they do not possess. Statistics of limited validity should not be presented
in such a way as to make it appear that they are universally m e ;

*xiii) Advertisers or their agents must be prepared to produce evidence to substantiate

any claims or illustrations;

*xiv) Advertisements should not contain disparaging reference to another pmduct or

service;

*xv) Imitation likely to mislead viewers even though it may not be of such a kind as
to give room for legal action or be deemed as breach of copyright must be
avoided;

*xvi) Visual and verbal representation of actual and comparative prices and cost must
be accurate and should not mislead on account of undue emphasis or distortion;
and

*xvii) Testimonials must be genuine and must not be used in a manner likely to
mislead the viewers. Advertisers or the agencies must kprepared to produce
evidence in support of any testimonial and any claims it may contain.
28
 UNIT'7 SCRIPTING FOR NEWS
Structure
7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 What is News?
7.2.1 Elements of News
7.2.2 Gathering News
7.2.3 Sources of Infonnation
7.3 Scripting for Broadcast
7.3.1 Selection of News
7.3.2 characteristics of News Writing for Broadcast
7.3.3 Story Structure
7.3.4 More Writing Tips
7.4 Summing Up

7.0 OBJECTIVES
--

At the end of your study of this unit, you will be able to:
state the meaning of the term "News" and descrlbe ~ t elements
s
explain the process involved before scripting news fpr broadcast and
describe the principles of and process involved in news scripting tor the broadcast medla.

7.1 INTRODUCTION
- --

The public, In any society, gets most of its ~ n f o m t i o non current attalrs through the
vanous media of mass communication - wch as the newspapers, magazines. rad~o,
television, documentary films and occa\~ondllyeven through motlon pictures. But the
effectiveness of any single medium for the dissemination of information is related to certaln
Inherent characteristics of the medlum. For example, print medlum can be effective only if
people are literate. They should also have the money to buy the dailies and magazines which
are priced high in a developing ~ o u n u ylike
, India. In the countries with high illiteracy rates
and with low average family incomes, the print medium has not served well as a meanspf
mass communication. In the case of Television, the cost factor is prohibitively high for the
majority of the rural poor to buy a T.V. Unless rural community centres are activated and
galvanised to help the poor towards T.V. viewing, T.V. will remain the monopoly of the
urbans. Nevertheless both T V. and Radio score over the print medium. First, with receiving
sets in about 60% of Indian urban homes, radio and television can reach a majority of the
urban listeners. Secondly, because of the existence of national network, radio and television
cut across reglonal barriers. Thirdly, in broadcasting news and in the coverage of special
events, radio and television have a d~\tlncttime advantage over the pnnt media.

Broadcasting stations can provide upto the minute-news, almost as it happens, while there is
a delay of several hours before a newspaper can bring a news item to its readers.

Moreover, it is axiomatic that in a democratic country - like ours - citizens who

participate in the political process should be well informed. Keeping In view the
aforementioned factors, we shall, in the forthcoming sections, examine the process of
newscasting in general, discuss the differences between news-writing for dtfferent med~a,and
finally study the special demand of scripting radio news.

At the end of this unit, we have attached an appendlx on News Policy for Broadcast Media.
--

7.2 WHAT IS NEWS ?

What is news ? News pertalns to some recent event which is a matter of interest to readers or
$1 J
hsteners. Also, news implies new or the latest information. News relates to information
from Nofth, East, West and South. There are many definitions of the term "News". These Scripting for News
definitions can be summed up thus :
"News is anything that is timely and significant to readers in respect of their personal
affairs or their relation to society, and the best news is that which possesses the
greatest degree of this interest and significance for the greatest number."
News should be

b) of interest to 'the public

significant in relation to matters of interest to the greatest number of people and

e) unbiased in its account or events or affairs.
Further, the standard definition that only 'man bites dog' is news, is obsolete and inaccurate.
In view of the lack of adequate communication facilities in a democratic society like ours,
that which is reported becomes news, and that which is not reported becomes non-news.
Most of the definitions of "news" repeat that news is of interest to the public. The interest,
however, differs from person to person and place to place. The two important things about
news are its immediacy and authenticity.

7.2.1 Elements of News i

News is built on some news values which you should know. These news values are the
basis on which journalists decide whether or not an event is news. There are millions of
'events' whlch take place everyday. Only those few events which have at leaqt one of the
following criteria can be classified as news.
Impact :Events that affect people's live5 are classified as news. The event ~t\elimay
involve only a few people, but the consequence5 may be wide-ranging. For example, if the
i
Parliament passes a bill to raise taxes or 11 researcher discovers a cure for a form of cancer,
both are significant events that have a wide ranging impact. Hence these events are to be
classified as news.
Timeliness : Timeliness is a value common to almost all news stories. It refers to the
recency of an event. Without the elements of timeliness, most events cannot be considered
news. For example, a trial that occurred last year is not news; a trial that is going on
presently is news. Nurenberg trial of Hitler's time is not news today, but if a Nazi criminal
is tried today for his atrocities on the Jews, it makes news.
Prominence : Prominent people, sometimes even when they do trivial things, make
news. The actions and speeches of the Prime Minister of India are important to us in India. I
l be news in USA or U.K. Wherever the P.M. takes a trip - even for
But they w ~ lnot
purely personal and private reasons -his movements are covered in great detail by the news
media of India. Anything he does is likely to have an impact on the country, and people are
very interested in his actions. Movie stars, famous politicians, advocates of social causes,
sports personalities all these people make news simply because they are well known.
Proximity : Events that occur close to home are more likely to be news than the same
events that occurred elsewhere. For example, a car accident killing two persons that happens
on a road in our town is more likely to be reported in the local news media than the same
kind of accident which occurs 1,000 miles away. We are interested in the things that happen
around us.
Conflict :When people disagree, when they fight, when they have arguments - that is
news, particularly if one of the other news values, such as prominence, is involved. This is
I
more on the nature of controversy such as Narmada Project where the environmentalistsare
I
up in arms against the construction of the Tehri Dam or the Ram Janma Bhoomi-Babri
I
Masjid controversy.
I
The bizarre or unusual : A rare event is sometimes considered news. Like the sighting
of a new star or planet or a new form of bloodless surgery with the help of laser technology
or the birth of a three headed baby.
Reaching the Public Currency : Issues that have current interest often have news value and events surrounding
those issues can sometimes be considered news. For example, a conference on medical
technology will be of interest to medical practitioners, but not to journalists, unless the
discussion topic were "The Morality of Abortion". Then the news value of the conference
will change and there will be a number of journalists covering it.
You must assess the news value of events - if you want to be a news writer on the basis of
the criteria given above.
Self Check Exercise 1
i) What are some of the news values on the basis of which one can decide whether or not
an event is news ?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
ii) Read the item given below. Does it constitute a news item ? Give your arguments in
favour or against it.
How can a man make his wife financially secure in his lifetime ? He can assure that
she is adequately provided for and she can handle her own investments after his death.
But during his own lifetime he can see to it that she is made financially independent in
the manner suggested for the daughter's economic security. If a sum of Rs. 10,000 is
invested in the daughter's name at birth and allowed to double itself every five years,
she gets a sum of Rs. 2,00,000 free of income tax at the age of 25. Similarly, if the
same amount is invested for the wife at the time of getting married she has that much
money by the time she is 45 or 50, since most women in the investing class marry
between the age of 20 and 25 the wife can enjoy the income accrued from it. What is
given to a wife at the time of marriage is considered streedhan and only she has the
right to it even under law.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
7.2.2 Gathering the News
A journalist gathering information tries to answer six basic questions for the reader.
Who :Who are the important people related to the news story ? Is everyone included so that
the story can be accurately and adequately told ? Is everyone properly identified ?

What :What is the major action or event of the story ? What are the actions or events of
lesser importance ?

When :When did the event occur ? The 'When element' is rarely the best way to begin a
story because it is not often the most important piece of information, but it should come
early in the story and should be closely stated.

Where :Where did the event occur ? The location or locations of the event or action should
be clearly written.

Why and How : If a story is about something bizarre or unusual, the writer should offer
some explanation, so that the questions the event raises in the listener's or reader's mind are
answered. The writer also needs to set the events or actions in a story in the proper context.
Reference should be made to previous events or action if they help to explain things to the
listener or reader.
32
 I
Scripting for News
7.2.3 Sources of Information
Before we begin gathering news, we should find out where does the information in a news
story' come from.

A news reporter has three fundamental sources of information for a news story. (i) People,
(ii) records ( any information that is written'or stored), and (iii) personal observation. In this
I section, we shall discuss these sources.

i) People :.lJeople provide most information in most news stories. A news reporter is
likely to spend most of his or her non-writing time talking to people either personally or
over the telephone. In fact, the more people the reporter talks to, the better the story is likely
to be, because of the variety of information and views the reporter can obtain.

To make things easier, reporters have to develop the information sources from among the
people whom they contact regularly, that is, the reporters will have to identify people who
have information and are willing to talk to the reporter about it. Reporters know that many
people can provide them with information and sometimes that information can come from
totally unexpected sources. For instance, most reporters who are assigned to a beat - ( a
term in journalism meaning a place or topic a reporter must write regularly about) -learn
that personal secretaries, rather than their bosses, are the best sources of information. As
reporters and sources deal with each other, they should develop a relationship of mutual
credibility and understanding. Reporters find out whom they can trust among these sources,
and the s6un:es realize that the information they give to reporters will be used wisely.

i i ) Records : The second major source of information available to news reporters is

records or stored sources. This type of information includes books, reports, articles,
documents, and press releases.

iii) Personal Observation : The third major source of information for the reporter is
personal observation. Wherever possible, news reporters like to attend the events they are
writing about. They like to see for themselves and understand what happens even though
they rarely write from a first person point of view. The personal observation is factual,
authentic and accurate but care is to be taken not to introduce subjective assessments or
judgements to bear on newsreporting.

Activity 1
a) Select thee topics of the day that have news value.
b) Look at three news stories in your local English newspaper. What news values are
present in each of them ?
c) Why is it important for a journalist to get information from more than one source?
Discuss with your counsellor at &e study centre.

7.3 SCRIPTING FOR BROADCAST

There is very little doubt that broadcasting on radio and TV is a potent means of mass
communication in the world today. Underdeveloped areas which cannot get access to even a
small newspaper will usually have a transistor radio which serves as a link with the rest of
the world. Moreover, with the advent of satellite broadcasting it has become possible to knit
the world and relay information from anywhere to everywhere on the globe. Those who write
news broadcasts must be good at the use of language that is comprehensible to all listeners.
The language must be simple and direct (see Unit 3). They should be willing to research
their subjects thoroughly and understand them well, to report on them with clarity. Often the
newswriters may have to edit and rewrite main stories so as to prune them off any
ambiguity. In addition, they should be able to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

7.3.1 Selection of News

Most of the same news values discussed in Section 7.2.1 apply to news selection for
broadcasting. However, newswriters for Radio and TV are likely to view events in a slightly
different way than those who write for the print media. Listed below are a few points that
Reaching the Public Timeliness :This news value is even more important to the broadcast journalist than to
the print journalist. Print journalists tend to work on daily cycles, broadcast journalists work
on hourly or less than hourly cycles. News that is more than an hour or two old may be too .
stale for broadcast over the radio or TV. W e n you listen to a news report on a breathtaking
news story, you expect to hear the very latest news, and that is what a broadcaster must try
to give.

Information not explanation : Newswriters for the broadcast media look for stories
which do not need a lot of explanation for listeners to understand them. They prefer stories
which are self explanatory and which can be told in a simple, straight forward manner. The
maximum length for any story or a radio newscast is two minutes; the normal length is 20
to 30 seconds. Some stories, of course, are complex and explanation cannot be avoided.

Audio impact : Broadcast journalists should select stories which will make an impact on
the audience. For example playing a part of the President's Budget Session address is much
more dramatic than a news reporter summarising it. Whatever news is to be broadcast must
have the dramatic element to sustain the listeners' interest.

7.3.2 Characteristics of News Writing for Broadcast

While print journalism has the Five W's (namely - Who, What, When, Where, and
Why), broadcast journalism has Four C's -Correctness, Clarity, Conciseness, and Colour.
These four C's serve as the basis for broadcast writing and form a good frame-work for our
discussion here.

The broadcast journalist is first and foremost a journalist, and the first commitment of a
journalist is to accuracy or correctness. Everything that a broadcast journalist does, must
contribute to the telling of an accurate story. Even though the broadcast journalist must
observe some strict rules about how stories are written, these rules must contribute to, not
prevent, an accurate account of an event.

One important characteristic of writing for broadcast is the emphasis on the immediate. As
we mentioned earlier, broadcast news must be up-to-the minute. It should also be written as
if it is updated to the last minute. While the past tense for verbs is preferred in the print
media the present tense is preferred when news is broadcast concurrently with the event
happening. Consequently, a newspaper story has to use past tense as the print begins after
the event. For example in a newspaper we will have an item "The Prime Minister said
yesterday that he would support the hiking of petrol prices ...."

The broadcast news story if relayed when the PM is making the speech in the Parliament
will use present tense.

"The Prime Minister says he is for the hiking of petrol prices".

Another way of emphasizing the immediate is to omit the time element in the news story
and assume that everything happened today. As we can see in the example above, the
broadcast version has no time element since it would probably be heard on the day the Prime
Minister made that statement. Of course, news which does occur on a day other than the day
of the broadcast will have the time element.

Another important characteristic of writing for Radio is the use of Conversational . .

Style. Even the clearest, simplest newspaper style tends to sound a little stilted when it is
read aloud. Broadcast news should be written for the ear, not the eye. The
writer should bear in mind that someone is going to read the news and others are going to
listen to himlher. The writing style should be easy, direct and without any flourish and
complexity. This does not give the writer freedom to break the rules of grammar, to use
slang or off-colour phrasing or to use language which may be offensive to listeners. The
style in short, should be racy, lively and elegant.

The tight phrasing which is characteristic of broadcast writing is one of its chief assets
and one of the most difficult'things for a beginner to achieve. As time is short, the
broadcaster cannot waste words. Hence the news scripter must work constantly to simplify
and condense without losing out on significant and essential detail. There are a number of
techniques for achieving this :
34
 Scripting for News
a) Eliminate all but the most necessary adjectives and adverbs. Every
newswriter should know that the stories are built on nouns and verbs-the strongest words
in the language. Avoid using the passive. Instead of saying "a meeting was held under the
auspices of the Ministry of Human Resources Development", it is better to say "The
Ministry of Human Resources Development held a meeting at Vigyan Bhawan today".

b) Use short and simple sentences. Broadcast news does not need the variety of I
length and type of sentences which print journalists need to make their copy interesting. The I
news bulletins on Radio and TV can give information to the listeners in short, simple
sentences which get registered in their minds at once. One of the characteristics of good
broadcast writing is its clarity. Listeners and viewers cannot go back and re-hear news
broadcast in the way they can re-read a newspaper. This is like listening to dialogues on

Broadcast writers achieve clarity by using simple sentences and familiar words, by avoiding I
I
the use of pronouns and repeating proper nouns if necessary and by keeping the subject close
to the verb in their sentences. i
) Deadlines. Another characteristic of broadcast writing is that it has to be written to
meet the dgadlines. Deadlines are far more important to the broadcast writer than to the print

7.3.3 Story Structure

Most straight news stories for the print media are written in an inverted pyramid style that
is, the most important information is presented at the beginning and information of less
1
I
I
importance is given later in the story. If necessary, a story may be cut from the bottom and I
the essential news item still remains.
Broadcast jo~lrnalistsdo not use the inverted pyramid story structure. In its place, they use
something kriown as dramatic unity. The dramatic unity structure has three parts: climax,
cause, and effect.
, The climax of the story gives the listener the facts of the story in about the same way the I
I
lead of a print newstory does; it tells the listener what happened. The cause portion of the I
story tells the cause - why it happened, and the circumstances surrounding the event. The
last part of the story relates to the effect and gives the listener the context of the story and
possibly some insight about what the story will mean for the future.
Broadcast journalists should think of their stories as completed circles rather than inverted
pyramids. While the pyramid may be cut without losing the essential facts, the broadcast
story, if written in the unified fashion, cannot be cut from the bottom or ar,ywhere else. It
stands as a whole unit. 1
Broadcast news stories must gain the attention of the listeners from the beginning. The first
words in the story are extremely important. Getting the attention of the listener is some
times more Important than summarizing the story or giving the most important facts of the

Let us take an example of a newspaper story and the attention getting lead that could be
written for broadcast:
Newspaper Story
"India is turning out inferior products that are priced too high for foreign customers and the
problems go beyond a strong rupee, high wages, and high taxes, a Commerce Ministry
spokesman reports."
Broadcast Lead
"A Commerce Ministry spokesman said that Indian products are of inferior quality and are
not worth the price that are quoted."

7.3.4 More Writing Tips

We have explained how broadcast writing style differs from that of print journalism. The
following is a gist of some of the major differences in form and style:
Reaching the Public Titles usually come before names : Just as in print journalism, most people
mentioned in broadcast stories need to be identified. This identification is handled differently
in broadcast news writing. While a print story might have "P.N. Haksar, former Principal
Secretary", the broadcast journalist would say "Former Principal Secretary P.N. Haksar".
A
Avoid abbreviations, even on second reference: Only the most commonly known
abbreviation should be used in broadcast writing.
Avoid direct quotation, if possible: Unless a direct quote is essential to tell a story
accurately, a broadcast writer should not use it. Paraphrasing quotes is preferred. Use as little
punctuation as possible but enough to help the newscaster through the copy. The excessive
use of commas, dashes, and semicolons will not help the newscaster.
Avoid extended description: Don't say : "Former Principal Secretary to the Prime
Minister and Former Chairman of the Finance Commission, P. N. Haksar.".
Avoid pronouns, and when you have to use them, make sure it is clear to whom you are
refemng. Avoid writing sentences like the following : "The Prime Minister and the Foreign
Affairs Secretary met yesterday. They discussed his trip to Japan". (whose trip?) Such
confusion should be avoided.

7.4 SUMMING UP
Writing for broadcast places a difficult set of demands on the writer.
Broadcast news is written in a different form than the inverted pyramid structure.
a Broadcast copy is written for the ear rather than the eyes; that is writers must be aware
that the consumers of broadcast news will be listening to what they write rather than
reading it.
Finally, in writing broadcast copy, the writer is less concerned with relating the details of
a story than with making sure that a story is told as completely and clearly as possible- in
a short amount of time.

Activity 2
(i) Compare the important news stories published in the Times of India on three
consecutive days (or any other national newspaper) and the corresponding Radio stories.
Discuss it with your counsellor and fellow students at the counselling centre.
(ii) Take the lead story from a daily newspaper. Try to rewrite it for radio.
Discuss with your counsellor at the study centre.

7.5 APPENDIX

News Policy for Broadcast Media

Following is the circular on principles guiding news policy for broadcast media issued by the
Government to All India Radio and Doordarshan on May 4, 1982, and placed before Lok
Sabha on July 13, 1982:
1) There has to be a clear understanding of the difference between news and views. The
reporting of news has to be factual, accurate and objective and only such views as
make news should find place in news broadcasts. There can bepo editorialising in
broadcast news.
2) Each news story should be judged strictly on the basis of its news value.
3) In the selection of news received from wide-ranging sources and in news editing, AIR
and Doordarshan should be guided by the highest possible professional standards.
While newsworthiness will determine thk selection of news, its treatment and
presentation should be directly related to the special characteristics and potential of each
medium as well as the largest audiences.
4) Apart from treating news factually and objectively, AIR and Doordarshan should
provide, where necessary, a backeound to the events and happenings in order that
36
listeners in any part of the country are able to place such events and happenings in Scripting Ibr News
proper perspective.
The broadcast news should satisfy the highest criteria of accuracy and responsibility.
AIR and Doordarshan cannot indulge in speculative stories of the type which appear in
certain journals. They should develop their own sources for the verification of events.
In a developing country like ours, a special function of broadcasting should be the
coverage of development, its significance, achievements and problems. Development
news covers a wide range of activities economic, technological, social and cultural.
It should not be confined to mere statements and plans but explain their significance.
For this purposenewrgathering operations of AIR and Doordarshan should be
expanded and properly dispersed. In other words, the news gathering apparahls should
make a deliberate effort to explore new areas of development and nation-building news.
People's participation in such activities should be duly highligMed as also significant
work being done by voluntary agencies. Thereby the broadcast media should not only
supplement the'work normally unde&en by the news agencies but put out well-back-
grounded stories on their own.
With the limitation of time, the vast audiences reached and the presentational demands,
AIR and Doordarshan cannot be expected to follow the pattern of news coverage
followed by newspapers. The range and scope of news gathering and selection will
have to be suited to the media.
The style and methodqof news reporting should reinforce the fundamental principles
on which national polices are based. These fundamental principles include temtorial
integrity, national integration, secularism, maintenance of public order and upholding
the dignity and prestige of Parliament, State legislatures and the judiciary.
Ministerial statements on policy matten, particularly those of the Prime Minister, are
important inasmuch as they enable people to understand national policies. Similarly
implementation of Government programmes should be given proper place in the news.
The focus should be on information rather than on individuals. It is also necessary that
views critical of official policies and the manner of their implementation should find
adequate time.
In reporting on political controversies the broadcast media should be guided by
objectivity and fair-play. Due representation of differing viewpoints should be the aim.
If a variety of viewpoints cannot be projected in the same bulletin, the balance should
be achieved within a reasonable period of time.
In the choice of international events the objectives should be to keep the people
informed of world development. A special effort should be made to give pmper
background of events. In the selection of news, greater attention should be given to
.events in developing countries, particularly our neighhour\. Apart from strictly
pruning and editing the copy from the world agencies which have an overload of news
from the advanced countries and also a subtle bias, it would be desirable for AIR to use
copy from the Non-aligned News Pool and other Third World agencies on news merits.
What is most essential is for AIR to increase the number of its foreign correspondents
and carefully select their location and area of news coverage so that we can project a
view of world developments as seen by India and other non-aligned and the developing
countries.
Am and Doordarshan should aim at creating an informed public opinion on
international events and developments. In preparing programmes in news and current
affairs, the national interest must be kept in mind. The national policy of peace and
peaceful coexistence, non-alignment, friendship with all countries, support for people
fighting for independence and W o m and the struggle against racism and racial
discrimination and for an international order based on justice and equality should be
highlighted. This does not exclude the reporting of any significant criticism of
Government's foreign policy, either in its content or in its implementation.
The primary purpose of the current affairs programmes should be to enlighten the
people on various aspects of political, economic, social and cultural developments.
The treatment of the subject should be comprehensive, projecting different viewpoints.
It should aim at providing adequate background for a proper understanding and
interpretation of events and issues.
Reaching the Publk 14) The current affairs programmes should be broadbased in the selection of topics and
participants. The interest of various sections of the people should be taken into
account. The formats should be innovative and suited to the medium. There is scope
for experimentation in this respect.
15) Internal evaluation of news and current affairs programmes after their broadcast should
be regular exercise on a daily basis. A panel of outside experk for news and current
affairs in a pamCular language should be consided.
16) The characteristics and potential reach of the broadcast media necessitate the drafting of
news item in spoken style. The language should be addressed to the ear unlike the
printed word in a newspaper or journal which is meant to be read.
The constmint of time also calls for precision and brevity. The differences in the level
of comprehension of listeners are yet another factor to be taken into account.
Simplicity and clarity are essential. Reporters and those who give talks should aim at
easy communication with the people, and not parade their literary skills. -and
Doordarshan should develop their own idiom and style.
17) There should be provision for evaluation from time to time of the language of the
bulletins. There has to be a much greater emphasis on specialisation and training of
the news personnel within AIR and Doordarshan. A style book in each language
should be prepared without delay.
18) The implementation of these policies and norms will depend upon the professional
capacity of the people who run the news and current affairs programmes. The choice of
personnel is most important. A professional must have had training in news work. He
should be able to choose the items well and to rewrite the stories to suit the medium.
Professional mining and appreciation of the role of the media in a democratic society
will givt him the confidence to take the right decisions.

38
UNIT 8 DOCUMENTARIES, FEATURES,
MAGAZINES AND PROFILES

-8.0 Objectives
8.1 Introduction
8.2 The Nature of Documentary
8.3 Research for the Documentary
8.4 The Documentary Narration
8.5 Organising the Documentary
8.5.1 The Organising Function
8.5.2 Developing the Ideas
8.6 The FeatureMagazine Programme
8.7 The Radio Profile
8.8 Summing Up
8.9 Made1 Answers

8.0 OBJECTIVES

After a study of this unit, you will be able to :

state the nature of a radio documentary, radio/feature/magazineand radio profile
describe how to script a radio documentary
learn to script a radio documentary
state the rules of writing a radio feature
describe the process involved in presenting a radio profile.
I

8.1 INTRODUCTION I

In the previous two units -units 6 and 7 -we discussed scriptwriting for news and public
service announcements. Yet another way of reaching the public through Radio is by means
of documentaries, features and profiles.
I
This unit will introduce you to several of these factual forms. The documentary is the most
difficult and complex of all factual forms, the others being featureslmagazines and radio
profiles. You should remember that the norms for scriptwriting that we discussed in Unit 3 - I
I
are fundamental. In this unit you will find how these norms apply to specific forms like the I
radio documentary, feahms/magazines and radio profiles. i
I
At the end of this unit, we have attached an Appendix on Guidelines to Board of Censors,
which should be helpful to you.

i
8.2 THE NATURE OF DOCUMENTARY

We should begin by conceding that the term 'documentary' is not easy to define. In the
broadcast sense, documentary is any feature or programme that is based on 'documents'.
Defined this way, it is a form directed towards presenting a factual recod about real people,
things and events. It sets out not just to 'entertain' but to explore. However, any programme
that deals with factual information is not documentary. A documentary goes a step further or
several steps further. What does a documentary do? It may attempt to persuade. This indeed
was seen to be the function of documentary earlier on, till communication studies revealed
that it was not so easy to persuade. Documentariescould therefore, be seen to persuade,
communicate a message or just provide insight. It may either advocate solution to a problem
or simply, articulate a problem. Whatever its intent, the social relevance of documentary
 I

Reaching the Public Because documentary strives to influence people's thought and actions, it differs from other
factual programmes and is consequently charged with a strong emotional quality. Its purpose
is not merely to report facts and events but focus on the most moving examples. It is this
compelling factor that gives documentary a sense of the Dramatic.1t is not the drama of the
make-beliewe but one that stems from real life or "drama a t you doorstep", so to speak.
It is dramatic also in that it adds an artistic purpose to journalistic and sociological aims.
Filmmaker John Grierson who fmt used the word 'documentary' to describe "creative
treatment of actuality" remarked:
The documentary idea, after all, demands no more than that the affairs of our time shall
be brought to the screen in any fashion which strikes the imagination and make
observation a little richer than it was.
Producers of docun~entarywhether in radio, television or film generally learn to expect ( and
confront) a lot of violent criticism. That is because documentary goes beyond a news
'
broadcast and deals with not just what is happening but also why it is happening. British
TV Producer Philip Donellan once remarked that the function of documentary is to "rock the
boat". In other words, documentary can be seen to raise controversies and encourage debate.
Needless to say, documentary is also the most difficult of all factual forms.
In documentaries, the role of the writer and the role of the producer merge. The writer must
know the process of production well and preferably be involved with it. Only rarely does a
documentary script represent everything appearing on the programme. The writer-producer of
documentary has to depend greatly on spontaneous developments and improvisations in the
field. Completely written documentaries were very common after World y a r I1 but over the
years they have been largely replaced by programmes made on actual location featuring actual
happenings. If rigidly scripted, radio documentary tends to sound staged and is hardly ever
very exciting. '
Activity 1
Listen carefully to a few radio documentaries. Can you come up with a few proposals that
would serve to highlight the 'drama' at your doorstep' ? After you've finished check with
model-answers for some more ideas in section 8.9 at the end of the unit.
Self Check Exercise 1
What are the characteristicsof a documentary ?
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
.........................................u .................................................................................

83 RESEARCH FOR THE DOCUMENTARY

Since writers and producers of documentary deal with facts, they must develop techniques for
discovering what the facts are. Research depends a great deal on the resources that are
available. Research may either be conducted by an individual or by a large organization
depending on the resources available. In India, writers for documentary are usually left to
their own devices for research. This of course, does not mean that the writer had to invent the
wheel all over again! it simply means that shehe has to access herhimself to all
information that can possibly be got or is required for the programme production. Even if the
writer-producer has researchm to help h i m e r , hetshe cannot escape the responsibility of
research. It is important for writers to immerse themselves in the research sufficiently to
develop a point-of-view. In documentary production there are very few things worse than
weak mearch.
40
Before going out with the tape recorder, some basic research must be completed. There are Documentaries, Featurc
Magazines an11 Profil
three main sources for research.
First, library research. This does not just mean looking up whatever there is in the
library but also what is called 'fugitive' literature. These are mostly unpublished sources
of information available with non-governmental organizations and voluntary agencies
working in that area.
Second, consultation with subject experts. Now, 'expert' here need not be someone
holding a high position and salary! It could be anybody who is well-acquainted with the
issue. If for instance, one has to make a documentary on a water barrage being built, it
is not enough to talk to people involved with the building of it but also those affected
by it. In this instance, it could be tribals who may be displaced because of the barrage.
Therefore, they too are subject experts. Perhaps a better terms to use than 'subject
experts' is 'resource people'.
Third, it is important to conduct location research. This involves visiting the actual
location and conducting a first hand survey of what is happenning.
In documentary. the process of research continues throughout the production of it. Each time
a person speaks or is interviewed, new information is revealed. Therefore, the writer,
interviewer and the tape-recorder, conhue to build on preliminary research.

Activity 2
You are probably tempted and getting ready to script a radio documentary by now. Select an
idea out of all that you had listed in your previous activity. If you were to write a script on
this issue, how would you conduct your research ? After you finish listing your sources,
check with the checklist provided in the model answers in section 8.9 at the end.
Serr Check Exercise 2
What are the three main areas of research for a documentary ?

THE DOCUMENTARY NARRATION

Chief among the tools that a writer of documentary needs is mastery of the art of writing
narration. This of course, does not mean that a documentary has to have narration but it is
only the very rase radio documentary that does away with narration completely. In
documentaries, the narration should ideally be written after the programme has been edited
since it's only then that the writer knows what material needs narrative support. If the
narration is written before the final edited programme, it runs the risk of being superfluous
and redundant
Narration can reinforce the effect of a programme in a number of ways. It can clarify,
emphasize or interpret what else is being said and heard. In providing explanations, the writer
d
must toe the tricky line b e m n saying too much and saying too little. Unnecessary
narration (a great temptation for writers) not only clutters a documentary but insults the
audience's intelligence.
Narration may also provide an interpretation which enriches the contribution of a taped
excerpt. It also helps make transitions fmm one idea to another. The audience can be told
where they are and where they will be ioing. Narration is effective for presenting the basic
ideas of a script, for defining its attitude and summarizing its conclusions. Finally, narration
may enhance the enkotional quality of a taped insert. All the 'rules' for writing a script that
we had talked about in Unit 3 apply here as well. Always remember that the narration is
meant to be 'spoken' and therefore may not read as literature. What is important is that it
Reaching the Public should sound good. Moreover, the narption should be well integrated into the programme
and probably written at the very last when one has collected everytlung else that would be
part of the programme.

ORGANISING THE DOCUMENTARY

The documentary, since it usually has a specific message to communicate and a specific
function to convey, must be organized in order to be clear and effective. Structure, i.e.. the
sequence of presentation is very important. There are no hard and fast rules about structure
and media professionals constarltly experiment with it. In the early days of documentaries
(both in film and radio), structures were rigid and standardized. A common one was the
problem-solution structure. In this case, a certain problem would be taken up, propounded,
discussed and then a solution would be proposed. Since then structures have undergone a
change. Producers and writers are no longer compelled to 'solve' problems, Some
documentaries are simply articulation of problems. So you can see that structures are not
formalized. Nevertheless, a writer cannot neglect structure. Because content is conveyed not
just through 'words' but through structure as well. Take the novel Chronicle of a Death
Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Marquez "uses the device of an unnamed shadowy
narrator, visiting the scene of the killing many years later, and beginning an investigation
into the past ...the book and its narrator probe slowly, painfully through the mists of half
accurate memories, equivocations, contradictory version, trying to establish what happenned
and why, and achieve only provisional answers".

8.5.1 The Organising Function

Structure plays an important part in documentary writing. The material should be organized
in such a way that it indicates the various relationships between facts and ideas of the
programme. This pattern, linking facts and ideas, is the outline of the structure. It lists the
ideas of the documentary and separates the major ideas from the subordinate ones. This
outline, provides the structural foundation on which you base the programme plan.
Very often, people find the making of an outline tedious and difficult work and are tempted
to skip this part of the process. Neglecting this very crucial process can lead to a programme
that is at best fuzzy and at worst completely formless. Writing an outline, not only helps the
writer to get everything sorted out in hisher head but also helps stress and establish the
irriportant points. An outline, furthermore, helps to avoid overstressing or under stressing
supporting points. It directs the programme towards its objectives and at the same time leads
to the exclusion of irrelevancies.

The organizationalplan of a documentary should have several qualities simplicity, logical

connection and clarity. (Here, I would add a note of caution about logical structuring.
Exception are always made for exceptional documentaries.) A major step to creating a plan
with these qualities is to make sure that the script is dominated by one overriding thought to
which all the other ideas in the programme are related. These supporting ideas in turn should
be arranged to show their relationship to the main thought and one another.
There is no ideal time in the process of producing a documentary for constructing a
structural outline. Some writers feel that drawing up a structure too early puts them into too
tight a comer. Others prefer to test out the relationship between ideas by putting them into
some kind of an outline before beginning work. There are yet others who make fine
documentaries without drawing up an explicit outline at all but trust their experience to lead
them. One must realize,that these people have not neglected the organizing function that the
outline makes concrete. They have simply carried it out intuitively.
Your outline, whenever it is constructed is not likely to remain intact throughout the
research and production process. You should look upon the outline as a tentative plan till all
your facts are in. A documentary writer-producer should have an attitude that accomodates
revisiond in order to improve the programme. Similarly shethe should be flexible enough to Documentaries, Features,
Magazines anld Profiles
revise and tighten the structural outline.

8.5.2 Developing the Ideas

The first step in outlining your materials is to determine the basic purpose of your script. It
may seek one of several purposes. You may want to arouse concern about a specific social
problem or political issue; convince people to accept an idea or develop a certaitl attitude,
reinforce an exising attitude or motivate your audience to carry out a specific course of
action.
The next step is to develop a preliminary statement of the central idea of the programme. It
should be a one sentence expression of what your programme wants to communicate. This
statement may also include the basic purpose of the programme. Thus the purpose and
central idea can be expressed as follows: To convince the audience that capital punishment is
wrong. Next, you should write down the main ideas and the supporting ideas and make their
relationship very clear. When you write down this material, you should ask: What are the
main points of my programme? What are the subordinate points ? What is clearly the
supporting material ? The response to these questions will guide you in setting down the
outline.
Once all your points are down, you'll find a pattern emerging. The pattern could be in
chronological order, in space order; a cause-andeffect order, a problem-solution order or any -
other ordef. To establish an organizational plan, you should keep the following in mind :
i) Write the outline in complete sentences. Incomplete sentences are usually
manifestations of vague ideas and muddy feelings. Nor will it reveal whether the various
ideas in the script are related at all.
ii) Restrict the number of main points to a reasonable number. Most good programmes
have no fewer than two main points and no more than five.
iii) You must check to see that the transitions are done well. The ideas must lead to one
another and not randomly jump from one to another.
iv) Avoid the use of compound or multiple idea sentences and express points as positive
statements and not as questions.
Self Check Exercise 3
i) Why is structure important in a Radio documentary ?
ii) What are the various steps in developing an idea ?

8.6 THE FEATUREIMAGAZINE PROGRAMME

There are various types of featurelmagazine programmes. These programmes generally aim
to entertain, inform and sometimes even influence thought and action. Subjects could include
a leading news story of the day, a sidelight of the news, a report from Europe,or an essay on
environmental degradation.
43
~
 Reaching the Pub'ic
In preparing features, you may encounter many of the problems faced in producing
documentaries and informational programmes. A sound structural plan is as important to
feature writing as to other programmes dealing with information. You should clearly define
the general purpose and the central idea before you start writing. A relevant and logical
succession of supporting points should also be prepared.
The beginning and ending of a broadcast feature are particular1y important. Your beg1nr I : i t
should be able to 'catch' the listener's attention. If your beginning fails to grip, chance. . t i \
that you have lost your listeners. The conclusion is equally important because it leaves the
audience with a last impression which will ensure memorability or guarantee that what you
have written will not soon be forgotten.
Experience has shown that maria1 with certain qualities has a high potentiality for
maintaining interest. Among the devices that will help to hold your audience are the
following: the introduction relating to some thing striking, novel, or unusual; references to
the familiar; ideas in opposition (conflict); suspense (slow disclosure) and specific material
which makes abstract ideas concrete.
Activity 4
Just as you had made a few proposals for radio documentary in Activity 1, your assignment
this time is to come up with some ideas for featurejmagazines. When you finish, you can
check for some more ideas in the model answers given in section 8.9.
Self Check Exercise 4
What are the elements you look for in a story for a radio feaWmagazine ?

THE RADIO PROFILE

The radio profile is usually a talk, feature, magazine or even documentary on a certain
personality. There is no one way of doing a radio profile and very often its presentation
depends on circumstances. Say, for instance, Salman Rushdie the distinguished writer wins a
Pulitzer Prize for writing. There can be a Radio profile of him so that Indian listeners get an
idea of Salman Rushdie. There are various ways we can go about it:

i) We may want to interview him as part of the profile. If Salman Rushdie is in India, we
can make an attempt to get him for a brief interview. We can write a script about him
and get him to speak on certain important issues.
ii) We may discover that Salman Rushdie is in England and has no immediate plans of
visiting India. We make a hurried attempt to find out whether anyone has ever recorded a
conversation with Rushdie. If yes, can we have access to it and use it for our
programme. Our script would certainly become more lively if it incorporates excerpts
from interviews from the archives. In which case we can have a scripted profile of
Rushdie intercut with archival material (i.e. pre-recorded interviews).
iii) We hunt high and low for archival materials and discover that no one has ever
interviewed Rushdie. Even if they have, there's no trace of them. We don't want our
programme to be a straight talk. Why not interview people who know Rushdie or are
familiar with his work? We manage to track down several people who are familiar with
Rushdie and his work and have a lot of interesting information to share. In which case,
we can have a scripted profile of Rushdie that incorporates several other speakers.
iv) We discover that we are very lucky and have access to all of the above. In which case we
have a scripted commentary, Rushdie himself, some archival interviews of Rushdie and
some interviews of 'experts' on Rushdie. If we have all these resources at our command,
we can even go to the extent of producing a radio documentary:
44
v) If we do not have access to any of the above, all is not lost. We can produce a well Documentaries, Features, i
scripted talk that will both inform and interest listeners. Magazines an~dProfiles '
Now, all the rules for writing that we have talked of in Unit 3 and the present one are
relevant for producing a radio profile. Even though options i, ii, ,iii and iv may needJdemand
a lot of running around, it is hardest to produce a well written 'talk' on a personality. The
first three options have an inherent interest element (Rushdie himself, other interviews, etc.,)
and some variety. The 'talk' on the other hand runs the risk of being monotonous and dull.
How does one get out of that ? Well, there are no hard and fast rules, but keeping the
following in mind can certainly help.

i) Research is always most important. Whether your include all your material into the
programme or not, you should know everything that there is to know about that person.
Your facts should be checked and crosschecked-served times over.

ii) Avoid dates, numbers and technical jargon. For instance, nobody is interested in
knowing how many articles Rushdie has published on which day and in which magazine
and in what edition. Remember the Charlie Chaplin exercise you did in Unit 3?

iii) Your presentation should be informal. You may be writing about a writer but there's no
need to get into any high-flown emotional rhetoric (....As the sun sets to the west and
the hills are tinged with pale orange, Salman Rushdie, writer, thinker and lost soul in
hiding, makes a secret vow to himself ....) It should also be noted that the scriptwriter
cannot run away with informality. So when you make a programme on say, a pop
singer, think twice before using words like 'ripoff', 'rip', 'dude', 'funky', etc. Not only
do these word risk extinction but they are probably not found in the dictionary. It's
always preferable to use words that everybody is familiar with.

iv) Selection is an important part of producing a profile. Human beings are multi-faceted.
It's quite impossible to deal with everything all at once. Take one aspect of that person
and write about it. Of course you should acknowledge the existence of other aspects but
do not attempt to deal with everything in depth.

v) An attempt must be made to concretize the abstract with specific examples. Anecdotes
and examples come in v e q handy here. If say, we are making a profile of the famous
theatre director Peter Brook, we may say; "Peter Brook's work is replete with
symbolism" (genemllabstract statement) This could be concretized with : "Peter Brook's
. work is replete with symbolism. In The Mahabharata for instance, Arjuna is a
character who changes constantly. In the end, he is victorious but not above blame. We
watch him increasingly become besmirched with mud and blood from his wounds".

Activity 5
You have an assignment. You have to script a radio profile of five minutes on the famous
Indian Filmmaker Satyajit Ray. You can use all resources at your disposal for research.
When you finish your final draft, check with the model answers given in 8.9.

8.8 SUMMING UP
Documentary is a factual form that could attempt to influence, persuade or provide
insight.
Because it attempts to influence people's thoughts, it is often charged with a strong
emotional quality. A documentary, however, is broad in its definition with its
boundaries ever expanding.
Documentary, unlike other factual forms, asks 'why', This often makes it controversial.
Research is of fundamental importance to documentary.
A documentary scriptwriter should be fluent with the art of writing narration.
Organization lies at the base of documentary scriptwriting.
The first step to organizing a documentary is to draw up an outline.
An organizational plan should be simple, logical and clear.
 FeatureJMagazine programmes are other factual forms that seek to entertain, inform and
sometimes even influence thought and action.
Radio-profiles could be talks, features, magazines or even a documentary on a
personality.
Research and organization are as important in the writing of feature /magazines and radio
profiles.

MODEL ANSWERS
Activity 1 : Model Answers
The following are some random ideas for writing proposals for radio documentaries.

i) Vested interests in your neighbourhood are not allowing a school for the
handicapped to be built so that they can build a park.

ii) Your local municipal authorities are turning a blind eye to unauthori~edbuildings.
iii) Parks and public spaces are being misused for private functions.

iv) Street vendors are forced to pay money to the police.

V) The little boy who sells peanuts near your house, earns money to support his
younger brothers.

vi) A worker at a construction site nearly loses his leg in an accident and consequently
his livelihood.
vii) Your local ration shop seems to have supplies for very selected people.
viii) The local kindergarten school is being run by people who (you get to know) do
not have the required qualifications.
You have seen before that documentary concentrates on the most moving examples. You'll
notice that all the topics given above are actually part of a greater issue (child labour, misuse
gf public property and power, labour in the unorganized sector, etc.). You are therefore, not
just concentrating on a petty local issue but selecting part of a greater whole. Therefore,
these themes are significant and as you can see, some are controversial too. However, it
should be clarified that 'drama at you door step" doesn't always have to be a controversial or
topical subject. It could be on personalities, ways of life, different cultures, art, history,
science, medicine and every other thing. You will remember that Satyajit Ray made some
very good documentaries on non-topical and non-controversial subjects such as, on the great
literary figure Rabindranath Tagore. the dancer Bala Saraswathy and the artist Benod Behari
Mukherjee.
Activity 2 : Model Answers
To make sure you have covered all possible sources of research, check with the checklist
below:
1) Libraries : Have there been books published on the issue or similar issues?
2) Has any magazinelnewspaper carried an article on it? Or something similar or related ?
3) Who wrote the articles ? Can you meet him/ her ? Who were his/ her resource people ?
Is it possible to meet them ?
4) Do voluntary organizations have any fugitive literature on the issue ?
5) Who are the people who are most familiar with the subject ? You must contact them at
all costs
6) Who are the people linked with the issue ? Who stands to gain ? Who stands to lose ?
Who are the people who could have helped matters ? Why haven't they ?
As you can see, writing /producing a documentary involves a lot of original research and
legwork! Once you have made a satisfactory list of possible sources, you can begin your
research. You will find that once you start collecting information. the going gets better and
better and one thing leads to another.
Activity 3 : Model Answers Documentaries,
Magazines and Profile
What dms the narration do ?
- link ideas ?
- provide information ?
- reinforce arguments ?
- clarify ?

- interpret? .
- emphasize?
Also note whether the narration follows the norms of scriptwriting. Is it brief or excessive ?
Meandering or incisive ? Formal or informal ? Emotional or unemotional ?
Activity 4 : Model Answers
Some more ideas for featureslmagazines :
The men who paint cinema hoardings
The famous painter and architect Satish Gujral
Streetplays and their contemporary relevance
The Chipko movement to save trees
A discussion on media autonomy
A Commentary on the French Impressionist painters

Sexism and the media

A dr:bate on growing eucalyptus trees
Calcutta's metro railway.
You can see that the options are really vast. You will also notice that many of the topics
above are good also for documentaries. As far as topics are concerned there ae no barriers
really. It depends entirely on the handling of it.
Activity 5 : Model Answers
i) Your research needs to be absolutely complete. Your draft should be written only after
you have exhaused all possible sources of information like libraries, news agencies,
newspaper and magazine offices (archives) and meeting people who may be acquainted
with Ray. You may also have discovered that Ray also features in the Encyclopedia
Brimica.
ii) Remember that you have a specified time-slot. Your script has to be for 5 mins. Since
we can speak roughly 100 words a minute, your script should not exceed 500 words.
iii) Check to see whether you have all the important landmarks and significant information
about Ray's career. Tally with the list below :
Ray's meeting with Renoir in Calcutta
i The release of Pather Panchali ( Song of the Little Road) in 1955.
Completion of the Apu Trilogy. Aparajito wins the Golden Lion of St. Mank in
Reaching the Publlc
Cinema or Churulata in 1965; a film that Ray considers to be his best is undoubtedly,
one of the greatest films to be made in India.
V) Selection should play an essential role. With a multifaceted personality like Ray, you
will be strongly tempted to say more than what your audience would care to hear. You
will have to select and present information very carefully.
vi) Anecdotes are excellent devices for signposting, i.e. making it easy 'for the audience to
remember.-Anecdotes make abstract ideas concrete. How, for instance, could one make a
statement about Ray's enormous reserves of knowledge and information ? Bengali
writer, Purnendu Pattrea once wrote : "One day Allen Ginsberg, poet of the angry-
hungry generation, came to see Ray. All througr. !he evening Ginsberg spoke about the
Cinema, Ray spoke about American poetry".
- -

8.10 APPENDIX

Guidelines to Board of Censors

In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-Section (2) of Section 5-B of the Cinematograph
Act, 1952 (37 of 1952). the Central Govenunent hereby directs that in sanctioning films for
public exhibition, the Board of Film Censors shall be guided by the following principles :

1) The objective of film censorship will be to ensure that :

i) the medium of film remains responsible and sensitive to the values and standards
of society;
ii) artistic expression and creative freedom are not unduly curbed; and
iii) censorship is responsive to social change.

2) In pursuance of the above objectives, the Board of Film Censors shall ensure that:

i) anti-social activities such as violence are not glorified or justified;

ii) the modus operandi of criminals or other visuals or words likely to incite the
commission of any offence, are not depicted,
iii) pointless or avoidable scenes of violence, cruelty and horror are not shown;
iii A) Scenes which have the effect of justifying or glorifying drinking are not shown
(this wasadded by a later notification in 1979);
iv) human sensibilities are not offended by vulgarity, obscenity and depravity;
V) visuals or words contemptuous of racial, religious or other groups are not
w="ted;
vi) the sovereignty and integrity of India is not called in question;
vii) the security of the State is not jeupardised or endangered;
viii) friendly relations with foreign States are not strained;
ix) public order is not endanger@
X) visuals or words involving defamation or contempt of court are not presented.
3) The Board of Film Censors shall also ensure that the film:
i) is judged on its entirety from the point of view of its overall impact; and

ii) is examined in the light of contemporary standards of the country and the people
to which the film relates.
4) Films that meet the above-mentioned criteria but are considerid unsuitable for exhibition
 -

UNIT 9 INTERVIEWS AND

DISCUSSIONS
Structure
9.0 Objectives :
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Approaches for the Oral Writer
9.3 TheInterview
9.3.1 'Qpes of Interview and +h
9.3.2 Reparation before the Interview
9.3.3 Asking Questions in an Interview
9.3.4 'Ihe Pemnality Interview
9.4 The Radio Discussion
9.5 Summing Up

OBJECTIVES
At the end of your study of this unit, you will be able to:
state the basic approach to an interview
list and describe the different types of interview and how to conduct them
describe the basic preparations before recording an interview and

This is the last unit in this Block relating to Radio in the service of mass communication.
In the previous unit we discussed scripting for some of the factual forms like documentary,
features and profiles. In this unit, we will take up two other radio programmes and discuss
how to script and prepare for interviews and discussions.

In the early days of broadcasting, the host and the interviewee would often meet before the
broadcast and write down the complete interview. The host / hostess would write down the
questions and the interviewee would write down the answers. At the time of broadcast they
would read our their papers word by word. As broadcasting became more and more common
and both interviewers and interviewees became more relaxed in front of the microphone,
interviews became increasingly spontaneous. Ad libbing came to replace the scripted
intqview. Today, most interviews are ad libbed and u n r e h e d .

With the transition from verbatim reading to ad libbed conversation came a different set of
demands on the interviewer. A good interviewer prepares hisher material thoroughly but I
I
gives the interview (that is, the question and comments) its final form only when the
interview is actually in progress. In wording questions and comments on the air, the I
interviewer actvally performs a writing function. He/she is also a performer so sometimes, it
is difficult to decide where writing ends and performing begins. In effect, the interviewer is I
an oral writer.
I
Although, the focus in this course is on writing, it is inevitable that in discussing the I
preparation and presentation of interviews in this unit, we shall deal with functions and I
qualities that some might call performance aspects. It is also important to discuss the I

I
preparation that precedes the broadcast. This function, which belongs to the writing area, can
I
be done either by the interviewer or by research assistants who have gathered information I
about the subjects. Contemporary interviews are potentially more exciting and involving, I

than the formal exchanges they replaced. In the following sections, we shall explore the 1
major implications of the altered attitude towards interviews.
 -- ---
vraching the Public
9.2 APPROACHES FOR THE ORAL WRITER
The shift from the scripted to the unscripted interview has actually been a shift from an
examination of an individual's knowledge and opinion to encouraging a conversation that
would engage the audience. One must make a distinction here about mere conversation and
meaningful conversation. The art of meaningful conversation should not be confused with
idle chatter.
Good conversationalists are first and foremost good listeners. They are people who are
interested in the views and feelings of others. Successful interviewers put their guests at ease
in order to share information with them (that they may not have shared elsewhere). If you
iisten to good interviewers, you will f i d that they are attentive; they respond to unexpected
confidence and thereby encourage the disclosure. They are also flexible in that they are
willing to lay aside prepared questions, should more interesting information begin to surface.
Yet, good interviewers always remain in control of the interview. They are firm enough to
direct the course of the interview and re-direct the evasive guest to those issues she/h.e agreed
to discuss. Good interviewers are aware of their responsibility of raising question that the
listeners would like to raise. Even when they are thorough researchers, they take special care
not to overlook the obvious yet often necessary questions that seem important to their
listeners. "Mr. Jean Rouch, I would like to start by asking a basic question. As the founder
of the cinema-verite movement, what is your opinion on traditional documentary methods?"
Before asking this question, the interviewer must make sure that the term "cinema-verite" is
explaked to the audience.
If not, then the obvious has been overlooked.
Activity 1
Listen to interviews over the radio. You will come across both good and bad interviewers.
What are the functions of an interviewer? Can you list them out ? Some aids given in
Section 9.6 might help you.

9.3 THE INTERVIEW

The aim of an interview is to provide, in the interviewee's own words, facts, reasons or
opinions on a particular topic so that the listener can form a conclusion as to the validity of
what shehe is saying. It follows from this definition that the opinions of the interviewer are
not to be counted here and that he should not get drawn into answering the question
himselfherself. Within the present definition, it is the interviewee who must come through
in the programme and not the interviewer. I once produced a programme in which a famous
science-fiction writer had to be interviewed. The interviewer was a well-known scientist
himself. Unfortunately, the latter considered himself to be as interesting as the former and
treated the audience to long and rambling personal anecdotes. Consequently the science-
fiction writer became of secondary importance. A good interviewer must necessarily be self-
effacing.
Earlier on we had discussed the interview as a spontaneous event. Spontaneity also adds to
credibility. A rehearsed interview will not only sound 'staged' but 'fixed', if not 'planted'.
For this reasons, though the topic may be discussed beforehand, the actual questions should
not be provided in advance. The interviewer acts on behalf of the listener in that shehe asks
the interviewee what the listeners want to know. Not just that, but also what the listener
would ask if shehe knew as much about the interviewee as the interviewer knows. In this
sense, most significantly, the interviewer is several steps ahead of the listener. The interview
is an ideal opportunity to provide not only what the listener wants to know but what the
listener needs to know.
Activity 2
In the last exercise we tallred of the interviewer's functions. But though an interviewer may
follow a function it does not mean that shehe is good. Pick out a radio or TV programme in
which you think the interviewer has done a good job. Why do you think it was a good job?
What makes a competent interviewer? Can you identify characteristics of a competent
interviewer. Make a list of points. After that, check with model answers given at 9.6 at the
end.
 '9.3.1 Types of Interview and Approach bdorwbrs and Discussions

Generally, there are 3 types of interviews. Spot interviews, Field interviews and Studio
mterviews. Spot interviews are brief and usually limited in scope.

"Who will you vote for?"

"Are you happy with the new tax policies?"

'As a passenger, how do you rate the service?"

Field interviews can be either long or brief. You may interview a farmer in his farm; a pilot
in the airport cr a sailor on the ship. Studio interviews are usually formal. Again, this may
tither be long ar short.

For the sake oi'simplicity, three approaches to interviews can be identified. although any one
situation may involve all three categories to a greater or a lesser extent. These are the
informational, interpretive and emotional interview.

Obviously the function of the informational interview is to provide information to the

listener. The sequence in which this is done becomes important if the details are to remain
clear. This type of an interview demands thorough preparation. There should be considerable
research and discussion done about wbat should be included or excluded. Facts and statistics
should be checked and cross checked. If for instance, one plans to produce an interview on
global warming, one must look thoroughly into the phenomena, causes, effects and
consequence of global warming. The objective here is to be informative and descriptive, not
prescriptive or interpretive.

"Can you explain how the token and the pouch systern works in the Railways?"

Can you tell us the procedure for selecting players for test matches?

I "What exactly is involved in setting up a library?'

The interpretive interview has the interviewer supplying the facts and asking the interviewee
to either comment on them or explain them. The aim is to expose histher reasoning and
allow the listener to make a judgement on hisher sense of values or priorities. Replies to
questions will almost certainly contain statements in justification of (or allegations against)
a particular course of action which should themselves also be questioned. An example of this
kind of interview would be, for instance an education minister giving his reasons for an
already formulated or proposed education policy. The essential point is that, the interviewer
is not asking for facts of the matter, these will be generally known; rather he is interviewing
the interviewee's reaction to the facts. "Why do you say that the opposition is communal?"

"In your opinion, how does Marlowe compare with Shakespeare?" 5

"How do you respond to the chaige that your education policy is elitist?"

A good interviewer will always know that a situation of this kind is generally reactive and
would therefore, never rehearse it in detail.

'l%eaim of the emotional interview is to give an insight into the interviewee's mind so that
the listener may understand what is involved in lmman terms. Specific examples would be
the feelings of relatives of say, victims of a train accident. Or the feeling of achievement for
an athlete who has won an Olympic gold medal. In these situations it is the strength of
feelings present, and not rationality, that is important.

"It's been a year since your wife died. What difference has her absence made?"

"You have finally won the National Award. How does it feel?"

Needless to say, emotional interviews need sensitive handling. It is very easy to slip into
sensational vouyerism when one is handling human emotions. An interviewer must
consciously stop himherself from exploiting vulnerable situations and intruding into private
grief. Interviewers should avoid questions like "how does it feel to have all your children
~iid?~.
Peaching the Public The categories above are simplified and will rarely exist all by themselves. All three
categories, for instance, would come together in a documentary or a feature. First, the facts
of the matter and background information. Second, the interpretation and implications of the
situation. Third, their effect on people and personal reactions.
e
Activity 3
From the list given below can you distinguish between informational, interpretive and
emotional questions?

a) How old are you?

b) How did you feel when you tested positive for drugs?

~5) When did you last see your mother?

4 Why do N u think were the authorities against you?

e) In your opinion, how relevant is the institution of marriage?

f) What did you feel as the first man on the moon?

g) Can you explain how this machine works?

h) Would you say the government in Albania is Stalinist?

i) How did it feel to leave East Pakistan and come to India?

j) In your opinion, is the concept of the nation state relevant?

k) Can you tell us about the Marxist theory of the State?

Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit. (Section 9.6)

Activity 4
You have to interview a famous tennis player. Your job is to prepare a list of six questions
that have a mix of informational, interpretive and emotional questions. Having prepared your
list, you can check with model answers at the end of the unit. (Sec. 9.6)

9.3.2 Preparation before the Interview

It is essential for the interviewer to know what shehe is trying to achieve. Is it the objective
of the intewiew to establish facts or discuss reasons? What are the main points that need to
be covered? What are the established arguments in this case? What runs counter to it? Is there
anything else 1 need to know? If the interviewer is not the producer, shehe must have a
thorough briefing with the producer and research team. Even if the interviewer is working
with a research.team shehe should be absolutely thorough with the background material.
There should be no confusion with names, dates, figures or facts. Even a minor error can
sound embarrassing, for example :

"Why did you choose to hold the conference in 1977?"

"Well, actually we held it in 1973". or :

"As Chancellor of the university, how do you see the future?"

"No, I am the Chairman.. ...."

At this point, it makes no difference to the validity of the question but a lack of care
undermines the questioner's credibility in the eyes of the interviewee and more importantly,
in the ears of the listener. Once basic information is gathered, the interviewer should
concentrate on structuring out the questions. There is no ideal way of structuring the
questions nor is there any need to have a rigid structure to follow.

To summarize, an interviewer's normal starting point will be :

1) To obtain sufficient briefkg and background information on the subject and the
interviewee.
2) To have detailed knowledge about what the interview should be able to achieve. Interviews and discussion^

3) To know what the key questions are.

'The next stage, after the preparatory work is to discuss the interview with the interviewee.
f i e first few minutes are crucial as it determines how the interview will proceed. The
interviewer can never fully know how the interviewee will respond. Shehe may be brisk and
professional, sympathetic, friendly, inhibited whatever. In an article titled Updating the
Talking Head Technique, Walt Robson groups difficult interviewees into three
categories: The Clam, Sham and the Ham. The Clam, claims Robson 'clams up' like the
sea-water fish it' is named after. In other words, the guest is so nervous that shehe is giving
one-line answers and no more. The Sham, on the other hand, is a Mr. Know-all who actually
doesn't know very much. The Ham is even worse because he takes over and assumes control.
Have you ever seen a Clam, Ham or Sham? How did the interviewer handle the problem?
Robson gives us a few answers. The Clam if shehe is to open up has to be put at ease.
What interests /provokes /inspires /bothers h i d e r most? Find that area and get h i d e r to
talk. The Sham is likely to get himherself into a comer by being overconfident: Sham :
".....clearly by the end of 1995, four out of every 5 graduates will get a j o b .
Interviewer : "That's amazing? On what do you base this figure?'Sham : (Panic)
"Well.. ..that's my personal estimate. The way things are going.. ..."
(The Guest has to be saved) Interviewer : 'It seems to me that this depends on how we define
employment and unemployment. If we establish newer definitions, it's easy to see four out
of every five getting a job. Do you agree?' The interviewer has provided Sham an escape
route. Of course, that depends on whether the interviewer wants to provide an escape route. If
the purpose of the interview is to 'comer' someone then it's a different matter.
Finally, we have the Ham who could be malicious, precocious or simply hysterical.
Whatever the event, he's out of control. It's most important for the interviewer at this point
to remain absolutely cool. Resist the temptation to hurl fatal barbs. The key to handling this
difficult guest lies in playing straight, with sincerity and good humour.
Warning : playing the perfect hostltess by laughing or smiling will only make it worse.
Walking the line between tolerance and intolerance is safest in this case.
Unless the situation is exceptional, like saving the Sham the interviewer must be reconciled
to the fact that it is not shehe but the interv.iewee who is required to talk. The interviewer,
therefore, must be careful about not getting drawn into discussion or adopting a judgmental
attitude. Hostility, is not just bad manners; it is bad strategy. Because the interviewee will
either be equally rude or just shut up!
The interviewer's main job at this point is to clarify what the interview is all about and
strike a rapport that would produce appropriate information in a logical sequence. The
interviewer should gain the confidence of the interviewee and at the same time be in control -
of the situation. It is common practise to say beforehand what the first question is going to
be. This can help avoid a complete "freeze" once the tape starts recording. Specialist and
technical jargon is always better avoided. Though the interviewee may be a specialist, the
listeners are not. Short and articulate inwductions are always preferable to long and
rambling ones.
Conclusions need careful handling. The last note is probably what the listeners will carry
home. It may be useful to precede the last question with signals to the interviewee about
time running out. This could be indicated with questions such as :
'Briefly, why.. .?'
'In a word, how.. .'
'At it's simplest, what.,.'.
Finally a last word of advice. The word 'finally' should be useti only once!.

9.3.3 Asking Questions in an Interview

An interview is a conversation with an aim. On the one hand the interviewer knows what the
aim is and knows something of the subject. On the other hand he is placing himself where
Reaching the Public the listener is and is asking questions in order to discover more. This balance between
knowledge and ignorance has been called ''informed naivety".

An interviewer must list questions very carefully. Very often, we hear and see interviews that
don't seem to work well. Next time, when you come across one such interview, ask yourself ;
why it doesn't work. A common mistake is to ask for a one-word response:

"Does it feel good to have won the Olympic Gold Medal?"

"Yes".
And that's the end of the interview. Generally, asking questions based on the 'reversed verb'
are discouraged because they evoke one-word responses.
Are you ......?

Will they.. ..?

Do you ....?
However, questions like this also have a role to play-when the interviewer is asking for
either a confirmation or a denial.

"Mr. Chief Minister, a controversial legislation has been passed during your tenure. Do you
support it?"

A question of this nature compels the interviewee to take a position one way or another. If
this is what the interviewer's objective is then the techiique is legitimate but not if the
intention is to draw the interviewee into conversation. No questions should be asked with the
'hope' that the interviewee will continue to say something after 'yes' or 'no'. This could
also lead the interviewer to lose all control over the interview. The 'reversed verb' question,
therefore, should be used only when a yestno question is required :

'Will the price of sugar go up this year?'

'Are you going to stand for the next elections?'
This brings us to the question of how specifically the question is designed and what 'the
room for a manoeuvre is. Clearly, when a yestno answer is sought, the interviewee is being
tied down and given very little room for manoeuvre. In other words, the scope of the
question (in terms of response) is narrow, though the implications of the response may be
vast. On the other hand, it is possible to ask a question that is so enormously wide that
nobody knows what to do with it.

"You have just finished editing your new film. Tell us about it". Firstly, this is not a
question; it's an order and the interviewee is not obliged to follow it. But more importantly,
the validity of the question itself is suspect.
If for instance, the famous theatre director Peter Brook had to be interviewed. One could ask :
"You have recently directed the Mahabharat. Tell us about it." With this question, the
interview could end up anywhere. A more specific question could provide more direction:
"You have recently directed the Mahabharat. Could you tell us why, of all the epics, you
chose this one?" or, "what is it about the Mahabharat that inspired you to adapt it for the
stage?" 1

Another trap that confronts inexperienced interviewers is that of the multiple question. This
means that more than one question is being asked :
"Why was it that the train met with an accident and how would you prevent this in future?"
In such a situation the interviewee may answer one half and genuinely forget the next or just
choose to answer whatever is preferable. Questions should be kept short and simple. Long
and circumlocutory questions rarely get a conversation going. Stimulus determines response.
If the interview has to be conversational, the interviewer has to set the tone for that.
Following are some of the 'dont's' of the business :
54
rn #
 a Don't ask leading question. Lazy, inexperienced or malicous questioning can put the Interviews and Discussions
interviewee in a particular position even before he begins : I

"Why did you start your business with such shaky finances?" I
I

"What made you write such a rascist and sexist book?" I

"How do you explain such high-handed policy?"

i
It is not up to the interviewer to suggest whether finances are shaky or the book is
rascist and sexist or the policy is high-handed unless it's based on a quote from the
interviewee himherself. It's a much better idea to ask neutral questions:

"How much did you start your business with?" (fact) I

"At the time did you regard this as enough?" (yeslno)

I
I
"How do you see this now?" (judgement).

a Don't ask non-questions. Some interviewers make statements instead of asking

questions. For instance, the interviewer might follow up an answer with, 'But this
generally doesn't happen, instead of asking : 'Would this normally happen?'

a Don't be redundant.

'Could I ask you if.. ..?' I

'I wonder whether you could say.. ..' I

I

Ttds advance billing is unnecessary. The fact that the person has accepted the
interview means that he has agreed to 'tell us'.

a Don't respond with a sound. When an answer is in progress don't keep saying
'yeah', 'yes', 'uh-hhh', 'mmm' and so forth. Loud responses can interfere with the
audio of the interviewee. Non-verbal support by nodding and smiling are preferable
to exclamations that disturb the sound track and annoy the listener. Remember,
facial expression and eye-contact are important. If the interviewer does not maintain
eye-contact then it's likely that the eyes of the interviewee would also wander and
with that probably hisher thoughts as well. Needless to say, an interviewer cannot
afford to look bored without affecting the outcome of the programme.

Look out for these things when you hear an interview over the radio or see an interview on
TV. Television interviews have the added visual dimension that is not particularly relevant
for radio but it's valuable learning experience because you can 'see' the interaction between
the interviewer and the interviewee. Next time, you watch a TV interview, watch out for
non-verbal modes of communication. Is the interviewer supportive? Is shehe expressive?
Does shehe maintain eye-contact? Does shehe look boredlinterested? And so on.

Activity 5
Use the material above to organize and execute a complete interview with whoever you want.
Use a small tape recorder and record the interview. On completion, discuss the interview with
your counsellor. Have your research and preparation been satisfactory? Were your questions
relevant and interesting? Was the presentation imaginative? How were you as an interviewer?
You may idso exchange these with your fellow students.

9.3.4 The Personality Interview

Many interviews with figures from the world of entertainment, sports, politics, etc. are
designed to illuminate their personality and background. For this, the interviewers need to
know something about the guests background, so they can direct their questions toward
bringing out the information that is of the greatest interest to the audience. It is important to
consider what the celebrity would like to be asked. A movie star would perhaps like to
discuss hisher latest release. It is also important to know what the guest would not like to
discuss. Writers can direct interviewers to ask pertinent questions and not embarassing ones.
To spring the embarassing question on the guest could be construed as hostile or deceptive.
"Your last play was on marital fidelity but last month you married for the third time. Some
.
Reaching the Public people call you a hypocrite. How do you react?" (This brand of interviewing is common of
film glossies)

On the other hand, the sensitive and enterprising interviewer may find a way to interject a
delicate or a controversial question without committing a breach of ethics.

"In your plays you have dealt with the issue of marital fidelity. Does your own life in
anyway influence you to write?'Interviewers particularly inexperienced ones, sometimes
allow themselves to be overawed by celebrities who are recipients of enthusiastic hero-
worship. Extensive adulation does not produce good interviews.
"Mr. Rangeen Kudar, you are the best actor in India and a most handsome man. What kind
of women do you like?Needless to say, excessive adulation makes one silly as well.

It's always useful to remember that questions that probe experiences common to most
human beings reduce the distance between guest and host. Questions about family,
background, education are. obvious unifiers, but even more relevant are those that relate to.
common human factors of experience.
"What effect has popularity (fame, money, success) had upon those who were closest to you
before you became a star?'All interviews are. of course not with celebrities. They are often
with doctors, scientists, writers, playwrights, artists, sculptors, so on and so forth. In fact.
personality interviews of lesser known personalities (and ones whose contributions are
equally constructive) should be made more popular.
It is important to remember that personality interviews DO NOT only just mean eliciting
information about ones' personal life.
"Mr. Satyajit Ray, have you ever lived in a village?"
It should be on personal life as it relates to hisher work and philosophy.

"Mr. Ray your film Pather Panchali beautifully captures village life. What helped you
capture it with such authenticity?"

Pointless questions dealing with personal likes and dislikes should be avoided.
"What brand of soap do you use?"
"What colour is your favourite?"
"If you are sick, who would you like to nurse you?"
Activity 6
Read any sketch of a personality. Make a list of 10 questions including an introduction and a
conclusion based on it.

Discuss with your counsellor at the study centre.

Activity 7
This is a practical assignment. Choose a personality that you find interesting. Prepare a
complete 'script' (introduction,conclusion and questions) and discuss with your counsellor.

9.4 THE RADIO DISCUSSION

The radio discussion usually involves several participants and moderator. The discussions are
usually over issues and events that are of some importance to the common man. Radio
discussions could be on any subject :politics, medicine, science, sports, literature, polymer-
engineering or any other topic. More specifically, it could be on :
"Introducing new fertilirs"
'1The contemporary relevance of Jazz"
'"The use of computers in the railway system".

"Public apathy to eve-teasing".

,$2
"Big-money in Cricket" lntervlews and 1)lseusslons /
"Relevance of Media Autonomy", etc. I
!
Having taken up a specific subject, radio discussions can debate, interpret, explain or even
investigate a certain issue or event.
A radio discussion cannot and should not be fully scripted. This of course, does not mean
that the programme should p e e d any old way. It has to be very carefully structured by the
moderator.
First, the participants have to be chosen with great care. They should be well informed on
whatever subject they are called upon to speak and should be willing to be disciplined in
their presentation under the direction of the moderator. Indisciplined participants can ruin the
whole discussion by projecting their point-of-view at the expense of others. This is a
common phenomenon when politicians are asked to speak. Some party loyalists look upon a
discussion as an opportunity to 'give the party line' and 'floor opponents'. Usually these
people end up cutting a very sorry figure. A good participant listens, awaits his turn and
chooses to debate instead of argue.
Similarly, a moderator should be non-partisan. Shehe should not be partisan (at least in
hislher role as a m&rator) and ensure that everyone has an equal chance to speak. Shehe
should refrain from weighing heavily onto any one side. "Well, I must say I agree with
you.. .." or "I disagree with you completely.. .." are not the kind of statements that should
figure at all. Nobody is interested in knowing whether the moderator agrees or not. Like the
interviewer in the interview, a moderator is only a catalyst. It's the participants of the
discussion who are more important. A good moderator should:
introduce the topic briefly and comprehensively
clarify the focus of the discussion
introduce the participants and clarify why they are eligible to speak on the issue
present a question or statement
choose a participant to respond to it
go 'round the table' to make sure that everybody gets a chance to speak
bring together differing points of view in interesting juxtapositions
(silently) encourage the participants to speak by being interestedad showing it!
tactfully controlling a meandering speaker
persuading an evasive speaker to make a point
ensuring that everyone has a chance to speak
concluding by summing up the main points of the discussion and
thanking the' participants.
Research plays an important role in organizing a discussion. The producer of a discussion
has not only to study the subject being discussed but make an intelligent choice of
participants. The participants need not be 'experts' in the formal sense of the word but
should have some reason for being on the panel.
Some students of mine once did a programme on the impact of advertising when they
interviewed a famous painter. It was evident in the programme that the painter did not have
anything special to say on the subject. When asked why they chose to have the painter, they
replied :"Because he is famous". There is no rule that says that famous people know
everything about anything.
If the discussion has to have credibility, the participants must be chosen with great care.
Activity 8
You have been assigned to organize a discussion on "Religion should be distinguished from
Communalism". You have to prepare a list of participants. Who would you choose? In order
Reaching the Public to prepare this list, you will need to do some research. After completing this list, check with
model answers given in Section 9.6.
Activity 9
Listen to discussions over the radio. Which ones do you like? What role did the moderator
play? Write down your points and discuss with your counsellor at the study centre.

9.5 SUMMING UP

An interview is a conversation with an aim. In earlier days this conversation was

completely written out. Nowadays, an interview is more spontaneous and therefore more
interesting.
Interviewers are oral writers as they 'write' scripts while they are speaking.
Good interviewers are first and foremost good listeners.
They direct the course of the interview, raise questions and are thorough with their
research.
For the sake of simplicity, we can say that questions are of three types: informational,
emotional and interpretive.
Research is the most important preparatory function. The writer/ producer/interviewer
should have a detailed knowledge of the subject and what the key questions are.
An interviewer must know how to handle difficult or nervous interviewees.

Asking questions is an art that needs to be mastered. Don't ask questions that are narrow
in their scope or too broad to handle. Don't ask leading questions or non-questions.
The personality interview is what the name describes. It could be a personality from the
world of sports, films, politics, engineering. medicine or any other field.
The radio discussion is a discussion over a topic of common interest. usualiYthe
discussion revolves around a question or a statement presented.

9.6 MODEL ANSWERS

The interviewer's function is to draw out responses from the interviewee. Shehe
asks questions and encourages responses. Shehe raises questions of interest, directs
the course of the interview and re-directs the evasive speaker. Most importantly,
Shehe clarifies the issues being talked of and makes sure that the obvious is not
overlooked. If you still feel lacking, read section 9.1 again.
Read Section 9.3 again and try to identify the characteristics of a good interviewer.
Ask yourself :

Did she manage to draw the person out?

Did shehe seem interested?
Was shehe interesting?
Was shehe in control of the interview? Was shehe able to direct it?
How did shehe manage difficult situations? Was shehe polite while being
fum and persuasive?
Did she/he ask questions of interest?
Did shehe manage to keep balance between 'tolerance and intolerance'
Did shehe make the guest comfortable?

' Were hisher comments insightful?

 Had shehe done her homework? Interviews and Discussions

Did shehe tackle controversial issues? How did shehe balance between
complete evasion and sensationalism?

'Iiese are just a few indicators. You may have come up with many more. Keep listening and
picking up little tips each time.

3) a) informational
b) emotic~nal
C) informational
d) interpretive
e) interpretive
f) informational

g) informational
h) interpretive
i) emotional
j) interpretive
k) infomiational / interpretive*
It is possible for a question to be a mix of both. We can assume that the question ("Can you
tell us about the Marxist Theory of the State?) is being asked of someone who has studied
Marxist theory. If you are familiar with Marxist or any other theory, you will know that
there aie various interpretations. So you may have information as well as interpretation.

4) The following list of questions is only one way of going about the work and is not the
only way to go about it.

i) You have just won the Australian Open Tennis Tournament.

How does it make you feel? (emotional)

ii) How many major tournaments have you won in the International circuit?
(informational)
iii) You have played almost all the top-seeded players in the International circuit.
How do you rate yourself in comparison? (interpretive)

iv) What concrete measures can we take to promote youngsters? (informational)

v) Last year your computer rating went down rapidly.
What was the reason? (Informational/interpretive)

vi) Next month you'll complete 15 years of playing tennis. How do you feel about
it? (emotional)
.5 Read the complete unit once again. Discuss your programme with your
counsellor.
15 Discuss with your counsellor.
'7 You may have come up with quite a different list of names.

Here's my choice :
1 Asghar Ali Engineer : Director of Institute for Islamic Studies,
Bombay.

2 P.C. Chatterjee : Scholar and Philosopher. Former secretary of

Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Author of Secular values for
Secular India.
~eachl'ngthe Public
 1
I

I
-

- -

i '

UNIT 10 RADI.0 PLAYS -

10.2 Stage and Radio Plays .

10.2.1 Act~onand Dialogue
l.o.2.2 Action in a Radio Plays
10.2.3 Aud~enceImaglnat~on
10.2.4 Words - The Hub of a Radio Play.
10.2.5 Mime
10.3 Conflict in d!ama
10.4 Function of Narrator
10.5 Examining a Play
10.6 Exainining Many Different Plays
10.6.l Twelfth Nlght
10.6.2 of
The Pr~soner Zenda
10.6.3 Mozatt and the Gray Steward
10.6.4 Othello

10.8 Judging whether Plays are Suitable for Radio 1

10.9 Summing Up
10.10 ActivitieS: 4ids to Ankwers I
I
I

At the end of'your study of this unit, you will be able to:
define drama and radio drama

10.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit i s the first Unit of the Block entitled The Imagination. The qther two Units
are: Adaptations of Novels, Short Stories and ClasSics for Radio (Unit 1l), and Sports,
Special Events and Entertainment (Unit 12). We will begin the unit with a discussion
about drama in general and then define one of its important elementk,.namely
conflict. The conflict in drama can be internal or external or both. In this unit, we
shall see how radio.can effectively present dramatic conflict. We will also examine
stage plays for their audio-worthiness and discuss how to adapt plays for broadcast
over the radib. Read the unit carefully and write the answers for the activities given.

Drama is derived from the Gqeek word "dron", which means "to do": One of the
important constituents of drama is therefore actipn. Action in drama cbmprises both
movement o n stage and movement of a story line from beginning to end. This implies
that the physical action in drama requires a viewing audience. It is in this respect that
radio drama, that caters only for Iistening audiedce differs from stage drama. The
 - -
10.2.1 Action and Dialogue
Action, as has been mentioned above, can be communicated theatrically through
dialogue. We hear about character'x's movements, thoughts and plans because
he/she is discussed in a dialogue between character Y a n d character Z. We get t o
know characters X, Y and Z because every,time they speak, whether in monologue o r
dialogue, they reveal themselves. It is very.much like what people do in real life. When
they are not aware that they are being observed, they give themselves away in what
they say and the manner in which they say it. In a stage play, people reveal their
character in what they d o (action), in the intensity with which they act (dramatic
impact), and in what they and others say about them (dialogue). But in a radio play,
in the absence of perceivable action, the dialogue assumes added significance.
If. for instance, a character in a stage play is given to moving awkwardly or
'bumbling' instead of getting things done in a normal way, we can see this and know
what to expect of him. In a radio play this item of information will be supplied .
through dialogue. Someone would, for instance, say: "You know Mr. Bumble - he
has a way of dropping anything he picks up." In this way his nature is revealed
through comments in the play. We also get to remember this funny side of his nature
every time he is heard to speak.
Activity 1
Can you suggest a dialogue that can reveal a character's absent-mindedness? ,
I (Refer to aids to answers 10.10 for a n example)

10.2.2 Action in a Radio Play ,

Let us now see how action in a radio play works. If action is generally assumed to
mean movement across a stage, then action as physical movement does not exist in
radio drama, for you d o not see the characters a t all whether at rest o r in movement.
You are totally dependent on the ear to give you the details ofall movement. You
may hear the characters move across a floor, open a door, close a door. This is
brought to you by sound effects. You may hear a fight and the impact of the fight will.
not get reduced even if you d o not visually witness it, as you d o in a stage play. Sound
effects help you to imagine what is going on, and will prove effective substitutes when
you are deprived of the sight of action. This is possibly a limitation in a radio play,
but once you have understood how radio drama works, you will see that it has its
compensations t o offset its limitations. In a similar way you do not see the actual
characier. So you cannot know what he/she looks like. You d o not see the costumes, .

so you can neither place t h t dramatic personae's social status nor gauge the period of
the play. You d o nat see theatre props or scenery. So your imagination has to work to
create the necessary background and atmosphere. In short, the directorial imagihation
is. partly supplied by you, a member of the listening audience.

10.2.3 Audience Imagination.

Radio drama demands the exercise of the audience's imagination and this enriches its4
appeal and its drlrlaiic effect. The audience individually and collectively recreates a n
experience created by the dramatist, and this adds a broader and richer-dimension to
the play. So the stimulation of the audience's imagination through words and
dialogue is of fundamental importance in a radio drama. As a n example, the fairies in
A Midsummer Night's Dream are more effective over radio, than on a stage, because
they are smaller and more ethereal than human beings in the play and s o hard to
represent visually.

. L

Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

,.
We tend to partake of this view and t o hold the mortals (to whom we belong) m
6 approximately the same contempt as he does.
 I

'10.2.4 Words - The Hub of a Radio Play

From what we have said so far, and from fact and from experience, it should be clear
that lor a radio drama to be effective, it is axiomatic that words should constitute the
pivotal core of the play. If we study a stage play it becomes clear that action in it is
supplemented by words. As against this, in radio drama, action is communicated by
words, music and sound effects. The word is for all puiposes the hub of radio drama.
I

10.2.5 Mime
In a stage play you can tell a story through mime. This, you cannot do in radio
1
drama. You are dependent on words, music and sound effects. Can you think of ways 1
I
to make these stand in for miming? When you see a mimer like Marcel Marceau, you. I
are enthralled by what can be achieved dramatically without words. There is about it
the capacity to express emotion of some kind without words. You can to some extent, I

attempt to imitate this with words by using the same word or group of words
I
rhythmically. Repetition is one of the features of mime and a repetitive.sound.or tone
in music can induce nearly the same response as mime. However, mime is not suitable
for broadcast over the radio.
What do you infer from these differences between a stage play and a radio play? It
follows that you have to achieve competence in the mastery of words. The use of
spoken words, whether in prose or poetry is the only means-for dramatic presentation
on the radio as a substitute for action. The externals of movement have to be reduced I
to a minimum - but by the same token, your range in presenting internal conflict is
enormously increased.

10.3 CONFLICT IN DRAMA

I

Conflict in theatre - and there is no theatre without conflict - is of two kinds: 1 I

external and internal. Increasingly, it is the conflict that goesaon within a character's I
- h i n d and emoti~ns,that is more important in determining what he does or does not i

do, than his outward interaction with others. A fencing match on the stage represents
outward or external conflict. A soliloquy in which a man considers conflicting reasons I
I
for +actionand non-action, represents inward or internal conflict. Take this example
from Shakespeare's Macbeth. Macbeth, a victorious general has been rewarded for his
valour and loyalty by king Duncan. But when Duncan visits him, Macbeth is caught
I

I
I
/

It were done quickly. If the assassination

Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success, that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all; here,
But here upon this bank and shoal of time,
We'd jump the life to come. But in these cases
We still have judgement here, that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taslght, return
.
To plague the inventor. . ."
This soliloquy is spoken by Macbeth at a time when he is still capable of analysing the
pros and cons of committing a murder. The speech reveals Macbeth's character, his
introspective self and his sensibility at a time when Duncan, whom he considers
murdering, is his King and his guest. Conflict is internal; the speech is spoken by
Macbeth to himself and is therefore introspective. It is eminently suitable fqr iadio,
for radio has the quality of inwardness that is not always evokable in a stage play. I
1
To make this situation real to yourself, try to think of instances in your own life. in
I
i
I
I The Irnagbtloa , Activity 2
Can you name asohloquy o r a dialogue in a poem you have read, which reveals a
character caught in a dilemma.
(Refer t o aids to answers 10.10 for an example)

10.4 FUNCTION OF NARRATOR":

When you see a man's mind in action, you are able, up to i'point, to forecast what he
will in fact do. Are there other ways to predict a man's response? Yet, the same action.
can be unfolded through a story, and in radio drama, this story can be told by a
Narrator. The Narrator almost plays the role of a Sutradhar in a stage play. He can b t
compared to the Chorus in a Greek play, that can either be a one-man chorus or
representative of a choral group. He is omniscient, omnipresent within the context of
the play, but he is not a character in action. He is the passhe actor whose passivity
lies in being qway from centre stage, and whose activity is in relation t o the audience
and not to the characters in the play. . . . The best examples are in Greek plays such
as Antigone by Sophocles.

Can you recan the'role of narrator in any action play you have read! Try to analyse
the narrator's function within the context of the play. Discuss with your counsellor at
the Study Centre.
-.
P

10.5 EXAMINING A PLAY

Let us now examine a well-known play ~ u r d ein i the Eathedral by T.S. Eliot and see
whether it is suitable or not for radio. We know from recorded experience that it has
been successful on the stage, but it does not therefore follow that it will be equally
successful on radio. How d o we determine the radio-worthiness of a play? Here are'
some relevant questions to ask:
i) Is theplaydominated by action of the kind that you may expect in a stage play?
ii) If so, can that action be communicated by words and sound effects without
seriously injuring the impact that the play makes on a listening audience?
iii) If not, what is the dominant feature of the play?
iv) Can this feature be transmitted over radio?
v) What is the significance of words in the play?
vi) . There is action in Murder in the Cathedral but words hold the key t o the play. Can
these words be communicated without ,the play becoming a drag especially where
there is no visible action? Is it possible for you to create the atmosphere through
radio so that the play is felt t o be real, as real as if you had seen it staged?
Let us recall what we said earlier that words were'the hub of radio drama. In a stage
play, action is supplemented by words; in a radio pray, words are supplemented by
action.
In ~ b r d e in
r the Cathedral there is clearly action as defined in a stage play, for
Thomas Becket is murdered by four Knights in the Cathedral but the real conflict of
the plAy does not lie here. It lies in the mind of Becket. Consider these crucial
paisages in the text:
"We d o not know very much of the future
Except that from generation to generation
The same things happen again andagain,
Men learn little from others' experience.
But in the life of one man, never
The same time returns. Sever
The cord, shed the scale. Only
The fool, fixed in his folly, may think
He can turn the wheel on which he turns."
8
- --- - -- - -
 I

"Is there no way in my soul's sickness Radio PIPA

1
Does not lead to damnation in pride?
I well know that these temptations
Mean present vanity and future torment"
1 .
And yet again in The Interlude of the play:
"A Christian martyrdom is never an accident, for Saints are not made by accident.
still less in a Christian martyrdom the effect of a man's will to become a Saint, as a
man by willing and contriving, may become a ruler of men. A martyrdom is always
the design of God."
There is here a progressive development in Becket's character as he recognises that he
cannot will his own death. If God wills that he shall be'a martyr, he will be so. Eliot
intended the play to be a study and depiction of Christian martyrdom. Does this come
through? Yes! The most memorable aspect about Murder in the Cathedral is Thomas
,Becket's expectation of martyrdom. He has travelled a long way since the days when
'he was king's genial companion, to sainthood. He knows that he has become the
instrument of God, and part of God's design. He knows in advance that he is to be a
martyr and prepares himself to meet that destiny. The meaning of Christian \
martyrdom comes through clearly.
All the above passages are introspective and can well replace action. They reveal the
hero's mind.and heart. There is that supreme inwardness that is the distinctive quality
of a good radio play. Therefore Murder in the Cathedral, that was written for the qtage,
has all the potentiality of an excellent radio play.

Qctivity 4
Now try to find answers to the rest of the questionso(ii-vi) listed to assess the radio-
worthiness of this play. Attempt a similar analysis with another play you have read or
seen on stage. Discuss with your counsellor.
- -

10.6 EXAMINING MANY DIFFERENT PLAYS

Let us now consider the radio-worthiness of a few more plays written over a wide
range of time, some serious. others less serious - The Twlfrh Night, The Prisoner of
Zenda (adapted from the novel), Mozart and the Gray Steward, Othello, Waitingfor
Godot.

10.6.1 Twelfth Night I

I
I
Let us take The Twelfrh Night. We give you the summary of the play.
Viola and Sebastian, a sister and brother who are identical twins, are shipwrecked off
the coast of Illyria in Greece. They get separated and are so lost to each other, that
each believes the other to be dead. Viola is advised to disguise herself as a young man
and to seek employment at the Court of Orsino, the Duke. She does so, calling herself
Cesario. Here she falls in love with Orsino. Orsino, believing her to be a young man
of great charm and fidelity uses her to plead his suit with Olivia, a beauty who has
recently lost her brother and is in mourning for him. Cesario woos Olivia on behalf of
Orsino so well, that the latter falls in love with 'him' (Cesario). This is the last thing
that Cesar~o(Viola) desires but Olivia pursues Cesario with the same intensity wit'h
which 0;sino Has pursued Olivia. Meanwhile Sebastian, still alive, has found his way
into town and meets Olivia, who mistakes him for his identical twin (Viola-Cesario).
They fall in love with each other. Olivia flings discretion to the winds, hurriis
Sebastian off to church where she marries him. Confusion follows, till Cesario and
Sebastian appear together and the problem of identity is resolved. Orsino who has
beeh furious at what he.believes is Cesario's duplicity, is mollified and recalls what
Cesaric had said, namely she could love him if she were a woman. In the end
everyone is satisfied, for Orsino marries Viola; Olivia is married to Sebastian. There is
a small sub-plot that supplies corhedy with the Puritan Malvolio (who wears yellow
stockings), being the victim of a clever plot laid by Maria, Olivia's maid and Sir Toby
B&lch,Olivia's epicurean uncle. In gratitude to Maria, Sir Toby marries her. Feste, the
clbwn, supplies music-and-philosophy. Let us see if this play can be produced
effectively on radio. It will be clear that much importance attaches to the fact that
The Imagination Viola and Sebastian are identical twins. It is a point that is easily made on the stage,
but though we may be made aware of it on radio, we have to bear it in mind,'because
we cannot see the physical likenesses as we listen to the play. Equally, we do not get
the full value of the comic scenes with Malvolio's "yellow stockings" because we d o
not see them. There is of course the beautiful lyric poetry of the play that carries it
and that is enhanced by being listened to, but action is less effective on radio than in
the theatre. Therefore, it is NOT a perfect play for radio. You could however try to
edit it for radio to see to what extent it can be adapted.

10.6.2 The Prisoner of Zenda

The Prisoner of Zenda is based in Ruritania that corresponds roughly to the Balkans
(Romania and Bulgaria) where Rudolph Elphburg is about to be crowned King
Rudolph of Ruritania: Rudolph Rassendyll, an English nobleman, who resembles
King Rudolph closely, happens to betravelling in Ruritania and is mistaken for the
King. The King's brother Black Michael, who is his strong rival for the throne, drugs
the King, and Rassendyll is persuaded to stand in for King Rudolph at his coronation.
Michael imprisons the drugged Ring in the hunting lodge of Zenda. In the event,
F1avia;the Princess who is engaged to be married to in^ Rudolph, falls in love with
~ a s s e ~ dand
~ l he,
l with her. After thrilling adventurb, ~ i &
Rudolph is rescued,
Rassendyll chivalrously leaves Ruritania, Flavia marries the King and becomes
Queen, but continues to be in love with Rassendyll and he with her.
Is this Play radioworthy?
The identity problem here, as in Tweljih Night makes it problematic for radio where
you cannot see the strong resemblance. Both plays are plays df action. With sound
effects you can "hear" a fencing sequence, but you cannot see it, and fencing, with
which The Prisoner of Zenda is full, is a visual art. Therefore The Prisoner of Zenda is
not ideal for radio.

10.6.3 Mozart and the Gray Steward

Now in contrast to these two plays let us consider Thornton Wildg's Mozari and the
Gray Steward for radio. This is a short one-act play that turns on the question of
whether or not Mozart, who is very ill, will live long enough to finish the Requiem
that he is writing for himself. The Steward of Count Walsegg arrives to commission a
requiem for the Count's wife who has died recently. Mozart is full of bitterness
because the Count has been known to pass off as his own, works of other great
comp'osers.The Count requires the requiem for his wife (for which he is willing to pay
well) with the proviso that the composer remains anonymous. Mozart is desperately in
need of money and undkrstandably bitter. Sick unto death, he falls asleep and dreams,
and in his dreamthe Gray Steward assumes a different role, this time as the
representative, not of the Count but of Death, who insists that the requiem shall be
written not for the Count's dead wife or, indeed for Mozart himself, but for all
mankind. Mozart understands the implication of thisand begs to be forgiven for his
egotism. But he asks the Steward whether he will be allowed to ~iGelong enough to
complete the requiem. The answer is No. (The Requiem was in fact never completed)

Activity 5
Assess the play mentioned above as a radio Play.
(Check the answers given in 10.10)
...........................................................................
..........................................................................
..........................................................................
..........................................................................
..........................................................................
..........................................................................
..........................................................................
..........................................................................
..........................................................................
10 . ~.
..........................................................................
 I
i
Radb Play+
10.6.4 Othello
It is the story of the Moorish general who historically was in the service of Venice and '
won famous victories for her. Othello wins the !ove of Desdemona, thebeautiful white
daughter of the Senator Brabantio, who takes his daughter and the Moor to court for
her abduction. Othello pleads hiscase magnificently, and the Venetian court, that
qadly needs. his services, declares him innocent of magic in misleading Desdemona.
dhe declares publicly that she "did love the Moor to live with him" and presently
joins him at Cyprus where he has to make his headquarters. In Othello's serviceis his
ensign, Iago, villain of the piece, and his faithful soldier, Cassio. Iago contrives to
entangle Cassio in a drunken brawl in which the latter loses Othello's favour, Iago
nates the Moor, and sets out to destroy Othello's love for Desdemona by representing
-
that she is faithless and in love with Cassio. Wracked by insecurity for he is the
only blackman in a whiteman's world - Othello strangles his chaste and faithful wife,
then realises through Emilia, Iago's wife and Desdemona's maid, that Desdemona is
blameless and kills himself. Shakespeare has made a convincing tragedy of this story.
It will be clear that Qthello is the outsider in race and colour. Such-a theme i s
inevitably more effective on stage than over radio. A great actor can make much of
the great soliloquies and speeches over radio, but you cannot see Othello or
Desdemona and you never can visually witness the contrast between the black Moore
and the white Venetians. In spite of this major limitation, the play with its evocativi
dialogues and soliloquies is effective on radio. What is needed is careful editing so
that the impact is tight and processed.

10.6.5 Waiting for Godot

The remairling play that we have mentioned is Becket's waitingfor Godot. This is
suitable both on stage and over radio. But is it effective over radio as on the stage? It
requires great theatrical skill to put the play across either way, to communicate what
Beckett is trying to say. Here are men who do not know why they d o what they'do,
Waitingfor Godot is a play more of action than of words. Beckett felt that words were
inadequate to express the "absurdity" or the meaninglessness of existence. So he
relied a great deal on action which belongs to the domain of circus, clowning, and
Vaudeville theatre. Therefore, Waitingfor Godot cannot be adapted for radio. Bearing
the distinction between these two kinds, radio and stage play, Beckett wrote two plays
specifically for the radio. Any student who wishes to hone his skills in writing radio
plays or adapting plays for radio broadcast should read Beckett's plays meant
specifically for radio.
3
Self Check Exercise 1
What distinguishes a radio play from a stage Play?
How d o you identify radio-worthiness of a play?
..........................................................................

10.7 MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS

!;ometimes music and sound effects together replace action or determine it. If you
study Shakespeare's The Tempest, you will see that this occurs wherever Ariel is
introduced into the plot. Ariel is the very spirit of freedom, but he is a h in bondage
The Imaginat~on to prospero, ahd it is through Prospero, that he is finally freed. While in bondage, fhe
is required to be the instrument of ~ r o s ~ e r oscheme
's to bring his enemies to justice.
Ariel is commissioned to draw.the shipwrecked Ferdinand nearer to Prospero's cave.
He does so by singing:
"Come unto these yellow sands
i
And then take hands;
Curtseyed when you have and kissed,
The wild 'waves whist.
Foot it featly here and there,
And sweet sprites, the burden bear." ,
Further along, Ariel sings another song to Ferdinand:
.
"Full fathom five thy Father lies
Of his bones are corals made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes,
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea change
Into something rich.and strange."
And, finally, when freed by Prospero, Ariel sings:
"Where the bee sucks, there suck I;
In a cowslip's bell I lie,
There 1 couch when owls do kry
On the bat's back I do fly
~ f i e summer
r merrily,
Merrily, merrily shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough."
All these songs imply action, for through them Ariel brings Ferdinand within the
physical power of Prospero and within tne sight of Miranda. Between them Ferdinand
and Miranda represent the love element in the play. We know by the last of the three
songs, that "all has ended well for Prospero who is restored to his Duchy of Milan, and
in consequence Ariel is freed from his bondage and is now truly a spirit of liberty.
Here it is important for the listening audience to hear and listen to the words of
Ariel's sdngs since they determine the action that will follow if the play is to reach the
desire< conclusion.

JUDGING IF PLAYS ARE SUITABLE FOR RADIO

As you go along, you will want t o test your own skill in deciding whether or not an
accepted stage play - or any play that you may come across - is suitable for radio.
You have already had some guidance on this matter (see 10.6) about the questions
you should ask yourself that will provide you with answers. Here we list out the
various questions you have to address yourself in selecting a radio play:
i) Is the play primarily one of action that demands seeing, movement, and is
dependent on a visually recognising identity or confusion arising out of mistaken
identity? If so, it is not suitable for radio.
ii) Is the play primarily one on states of mind and of being? It may have some
action, but action is not its predominant feature. Its essential feature is
inwardness, introspection, contemplation. If this is so, it is suitable for radio.
iii) There are plays of situation, that are not necessarily scenic plays in the sense that
they demand the constant sight of mountains or the sea. If the conflict involved is
of human relations, in which dialogue assisted by a narrator, can supply '
background and atmosphere, the play can be a success on radio. Everything
'
depends on the word, and its skilled use, e.g. The Corn is Green by Emlyn
Williams is a case in point. It is laid near the Welsh coal mines,' and the hero is a
coal miner, the herome a very English school teacher who is impressed by the fa@
that the coal miners come home singing (after a long day working underground).
She thinks that such men deserve the benefit of education and she educates one of
them. The Corn is Green was written as a stage play but has done extremely well
in radio adaptation.
Can you explain why it has proved successful on radio?
Check with Aids to Answer.

10.9 SUMMING UP

Now we have attempted to distinguish between what makes a good Stage play and
what makes a good radio drama. You can test various plays you come across to see if
they lend tliemselvesto radio dramatlsation and if not, why not. You will incidentally
have made the acquaintance of a wide number of plays, old and new, that will provide
you with a background for the study of both radio and drama. We have discussed:
the importance of words in a radio play
the potentiality of radio to present inwardness or internal confliet
the radio-worthiness of plays and
the importance of music and sound effects in a radio play.

10.10 ACTIVITIES: AIDS TO ANSWERS

Estragon : Why not?

Vladimir : We are waiting for Godot
(This dialogue is repeated nearly a dozen times in the play to show
Estragon's absent-mindedness)

both the Count's messhger and the messenger of Death. The dialogue is self-
1
explanatory. This is therefore a good play for adaptation for radio. Try it out and you
will see that, well acted, it succeeds. On radio; you can use Mozart's music most ,
I

conflict and harmony between an inspired teacher and an inspired student. This, is the I
theme-under discussion and it can be made to come across very well on radio.
I

10.11 SUGGESTED READINGS

.
I
i !

Shakespeare, ~ i i l i a mA Midsummer Night's Dreom, Twelfth Night, Othello, !

I

Sophocles Antigone
Eliot, T.S. Murder in the Cathedral
Hope, Anthony The Prrsoner of Zenda I

1
I
I
I
I

1
I
12 I
I
 UNIT 15 ORGANISATION OF A RADIO
STATION
Structure
Introduction
Object~ves
-
Organlsational Setup
15.2.1 Types of Organ~sations
15.2.2 Principles of an Organisational Setup
Organisational St~uctureof All India Radio
Types of Radio Stations
15.4.1 National Chamel
15.4.2 Regional Station
15.4.3 Sub-regional Station
15.4.4 Local Station
15.4.5 Other StationsIOffices
Private Radio Stations
Let Us Sum Up
Glossary
Check Your Progress: Possible Answers

In the previous blocks you have been familiarized with the broadcasting scene in India today
with special reference to its role as a medium of mass comn~unication.In this unit, we shall
&uss the stnlcture of the broadcasting network in India, the types of radio stations we have in
our country, and their organisational set-up, which is designed to achieve the policy objectives
of broadcasting. We shall also look at the philosophy behind different organisational structures
and how All India Radio (AIR) has carved out a federal system of broadcasting for serving
vanous segments ofaudience. This unit will bring home the point that a broadcasting station is
more than a production company. The wide range of its activities include consultations with
a wide spectrum of the audience, programme planning, production, editing, presentation and
transmission of programmes, research, beside a lot of other activities.

15.1 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you will be able to;
describe the objectives, policy and organisational structure of a radio station;
discuss the general principles and structural patteni of a radio organisation;
list the different types of radio stations in India today;
analyse the characteristics of different types of radio stations; and
describe the evolution of private radio stations in India.

15.2 ORGANISATIONAL SETUP

l'he organisational structures of iilstitutions are designed in accordance with their objectives
and functions.'This holds true of radio networkslstations as well. There are several
broadcasting networks in the world, some are public service broadcasting organisations,
and others are commercial networks. Besides, there are individual radio stations, mostly
of a comnlercial nature. The policy objectives of radio networkslradio stations differ widely
depending on the policy of those who ow~Jc~!ltrol them. The organisational structure of a
broadcasting organisation also varies widely in relation to the size ,of the network, its policy
objectives and capital investments.
O r g a ~ ~ i s a t i oStructure.
~~al
IDlnnningand Research
15i2.1 Types of Organisational Setup
Traditionally, there are three types of organisations, these are:

Line organisation;
Line and staff organisation; and
Functional organisation.

In a Line Organisation, the line of authonty 1s direct with no advisory or aux~liaryact~vit~es

attached. This form is simple and clear-cut. suitable for small firms.

In a Line and Staff Organisation, there is a provision for 'staff position' to discharge a
variety of auxiliary and advisory functions. For example, in a sales organisation, the sale is
the primary activity yhile accounting, legal, public relations, etc., are auxiliary activities.

A Functional Organisation consists of a number of branches or divisions each of which has

specialists accoulltable to their senior counterparts in their central office or headquarters. A
multi-disciplinary organisation such as a broadcasting network with a large number of radio
stations, generally adopts the functional type of organisation.

15.2.2 Principles of an Organisational Setup

For smooth functioning of the organisation, certain universal principles are generally followed
by management. Some of these are:

Unity of command;
Span of control;
Exception principle; and
Scalar principle.
2i
The Unity of command principle means that no member of an organisation should report to
more than one superior. According to the Span of control principle, there must be an
optimum limit to the maximum number one can supervise. The Exception principle
emphasises the need for delegation of not only functions, but authority down the line while
the Scalar principle deals with hierarchy in each set-up.

15.3 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF

ALL INDIA RADIO
The type of organisation and the principles of management adopted by a broadcasting station
will depend on its size, range of operations and ownership. In our country, radio broadcasting
had been the responsibility of All India Radio funded by the government. A number of radio
stations in the private sector are coming up. A number of educational channels operated by
IGNOU known as Gyan Vani have come up and more are to be commissioned. The NGO
sector may also set up community broadcasting stations as and when Government regulations
pennit. Their organisational pattern would be different depending on their size, financial outlay
and activities to be undertaken. In this unit, we shall discuss the organisational structure of All
India Radio.

All India Radio (AIR) is one of the major public service broadcasting organisations in the
world, and perhaps the largest in Asia. It has a network comprising 209 broadcasting centres
with a staff component of over 30,000employees and an annuq,l,expenditure of over Rs.450
crores in the year 2000.Its home service, averaging 2300 hours of output everyday, includes
national, regional, sub-regional and local service in 26 languages and 146 dialects, beside
light entertainment commercial service. Its external service in 16 foreign and 10 Indian
languages is beamed to 84 countries around the globe for a daily duration of over 70 hours.

The headquarters of the network located in New Delhi is headed by a Director-General.

The Director-General is assisted by an Engineer-in Chief, a Director-General (News), .
AdditionalDeputy Director-General for Programme, Administration and Security, a
Director of Monitoring Service and a Director for Audience Research. The Director
General is answerable to the Parsar Bharati Board of Management.
 The Director-General prokidcs the professional leadership. He controls and s u p e ~ s ethe s Organlsatior~oTa
Rndio Statior~
activities of various divisions. The heads of p r o p n m e and engineering divisions are, in turn,
assisted by regionalhzonal heads and a chief engineer incharge of civil construction. The
heads of programme regions are located in Mumbai, Calcutta and Guwahati, while the zonal
chief engineers are headquartered at the four metropolises. There are 4 1 Regional News
Units attached to the various radio stations and they receive professional guidance from
the Director-General. A Deputy Director General carries out the inspection of radio offices.
The chart given below explains the hierarchical arrangement:

I Prasar Bharati

DIRECTOR-GENERAL

E-in-c DG (News) ADGDDG DDG (Admn) DDG (Security)

Zonal 4 1 Regional Programmes Admn & A~cs Security

offices News of Radio at Radio at Radio
at four Units Stations Stations Stations
metropolis

Each radlo station, except the smaller ones, has Programme, News, Engineering,
I Administralion, Accounts, Audicnce Research and Security Units. The head of the station
reports to the Direclor-General directly or through tegional/zonal heads. S h e coordinates
the various units to ensure that the communicalion objectives of the organisation arc aclueved
through the station's programming and other activities. The typical organisation chart of a
I
radio station is given belo~v:
HEAD OF STATION

Programme News Engineering Administration Audience

Wing _mg Wing & Accounts Research
Wing Wing
Check Your Progress: 1

Fill in the blanks:

1) AIR network comprises of ................................................

..broadcastingcentres.
2) The Director General of AIR is answerable to the ...............................................
3) The heads of programme regions are located in ............., ............ and ...................
4) ......................................................
..?carriesout the inspection of radio &ions.
5) The organisational structure of a radto station depends upon ......., ......... and.. ............

15.4 TYPES OF RADIO STATIONS .

AIR has a Uuee-tier system of broadcasting comprising national, regional, subltegional and
local stations.

National Channel
Regional station
Sub-regional station
Local station
Other stationdoffices

15.4.1 Nationalchannel
The National Channel transmits programmes of national relevance. It is an alternative channel
to the listeners who have access to the regional /sub-regional and Vividh Bharati Service.
The languages of the spoken-word broadcast of the National Clmnel are Hindi and English.
Orga~lisationalStructure. The National Chamel features Hindustani and Carnatic music. light and folk music' from
Planning and Research different regions of the country, Western music, plays, dramatised presentation of short
stories translatea into Hindi from different Indian languages, documentaries, financial
reviews, sports magazines and programmes in Urdu. The national service is available to
substantial segments of the people in different regions. It begins every day at 1855 hours in
the evening and continues up to 0610 hours. The production of programmes is undertaken
at Delhi and Chennai, and supplemented by the recordings received from stations in different
regions of the country. Its organisational structure is indicated below:

DIRECTOR

Chemai Centre

Deputy Directors Production Staff

~rodyctionand
Presentation Staff

15.4.2 Regional Station

The organisational setup of a regional radio station which is located at the capital of a state
or Union Territory is more or less on the pattern detailed in the typical set-up of a radio
station indicated in 1.3.
i
The head of a regional station is Station Director who is the controller of the station and iI
is responsible for its final output. Public relations is directly under the Station Director. 1
Sfhe keeps liaison with state government fimctionaries, eminent writers, thinkers, scientists,
technologists, musicians, artistes and others. Sthe also presides over the Programme Advisory
Committees and Consultative Panels attached to the stations. We have already discussed these
Advisory c o w t t e e s and panels in the previous block.
1
A Station Directoi of a radio station in a state capital has the added responsibility of organising
and coordinating the programmes of state level relevance and importance. Sfhe also inspects
other stations in the state.

Programme Wing

Each station is equipped with facilities for programme production and presentation. The
Programme Wing is divided into a number of production units such as; the Talks Unit,
Women and Children's Programmes Unit, the Farm and Home Unit (for producing rural
programme), Youth Programmes Wing, the Education Programme Unit, Science Programme
Unit, Music Units (for classical, light and folk muslc programmes) Outdoor Broadcasting
(field based) programme, Morning Information Programme and Senior Citizen Programme
Units. In some stations, there are Western Music and Industrial Workers Programme Units
also. All the stations have a Programme Coordination Unit and Public Relations Unit.

The programmes are produced by Programme ExecutiveslPrograrnmeOfficers/Farm

Radio Officers who are deployed at the statron according to the language and other
special requirements. The programme producers are assisted by reporters, script writers
and production assrstants. instrumentalists and music composers asslst in the production of
music programmes. The work of the programme executives is supewrsed by assistant
station directorsldeputy director in accordance wlth the Scalar Princrple. The Station Director
coordinates all the activities in accordance with the principle of Llne of Control.

The presentation of programmes is generally made by announcers and broadcast of

proglimmee in accordance with a pre-determined schedule is ensured by a cadre of officers
referred tc as T-...lal;lission Executives. We shall discuss in detail in the next unit as to how
a station's programe ~ c k e r l l l t ei; drawn up and the process through which an abstract idea
gets translated into a programme.
 Engineering Wing Organisation of a
Radio Station .
The head of the engineering wing is a Station Engineerlsuperintending Engineer. S h e
controls and coordinates all the technical activities of the stations. S/he is assisted by Assistant
Stat~onEngineer, Assistant Engineer, Senior Engineering Assistant, Engineering Assistants
and Technicians. They handle all programme origination and transmission, including
relays from Delh~or other stations. They are responsible for maintenance and operation of
the technical facilities created at the station.

News Wing

The News Wing is headed by a Joint Director or News Editor w d is assisted by sub-editors
and news reporters. For news reporting and news gathering there are staff correspondents,
supported by a number of part-time correspondents or stringers. The news editing is done
by the editorial staff. while translation and reading of news is done by translators and news
readers respectively. The news wing also produces district newsletters and one or two
~lewsreelsin a week.

Administration and Accounting Wing

This is headed by an Administrative Officer assisted by a head clerk, accountant and a

number of assistants.

Audience Research Wing

An Audience Research Officer, supported by field investigators conduct feedback studies

which help the station to formulate their programme-fare. The Audience Research Wing
also conducts formative research studies to provide the programmers with a profile of the
audience, their tastes and preferences.

15.4.3 Sub-Regional Station

These are located at various citiesitowns. To illustrate, in Uttar Pradesh, sub-regional stations
t are located in Allahabad, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Rampur, Najibabad, Agra and Mathura.
These stations broadcast programmes not only in Hindi, the regional language, but also
in the dialects of the area. They cater to the distinct cultural and agricultural needs of the
listeners of the area. 111some stations located in the states, such as Assam or West Bengal,
the principal language of broadcast of the sub-regional station is different from the principal
language of the state. For example, Silchar in Assam broadcasts programmes primarily in
Bengali, while Kuuseong in West Bengal broadcasts programmes mostly in Nepali. This is
directly related to the communication imperatives of the areas served by the station.

The organisational setup of a sub-regional station is similar to that of a regional station.

In some of the stations, there is no provision for Regional News Unit or Audience Research
Unit. There are Advisory Committees and Consultative Panels attached to these s t a t e s .

15.4.4 Local Station

The local radio stations form an important tier in the system of broadcasting. There are
community broadcast stations whose approach to broadcasting is different from the national
1 or regional radio. The station has to play the dual role of providing support to extension
agencies in the development of their areas and serving as a mouthpiece of the community.

i It is a low-cost, low-budget station with minimum production facilities used exclusively for
enrichment and education.

15.4.5 Other StationsIOffices -

In addition to those discussed above, there are other off~cesand stations in AIR.
I
, Commercial Broadcast Stations: These with a small complement of staff look after the

1
i
comn~erc~al broadcasts which comprise Vividh Bharati programmes, programmes in the local
languages and commercial advertisements. They are located in the regionalisub-regionaYloca1
stations.
O r g d a ~ o n a Structure,
l North Eastern Service: The North Eastern Service is located in Shillong. It is an integrated
Planning and Research service catering to the communication needs of the listeners living in the North Eastern
region. The broadcasts fiom individual stations in the North East of India are mostly in the
tribal dialects due to the absence of a common linguafianca of the region. The spoken-word
broadcasts are in English and Hindi. The music broadcast features are folk and tribal songs
of the entire region, collected from different stations of AIR in the North East.

Commercial Sales Unit: %Commercial Sales Unit (CSU) is the Wing which keeps
liaison with the advertisers and advertising agencies. The advertisements (or commercials)
are cleared by this unit located in Mumbai. Marketing units have also been set up to promote
sale of airtime.

Vividh Baharti Service: Vividh Bharati programmes form the bulk of commercial
broadcasting services of AIR. Thcy are produced at a separate production unit functioning
in Mumbai. The programmes arc taped and copies sent to the commercial broadcasting
centres.
External Services Division: The external broadcasts of the country are organised by the
External Services Division of AIR located at Delhi. It is an independent office with its own
production and managerial staff.
News Service Division: The national news bulletins and news-based programmes are
produced by the News Service Division with headquarter located at Delhi. It is an
independent office with large number of editors and correspondents.

In addition, there are separate offices for high power transmitting stations and civil
construction works.
Check Your Progress: 2

Note: 1) Use the space below for your answers.

2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit

1) What are the distinguishing features of the organisational set up of AIR?

............................................................................................................

2) Explain the role of a Regional, Sub-Regional and Local radio station.

15.5 PRIVATE RADIO STATIONS

In 1967, the Committee on Broadcasting and Information headed by eminent broadcaster
A.K. Chanda recommended separate corporations for radio and television. The Union
Government decided in 1969 against converting AIR into a corporation. However, radio
and television were separated and on April 1, 1976 and Doordarshan came into existence
as a Department of the Government.

The structure of broadcasting was again reviewed by a Working Group on Autonomy

for Akashvani and Doordarshan in August 1977. This group headed by B.G.Verghese
recommended in May 1978 the creation of a National Broadcast Trust to be named Akash
Bharati to look after radio and television. The then Union Government did not consider it
necessary for the setting up of a trust under the name Akash Bharati. However, it brought
a bill for creating a Public Sector Corporation under the title Prasar Bharati. The bill lapsed
with b e dissolution ofthe Lok Sabha. Under a modified version of the Bill, the Prasar
Bharati b2~d1112a?.Act in 1990 and the Act was notified for implementation with effect fmm
September 15, 1997.As a J csu~t,All India Radio and Doordarshan are functioning as units of
the autonomous corporation Prasar Bharati.
Supreme Court Judgement

In the case of the Union of India vs. the Cricket Association of Bengal, the Supreme Court
in its judgement of February 9, 1995, held that the airwaves are a public propbrty and a
.
rnonopoly over broadcasting whether by Government or anybody else (public monopoly
could be an exception) is inconsistent with the free speech right of the citizens and directed
the government to take immediate steps to establish an independent autonomous public
authority, representatives of all sections and interests of society to control and regulate the
use of airwaves.

Regarding private broadcasting, the apex coutt in its judgement observed:

"The qu~'~tion of n~hetherto permit private broadcastirrg or not is (I matter ofpolicy,for

Pr~~.lir~rtze~tt
to deiicle. !fit decides to permit it, it is.fi7r Prrrlicrmei~tto decide, subject to ivhat
conrlitioirs rrrrd restrictions shoukl it be permitted Privrrte hroarlcasting, even ifallowetl.
shoulrl not be Iqft to rnirrket forces, in the interest of ensuring that a wirle varieo of voices
enjoy access to it. -...theelectronic rnedia are the most powerful media, both because oftheir
aurlio-vistml impact, and their widest reach covering the section of the society where the print
niedirr do not reuch. The right to use airwaves arztl the context of the programmes, therefore.
needs regulr~tion,forbalancing it anif as well as to prevent monopoly of irformation arid views
relaj~eciwhich is a potential dangerJlowing,fiom the concentration of the right to
hroarlcu.vt/trlecast in the hands either of a central agency or oj'afen: private afluent
broai1ct1.ster.v"

It was expected that the government would bring in legislation for setting up a broadcast
authority with enabling provisions to license and regulate private radio stations. But the
government chose to use the administrative powers vested with it and worked out a scheme
to make way for the setting up of radio statioils by private parties. It identified 40 towns and
cities for setting up 108 channels. Some cities would have as many as 11 private channels,
while places like Agra, Cuttack, Trivandrum, Nagpur etc would have only one. The allotment
of licenses to operate channels was made on the basis of highest bids from the eligible
applicants. Only companies registered in India under the Companies Act 1956, were eligible
to apply. The scheme includes some clauses for disqualifying religious bodies, political
bodies and advertising agencies from getting the license. There are also clauses to prevent the
same company getting more than one license at the same townlcity. The Government might
identify more places and channels for opening up private radio stations. It is worthwhile
to note that some of those who got the licenses surrendered them because of financial
non-viability.

Organising a private radio station involves setting up of a studio, transmitter and generation
of software. T h ~ would
s require a substantial investment, entrepreneur-ship and manpower
and this will depend on the hours of broadcast and type of progl-amrning.The station has to
depend on advertisement revenue for its day-to-day expenditure, profits and provision for
deprec~ation,etc.

Experience of running private radio stations elsewhere in the world reveals that they have to
be contpact organisations with minimum staff, avoiding the expense of a large paraphernalia
of divisions and departments with huge staff manning them. The management could ill afford
all this. The station has to be managed with a small contingent of multi-skilled staff
numbering 10 or 15 persons or even less. The software has to be drawn from pre-recorded
cassettes1CD's and the like. To hook the listeners, in a competitive environment, they may
have to organise interactive programmes. chat shows, prize sdhemes etc. The situation would
be d~fferentif a corporate body gets licenses to operate a number of radio stations at many
centres. These could be 'functional' type of organisations. In community radio stations the
organisation would be distinctively different depending on the informational resources.

The government has granted licenses to IGNOU to operate educational channels known
as Gyan Vani. These radio stations are managed by a three member team headed by a station
manager.

The proliferation of radio channels throws up a lot of challenges as well as opportunities.

The presence of a number of private stations would encourage a healthy competition among
them and in such a situation, the listening public eventually would be the beneficiaries.
orgpnisntion~structure, Check Your Progress: 3
Planning and R ~ m h .
Note: 1) Use the space below for your answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit

I) What according to you is the justification for an autonomous body like Prasar ~harati?
............................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
2) What scope do you foresee for private radio stations in India?
.........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
3) State two reasons how the organisational set-up of a private radio station is different fiom
a public service broadcaster like the AIR.
...........................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
\
............................................................................................................

15.6 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we have seen that the organisational structures of institutions are designed in
accordance with their objectives and functions. This holds true of radio networks/stations as
well. There are three types of organisations. These are: Line organisation; Line and staff
organisation; and Functional organisation.

The type of organisation h d the principles of management adopted by a broadcasting station

depends on its size, range of operations and ownership. We found that AIR is a functional
organisation consisting of a number of branches or divisions each of which has specialists
accountable to their senior counterparts in their central ofice or headquarters.

While tracing the organisational structure of AIR, we examined the basic principles governing
the various types of broadcast organisations. We noticed that AIR has a three-tier system of
broadcasting comprising national, regional and local stations and several distinct services.
We also discussed the evolution and organisation of private radio stations. The proliferation
of radio channels would tluow a great deal of challenge as well as opportunities for the
listening public as well as media professionals.

15.7 GLOSSARY
Broadcasting : It is an organised system of communication of
programmes using radio waves. The pIocess includes
preparing the mcssage or programme, its delivery
through transmitters and its reception through radio
receivers.

Commercial Broadcasting : Broadcast of programmes which includes coinmeicial

messages paid for by (he advertisers.
Home Service : The broadcast services for listeners within the country, Organisation of a ,
Radio Station
India.

External Services : The broadcast for listeners abroad.

Regional Service : The broadcast service provided by the Radio Station at

the capital of a state generally serving a large area and
including programmes and news of relevance to the
entire state.

Sub-Regional Service : The broadcast service provided by stations located at

centres other than the Stsite capital generally serving
homogenous areas.

Vividh Bhaiati : A light entertainment service of AIR. The commercial

broadcast tation use the Vividh Bharati programme.
C
National Service : A service which provides programmes of national
relevance and significance.

15.8 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE ANSWERS

Check Your Progress: 1

1) 209

2) Prasar Bharati Board of Management

3) Mumbai, Kolkata and Guwahati

4) Deputy Director General

5) Size, range of operation and ownership.

Check Your Progress: 2

1) All India Radio is a multi-disciplinary organisation with a large number of radio stations
spread throughout the country. AIR adopts the functional type of organisational structure,
with a large number of divisions such as Programme, News, Engineering, Administration,
each headed by a specialist at the headquarters. The Administrative Division at the
headquarter performs the staff or auxiliary functions. The same set up is replicated at
stations. The organisation is headed by a ~irkctorGeneral who is an ex-officio member
of the Board of Management of Prasar Bharati. AIR functions as a unit of Prasar Bharati.

2) Every state, for broadcasting purposes, constitutes a region. The regional station
originates certain quantum of programmes and news bulletin covering the entire region or
state and these are relayed by the sub-regional stations. Each sub-regional station covers
4 or 5 districts depending on the power of its transmitters. It originates programming
using the talent resident in its area. The local radio station is a small station which
originates 3 or 4 hours of programmes and this set-up is being developed as a community
radio station. The budget and staff component of these stations are in direct relation to
their programme output. The regional station has the added responsibility of obtaining
the programme activities of other stations in the state.

Check Your Progress: 3

1) BrWasting is expected to provide an objective, balanced and impartial service to the

public. If it is under the control ot the Government there is scope for its misuse by the
party in power. Therefore the responsibilities of running a public service broadcasting
network must be entrusted to an independent autonomous public authority with a board
of management consisting of eminent men and women.
O r ~ a n i s n t i o ~ lStructure.
nl
Plal~llingand Hcscarcl~
2) .The government has initiated allotment of licenses to private parties (corporate bod~es)
for operating radio stations. According to this, there would be a number of private radio
channels in several cities and towns. The presence of a number of private stations would
encourage healthy competition among them and the listening audience would eventually
be the beneficiaries.
3) The volume of programme activities and the financial outlay envisaged will be the major
factors in determining the organisational set up of a private radio station.
Unit 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Unit 1 BA (JMC) 203 L: 14

______________________________________________________________________________

Understanding the Medium

______________________________________________________________________________
Lesson 1 2
Radio as a Medium of Mass Communication
Lesson 2 10
Radio Broadcasting in India (pre and post-independence)
Lesson 3 18
Different Types of Radio Stations and Transmissions:
On the Basis of Reach: National, Regional, Local and Community
On the Basis of Transmission Technology: AM, SW, FM, Web

Lesson 4 31
Organizational Structure and Functionaries of a Radio Station: Govt. and Private

1
Unit 1, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 1
Radio as a Medium of Mass Communication

Introduction
Radio in recent times has developed a new role as informant and companion, besides being the
source of entertainment. Radio for most of us serves as an alternative to many things newspapers
and magazines, informal gatherings and conversations, clubs, cinema, theatre, schools and the
playground. It brings us news and their analyses, discussions on current events and educational
programmes; it also provides entertainment through music and songs, serials, radio-drama, sound-
tracks of films, besides sports commentaries.

It is no exaggeration to say that we cannot imagine civilized life without this product of modem
science and technology. In fact, radio has permeated into those remote areas of our society where
neither electricity nor newspapers nor even motor vehicles have reached.

In the last sixty years radio in India has increasingly become the main source of mass broadcasting.
Through its broadcast of news and features. Documentaries and interviews, it makes people aware
of matters that are close to them and that affect them most. A good radio broadcast acts as a
communication catalyst encouraging people to think and analyse and keep alive to happenings
around them. Radio pours out thousands of words every minute in an effort to inform, educate,
entertain and at times persuade. The development of the transistor has revolutionised this broadcast
medium and has made it available to all sections of people all over the country. Hence there is the
urgency and the need to recognise its full potential as a mass communication medium and exploit it
to fulfil the twin objectives of education and entertainment in the broad sense of the terms.

All India Radio with the help of its 98 radio stations, 142 MW (medium wave), 40 SW (short wave)
and 4 VHF (very High frequency) (FM) transmitters cover 95% of the population and 86% of the
area of the country.

2
Unit 1, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Characteristics of Radio

1. Radio makes pictures: Remember the example of the running commentary on radio of the
Repubic Day Parade in Delhi? As you heard the commentary, you could visualize or ‘see’ in
your mind what was being described. You could actively ‘see’ pictures in your mind of the
parade even as you listened to the sounds of bands playing patriotic tunes or the sounds of
marching and commands. You use your power of imagination as you follow the running
commentary.
2. The speed of radio: Radio is the fastest medium. It is instant. As things happen in a studio
or outside, messages can be sent or broadcast. These messages can be picked up by
anyone who has a radio set or receiver which is tuned into a radio station. If you have a
television set and cable or satellite connection you may be using a remote to get your
favourite channel. These days if you have a satellite connection, you can also receive radio
signals of various AIR stations. Otherwise your normal radio set gives the meter or frequency
on which various radio stations operate. You are tuned into that station and listen to news
that happened a few minutes earlier. On the other hand, a newspaper gives you the previous
days’ news. Of course television can also cover events instantly. But television is a more
complex medium where you need light and cameras for any coverage.
3. Simplicity of radio: Compared to all other media, radio is simple to use and it needs very
simple technology and equipment.
4. Radio is inexpensive: As it is simple, it is also a cheaper medium. The cost of production is
low and a small radio can be bought for as low a price as say fifty rupees.
5. Radio does not need electric power supply: You can listen to radio using dry battery cells
even if you do not have electric power supply or a generator. So in a country like ours, where
electricity has not reached everywhere, radio is a great blessing.
6. A radio receiver is portable: Don’t you move your radio set at home from the living room to
the kitchen or as you go out somewhere? You can’t do that very easily with television. This
facility of moving an object which is called ‘portability’ gives radio an advantage. These days
if you have a car and a radio in it, you can listen to it as you drive or travel. Can you think of
watching television, when you drive?
7. One does not have to be literate to listen to radio: Unless you are literate, you can’t read
a newspaper or read captions or text on television. But for listening to radio, you need not be
literate at all. You can listen to programmes or news in any language on the radio.

3
Unit 1, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

8. For a majority of Indians in the rural areas, radio is the only source of news and
entertainment. Radio news can be heard anywhere using an inexpensive receiver. Even the
most economically backward sections can afford to use the medium of radio. Radio is the
best medium of entertainment. It provide healthy entertainment to the listeners. There is
plenty of music of different types available to people. The popular types of music are classical,
light classical, light, devotional, folk and film music.

Limitations of radio
Radio, like any other medium suffers from many limitations as well. Some are redundant in today’s
time and technology and some seriously hamper the messages reaching the audience. Radio
broadcasts are of no use to people who have no sense of hearing especially those with hearing
disabilities.

A one chance medium

When you read a newspaper, you can keep it with you and read it again. You have the printed word
there and unless the paper is destroyed it will remain with you. Suppose when you read a news
item, you do not understand the meaning of certain words. You can refer to a dictionary or ask
someone who knows to find out the meaning.
Now think of radio. Suppose you are listening to a news bulletin in English and you hear words that
you don’t understand. Can you refer to a dictionary or ask someone else for the meaning? If you
stop to do that, you will miss the rest of the news. You have to understand what is being said on
radio as you listen. You have only one chance to listen. What is said on radio does not exist any
longer; unless you record it. The words have momentary life. After it is spoken, it disappears unlike
a newspaper or a printed book. So that is one of the greatest limitations or weaknesses of radio. It’s
momentary nature or to put it differently – radio is a one chance medium. A listener has just one
chance to receive the message and understand it.

Radio has no visual images

Let us consider a news item on radio and the same item on television. For example, the news about
the devastating cyclone ‘Hud-Hud’ that hit India in 2014. Radio news talked about the intensity of
the cyclone, the number of deaths, details about property destroyed etc.

4
Unit 1, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

However in the case of television, it showed the actual cyclone hitting the country, visuals of
properties destroyed, rescue operations and many more details which could be seen. Now compare
the two. A natural disaster like a cyclone when seen on television is more effective than what you
hear on radio.

It is said that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. It is also said that ‘‘seeing is believing’’. So when
you see something, it is more believable than what you hear. So having no visuals is a major
limitation of radio.

Messages on radio are easily forgotten

The problem of not having visuals leads to another limitation of radio. What is seen is often
remembered and may remain with us. For example if you have seen the fine visuals of the Taj Mahal
in Agra, it will remain in your memory. But what you hear is normally forgotten fast. Probably you
may remember what you have heard in a class room if you found it interesting. But can you recall
all the headlines of a news bulletin you heard on radio? Normally, you don’t. So this is another
limitation of radio. Messages heard on radio are easily forgotten.

Poor performance on the part of announcers

Presenters or participants in a radio programme can be boring or uninteresting that it can result in
listeners switching off their radio sets. So listeners’ interest depends up on how information or
messages are presented.

Radio as a medium of Mass Communication

Radio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below
those of visible light. In electronics, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of
high frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with respect to a modulating signal. This
is done in a similar fashion as a musician may modulate the tone from a musical instrument by
varying its volume, timing and pitch. The three key parameters of a periodic waveform are its
amplitude ("volume"), its phase ("timing") and its frequency ("pitch"), all of which can be modified in
accordance with a low frequency signal to obtain the modulated signal.

5
Unit 1, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

During the 1930s, radio was considered an intimate and credible medium. The public used it as a
news source and expected it to provide factual information. Radio was the first truly mass medium
of communication, reaching millions of people instantly and altering social attitudes, family
relationships, and how people related to their environment.

Radio is an attractive medium among the various mass communication media because of its special
characteristics. It continues to be as relevant and potent as it was in the early years despite the
emergence of more glamorous media. It is a truism that in the first phase of broadcasting spanning
three decades from the early twenties, radio reigned alone or was the dominant player.

However, over a period of time, the media scene has changed drastically. Television with its inherent
strength of audio-visual component has captured the imagination of the people. The advent of
satellite television, the Internet and the convergence of technology have added further dimensions
in media utilization patterns.

However, despite the presence of a plethora of media, there is room and scope for each medium.
Experience has revealed that 'new technologies add things on but they don't replace'. One medium
is not displaced by another - each medium reinvents itself in the context of changes in the
communication environment. In the changed media scenario, radio is reorienting itself with more
innovative programmes and formats.

Radio has expanded into to a national medium of communication. It reaches to even those who
cannot read and helps those who cannot see to maintain a contact with the world around. Whatever
else can be said of the medium, it is plentiful has maintained its place in a highly competitive field
where television, newspapers, cinema and video films jostle for the attentions of the media.

Now, let’s take a look at the features which makes radio as a medium of mass communication:

Radio speaks to millions

Radio is one of the mass media. The very term broadcasting indicates a wide scattering of the output
covering every home, village, town, city and country within the range of the transmitter. Its potential
for communication therefore is very great, but the actual effect may be quite small.

6
Unit 1, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The difference between potential and actual will depend on matters to which this book is dedicated
– programme relevance, editorial excellence and creativity, qualities of ‘likeability’ and
persuasiveness, operational competence, technical reliability, and consistency of the received
signal. It will also be affected by the size and strength of the competition in its many forms.

Broadcasters sometimes forget that people have other things to do – life is not all about listening to
radio and watching television. Audience researchers talk about share and reach. Audience share is
the amount of time spent listening to a particular station, expressed as a percentage of the total
radio listening in its area.

Audience reach is the number of people who do listen to something from the station over the period
of a day or week, expressed as a percentage of the total population who could listen. Both figures
are significant. A station in a highly competitive environment may have quite a small share of the
total listening, but if it manages to build a substantial following to even one of its programmes, let
alone the aggregate of several minorities, it will enjoy a large reach. The mass media should always
be interested in reach.

The speed of radio

Technically uncumbersome, the medium is enormously flexible and is often at its best in the totally
immediate ‘live’ situation. No waiting for the presses or the physical distribution of newspapers or
magazines. A news report from a correspondent overseas, a listener talking on the phone, a sports
result from the local stadium, a concert from the capital – radio is immediate. The recorded
programme introduces a time shift and like a newspaper may quickly become out of date, but the
medium itself is essentially live and ‘now’. The ability to move about geographically generates its
own excitement. Long since regarded as a commonplace, both for television and radio, pictures and
sounds are beamed and bounced around the world, bringing any event anywhere to our immediate
attention. Radio speeds up the dissemination of information so that everyone – the leaders and the
led – knows of the same news event, the same political idea, declaration or threat. If knowledge is
power, radio gives power to us all whether we exercise authority or not.

7
Unit 1, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Radio has no boundaries

Books and magazines can be stopped at national frontiers but radio is no respecter of territorial
limits. Its signals clear mountain barriers and cross deep oceans. Radio can bring together those
separated by geography or nationality – it can help to close other distances of culture, learning or
status.

The programmes of political propagandists or of Christian missionaries can be sent in one country
and heard in another. Sometimes met with hostile jamming, sometimes welcomed as a life-
sustaining truth, programmes have a liberty independent of lines on a map, obeying only the rules
of transmitter power, sunspot activity, channel interference and receiver sensitivity. Even these
limitations are overcome for radio on the Internet, which can bring any station to an Internet-enabled
PC, laptop or mobile phone, wherever it is. Independent of transmitter power or cable networks, any
studio can have a worldwide reach. Crossing political boundaries, radio can bring freedoms to the
oppressed and enlightenment to those in darkness.

Radio for society

It acts as a multiplier of change, speeding up the process of informing a population, and heightening
an awareness of key issues.
 It provides information about jobs, goods and services, and so helps to shape markets by
providing incentives for earning and spending.
 It acts as a watchdog on power holders, providing contact between them and the public.
 It helps to develop agreed objectives and political choice, and enables social and political
debate, exposing issues and options for action.
 It acts as a catalyst and focus for celebration – or mourning – enabling individuals to act
together, forming a common consciousness.
 It contributes to the artistic and intellectual culture, providing opportunities for new and
established performers of all kinds.
 It disseminates ideas. These may be radical, leading to new beliefs and values, so promoting
diversity and change – or they may reinforce traditional values, so helping to maintain social
order through the status quo.
 It enables individuals and groups to speak to each other, developing an awareness of a
common membership of society.
 It mobilizes public and private resources for personal or community ends, particularly in an
emergency.

8
Unit 1, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Radio for the disadvantaged

Because of its relatively low cost and because it doesn’t require the education level of literacy, radio
is particularly well suited to meet the needs of the poor and disadvantaged.

9
Unit 1, Lesson 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 2
Radio Broadcasting in India
(pre and post-independence)

History of Radio Broadcasting in India- An Introduction

Broadcasting was introduced in India by amateur radio clubs in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and
Lahore. The first of such clubs was the Madras Presidency Radio Club which was formed on May
16, 1924. It began broadcasting on 31 July. Financial difficulties forced the club to close down and
to be queath its transmitter to the Corporation of Madras in October, 1927. A regular broadcasting
service, however, went on the air from 1927, when the Indian Broadcasting Company Ltd., a private
concern, came into being.

It was under the private operators and afterwards placed under the direct control of the central
government and renamed as the Indian Broadcasting Services. In 1935, the Hyderabad station
under government of the Nizam of Hyderabad started operation. In 1936, the Indian radio was
designated as All India Radio wad designated as All India Radio (AIR). In 1938 June 16, a
programme journal named Vani a Station Publication from Madras with the declaration of was on 3
September, 1939 it was inevitable that the Broadcasting news from AIR station acquired added
importance from October 1, 1939 coinciding with about 40% increase in the transmission hours of
all stations, AIR started giving news bulletins, in five Indian languages Tamil, Telugu, Guajarati,
Marathi and Punjabi in addition to the usual bulletins in English, Hindustani and Bengali. In 1948
Vijayawada station started broadcasting.

Lionel Fielden, India’s first Controller of Broadcasting, tells the story of the early years of Indian
Broadcasting in his autobiography-
‘A group of Indian business men, fired by the financial success of European broadcasting, had
floated a company in 1927 with a too-meagre capital, built two weak little stations at Calcutta and
Bombay. In the following three years they had gathered some 7,000 listeners and lost a great deal
of money. They decided to go into liquidation. The government of India, which then and later with
considerable wisdom-thought broadcasting a curse was there upon bullied by the vested interests
of radio dealers to buy up the transmitters. Having done so, it proceeded, quite naturally, to
economise.

10
Unit 1, Lesson 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

File-writers in Delhi could hardly be expected to sanction public expenditure on music, drama and
similar irrelevancies. It seemed obvious that all such frivolous waste should be avoided. The
programmes accordingly deteriorated even from their former low standard and Indian Broadcasting
would have spiralled down to complete eclipse had not the BBC, at the critical moment, started an
Empire programme on the short wave.

Europeans in India rushed to buy sets and since the Government had, by way of strangling
broadcasting although, put an import duty of fifty percent on sets, even the 8000 extra sets
purchased brought quite a deal of money under the broadcasting head. The dealers cried that
broadcasting’s profits must be used for broadcasting: The Government replied with the offer of a
new station at Delhi and a man-me-from the BBC. But, however much English residents of India
listened to the BBC and to the radio dealers it did not matter, then, who listened to what as long as
sets were sold-Indian broadcasting remained what it had always been…’

In 1935 the colonial government took another decisive step by inviting the BBC to help develop
radio; one of the BBC’s senior producers, Lionel Fielden, was sent. Fielden is credited with having
the name of the organization changed to All India Radio and for laying the foundations for public
service broadcasting with the goal of providing information and education. He returned to England
in 1940. By 1947, the year of India’s independence, the air network had grown to 11 stations with 2,
48,000 radio licenses.

Radio comes to India

The first regular broadcasting station in the world, as we have seen, was opened in Pittsburgh in
the USA. Soon after, the first radio programmes were broadcast in the U.K. by the Marconi Company
from Chelmsford, on February 23, 1920. However, it was not until November 1922 that the British
Broadcasting Company, with John Reith as its Managing Director, began to broadcast programmes
on a regular basis.

In November, 1923 a Radio Club was set up in Calcutta which ushered amateur. Broadcasting in
India. In June 1924, similar clubs in Bombay and Madras began transmitting programmes for about
two and a half hours every day. However, the Madras club closed down in October 1927. But earlier
in July the Bombay station of the Indian Broadcasting Company was given the government licence
for regular transmissions, and in August the Calcutta station of the IBC went into operation.

11
Unit 1, Lesson 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy, who inaugurated the Bombay station earlier, said the following words
on the occasion:
'India offers special opportunities for the development of broadcasting. Its distances and wide
spaces alone make it a promising field. In India's remote villages there are many who, after the day's
work is done, find time hang heavily enough upon their hands, and there must be many officials and
others whose duties carry them into out-of-the-way places where they crave for the company of their
friends and the solace of human companionship. There are, of course, too in many households
those whom social custom debars from. Taking part in recreation outside their own homes. To all
these and many more, broadcasting will be a blessing and a boon of real value. Both for
entertainment and for education its possibilities are great, and as yet we perhaps scarcely realise
how great they are’.

In a sense Irwin was prophetic. Today for education and entertainment radio is a powerful means of
communication for the masses of this country especially for those living in remote villages.
The lndian Broadcasting Company began with a capital of 15 lakhs of rupees. Four and a half lakhs
were spent on the installation of the stations at Bombay and Calcutta. On 3 1st Dec., 1927 Broadcast
Receiver licences were enforced. There was a fee of Rs. 101- per year on every radio set. There
were 3,594 sets at that time. In two years this figure went up two- fold. In 1930, however, the number
of licences went down. The expenditure on broadcasting in the meantime was far in excess of the
revenue. The company therefore applied to the Government for a loan which was turned down. The
result was that the company went into voluntary liquidation in March, 1930.

AIR is born
The 30s were a bad period for the world economy; worse for the Indian radio. The expenditure on a
radio station was pruned from Rs. 33.0001- a month in 1927 to Rs. 24, 0001- in 1929 and after the
Government of India took over, to Rs. 220001- in 1930.

The cut in the budget forced the Indian radio to adopt lower and lower standards until 1935 when
the Government of India Act was passed. The constitutional position of broadcasting was defined in
section 129 of the Act.

12
Unit 1, Lesson 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The salient features of this Act lay emphasis on granting reasonable freedom to:
i) The government of any province or the Ruler of any Federated State such functions with respect
to broadcasting as may be necessary to enable that Government or Ruler-
a) To construct and use transmitters In the Province or State;
b) To regulate, and impose fees in respect of the construction and use of transmitters and use of
receiving apparatus in the Province or State, and
ii) To the matter broadcast by or by authority of, the Government or Ruler. In August, 1935 Lionel
Fielden of the BBC came to India. He had been recommended to Lord Willingdon, the then Viceroy
of India, by Sir John Reith, the then D.G. of the BBC.

Lionel Fielden is now a mythic figure in the history of Indian broadcasting. He was the first Controller
of Broadcasting in India when the Indian state broadcasting corporation was controlled by the
Department of Industries and Labour. In the five years or so that Fielden was the Controller of
Broadcasting he showed patience, tact and foresight and succeeded in establishing the radio as a
public institution in India.

'There is an often-quoted episode in Fielden's autobiography, 'The Natural Bent (1960). It tells us
how the Indian State Broadcasting Service was rechristened as All India Radio.
It goes like this:

"I had never liked the title ISBS (Indian- State Broadcasting Service) which to me seemed not only
unwieldy but also tainted with officialdom. After a good deal of cogitation-which may seem ridiculous
now, but these apparently simple and obvious things do not always appear easily-I had concluded
that All India Radio would give me not only protection from the clauses which I most feared In the
1935 Act, but would also have the suitable initials AIR. I worked out a monogram which placed these
letters over the map of India, and it is now about the only thing which remains of me in India......
Thus All India Radio was born."

Today All India Radio is known as Akashvani, a name which was given to it in 1958.

13
Unit 1, Lesson 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The word ‘Akashvani’ however was first used by Dr. M.V. Gopalaswamy, Professor of Psychology
at Mysore, for a radio station he established at his own residence on 10 th September, 1935. It used
to be on the air from 6 to 8.30 p.m. daily, except on Sundays. The broadcasts were of Carnatic
music and talks in Indian languages on various subjects of popular interest. His radio station was
able to broadcast programmes on a regular basis with the financial support of the Mysore
Municipality and Professor Gopalaswamy's own, until 1942 when it was taken over by the Mysore
State.

In 1950 it became part of the AIR network consequent on the integration of the former princely
states. Lionel Fielden left India in 1940 and handed over the charge to A.S. Bohhari, who had taught
English at Government College, Lahore and had joined the AIR in 1936, and became Fielden's
Deputy in three months. Bokhari went back to become Principal of the college from where he had
come in 1946. P.C. Chaudhuri was the first D.G. of Akashvani in independent India under Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Minister for Information and Broadcasting.

Landmarks in History of All India Radio (Pre-Independence)

14
Unit 1, Lesson 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Landmarks in History of All India Radio (Post-Independence)

(Source: allindiaradio.gov.in)

Services of Akashvani (All India Radio)

News Services
The origins of a centrally planned National Service for news go back to the Second World War when
news bulletins began to be broadcast from Delhi. However, it was in 1931 that the Central News
Organisation (CNO) was formed. Before that date, each station produced its own bulletins. Bombay
and Delhi broadcast news both in English and Hindustani and Calcutta in Bengali in lieu of the latter.

Fielden defended the broadcasts on AIR in Hindustani and recorded that the AIR had 'tentatively
adopted it as a language spoken or at least understood in the greater part of Aryan speaking India'.
'There is, however', he went on, 'a feeling in the country that All lndia Radio should assist in the
evolution and expansion of a common language for India, and it is in pursuance of this feeing, no
less than for practical considerations, that All India Radio is endeavouring to widen the scope of
Hindustani.' However, the word Hindi replaced Hindustani in AIR programme journals in November,
1949. Shortly afterwards newscasts started in Urdu while Hindustani, a mixture of the two, was not
recognised officially as a language.

15
Unit 1, Lesson 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

All lndia Radio today has a fully developed news service which broadcasts news in 20 languages
and 34 dialects. It also broadcasts, apart from the bulletins, newsreels, daily commentaries on
important events and discussions on current events. It provides service to small newspapers through
its slow-speed bulletins in Hindi and English. It monitors broadcasts of foreign stations by the
monitoring services at Shimla and in New Delhi.

Educational Radio
In a way discussions and commentaries on current events have great educational spin-offs. Such
programmes can be classed under non-formal education. Some other types would be Farm and
Home Units of which there are over 60 which deal with agriculture, animal husbandry, cooperatives,
cottage industries and such other matters. Radio Farm Forum was started in 1949. In 1956 the Pune
Station of Akashvani made an experiment in Adult education.

Another area in which radio has been active since 1967 is family welfare. It covers education on
health and nutrition, immunization, child and mother care and family planning techniques. Apart from
the non-formal education mentioned above radio has gone in a big way into formal education
through its school and university broadcasts.

Programmes for schools are broadcast from Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Delhi and other stations
for 30 minutes, two or three times a week. However, they have not been received by a large number
of schools due to the lack of infrastructural facilities. At each station there are consultative panels of
6 members who advise on the programmes but good teachers do not always make good
broadcasters and the AIR does not always succeed in selecting the best 'people for the school
broadcasts. Akashvani at present broadcasts programmes of the universities of Delhi, Punjab
(Chandigarh) and Punjabi (Patiala). It will soon broadcast programmes of this university as well on
a regular basis.

Special Audience Programmes

Programmes with a focus on special target groups such as army jawans, women, children and the
youth are called special audience programmes. Some of the programmes mentioned in the previous
sub-section can also go under this rubric.

16
Unit 1, Lesson 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Yuv-Vani or The Voice of Youth is a special audience programme, planned, presented and to a large
extent managed by the young people of the 15-25 years age group. The Programme commenced
on 23rd July, 1969. Can you recall which other world famous event took place on that day'? Neil
Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin set foot for the first time on the moon.

By August 1976, the Yuv-Vani service was broadcast from 23 stations. Delhi, where this service
was introduced for the first time had 6000 participants in its programmes in the first six months (in
1969-70) of its commencement. Today it is still very popular on the national level.

The Commercial Service-Vividh Bharati

In the early Years of our independence, film music was not considered at Akashvani as radio worthy.
In 1950, a Music of India programme was started from Delhi and relayed by all stations. 'Popularize
Classical music' was the catchword spread in 1952 and it did a lot to improve its status. However,
the Indian listener wanted Hindi film music and this was beamed on to various parts of India by
Radio Ceylon on its commercial service.

In order to satisfy the Indian listener's needs, AIR introduced a new service in 1957 on par with
Radio Ceylon known as Vividh Bharati or the All India Variety Programme channel. Originally these
programmes were broadcast from Bombay and Madras. After 1960 these Programmes have been
made available on low-power medium wave transmitters also.

17
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 3
Different Types of Radio Stations and Transmissions:
On the Basis of Reach: National, Regional, Local and Community
On the Basis of Transmission Technology: AM, SW, FM, Web

Introduction

Transmission is the act or process of sending a message and information from one location to one
or more locations by means of radio waves, electrical signals, light signals, etc. In radio electronics
and broadcasting, a transmitter usually has a power supply, an oscillator, a modulator, and amplifiers
for audio frequency (AF) and radio frequency (RF).The modulator is the device which modulates the
signal information onto the carrier frequency, which is then broadcast.

Process of Radio Transmission on the basis of Transmission Technology

The Radio Receiver

In daily parlance, a radio is an apparatus that receives signals broadcast by radio stations in the
form of electromagnetic waves and converts them into audible sounds. We use it in fact as a
shortened form of a RADIO RECEIVER.

Now let us see what components a radio receiver has.

Aerials
a radio receiver is generally is attached to an aerial. The aerial picks up all the radio frequency
waves around it.

Tuner
these frequencies are conveyed to the tuner that selects the desired frequency and rejects the
others.

Vacuum Tubes
With the help of special vacuum tubes the programme current is separated from the carrier current
so that the former alone remains.

18
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Amplifiers
The programme current is very weak and cannot operate the loudspeaker. Hence it is made more
powerful (i.e. amplified) with the help of vacuum tubes called amplifiers.

With the advancement of radio technology, transistors that take less space than a vacuum tube
Began to be used in their place. 'Transistor is an electronic device much smaller than a radio valve
used in radio sets. It works both on electricity and cells. If there an old radio, look into its hole at the
back. You may also take the help of a technician and look into a transistor set and difference will be
clear to you.

Loudspeaker

The loudspeaker converts the programme currents into sound waves that we hear.

The Radio Transmitter

A transmitter is the equipment through which we receive the radio broadcast on our sets. This is big
equipment in comparison to other equipment installed in the studio or control room. The strength
and type of the transmitter determines the coverage area of broadcast.

The transmitter sends these sound waves to the listeners’ radio sets which convert them into
sounds. There is no time gap in the whole process.

Studio Control Room (CR) Transmitter (XTR) Listener

Transmitters are generally located outside the city boundaries. The transmitters are of different
capacities such as 1 KW to 100 KW, 200 KW or 250 KW or above. Their locations are decided
according to their capacity. A 1 KW transmitter is normally installed in the vicinity of the studio/control
room whereas the high power transmitters are installed outside the city.

There are two types of transmitters.

■ Low Power Transmitter (LPT) and

■ High Power Transmitter (HPT)

Likewise, there are:

■ Medium Wave (MW) radio broadcast transmitters and

■ Short Wave (SW) radio broadcast transmitters

19
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

In a radio station, the broadcaster speaks into a microphone. The microphone converts the sound
into electrical energy. Certain substances-have the property of conducting electricity when they are
put under pressure. Carbon is one such substance. The more pressure you put on it the greater the
electricity it will produce. Hence a capsule of fine carbon particles is connected to a piece of wire
and placed behind a plastic or springy sheet of metal called a Diaphragm. The broadcaster speaks
in front of the diaphragm. The sound made by the announcer presses the carbon particles which in
turn, produce the electrical energy.

This electrical energy is in the form of a programme current which is weak in nature and cannot
travel very far. Certain vacuum tubes at the radio station produce carrier currents that can travel
very far. Special vacuum tubes combine the two currents--carrier and programme. Thus modulating
the carrier current. This modulated carrier current (AM or FM) is sent through a wire to a radio
transmitting tower. The carrier current is amplified (or increased) and radiated out in all directions
from the transmitting tower.

The Ionosphere
Do you know that the quality of reception on your radio-receiver depends also on the sun '? The sun
sends its energy to the earth and thus ionises the layers of air from about 50 to 175 kilometres above
us. The ionosphere layers reflect the radio waves back to the earth. During the day the ionospheric
reflector is pushed behind in the sky. The result is that the sky waves arc reflected farther during the
night than during the day.

20
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The Modulation of Waves

To modulate is to vary the strength and nature of a sound. For instance, we say that Sanjeev is able
to modulate his voice according to the needs of his audience. We used it earlier in the context of
radio waves. A carrier wave is a powerful wave that can go far. A programme wave is not that
powerful because the source of that current is generally the voice of a human being. There are two
important components of a wave-its amplitude (wave height) and frequency (number of waves in a
unit-distance). If with the help of the programme wave we modulate the amplitude of a wave it is
called amplitude modulation or AM.

On the other hand, if with the help of the programme wave we modulate the frequency and not the
amplitude of a wave we have frequency modulation or F.M.

In radio communication, a radio signal is ‘modulated’ so that it can be transmitted over long
distances. In the simplest terms, this means that the radio signal (or input signal), i.e. the signal
carrying audio information, is added with a carrier signal. Unlike a radio signal (which usually has a
very low frequency), a carrier signal has a constant amplitude and frequency, i.e. a constant
waveform, which helps to carry the radio signal over long distances. The process of ‘mounting’ the
original signal to a carrier wave is called modulation.

21
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Meaning of Amplitude
The strength of a wave of sound or electricity, measured at the strongest repeating part of the wave.

Amplitude Modulation (AM) Transmission

Amplitude Modulation, commonly abbreviated as AM, is a common method of broadcasting radio
signals. This method dates back to the 1870s, i.e. the time when we first discovered that information
in the form of audio production can be broadcast over long distances through radio waves. In AM,
the amplitude of the carrier wave is modified in order to transmit the input signal (the one that carries
information). The amplitude of the carrier wave varies proportionally according to the input signal,
so when the input signal has a low amplitude, the amplitude of the carrier wave is decreased and
vice-versa.
Advantages of AM
It is easy to produce in a transmitter and AM receivers are simple in design. AM is simple to tune on
ordinary receivers, and that is why it is used for almost all shortwave broadcasting.
Disadvantages of AM
Its main disadvantage is its inefficiency. About two-thirds of an AM signal's power is concentrated
in the carrier, which contains no intelligence. Other disadvantages of AM include the relatively wide
amount of frequency space an AM signal occupies and its susceptibility to static and other forms of
electrical noise.

22
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Meaning of Frequency
The rate per second of a vibration constituting a wave, either in a material (as in sound waves), or
in an electromagnetic field (as in radio waves and light). A particular number of radio waves
produced in a second at which a radio signal is broadcast the number of times that a wave, especially
a light, sound, or radio wave, is produced within a particular period, especially one second

Frequency Modulation (FM) Transmission

Frequency Modulation, often referred to as FM, is another, relatively newer method of modulation
where the carrier wave is modified proportionally according to the input signal. In FM, the
instantaneous frequency of the carrier wave is altered according to the amplitude of the input signal.
Due to the much better transmission quality, most music radio stations prefer FM over AM to transmit
information (mostly, songs) to their listeners.

Advantage of FM
The big advantage of FM is its audio quality and immunity to noise. Most forms of static and electrical
noise is naturally AM, and a FM receiver will not respond to AM signals. FM receivers also exhibit a
characteristic known as the capture effect. If two or more FM signals are on the same frequency,
the FM receiver will respond to the strongest of the signals and ignore the rest. The audio quality of
a FM signal increases as its deviation increases, which is why FM broadcast stations use such large
deviation.

Disadvantage of FM
The main disadvantage of FM is the amount of frequency space a signal requires.

AM vs FM Debate

Mode of modulation: AM involves the alteration of the amplitude of the carrier wave, whereas FM
involves changes in the frequency of the carrier wave.
Frequency range: The typical frequency range in which AM works is 535 to 1705 Kilohertz, whereas
the frequency range is around 88-108 Megahertz for FM.
Area of reception: Unlike AM, FM signals can’t travel over long distances; therefore, FM signals
have good reception in cities, whereas AM signals (usually used for broadcasting news) have a
lower sound quality, but can be transmitted to more remote places.
23
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

This is because FM waves have a small range in terms of the geographical regions they can cover,
whereas AM waves have a much larger range and can therefore be received even in hinterlands!
This is the reason most news stations use AM over FM, because they want the information to reach
as many people as possible, even if the sound quality isn’t top-notch, which brings us to the next
point.
Complexity and cost: The equipment requirements of an FM system are costly, whereas AM, with
its relatively older technology, relies on less complex and thus cheaper equipment to transmit
signals.
Bandwidth: AM signals take up 30 kHz, while FM signals take up 80 kHz of bandwidth for each
signal. This means that AM can send more signals than FM in a limited range of bandwidth.
Sound Quality: The one aspect that’s undoubtedly the most relevant to users, i.e. the sound quality
of the transmission, is where FM clearly trumps AM. Noise affects amplitude more readily, and since
information is stored in the amplitude itself, AM becomes vulnerable to interference. FM, on other
hand, relies on changing frequency, and is therefore less susceptible to noise, allowing it to provide
a superior quality of sound.

Given the fact that both AM and FM are commonly used for broadcasting information these days,
it’s evident that there’s no winner in this debate. Whether you use AM or FM while broadcasting
something depends entirely on how many people you want to reach out to.

Most radio stations use amplitude modulation because it is most efficient for long-distance
short-wave broadcasting. However. AM programmes are often disturbed by noise. FM programmes
are, on the other hand, not disturbed by noise but do not prove useful in long- distance broadcasting.
However, if you have a stereo-radio receiver-and you live close to the big cities you will find music
broadcast on FM much more enjoyable.

Short Wave (SW) Transmission

Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than those
used for medium and low frequency bands first used for radio communications. It is used for long
distance communication by means of reflecting off ionosphere, allowing communication around the
curve of the Earth. It is also used for broadcasting of voice and music, and long-distance
communication to ships and aircraft, or to remote areas out of reach of wired communication or
other radio services.

24
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Additionally, it is used for two-way international communication by amateur radio enthusiasts for
hobby, educational and emergency purposes. Shortwave frequencies are capable of reaching any
location on the Earth. Shortwave broadcasts often suffer from serious interference problems
because of overcrowding on the wavebands, atmospheric disturbances and electrical interference
problems (particularly in cities) from TV sets, computers, poorly designed domestic appliances, and
substandard electrical installations. Even under ideal reception conditions, the audio quality of a
shortwave broadcast is usually inferior to that of domestic stations, particularly FM stations, and it
is always in mono.

The selection of a frequency to use to reach a target area depends on several factors:

 The distance from the transmitter to the target receiver.

 During the day, frequencies higher than approximately 12MHz can travel longer distances
than lower ones; at night, this property is reversed.
 During the winter months the AM broadcast band tends to be more favourable because of
longer hours of darkness.
 Solar activity: Sunspots, solar flares, and overall solar variation affect the ionosphere. Solar
flares can prevent the ionosphere from reflecting or refracting radio waves.

Shortwave does possess a number of advantages over newer technologies, including the following:

 The difficulty in censoring programming by authorities in target countries: unlike the

Internet, government authorities have technical difficulties to monitor which stations (sites) is
being listened to (access). Low-cost shortwave radios are widely available in all but the most
repressive countries in the world.
 Many newer shortwave receivers are portable and can be battery operated, making them
useful in difficult circumstances. Newer technology includes hand-cranked radios which
provide power for a short time.
 Shortwave radios can be used in situations where Internet or satellite technology is
unavailable (or unaffordable). Shortwave radio travels much farther than broadcast FM (88-
108MHz).
 Shortwave broadcasts can be easily transmitted over a distance of several thousands of
kilometers, e.g., from one continent to another, especially at night.

25
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

 Particularly in tropical regions SW is somewhat less prone to interference from

thunderstorms than Medium wave and is able to cover a large geographic area with relatively
low power (and hence cost). Therefore in many of these countries it is widely used for
domestic broadcasting.

Radio on Web
Radio on internet is a growing phenomenon with thousands of radio stations operating through
computer modems. It is altogether a new format that removes the restrictions of frequency or license.
It is relatively cheap to set up. It has certain advantages as well as disadvantages. Now all the
national and international radio stations like BBC, Voice of America, and All India Radio are available
on internet. It is now possible to listen to the programmes from a radio station while working on the
computer. All India Radio started its services on internet on 1st May 1998. With this, it was possible
to extend the coverage of programmes to all parts of the world including USA and Canada.

Radio Transmission on the Basis of Reach

All India Radio is a division of Prasar Bharati or the Broadcasting Corporation of India, an
autonomous corporation of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
The headquarters of AIR is at Akashwani Bhawan, New Delhi. AIR has different services each
catering to different regions/ languages across India. One of the most famous services is Vividh
Bharati (All India Variety Programme) which offers programmes such as news, film music, comedy
shows etc. in several cities of India.

AIR has a three-tier system of broadcasting. These three levels of programmes are the National,
Regional and Local each having distinct audiences. National programmes are broadcast from Delhi
for relay by the Capital, Regional and Local Radio Stations. Some of these are the National
Programme of Talks and Features in Hindi and English, the National Programmes of Drama and
Music.

26
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Radio Transmission on the Basis of Reach: National

The National Channel of All India Radio located in Delhi broadcasts programmes which are heard
on Medium Wave and also on Short Wave. It started on 18th May 1988, this channel works as a
night service from 6.50 PM to 6.10 AM the next morning. Broadcasting in Hindi, Urdu and English,
the programme composition of the channel has been designed to make it representative of the
cultural mosaic and ethos of the country.

It caters to the information, education and entertainment needs of the people, through its
transmitters at Nagpur, Mogra and Delhi beaming from dusk to dawn. It transmits centrally originated
news bulletins in Hindi and English, plays, sports, music, newsreel, spoken word and other topical
programmes, to nearly 76% of the country’s population fully reflecting the broad spectrum of national
life. The languages of broadcast are Hindi, English and Urdu apart from some music from other
Indian languages.

The National Channel transmits programmes of national relevance. It is an alternative channel to

the listeners who have access to the regional /sub-regional and Vividh Bharati Service. The
languages of the spoken-word broadcast of the National Channel are Hindi and English

The National Channel features Hindustani and Carnatic music. light and folk music' from Planning
and Research different regions of the country, Western music, plays, dramatized presentation of
short stories translate into Hindi from different Indian languages, documentaries, financial reviews,
sports magazines and programmes in Urdu. The national service is available to substantial
segments of the people in different regions.

Radio Transmission on the Basis of Reach: Regional

The Regional Stations in different States form the middle tier of broadcasting. They originate
programmes in the regional languages and dialects. Regional Channels are located in the major
linguistic-cultural region of every state. 116 Regional Channels are spread over 29 states & 6 Union
Territories including the North-Eastern Service at Shillong that projects the vibrant cultural heritage
of the North-Eastern region of this country. The Regional Channels, broadcast largely on the
Medium Wave frequency, follow a composite programme pattern comprising of music - classical,
light, folk and film, News and Current Affairs, Radio plays, features, Farm and Home programmes,
programmes on Health & Family Welfare and programmes for Women, Children etc.

27
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The organisational setup of a regional radio station which is located at the capital of a state or Union
Territory is more or less on the pattern detailed in the typical set-up of a radio station.

The head of a regional station is Station Director who is the controller of the station and is
responsible for its final output. Public relations is directly under the Station Director. She keeps
liaison with state government functionaries, eminent writers, thinkers, scientists, technologists,
musicians, artistes and others. She also presides over the Programme Advisory Committees and
Consultative Panels attached to the stations.

A Station Director of a radio station in a state capital has the added responsibility of organising and
coordinating the programmes of state level relevance and importance. She also inspects other
stations in the state.

Radio Transmission on the Basis of Reach: Local

Local Radio is relatively a newer concept of broadcasting in India. Local radio stations serve small
communities, showcase local culture and broadcast area specific programmes for the benefit of the
community. The transmission is in the FM mode. The programming is flexible and spontaneous and
the stations function as the mouth piece of the local community. At present there are 86 Local
Stations spread across the country.

The government has granted licenses to IGNOU to operate educational channels known as
Gyan Vani. These radio stations are managed by a three member team headed by a station
manager.

Each of these local radio stations serving a small area provides utility services and reaches right
into the heart of the community, What distinguishes local radio from the regional network is its down
to earth, intimate and uninhibited approach. The programmes of the local radio are area specific.
They are flexible and spontaneous enough to enable the station to function as the mouth piece of
the local community.

28
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The FM service of AIR has two channels- FM Rainbow and FM Gold. There are 12 FM Rainbow
channels and 4 FM Gold Channels. The programme content of these channels is mainly popular
Indian and Western music, presented in a style which is highly popular with the urban youth. News
bulletins and current affairs programmes are also broadcast from these channels. There are also
other AIR stations on the F.M. mode. There are several private FM channels which can be heard all
over the country.

Private radio stations (FM channels)

Radio Mirchi, Radio City, Big FM, Red FM ……The list is becoming longer. You must have heard
about one or more of them. These are private or commercial radio stations which have been given
a license to broadcast programmes on radio. Most of them cater to the younger generation by
providing a mix of music and fun.

Radio Transmission on the Basis of Reach: Community

Community Radio is a voluntary activity, supported by the community it serves. Civil society can
assist in setting up and supporting stations over a short duration as they move towards self-
sufficiency. Community Radio is a type of radio service that offers a third model of radio broadcasting
beyond commercial and public service. Community stations can serve geographic communities and
communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular to a local/specific audience but which
may often be overlooked by commercial or mass-media broadcasters.

Community Radio is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a limited area or a
community which is homogenous. It broadcasts programmes that are popular and relevant to the
local audience. A community radio license is required to operate a community radio station.
Community Radio Stations are operated, owned, and driven by the communities they serve.
Community radio is not-for profit and provides a mechanism for facilitating individuals, groups, and
communities to tell their own diverse stories, to share experiences, and in a media rich world to
become active creators and contributors of media.

These stations are expected to produce programmes as far as possible in the local language or
dialect. Although the stress is on developmental programmes, entertainment is not banned on these
radio stations. Anna FM is India’s first campus community radio operating from Anna University in
Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This was launched on 1 February 2004.

29
Unit 1, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

On 16 November 2006, the government of India notified new Community Radio Guidelines which
permit NGOs and other civil society organizations to own and operate community radio stations.
The license entitles them to operate a 100 watt (ERP) radio station, with a coverage area of
approximately 12 kilometers radius. A maximum antenna height of 30 meters is allowed. Community
radio stations are expected to produce at least 50% of their programmes locally, as far as possible
in the local language or dialect. The stress is on developmental programming, though there is no
explicit ban on entertainment.

30
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 4
Organizational Structure and
Functionaries of a Radio Station: Govt. and Private

Introduction
The organisational structures of institutions are designed in accordance with their objectives and
functions. This holds true of radio networks/stations as well. There are several broadcasting
networks in the world, some are public service broadcasting organisations, and others are
commercial networks. Besides, there are individual radio stations, mostly of a commercial nature.
The policy objectives of radio networks/radio stations differ widely depending on the policy of those
who own/control them. The organisational structure of a broadcasting organisation also varies
widely in relation to the size, of the network, its policy objectives and capital investments.

In India, as in most other counties, it is an organisation under the control of the government. In some
countries, as for instance the U.S.A., there are private radio stations. In others, radio has greater
autonomy than what it enjoys in our country, nevertheless it is still under governmental control. Such
is the case with the British Broadcasting Corporation (B.B.C.). The nature of relationship influences
the organisation of radio station.

There are, however, three main departments in a radio station:

The Programme Department

Imagine the number of programmes and types of programmes that are broadcast by a radio station
every day, such as music, drama, serials, news and their analyses, panel discussions etc. This
involves three kinds of operation-(i) Scheduling. (ii) Recording and (iii) Broadcasting the
programmes. All programme matters, including programme schedules, appointment of staff artistes
and producers, etc. fall within the jurisdiction of the Deputy Director General (Programmes). He is
assisted by the Director of Programmes and the Director of Programme (Planning) who are Station
Directors. Similarly, the News Department has a Director-in-charge. The need for speedy action in
terms of instant relay of the news gives radio a great advantage over the Press.

31
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The Director (Programmes) is assisted by Programme Executive, Programme Assistants, producers

and staff artistes which include composers, announcers and accompanists besides transmission
assistants and studio executives and staff.
In big radio stations there are big news sub-departments within the programme department. The
news sub-department collects news from various sources such as the news-agencies and reporters
who send them local news from various parts of the country. News-readers, artistes and disc-jockeys
(who conduct radio programmes of recorded music, interspersed with comments) all normally form
the part of the programme department.

The Engineering Department

You have seen how the voice of the announcer or singer has to undergo a technological process
before it can be heard by the listeners on their radio sets. This is done by the engineers in the control
room of the station and his most important equipment is the control board to which come wires from
the microphones, tape recorders and record turntables. She/he ensures that the programmes are
broadcast on a frequency assigned to that station.

The Business Department

The radio earns revenue from advertisements and salesmen have to go to the local stores or the
big producers of goods as the case may be for the sale of air-time on the station. They generally
charge more money for programmes broadcast at peak listening hours also called prime time. The
business department also has accountants who keep accounts of the incomes and expenditures of
the radio station. Without the three major departments radio will not be able to function.

Organisational Structure of All India Radio

The type of organisation and the principles of management adopted by a broadcasting station will
depend on its size, range of operations and ownership. In our country, radio broadcasting had been
the responsibility of All India Radio funded by the government. A number of radio stations in the
private sector are coming up. A number of educational channels operated by IGNOU known as
Gyan Vani have come up and more are to be commissioned. The NGO sector may also set up
community broadcasting stations as and when Government regulations permit.
Their organisational pattern would be different depending on their size, financial outlay and activities
to be undertaken.

32
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

All India Radio (AIR) is one of the major public service broadcasting organisations in the world, and
perhaps the largest in Asia. It has a network comprising 209 broadcasting centres with a staff
component of over 30,000 employees and an annual expenditure of over Rs. 450 crores in the year
2000. Its home service, averaging 2300 hours of output every day, includes national, regional, sub-
regional and local service in 26 languages and 146 dialects, beside light entertainment commercial
service. Its external service in 16 foreign and 10 Indian languages is beamed to 84 countries around
the globe for a daily duration of over 70 hours. The headquarters of the network located in New
Delhi is headed by a Director-General. The Director-General is assisted by an Engineer-in Chief, a
Director-General (News), and Additional Deputy Director-General for Programme, Administration
and Security, a Director of Monitoring Service and a Director for Audience Research. The Director
General is answerable to the Parsar Bharati Board of Management.

Prasar Bharati Board

The Prasar Bharati Board functions at the apex level ensuring formulation and implementation of
the policies of the organization and fulfillment of the mandate in terms of the Prasar Bharati Act,
1990. The Executive Member functions as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Corporation.
The CEO of Prasar Bharati is Mr. Shashi Shekhar Vempati.
Officers from different streams working in the Prasar Bharati Secretariat assist the CEO, Member
(Finance) and Member (Personnel) in integrating actions, operations, plans and policy
implementation as well as look after the budget, accounts and general financial matters of the
Corporation. Prasar Bharati also has a unified vigilance set up at the headquarters, headed by a
Chief Vigilance Officer. The Director General heads the Directorate of All India Radio

Director-General (DG)
The Director-General provides the professional leadership. He controls and supervises the
activities of various divisions. The heads of programme and engineering divisions are, in turn,
assisted by regional/zonal heads and a chief engineer in charge of civil construction. The heads of
programme regions are located in Mumbai, Calcutta and Guwahati, while the zonal chief engineers
are headquartered at the four metropolises. There are 41 Regional News Units attached to the
various radio stations and they receive professional guidance from the Director-General.
A Deputy Director General carries out the inspection of radio offices.

33
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Director General, All India Radio is responsible for the overall administration of the entire Akashvani
network consisting of 277 stations and 432 broadcast transmitters (148 are MW (Medium Wave),
236 FM (Frequency Modulation) and 48 SW (Short Wave) transmitters as on 31.03.2012), which
provide coverage to 99% of the population spread over the country.
DG, AIR- Shri F. Sheheryar
DG, AIR (News) - Ms Ira Joshi

Organizational Structure of All India Radio

Prasar Bharati
Board
Director General
(DG), Station Director
All India Radio

Audience
Programme Engineering Administrative Security
Wing Research
Wing Wing Wing
Wing

Functionaries of All India Radio

Each radio station, except the smaller ones, has Programme, News, Engineering, Administration,
Accounts, Audience Research and Security Units. The head of the station reports to the Director-
General directly or through regional/zonal heads. She coordinates the various units to ensure that
the communication objectives of the organisation arc achieved through the station's programming
and other activities.

34
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Director General
(DG)

DG (News) Engineer-in- DDG (Admin.) DDG

ADG/DDG
{41 Regional Chief {Admin & (Security at
(Programmes of
News Units} (Zonal offices at Accounts at Radio Stations)
Radio Stations)
4 Metropolis) Radio Stations}

Programme Wing
Each station is equipped with facilities for programme production and presentation. The Programme
Wing is divided into a number of production units such as; the Talks Unit, Women and Children's
Programmes Unit, the Farm and Home Unit (for producing rural programme), Youth Programmes
Wing, the Education Programme Unit, Science Programme Unit, Music Units (for classical, light and
folk music programmes) Outdoor Broadcasting (field based) programme, Morning Information
Programme and Senior Citizen Programme Units. In some stations, there are Western Music and
Industrial Workers Programme Units also.

All the stations have a Programme Coordination Unit and Public Relations Unit. The programmes
are produced by Programme Executives/ Prograrnme Officers/Farm Radio Officers who are
deployed at the station according to the language and other special requirements. The programme
producers are assisted by reporters, script writers and production assistants. Instrumentalists and
music composers’ assist in the production of music programmes.

The work of the programme executives is supervised by assistant station directors/deputy director
in accordance with the Scalar Principle. The Station Director coordinates all the activities in
accordance with the principle of Line of Control. The presentation of programmes is generally made
by announcers and broadcast of programmes in accordance with a pre-determined schedule is
ensured by a cadre of officers referred to as Transmission Executives.

35
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Engineering Wing
The head of the engineering wing is a Station Engineer/Superintending Engineer. She controls and
coordinates all the technical activities of the stations. She/he is assisted by Assistant Station
Engineer, Assistant Engineer, Senior Engineering Assistant, Engineering Assistants and
Technicians. They handle all programme origination and transmission, including relays from Delhi
or other stations. They are responsible for maintenance and operation of the technical facilities
created at the station.

News Wing
The News Wing is headed by a Joint Director or News Editor and is assisted by sub-editors and
news reporters. For news reporting and news gathering there are staff correspondents, supported
by a number of part-time correspondents or stringers. The news editing is done by the editorial staff,
while translation and reading of news is done by translators and news readers respectively.
The news wing also produces district newsletters and one or two newsreels in a week.

Administration and Accounting Wing

This is headed by an Administrative Officer assisted by a head clerk, accountant and a number of
assistants. Additional Director General (Administration) and a Deputy Director
General(Administration & Finance) assists the Director General on matters of administration and
finance, while Additional Directors General (Programme) assists DG in administration of Programme
personnel. A Director looks after the Engineering Administration of All India Radio.

Security Wing
The security set up comprises of a Deputy Director General (Security), Assistant Director General
(Security) and a Deputy Director (Security). They handle matters of the security and safety of AIR
installations, transmitters, studios, offices etc. The Security needs of Doordarshan are also looked
after by these officers.

Audience Research Wing

An Audience Research Officer, supported by field investigators conduct feedback studies which help
the station to formulate their programme-fare. The Audience Research Wing also conducts
formative research studies to provide the programmers with a profile of the audience, their tastes
and preferences.

36
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Activities of other offices of AIR

News Services Division (NSD)

External Services Division (ESD)

Transcription & Programme Exchange
Service
Research Department

Central Store Office

Staff Training Institute (Programme)

Staff Training Institute (Technical)

News Services Division (NSD)

The News Services Division works round the clock and broadcasts over 647 news bulletins both in
the home and in external services. The bulletins are in Indian and Foreign languages. It is headed
by Director General (News) Service. There are 44 regional News Units.

External Services Division (ESD)

The External Services Division of All India Radio broadcasts in 27 languages – 16 foreign and 11
Indian languages. These services are radiated for an aggregate duration of 72 hours daily and are
projected to over 100 countries.

Transcription & Programme Exchange Service

This service looks after exchange of programmes among the stations, building and maintenance of
sound archives and commercial release of prestigious recordings of music maestros.

37
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Research Department
The functions of the Research Department include Research and Development of equipment
required by AIR and Doordarshan, investigation and studies relating to AIR and Doordarshan,
development of Prototype models of R&D equipment for limited use field trials in the network of AIR
and Doordarshan.

Central Store Office

The Central Stores Office located at New Delhi performs functions relating to procurement, stocking
and distribution of engineering stores required for the maintenance of technical equipment at All
India Radio Stations.

Staff Training Institute (Programme)

The Staff Training Institute (Programme) started in 1948. It has two main branches functioning from
Kingsway Camp Delhi and Bhubaneswar. They impart in-service training to Programme Personnel
and Administrative Staff, induction course for the newly recruited staff and short duration
refreshment courses. It also conducts examinations for administrative staff.

Staff Training Institute (Technical)

The Staff Training Institute (Technical), part of the Directorate since 1985, now functions at
Kingsway Camp, Delhi. The Institute organizes Training Courses for the engineering staff of All
India Radio and Doordarshan from the level of Technician to the Superintending Engineer. It also
conducts Departmental, Qualifying and Competitive Examinations. There is one Regional Staff
Training institute (Technical) at Bhubaneswar.

In addition to the above discussed, there are some other offices and stations in AIR:

Commercial Broadcast Stations: These with a small complement of staff look after the
Commercial broadcasts which comprise Vividh Bharati programmes, programmes in the local
languages and commercial advertisements. They are located in the regional/sub-regional/local
stations.

38
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

North Eastern Service: The North Eastern Service is located in Shillong. It is an integrated service
catering to the communication needs of the listeners living in the North Eastern region. The
broadcasts from individual stations in the North East of India are mostly in the tribal dialects due to
the absence of a common lingua franca of the region. The spoken-word broadcasts are in English
and Hindi. The music broadcast features are folk and tribal songs of the entire region, collected from
different stations of AIR in the North East.

Commercial Sales Unit: Commercial Sales Unit (CSU) is the Wing which keeps liaison with the
advertisers and advertising agencies. The advertisements (or commercials) are cleared by this unit
located in Mumbai. Marketing units have also been set up to promote sale of airtime.

Vividh Baharti Service: Vividh Bharati programmes form the bulk of commercial broadcasting
services of AIR. They are produced at a separate production unit functioning in Mumbai. The
programmes arc taped and copies sent to the commercial broadcasting centres.

A brief historical perspective of Private radio stations

In 1967, the Committee on Broadcasting and Information headed by eminent broadcaster A.K.
Chanda recommended separate corporations for radio and television. The Union Government
decided in 1969 against converting AIR into a corporation. However, radio and television were
separated and on April 1, 1976 and Doordarshan came into existence as a Department of the
Government.

The structure of broadcasting was again reviewed by a Working Group on Autonomy for Akashvani
and Doordarshan in August 1977. This group headed by B.G. Verghese recommended in May 1978
the creation of a National Broadcast Trust to be named Akash Bharati to look after radio and
television. The then Union Government did not consider it necessary for the setting up of a trust
under the name Akash Bharati. However, it brought a bill for creating a Public Sector Corporation
under the title Prasar Bharati. The bill lapsed with be dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Under a modified
version of the Bill, the Prasar Bharati became an Act in 1990 and the Act was notified for
implementation with effect from September 15, 1997. As a result, All India Radio and Doordarshan
are functioning as units of the autonomous corporation Prasar Bharati.

39
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Supreme Court Judgement

In the case of the Union of India vs. the Cricket Association of Bengal, the Supreme Court in its
judgement of February 9, 1995, held that the airwaves are a public property and a monopoly over
broadcasting whether by Government or anybody else (public monopoly could be an exception) is
inconsistent with the free speech right of the citizens and directed the government to take immediate
steps to establish an independent autonomous public authority, representatives of all sections and
interests of society to control and regulate the use of airwaves.

Regarding private broadcasting, the apex court in its judgement observed:

"The question of whether to permit private broadcasting or not is a matter of policy, for Parliament
to decide. If it decides to permit it, it is for Parliament to decide, subject to what conditions and
restrictions it should be permitted. Private broadcasting, even if allowed should not be Ieft to market
forces, in the interest of ensuring that a wide variety of voices enjoy access to it. -...the electronic
media are the most powerful media, both because of their audio-visual impact, and their widest
reach covering the section of the society where the print media do not reach. The right to use
airwaves and the context of the programmes, therefore. needs regulation for balancing it and as well
as to prevent monopoly of information and views relayed which is a potential danger flowing from
the concentration of the right to broadcast/telecast in the hands either of a central agency or few
private affluent broadcaster”.

It was expected that the government would bring in legislation for setting up a broadcast authority
with enabling provisions to license and regulate private radio stations. But the government chose to
use the administrative powers vested with it and worked out a scheme to make way for the setting
up of radio stations by private parties. It identified 40 towns and cities for setting up 108 channels.
Some cities would have as many as 11 private channels, while places like Agra, Cuttack,
Trivandrum, Nagpur etc. would have only one. The allotment of licenses to operate channels was
made on the basis of highest bids from the eligible applicants. Only companies registered in India
under the Companies Act 1956, were eligible to apply.

40
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The scheme includes some clauses for disqualifying religious bodies, political bodies and
advertising agencies from getting the license. There are also clauses to prevent the same company
getting more than one license at the same town/city. The Government might identify more places
and channels for opening up private radio stations. It is worthwhile to note that some of those who
got the licenses surrendered them because of financial non-viability.

Organizing a private radio station involves setting up of a studio, transmitter and generation of
software. This would require a substantial investment, entrepreneur-ship and manpower and this
will depend on the hours of broadcast and type of programming. The station has to depend on
advertisement revenue for its day-to-day expenditure, profits and provision for depreciation etc.

Experience of running private radio stations elsewhere in the world reveals that they have to be
compact organizations with minimum staff, avoiding the expense of a large paraphernalia of
divisions and departments with huge staff manning them. The management could ill afford all this.
The station has to be managed with a small contingent of multi-skilled staff numbering 10 or 15
persons or even less. The software has to be drawn from pre-recorded cassettes1CD's and the like.
To hook the listeners, in a competitive environment, they may have to organize interactive
programmes, chat shows, prize schemes etc. The situation would be different if a corporate body
gets licenses to operate a number of radio stations at many centres. These could be 'functional' type
of organizations. In community radio stations the organization would be distinctively different
depending on the informational resources.

The government has granted licenses to IGNOU to operate educational channels known as Gyan
Vani. These radio stations are managed by a three member team headed by a station manager.

The proliferation of radio channels throws up a lot of challenges as well as opportunities. The
presence of a number of private stations would encourage a healthy competition among them and
in such a situation, the listening public eventually would be the beneficiaries.

41
Unit 1, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Functionaries of a FM radio station

Station Manager: Heads the station and decides the agenda .

Operations Manager: He is responsible for all

that is being broadcast from the station.
Sales Staff: A FM radio station cannot survive without revenue
and generating the same is the job of the sales staff through
sponsors and commercials etc.

Engineering Staff: It sees to it that there are no technical glitches

in the broadcast and the transmission should go smoothly on air.

On AIR Staff (RJs): They are the brand ambassadors of a FM

radio station and without a good RJ a station can neither generate
revenue nor thrive.

42
Unit 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Unit 2 BA (JMC) 203 L: 12

______________________________________________________________________________

Programme Formats
______________________________________________________________________________
Lesson 1 2
Radio Announcement and Links
Lesson 2 11
Radio Talk
Lesson 3 14
Radio Interview and Discussion

Lesson 4 22
Radio News
Lesson 5 31
Radio Feature and Documentary

Lesson 6 41
Radio Commentary

Lesson 7 47
Radio Play/Drama
Lesson 8 52
Radio Ads (Social and Commercial)
Lesson 9 57
Phone-in and Radio Bridge

1
Unit 2, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 1
Radio Announcement and Links

Introduction
Oral communication is an elementary urge of every human being. Radio ‘speaks’ to people. It
‘sings’ in their ears. It communicates in the language, diction and nuances of the people for whom
it is meant. It informs, educates and entertains. It lets the listeners ‘see through their ears’. It is
companion medium. The medium (radio) provides a challenging platform to broadcasters-because
the mass to whom they address are demographically heterogeneous, anonymous to each other-
even very often to the communicator. All these factors engage the broadcaster in creating content
and planning a format in which the communicator intends to establish a connection with the
listener. Think of the different types of programmes you have heard on radio. You would probably
remember film songs, phone in programmes, talks, discussions, news, cricket commentaries etc.
These different types of programmes are called formats.

Radio Format

When you read a popular magazine, you will come across various things. There will be an
attractive cover, advertisements of different products, stories or articles on issues ranging from
politics to sports and cinema, interviews and other features. Similarly, a radio station also
broadcasts programmes of different types. Think of the different types of programmes you have
heard on radio. You would probably remember film songs, phone in programmes, talks,
discussions, news, cricket commentaries etc. These different types of programmes are called
formats.

Factors to be taken into account for making a radio programme

Think of the village or town in which you live. You find people belonging to all Communities men
and women, rich and poor. Radio plays a very important role in the lives of the people of India.
Though there are plenty of rich people and highly developed cities, a majority of our people are
poor and a large number of them cannot read or write. So the only medium that can really reach
them to inform, educate and entertain is the radio. Radio stations especially those run by the
government perform a public service duty.
2
Unit 2, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The requirements of listeners of radio stations are not the same. To serve them, we need to know
many facts about them. Let us make a list of what we should know about the audience:

(a) Number of people — i.e. the total population of the area.

(b) Number of men and women — Sex ratio

(c) Literate people/Illiterate people

(d) The languages spoken in the area.

(e) Schools/Colleges

(f) Children going to school

(g) Health facilities — availability of doctors, primary health centre, clinics, hospitals.

(h) Any major diseases

(i) Religions in the area-population wise

(j) Power supply

(k) Nearest radio stations/Television stations

(l) Climate of the place

(m) Main occupation of the people

(n) Income per head/people below poverty line

(o) Roads/transport facilities

(p) Irrigation facilities

(q) Number of people engaged in agriculture/other occupations.

(r) Types of crops.

You can add many more issues to this list. We need to know these facts to decide the language,
the type of broadcast, timing of programmes etc. Radio formats therefore are decided on the basis
of the needs of the audience.

3
Unit 2, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Processing information and creating content is just like a recipe for utilising ingredients (Spoken
word, Music, Sound Effect & Silence) to prepare a programme. Like all other medium competing to
draw the attention of customers, radio has also devised various appealing ‘formats’ which are
further innovated by creative broadcasters to deliver the content to the best satisfaction of
listeners.

Most of what is spoken on radio is written down. What is written for radio is heard and is referred
to as ‘spoken word’ as against the ‘written word’. But the spoken words on radio is written down or
what is generally called ‘scripted’.

A Radio format can be split into three parts: They are:-

(a) Spoken Word or Human Voice

(b) Music

(c) Sound Effects

4
Unit 2, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Radio Announcement

This is straight information given to individual listeners or group of listeners. Programme summary,
slogans, weather reports and outlook, railway time, government plans and policies etc. are
covered under announcements. These announcements are re-drafted from the original texts
received for better comprehension. Announcement is specifically written clear messages to inform.

They can be of different types. For example station/programme identification. These programmes
mention the station you are tuned into, the frequency, the time and the programme/song you are
going to listen to. These days, these announcements have become informal and resemble
ordinary conversations. There can be more than one presenter in some programmes like
magazines.

“The art of announcement is not the art of speaking. It is the art of talking”. Radio
announcements are also spoken at the beginning and end of a programme. Public Service
Announcements are an example of radio announcements.

Public Service Announcement (PSA)

Radio announcements are also known as public service announcement (PSA) or public service ad
is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media. Or Public service
announcements, or PSA's, are short messages produced on film, video, or audiocassette and
given to radio and television stations. Whereas the objective of a standard advertisement is to
market a product, a PSA is intended to benefit the public interest, by raising awareness of an
issue, affecting public attitudes, and potentially stimulating action. In commercial radio, public
service announcements (PSAs) flood in literally every day. You should adopt a standardized style
in presenting these announcements to the audience of your station.

Radio, more than any other medium of mass communication reaches more than 95% of the public
and hence its use in making PSA is more effective than that of newspapers and television. If
PSAs are carefully and precisely worded for broadcast over the radio medium, they are likely to
reach a large segment of our population and to be equally well understood by it. Communications
which urge its audience to implement or support some kind of social or economic cause deemed
beneficial by the consensus of the general public is Public Service Advertising.

5
Unit 2, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Sample of Opening Announcement

Opening Announcement for a Cricket Match:

“This is All India Radio.

This is the Delhi Station of All India Radio.

We now take you over to Rose Bowl Stadium, Southampton, England for the live broadcast of the
first day’s play of Fourth Cricket Test Match being played between India and England.

Our Commentators are Praksh Wakantkar and Dr. Milind Tipnis in English & Vineet Garg and
Dileep Doshi in Hindi.

Our Scorer is Jatin Sood and Statistician M. Venkat Balreddy.

Over to Commentary Team”

Closing Announcement for a Cricket Match:

“You had been listening to the live commentary of the Fourth Cricket Test match being played
between India and England at Rose Bowl Stadium, Southampton, England.

Our Commentators were Praksh Wakantkar and Dr. Milind Tipnis in English & Vineet Garg and
Dileep Doshi in Hindi.

Our Scorer was Jatin Sood and Statistician M. Venkat Balreddy.

May we remind our listeners that All India Radio will broadcast the live commentary of the second
day’s play of Fourth Cricket Test match being played between India and England at Rose Bowl
Stadium, Southampton, England tomorrow from 3:15 pm onwards on the same frequencies.

This broadcast came to you from the Delhi Station of All India Radio.”

Types of PSA

We can look at the theme from three aspects-regular PSA, current PSA and Public Service Campaign.
They all deal with affairs related to our daily living, social issues and information on essential
matters. Over the radio, these PSAs reach out to all segments of society all over the country. For
the PSAs to make an impact on the listeners and for them to be effective, the time of broadcast,
and its duration are of considerable importance and the message has to be precise and in
unambiguous terms.

6
Unit 2, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Regular PSA: While preparing the text for such announcements, care is to be taken to provide
correct information and details so as to leave no doubt in the minds of the listeners.
For Instance- Employment News, Weather bulletin, Market rates/ Bazaar rates, Announcement of
new policies, programmes and proposals on important days, Book reviews and Highlights of the
day's broadcast programmes.

Current PSA: On the Radio, there are specific times allotted to such PSAs. Usually these
announcements are sandwiched between two programmes i.e., at the conclusion of a programme
and before the commencement of the next programme. Under this category, information and
announcements relating to basic daily amenities are given:

 Water supply at low pressure in certain areas

 Warning about weather-floods/storm/ hurricane/ Earthquake etc.

 Latest sports results

 Blood donation for a patient in need in a hospital

Public Service Announcements / Campaigns: This does not provide information, but is more in
the nature of persuasion. The aim is to make the listeners aware of certain basic issues and
principles governing the health and welfare of the society. For example, given below are a few of
such PSAs:

 Use/ Waste of water

 Observation of traffic rules

 Blood donation

 Eye donation

 Family welfare

 Health and Environment

 Wild Life

7
Unit 2, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Audience Research: For a successful campaign on radio, audience research has to be made at
frequent intervals with reference to important announcements. The research should relate to:-

 The area covered by the broadcast.

 The degree of clarity of the message in its apprehension by the audience.

 The percentage of audience who listen to the message.

 What special groups have felt its impact?

 The utility value of such PSAs.

Scripting a PSA

The following points are to be borne when preparing the announcement:

 Easy language simple and direct sentences

 Precise and clear diction

 A certain degree of friendly appeal without being casual and informal

While writing slogans, the following points have to be kept in mind:

 Extreme precision

 Clarity of expression

 Appeal to emotion

 Friendly intimacy

Examples of Slogans

Helmet wearing- “Accidents get either your head or your helmet” and "Keep your head Wear your
helmet".

Eye donation- “All that stands between darkness and him is your signature”

Blood donation- “Your blood...Someone’s life-blood".

8
Unit 2, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Advantages of PSA's

1) PSA's are generally inexpensive. Since the airtime is donated, your only cost is production. If
you keep to a tight budget, you can make PSA's very cheaply.

2) Most stations will allow you to include a telephone number for more information in your PSA.

3) PSA's tend to be really effective at encouraging the audience to do something -- for example,
call a phone number for more information, use condoms, or have your pet spayed or neutered.

4) PSA's can raise awareness of your issue.

Writing for Public service announcement (PSA):

Decide upon and clarify the purpose of your PSA. What are your goals here? What do you want to
accomplish by putting a PSA on the air?

Target your audience: What type of people are you hoping to reach through your PSA? This will
help you focus in both your desired media outlets, and also upon your PSA content. Survey your
media outlets to best reach that audience: That means that you need to know what media outlets
are available in your particular geographic area.

Prioritize your media outlets: That is, you need to know which outlets your target audience is
most likely to prefer. For example, is your audience more likely to tune in to the 24-hour country
music station than to the one that plays mostly golden oldies? If so, then you point toward the
country music outlet.

Choose points to focus on: Don't overload the viewer or listener with too many different
messages. List all the possible messages you'd like to get into the public mind, and then decide on
the one or two most vital points. For example, if your group educates people about asthma, you
might narrow it down to a simple focus point like, "If you have asthma, you shouldn't smoke."

Brainstorm: This is also a good time to look at the PSA's that others have done for ideas. Get
together with your colleagues to toss around ideas about ways you can illustrate the main point(s)
you've chosen. If possible, include members of your target group in this process. If you're aiming
your PSA at African-American youth, for example, be sure to invite some African-American youth
to take part in brainstorming.

9
Unit 2, Lesson 1 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Check your facts: It's extremely important for your PSA to be accurate. Any facts should be
checked and verified before sending the PSA in. Is the information up to date? If there are any
demonstrations included in the PSA, are they done clearly and correctly?

Identify a "hook”: A hook is whatever you use to grab the listener or viewer's attention. How are
you going to keep them from changing the channel or leaving the room or letting their attention
drift when your PSA comes on? A hook can be something funny, it can be catchy music, it can be
a shocking statistic.

Links

What do you say between items? One must get away from the ‘that was, this is’ approach. The
last item may need an explanatory back-announcement and the real question is whether there is a
logical progression between that and the next item. If not, because you are going into the weather
forecast, then it’s better not to try and contrive one. On the other hand, it helps the programme
flow if there is a natural and easy way of moving from one scene to the next. Do the items have
anything in common? Consider the function of mortar in building a house. Does it keep the bricks
apart or hold them together? It does both, of course, and so it is with the presenter. Rather than
make the programme seem jerky and disconnected, presenters do well to make such transitions
as smooth as possible – even by going into an ident or time check.

Some presenters do well to ad lib, to do everything off the cuff, but it has to be said that for most of
us the preparation of interesting, informative, humorous, provocative, friendly or insightful current
remarks or comments in the links takes thinking about. This is where the style of the programme
comes from. The links more than anything else give substance rather than waffle.

10
Unit 2, Lesson 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 2
Radio Talk

Introduction
This format may appear to be very simple. But in practice. It is the most difficult format in radio.
The radio talk probably is the oldest format on radio. There has been a tradition in India and Britain
to invite experts or prominent persons to speak for 10 or 15 minutes on a specific topic. These
talks have to go through a process of being changed into radio’s spoken word style. Over the
years, these long radio talks have become unpopular. Instead, today, shorter duration i.e 5-6
minutes talks are broadcast. These talks only on public service broadcasting stations. Radio talks
are not public speeches; rather, they are chats with a friend who does not see you, but is
nevertheless close and attentive to you. Radio talks should give the impression to a listener that
the speaker is addressing him or her alone in an informal manner.

The words of a radio talk need to be kept simple and familiar, yet descriptive and powerful, and the
sentences short and without dependent clauses and uncomfortable inversions. Care should be
taken to keep close to the rhythm of ordinary speech when writing the talk, and also when
recording it. Radio talks have no definite structure. All that the listener expects from them is that
they should be interesting and informative.

Tips for Radio Talk

Target stations that have Radio talk in their format: It is pointless chasing after FM or music
based stations. Most talkback stations are on the AM band.

Find out what topics and subjects are current, newsworthy & topical: Scan the media for 'Hot
News Topics' that may fit your area of expertise. Remember the goal of radio talk is firstly to help
the station produce interesting and engaging radio for the listener and provide solutions to
listeners' problems.

11
Unit 2, Lesson 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Be yourself: Your whole self, not just your expert self. Authenticity is as important as authority in
radio. Your voice will be most eloquent and unique if you speak from the core of your being,
blending your knowledge, experience and conviction.

Speak in a moderate tone: Your listeners will be more receptive to your message if it is delivered
in a relaxed and reasonable manner. If you are respectful of your listeners’ intelligence, they will
be more respectful of yours.

Make friends with your host: Even a host with an opposing point of view can be won over by a
genial guest and may end up defending your right to express an unpopular view against the
criticisms of more hostile callers.

Listen as carefully as you speak: Most people use the time when others are speaking to think
about what they want to say. In so doing, they miss the information they most need to know to
make an appropriate response.

Address your listening audience directly: Always keep in mind that your real conversation is
with your listeners, not with the host or callers. Visualize them in your mind's eye and turn inwardly
in their direction.

Keep your message simple and repeat it often: Unlike the print media, words spoken on the
radio vanish in the moment after they are uttered. Keep your message simple, clear, and concise.
Repeat it often enough for it to be remembered.

Speak from your heart as well as your mind: Reason alone is not sufficient to persuade most
listeners, particularly on AM radio. Make heart-to-heart contact with your audience.

Let your passion be felt in your voice: Passion carries well on the radio, which unlike television
is a warm medium. Return to the roots of your commitment to your work and speak from that
conviction.

12
Unit 2, Lesson 2 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Avoid long pauses: Radio abhors silence. The pauses that punctuate a face to- face
conversation come across on the air as mere blank space in the absence of any visual clues.
Phrases like "Well..." and "You know..." can be used to buy time while you figure out what you
want to say.

Use anecdotes whenever possible to illustrate your points: Radio is an oral medium and
stories are an oral tradition. Use them to humanize your arguments and give abstract issues a
tangible form.

Avoid jargon and specialized language: Visualize your audience not as colleagues at a seminar
or Congresspersons at a hearing but as fellow passengers on the bus or in line at the checkout
counter. How would you communicate with them? Speak simply and straightforwardly but never
down to your audience.

13
Unit 2, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 3
Radio Interview and Discussion

Introduction
The aim of an interview is to provide, in the interviewee's own words, facts, reasons or opinions on
a particular topic so that the listener can form a conclusion as to the validity of what she/he is
saying. It follows from this definition that the opinions of the interviewer are not to be counted here
and that he should not get drawn into answering the question himself/herself.

Within the present definition, it is the interviewee who must come through in the programme and
not the interviewer. A good interviewer must necessarily be self-effacing. Spontaneity also adds to
credibility. A rehearsed interview will not only sound 'staged' but 'fixed', if not 'planted'. For this
reasons, though the topic may be discussed beforehand, the actual questions should not be
provided in advance. The interviewer acts on behalf of the listener in that she/he asks the
interviewee what the listeners want to know. Not just that, but also what the listener would ask if
she/ he knew as much about the interviewee as the interviewer knows. In this sense, most
significantly, the interviewer is several steps ahead of the listener. The interview is an ideal
opportunity to provide not only what the listener wants to know but what the listener needs to
know.

This format is to elicit cream from expert or knowledgeable personalities, public figures whose
views and actions affect societal behaviour or development. In a radio interview the important
thing is to encourage the person that you have chosen to interview to give interesting answers.
This means that you will have to be aware that a public radio interview is completely different from
researching or a private chat. A radio interview is always intended for a third party, i.e. the invisible
audience.

Types of Interview
Informational Interview
Obviously, the purpose of the informational interview is to impart information to the listener. The
sequence in which this is done becomes important if the details are to be clear. There may be
considerable discussion beforehand to clarify what information is required and to allow time for the
interviewee to recall or check any statistics.

14
Unit 2, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Topics for this kind of interview include: the action surrounding a military operation, the events and
decisions made at a union meeting, or the proposals contained in the city’s newly announced
development plan.

Interpretive Interview
The interpretive interview has the interviewer supplying the facts and asking the interviewee either
to comment on them or to explain them. The aim is to expose the reasoning behind decisions and
allow the listener to make a judgement on the implicit sense of values or priorities. Replies to
questions will almost certainly contain statements in justification of a particular course of action
which should themselves also be questioned. The interviewer must be well briefed, alert and
attentive to pick up and challenge the opinions expressed. Examples in this category would be a
government minister on the reasons for an already published economic policy, why the local
council has decided on a particular route for a new road, or views of the clergy on proposals to
amend the divorce laws. The essential point is that the interviewer is not asking for the facts of the
matter, since these will be generally known; rather he or she is investigating the interviewee’s
reaction to the facts. The discussion beforehand may be quite brief, the interviewer outlining the
purpose of the interview and the limits of the subject to be pursued. Since the content is reactive, it
should on no account be rehearsed in its detail.

Emotional Interview
The aim of the emotional interview is to provide an insight into the interviewee’s state of mind so
that the listener may better understand what is involved in human terms. Specific examples would
be the feelings of relatives of people trapped in the debris of an earthquake, the euphoria
surrounding the moment of supreme achievement for an athlete or successful entertainer, or the
anger felt by people involved in an industrial dispute. It is the strength of feeling present rather
than its rationality which is important and clearly the interviewer needs to be very sensitive in
handling such situations. There is praise and acclaim for asking the right question at the right time
in order to illuminate a matter of public interest, even when the event itself is tragic. But quick
criticism follows for being too intrusive into private grief. It is in this respect that the manner of
asking a question is as important as its content, possibly more so.

15
Unit 2, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Documentary Interview
These different categories of interview are likely to come together in preparing material for a
documentary or feature. First, the facts, background information or sequence of events; then, the
interpretation, meaning or implication of the facts; finally, their effect on people, a personal
reaction to the issue. The documentary interview with, for example, a retired politician will take
time but should be as absorbing for the interviewer as it will be for the listener. The process of
recalling history should surprise, it should throw new light on events and people, and reveal the
character of the person. Each interview is different but two principles remain for the interviewer –
listen hard and keep asking ‘why?’

Personality based Interview

Firstly, there are full-fledged interview programmes. The duration of these may vary from 10
minutes to 30 minutes or even 60 minutes depending up on the topic, and the person being
interviewed. Most of such interviews are personality based. These are long interviews with well-
known people in the field of public life, literature, science, sports, films etc.

Vox Pop
Vox pop’ which is a Latin phrase meaning ‘voice of people’. Here generally just one or two
questions are put across to ordinary people or people with knowledge on some current topic to
measure public opinion. Interviewee or people’s names and identity may not be asked. For
example when the general budget or the railway budget is presented in the parliament, people
representing radio go out and ask the general public about their opinion. You have to be very
inquisitive and hard working to be a radio interviewer with good general awareness and
communication skills.

Preparation before the Interview

Research: Research is crucial. The pertinence of your questions and your capacity to resist being
manipulated depends on how good your research has been.
Making contact beforehand: making contact with the person before the interview should give
your interviewee a better understanding of what is expected of him or her, and in what context the
interview will be used. It also means you can assess whether or not someone will make a good
interviewee.

16
Unit 2, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Preparing the questions: how you prepare your questions will depend on two criteria:
a) Who am I interviewing? A politician, a colleague, the man in the street, an expert, a celebrity.
You will tailor your questions in quite a different way for each.
b) What is it for? A news bulletin, a current affairs programme, a general interest broadcast. The
format and the atmosphere should be adapted for the different types of programme.
Preparing your equipment: Make sure your recorder is working properly (microphone, cable,
tape, cassette, mini-disc, plug, batteries, etc) by doing a quick recording and listening back to it. If
the interview is to take place outdoors, take along a microphone wind-shield.

Interview Techniques
The non-directive interview: Begin with "Tell me about...” never use a question. This approach
leaves the interviewee free to say whatever he or she likes without limiting him or her to the
parameters of your own knowledge of the subject.
You can then go back over the most important points raised, "sum up" each along the lines of "you
were saying...” This method of interviewing is best for bringing out lots information, but it is the
most difficult to master.
The directed interview: Only use questions, more or less open ones. The interviewer knows
about what they are discussing, and sometimes even knows the answer he will get, but needs the
interviewee to confirm the information.
The semi-directed interview: Alternate the questions between those which guide the interview to
where you want to go and those which may invite interesting and enriching elaboration.

Main Types of Questions

Closed questions: Reply is either ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Eg. "Are you in favour of free speech?"
Multiple choice questions: The reply is induced.
Eg. "Are you in favour of the death penalty, or of life imprisonment?"
Semi-open questions: Replies are short and precise.
Eg. These questions in general start with ‘How many?’, ‘Who?’, ‘When?’ and ‘Where?’
Open questions: Detailed replies open to explanation and justification, etc.
Eg. "What do you think about free speech?"

17
Unit 2, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Tips for conducting an Interview

• The technical aspects must be constantly monitored.
• The aims of the interview must always be kept in mind.
• The supplementary question – it is vital that the interviewer is not so preoccupied with the
next question as to fail to listen to what the interviewee is saying.
• The timing of the interview must be strictly adhered to. This is true whether the interview is
to be of half an hour or two minutes.
• To obtain sufficient briefing and background information on the subject and the interviewee.
• To have a detailed knowledge of what the interview should achieve, and at what length.
• To know what the key questions are.
• By anticipating likely responses, to have ready a range of supplementary questions.
• Know the guest before his arrival and ensure the topic and area of interest
• Do not submit question in advance but discuss the area of question with the guest
• Make the guest feel at home
• Do not pre-interview the guest to keep intact spontaneity
• Never refer conversation held before recording
• Do not interrupt with meaningless comments
• Avoid questions that invite ‘yes’, ‘no’ answers

Radio Discussion
The radio discussion usually involves several participants and moderator. The discussions are
usually over issues and events that are of some importance to the common man. Radio
discussions could be on any subject: politics, medicine, science, sports, literature, polymer
engineering or any other topic. More specifically, it could be on:
 "Introducing new fertilizers"
 “The contemporary relevance of Jazz"
 “The use of computers in the railway system".
 "Public apathy to eve-teasing".
 "Big-money in Cricket"
 "Relevance of Media Autonomy", etc.

18
Unit 2, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Through a discussion we can find out a solution to problems. In any discussion there are more
than 2 or 3 people and then ideas can be pooled to come to some conclusion. In radio, this
technique is used to let people have different points of view on matters of public concern.
Radio discussions are produced when there are social or economic issues which may be
controversial. So when different experts meet and discuss such issues, people understand
various points of view.

Generally, these discussions on radio are of longer duration-say 15 to 30 minutes. Two or three
people who are known for their views and a well-informed senior person or journalist who acts as
a moderator take part and discuss a particular topic for about 30 minutes. The moderator
conducts the discussion, introduces the topic and the participants and ensures that everyone gets
enough time to speak and all issues are discussed. The topic for a broadcast debate should be a
matter in which there is genuine public interest or concern. The aim is for the listener to hear
argument and counter-argument expressed in conversational form by people actually holding
those views with conviction. The broadcaster can then remain independent.

Having taken up a specific subject, radio discussions can debate, interpret, explain or even
investigate a certain issue or event. A radio discussion cannot and should not be fully scripted.
This of course, does not mean that the programme should proceed any old way. It has to be very
carefully structured by the moderator. First, the participants have to be chosen with great care.
They should be well informed on whatever subject they are called upon to speak and should be
willing to be disciplined in their presentation under the direction of the moderator. Indiscipline
participants can ruin the whole discussion by projecting their point-of-view at the expense of
others. This is a common phenomenon when politicians are asked to speak.

Some party loyalists look upon a discussion as an opportunity to 'give the party line' and 'floor
opponents'. Usually these people end up cutting a very sorry figure. A good participant listens,
awaits his turn and chooses to debate instead of argue. Similarly, a moderator should be non-
partisan. She/he should not be partisan (at least in his/her role as a moderator) and ensure that
everyone has an equal chance to speak.

19
Unit 2, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

She/he should refrain from weighing heavily onto any one side. "Well, I must say I agree with
you...” or "I disagree with you completely...” are not the kind of statements that should figure at all.
Nobody is interested in knowing whether the moderator agrees or not. Like the interviewer in the
interview, a moderator is only a catalyst. It's the participants of the discussion who are more
important.

Research plays an important role in organizing a discussion. The producer of a discussion has not
only to study the subject being discussed but make an intelligent choice of participants. The
participants need not be 'experts' in the formal sense of the word but should have some reason for
being on the panel. Some students of mine once did a programme on the impact of advertising
when they interviewed a famous painter. It was evident in the programme that the painter did not
have anything special to say on the subject. When asked why they chose to have the painter,
they replied: "Because he is famous". There is no rule that says that famous people know
everything about anything. If the discussion has to have credibility, the participants must be
chosen with great care.

Tips for conducting a Radio Discussion

• Introduce the topic briefly and comprehensively
• Clarify the focus of the discussion
• Introduce the participants and clarify why they are eligible to speak on the issue
• Present a question or statement
• Choose a participant to respond to it
• Go round the table to make sure that everybody gets a chance to speak
• Bring together differing points of view in interesting juxtapositions
• Encourage the participants to speak by being interested.
• The subject must be researched and the essential background information gathered and
checked.
• Accepting the existence of an opposite view and logically explaining why you believe it to
be wrong is one of the best ways of sounding convincing on radio
• The moderator should have everyone’s name, and his or her designation, written down so
as to be clearly visible – it is amazing how easy it is for one’s mind to go blank, even when
you know someone well.
• After having an opinion strongly expressed, that speaker should not be allowed to continue
for too long before another view of the matter is introduced.

20
Unit 2, Lesson 3 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

• The moderator must obtain clarification of any technical jargon or specialist language which
a contributor may use.
• The chairman has to watch for, and correct, alterations in the balance of voices that was
obtained before the programme began.
• It is rarely desirable for the chairman to attempt a summing-up.
• If a summary is required, it is often better to invite each speaker to have a ‘last word’.

21
Unit 2, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 4
Radio News

Introduction
The public, in any society, gets most of its information on current affairs through the various media
of mass communication - such as the newspapers, magazines, radio, television, documentary
films and occasionally even through motion pictures. But the effectiveness of any single medium
for the dissemination of information is related to certain inherent characteristics of the medium.
For example, print medium can be effective only if people are literate. They should also have the
money to buy the dailies and magazines which are priced high in a developing country like India.
In the countries with high illiteracy rates and with low average family incomes, the print medium
has not served well as a means of mass communication. In the case of Television, the cost factor
is prohibitively high for the majority of the rural poor to buy a T.V. unless rural community centres
are activated and galvanised to help the poor towards T.V. viewing, T.V. will remain the monopoly
of the urbans. Nevertheless both T V. and Radio score over the print medium.

First, with receiving sets in about 60% of Indian urban homes, radio and television can reach a
majority of the urban listeners. Secondly, because of the existence of national network, radio and
television cut across regional barriers. Thirdly, in broadcasting news and in the coverage of special
events, radio and television have a distinct time advantage over the print media. Broadcasting
stations can provide up to the minute-news, almost as it happens, while there is a delay of several
hours before a newspaper can bring a news item to its readers. Moreover, it is axiomatic that in a
democratic country - like ours - citizens who participate in the political process should be well
informed.

What is News?
The best short definition of news is ‘that which is new, interesting and true’. ‘New’ in that it is an
account of events that the listener has not heard before – or an update of a story previously
broadcast. ‘Interesting’ in the sense of the material being relevant, or directly affecting the
audience in some way. ‘True’, because the story as told is factually correct.

22
Unit 2, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

News pertains to some recent event which is a matter of interest to readers or listeners. Also,
news implies new or the latest information. News relates to information from North, East, West and
South. There are many definitions of the term "News". These Scripting for News definitions can be
summed up thus:
"News is anything that is timely and significant to readers in respect of their personal
affairs or their relation to society, and the best news is that which possesses the greatest
degree of this interest and significance for the greatest number."

News should be
 Accurate
 Timely
 of interest to 'the public
 Significant in relation to matters of interest to the greatest number of people and
 Unbiased in its account or events or affairs.

Most of the definitions of "news" repeat that news is of interest to the public. The interest,
however, differs from person to person and place to place. The two important things about news
are its immediacy and authenticity.

Elements of News
News is built on some news values which you should know. These news values are the basis on
which journalists decide whether or not an event is news. There are millions of 'events' which take
place every day. Only those few events which have at least one of the following criteria can be
classified as news.

Impact: Events that affect people's live5 are classified as news. The event itself may involve only
a few people, but the consequence5 may be wide-ranging. For example, if the Parliament passes
a bill to raise taxes or if a researcher discovers a cure for a form of cancer, both are significant
events that have a wide ranging impact. Hence these events are to be classified as news.

Timeliness: Timeliness is a value common to almost all news stories. It refers to the recency of
an event. Without the elements of timeliness, most events cannot be considered news.
For example, a trial that occurred last year is not news; a trial that is going on presently is news.
23
Unit 2, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Prominence: Prominent people, sometimes even when they do trivial things, make news. The
actions and speeches of the Prime Minister of India are important to us in India. But they will not
be news in USA or U.K. Wherever the P.M. takes a trip - even for purely personal and private
reasons - his movements are covered in great detail by the news media of India. Anything he does
is likely to have an impact on the country, and people are very interested in his actions.
Movie stars, famous politicians, advocates of social causes, sports personalities all these people
make news simply because they are well known.

Proximity: Events that occur close to home are more likely to be news than the same events that
occurred elsewhere. For example, a car accident killing two persons that happens on a road in our
town is more likely to be reported in the local news media than the same kind of accident which
occurs 1,000 miles away. We are interested in the things that happen around us.

Conflict: When people disagree, when they fight, when they have arguments - that is news,
particularly if one of the other news values, such as prominence, is involved. This is more on the
nature of controversy such as Narmada Project where the environmentalists are up in arms
against the construction of the Tehri Dam or the Ram Janma Bhoomi-Babri Masjid controversy.

The bizarre or unusual: A rare event is sometimes considered news. Like the sighting of a new
star or planet or a new form of bloodless surgery with the help of laser technology or the birth of a
three headed baby.

Current: Issues that have current interest often have news value and events surrounding those
issues can sometimes be considered news. For example, a conference on medical technology will
be of interest to medical practitioners, but not to journalists, unless the discussion topic were "The
Morality of Abortion". Then the news value of the conference will change and there will be a
number of journalists covering it.

24
Unit 2, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Radio News
Among all the spoken word formats on radio, news is the most popular. News bulletins and news
programmes are broadcast every hour by radio stations. In India, only All India Radio is allowed to
broadcast news. Duration of news bulletins vary from 5 minute to 15 and 30 minutes. The longer
news bulletins have interviews, features, reviews and comments from experts. Events of global,
national, regional and local importance having general bearing on public interest are included in
the news bulletins broadcast at intervals. These are broadcast live. Since the time is limited, a
brief account of selected events/views is covered in the news. Radio news broadcasting can be a
challenge because it is format that has its own rules. First and for most, radio news scripts are
written for listeners, not readers or viewers.

Some other News Values

• Important – events and decisions that affect the world, the nation, the community, and
therefore me.
• Contentious – an election, war, court case, where the outcome is yet unknown.
• Dramatic – the size of the disaster, accident, earthquake, storm, robbery.
• Geographically near (Proximity) – the closer it is, the smaller it needs to be to affect me.
• Culturally relevant – I may feel connected to even a distant incident if I have something in
common with it.
• Immediate – events rather than trends.
• Novel – the unusual or coincidental as they affect people.

Presentation of Radio News

Presentation is radio’s packaging. It hardly matters how good a programme’s content, how well
written or how excellent its interviews, it comes to nothing if it is poorly presented. It is like taking a
beautiful perfume and marketing it in a medicine bottle.

Good presentation stems from an understanding of the medium and a basically caring attitude
towards the listener. The broadcaster at the microphone should consciously care whether or not
the listener can follow and understand what he or she is saying. If a newsreader or presenter is
prone to the destructive effect of studio nerves, it is best to ‘think outwards’, away from yourself.
This also helps to counter the complacency of overfamiliarity and is therefore more likely to
communicate meaning. Since it’s not possible to know the listener personally, adopt the
relationship of an acquaintance rather than that of a friend.
25
Unit 2, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The news presenter is friendly, respectful, informative and helpful. You know you have something
to offer the listener, but this advantage is not used to exercise a knowledgeable superiority or by
assuming any special authority. The relationship is a horizontal one. We refer to ‘putting
something across’, not down or up. In informing the listener, we do not presume on the
relationship but work at it, always taking the trouble to make what is being said interesting – and
sound interesting – by ourselves being interested.

Of course, news reading tends to be more formal than a music programme, but there is room for a
variety of approaches. Whatever the overall style of the station, governed by its basic attitude to
the listener, it should be fairly consistent. While the sociologist may regard radio as a mass
medium, the person at the microphone sees it as an individual communication – talking to
someone. Thinking of the listener as one person, it’s better to say ‘If you’re travelling south today
…’ not ‘anyone travelling south …’ the presenter does not shout. If you are half a metre from the
microphone and the listener is a metre from the radio, the total distance between you is one and a
half metres. What is required is not volume but an ordinary clarity. Too much projection causes the
listener psychologically to ‘back off’ – it distances the relationship. Conversely, by dropping his or
her voice, the presenter adopts the confidential or intimate style more appropriate to the closeness
of late night listening.

The simplest way of getting the style, projection and speed right is to visualize the listener sitting in
the studio a little way beyond the microphone. The presenter is not alone reading, but is talking
with the listener.

The script must not come between the broadcaster and the listener. The listener should feel that
he or she is being spoken to – not read to. The script needs to be written for talking aloud and the
vocal inflections and stresses kept as natural as the broadcaster’s own speech.

26
Unit 2, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The seven Ps of News reading

Here are the recognized basics of good presentation:
1 Posture: Is the sitting position comfortable, to allow good breathing and movement? Cramped
or slouching posture does not generally make for an easy alertness.
2 Projection: Is the amount of vocal energy being used appropriate to the programme?
3 Pace: Is the delivery correct? Too high a word rate can impair intelligibility or cause errors.
4 Pitch: Is there sufficient rise and fall to make the overall sound interesting? Too monotonous a
note can quickly become very tiring to listen to. However, animation in the voice should be used to
convey natural meaning rather than achieve variety for its own sake. So, even if the pitch varies, is
it forming a predictable repetitive pattern?
5 Pause: Are suitable silences used intelligently to separate ideas and allow understanding to
take place?
6 Pronunciation: Can the reader cope adequately with worldwide names and places? If a
presenter is unfamiliar with people in the news, or musical terms in other languages, it may be
helpful to teach the basics of phonetic guidelines.
7 Personality: The sum total of all that communicates from microphone to loudspeaker, how
does the broadcaster come over? What is the visual image conjured up? Is it appropriate to the
programme?

Essentials of presenting Radio News

Vocal stressing: An important aspect of conveying meaning, about which a script generally gives
no clue at all, is that of stress – the degree of emphasis laid on a word. Take the phrase: ‘What do
you want me to do about that?’

With the stress on the ‘you’, it is a very direct question; on the ‘me’, it is more personal to the
questioner; on the ‘do’, it is a practical rather than a theoretical matter; on the ‘that’, it is different
again. It’s meaning changes with the emphasis. In reading news such subtleties can be crucial.

Listening to newsreaders it is possible to discern a widespread belief that there is a universal news
style, where speed and urgency have priority over meaning, where the emphasis is either on every
word or scattered in a random fashion, but always on the last word in every sentence. Does it
stem from the journalist’s need for clarity when dictating copy over the phone? The fact is that a
single misplaced emphasis will cloud the meaning, possibly alter it.

27
Unit 2, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The only way of achieving correct stressing is by fully understanding the implications as well as
the ‘face value’ of the material. This must be a conscious awareness during the preparatory read-
through. As has been rightly observed, ‘take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of
themselves’.

Quotation marks: Reading quotes is a minor art on its own. It is easy to sound as though the
comment is that of the newsreader, although the writing should avoid this construction.
Some examples: While an early bulletin described his condition as ‘comfortable’, by this afternoon
he was ‘weaker’. (This should be rewritten to attribute both quotes.)
The opposition leader described the statement as ‘a complete fabrication designed to mislead’.
He later argued that he had ‘never seen’ the witness.
To make someone else’s words stand out as separate from the newsreader’s own, there is a small
pause and a change in voice pitch and speed for the quote.

Lists and numbers: The reading of a list can create a problem. A table of sports results, stock
market shares or a shipping forecast – these can sound very dull. Again, the first job for the reader
is to understand the material, to take an interest in it, so as to communicate it. Second, the
inexperienced reader must listen to others, not to copy them, but to pick up the points in their style
that seem right to use. There are particular inflections in reading this material which reinforce the
information content. With football results, for example, the voice can indicate the result as it gives
the score. The overall style is not one of ‘reading’ – it is much more akin to ‘telling’.

Corrections: But what happens when a mistake is made? Continue and ignore it or go back and
correct it? When is an apology called for? It depends, of course, on the type of error. There is the
verbal slip which it is quite unnecessary to do anything about, a misplaced emphasis, a wrong
inflection, a word which comes out in an unintended way. The key question is: ‘Could the listener
have misconstrued my meaning?’ If so, it must be put right. If there is a persistent error, or a
refusal of a word to be pronounced at all, it is better to restart the whole sentence. Since ‘I’m sorry
I’ll read that again’ has become a cliché, something else might be preferred – ‘I’m sorry, I’ll repeat
that’ or ‘Let me take that again’. It is whatever comes most naturally to the unflustered reader. To
the broadcaster it can seem like the end of the world – it is not. Even if the listener has noticed it,
what is needed is simply a correction with as little fuss as possible.

28
Unit 2, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Station style: Radio managers become paranoid over the matter of station style. They will regard
any misdemeanour on-air as a personal affront, especially if they instituted the rule that should
have been observed. It’s nevertheless true that a consistent station sound aids identification. It
calls for some discipline, particularly in relation to the frequently used phrases to do with time.
Is it 3.25 or 25 past 3? Is it 3.40 or 20 minutes to 4? Is it 1540? Dates: is it ‘May the eleventh’, ‘the
eleventh of May’ or ‘May eleven’? Frequencies, Find out the station policy and stick to it – even
when sending in an audition tape, use the form you hear on-air. A frequent rule of presentation is
‘never say goodbye’. It’s an invitation for the listener to respond and switch off. At the end of a
programme the presenter hands over to someone else – you (the station) never give the
impression of going away, even for a commercial break. Further, the presenter joins the listener,
not the other way round. ‘It’s good to be with you’ is a subtle form of service, whereas ‘Thank you
for joining me’ is more of an ego-trip for the presenter. The station should go to the bother of
reaching out to its listeners, not expect them to come to it.

Maintaining Continuity: Presenting a sequence of programmes, giving them continuity, acting as

the voice of the station, is very similar to being the host of a magazine programme responsible for
linking different items. The job is to provide a continuous thread of interest even though there are
contrasts of content and mood. The presenter makes the transition by picking up in the style of the
programme that is finishing, so that by the time he or she has done the back announcements and
given incidental information, station identification and time check, everything is ready to introduce
the next programme in perhaps quite a different manner. Naturally, to judge the mood correctly it’s
necessary to do some listening. It is no good coming into a studio with under a minute to go,
hoping to find the right piece of paper so as to get into the next programme, without sounding
detached from the whole proceedings.

A station like this might as well be automated. If there is time at programme breaks, trail an
upcoming programme – not the next one, since you are going to announce that in a moment. The
most usual style is to trail the ‘programme after next’, but do so in a compelling and attractive way
so as to retain the interest of the listener – perhaps by using an intriguing clip from the programme
If the trail is for something further ahead, then make this clear – ‘Now looking ahead to tomorrow
night …’. Continuity presentation requires a sensitivity to the way a programme ends, to leave just
the right pause, to continue with a smile in the voice or whatever is needed.

29
Unit 2, Lesson 4 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Develop a precise sense of timing, the ability to talk rather than ‘waffle’, for exactly 15 seconds, or
a minute and a half. A good presenter knows it is not enough just to get the programmes on the
air, the primary concern is the person at the end of the system.

Tips for presenting Radio News

• Don’t eat sweets or chocolate beforehand – sugar thickens the saliva.

• Always have a pen or pencil with you for marking alterations, corrections, emphasis, etc.

• If you wear them, make sure you have your glasses.

• Don’t wear anything that could knock the table or rattle – bangles, cuff-links.

• Place a glass of water near at hand.

• Remove any staples or paper-clips from the script and separate the pages so that you can
deal with each page individually.

• Make sure you have the whole script, check that the pages are in the right order, the right
way up.

• Check the clock, cue light, headphones – for talkback and cue programme and the mic-cut
key if there is one.

• Check your voice level.

• News should be read at 160–200 words per minute but slower for short-wave transmission.

30
Unit 2, Lesson 5 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 5
Radio Feature and Documentary
Radio Feature- An Introduction
Developmental themes, historical perspective, customs, rituals and events of archival value are
normally presented in the formats of documentary and features. While documentaries rely on
factual records, features rely on imagery and emotional creativity with dramatics. So a radio
documentary is a programme based on real sounds and real people and their views and
experiences. Radio documentaries are based on the facts presented in an attractive manner or
dramatically. Radio documentaries are radio’s own creative format. The producer of a
documentary needs to be very creative to use human voice, script, music and sound effects very
effectively. Radio documentaries are also called radio features. Radio has created this format for
itself and is perhaps the most intricate format compared to all other formats.

Among the various radio formats, the format of Features and Documentaries is one of the most
fascinating ones. Radio broadcasters, over the decades, have made imaginative use of this format
and its potential for extending the range of the medium. The term 'feature' is used to indicate both
studio-based features and documentaries. There is a very thin line of separation between a radio
feature and a documentary. The feature is a radio programme, in which emphasis is laid on
imaginative presentation of facts, while documentaries are based on actualities.

The idea of radio documentary is essentially a take-off from documentary films developed by John
Grierson who is considered to be the father of film documentary movement. With the widespread
use of portable tape recorders and later with the introduction of ultra-portable tape recorders
(UPTRs), the radio documentary emerged as a popular radio format. While 'documentation' or
'actuality' is the mainstay of a radio documentary, the radio feature writer can take a lot of creative
freedom. There is also a hybrid form of feature which combines studio material with actuality.
There is scope in a feature for imaginative treatment of facts or even abstract concepts, while a
documentary would confine itself to facts. For example, an imaginary conversation in heaven
between Mahatma Gandhi and Pt. Nehru on what is happening in India today could form the
subject matter of a feature. According to Robert McLeish, the feature need not be wholly true in
the factual sense- it may include folk songs, poetry or drama to help illustrate its theme.

31
Unit 2, Lesson 5 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Whereas the documentary must distinguish carefully between fact and fiction and have a structure
which separates fact from opinion, the feature programme does not have the same formal
constraints. Here all possible radio forms meet: poetry, music, voices, sounds – the weird and the
wonderful. They combine in an attempt to inform, to move, to entertain or to inspire the listener.
The ingredients may be interview or vox pop, drama or discussion, and the sum total can be fact
or fantasy. A former Head of BBC Features Department, Laurence Gilliam, described the feature
programme as ‘a combination of the authenticity of the talk with the dramatic force of a play, but
unlike the play, whose business is to create dramatic illusion for its own sake, the business of the
feature is to convince the listener of the truth of what it is saying, even though it is saying it in
dramatic form’.

The possible subject material for the feature ranges more widely than the documentary, since it
embraces even the abstract: a programme on the development of language, a celebration of
St Valentine’s Day, the characters of Dickens, a voyage among the stars. Even when all the
source material is authentic and factually correct, the strength of the feature lies more in its impact
on the imagination than in its intellectual truth. Intercut interviews with people who served in the
Colonial Service in India mixed with the appropriate sounds can paint a vivid picture of life as it
was under the British Raj – not the whole truth, not a carefully rounded and balanced documentary
report, it is too wide and complicated a matter to do that in so short a time, but a version of the
truth, an impression. The feature deals not so much with issues but with events, and at its centre
is the ancient art of telling a story.

Types of Features
There are mainly two types of features: narrative features and dramatized features.

Narrative Feature: In Narrative Features, the thread of narration runs through the entire
programme in which dialogues are avoided. It includes extracts from a variety of sources including
books, memoirs, reports, dispatches, library recording etc. Biographical features belong to this
genre. A narrative feature is possible on any subject in which the producer can access material
recorded or printed and create a word picture, through appropriate use of the accessed material
and suitable narration.

32
Unit 2, Lesson 5 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Dramatized Feature: It has the characteristics of drama but unlike plays which deal with fiction, it
aims at imaginative presentation of the facts. It is undertaken when OB recording is difficult to
obtain or is not found necessary. To quote Elwyin Evans, a well-known feature producer of the
BBC "Invented dialogues in the mouth of invented characters sometimes express the essence of a
human situation better than any words one can dig out of real people". A dramatized feature is not
merely a talk script read by three or four voices but there is emphasis on dialogues and
presentation by drama voices.

Steps involved in production of a Radio Feature

• statement of intent
• Planning
• Research
• Script
• Collection of material
• Assembly
• Final editing

Planning of Features
A radio feature, like any other radio programme, has to seize the attention of the audience. For
that, it is crucial that the feature has a strong introduction. The introduction would also depend on
the type of radio technique you adopt. Often sound and music, and not necessarily, the spoken-
word, that can make the beginning of a programme attractive and compelling. You have to use
your creativity and ingenuity to come out with very attractive openings of a radio feature.

Conceptualization is the first stage of planning.

Conceptualization: A radio person has to be on constant search for new ideas for
conceptualizing programmes. The same is true while planning radio features and documentaries.
The producer has to be very observant and look around for ideas for features and documentaries.
While talking to people, interacting with experts, travelling or walking in the streets, bright ideas
may flash across his/her mind which may be useful for developing programmes. Ideas are also
gathered while attending a lecture, watching a play or a sporting event or even while buying things
in the market. Some of the topics may be from your memory, others may stem from an experience
or something you strongly feel about.

33
Unit 2, Lesson 5 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Research: At the stage of generating ideas and conceptualizing a programme, you as a producer
have to work on your own. You need to understand the subject and come to grips with it. Very
often, the information, data or document available may not be adequate; hence, research may be
required. Research helps you to cover the relevant and vital aspects or issues involved in their
entirety. It enables you to define the scope and sharpen the focus of the programme. Research
comprises both library research and field research. Library research is collecting material from
books, periodicals and report. Field research includes consulting persons connected with the
subject. In nanny cases, the producer has to double up as a researcher for collecting and collating
information from various sources.

Defining the Scope: A radio programme, as you are aware, essentially seeks to cater to the
needs of the listeners. You should ensure that the topic chosen is not only be relevant to the target
audience but also be comprehensible to them. For this, it is imperative that you yourself have
clarity in ideas about the subject and the treatment you propose to give to the subject. This means
defining the objective and the scope of such programmes. The scope of the programme is not a
detailed write-up. It is a statement of the objectives of the programme. It may contain at the most
about 200 words. It starts with a working title which can be changed later if you come across a
better and a catchier one. If the producer is planning a programme on consumer protection which
is a vast subject, outline the scope of the programme after studying the available material. It helps
in focussing on the core issues, emphasis to be made, facts to be brought out, and persons to be
interviewed etc. Such a systematic approach helps in avoiding waste of efforts.

Plan of Action: After defining the objective of the programme and working on its scope, you have
to chalk out a plan for production process. For the smooth production of a radio feature
documentary, you have to do a lot of paper work. You have to intimate the organization or
individuals concerned about the date and time and schedule of recordings so that the persons are
available at the time of his/her visit. Even if you speak to someone personally or over the
telephone, it is always advisable to write and confirm the appointments so that there are no last
minute glitches.

In radio, deadlines are of great importance. A programme like a feature is generally prepared well
in advance. To beat the deadlines, various actions involved in the production of the programme
need to be drawn out. You must outline a checklist of all these activities, including the sound
effects to be recorded, the interviews to be conducted and the information to be collected.

34
Unit 2, Lesson 5 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

In the case of studio based features, you have to prepare the list of recordings available in the
library, material which is to be recorded in the studios, the artistes to be invited for voicing the
script, the date and time of recording etc. For O.B. recording you have to organize the O.B.
equipment, tapes, manpower and transport, dates of OBs, persons to be interviewed, dates of
recording of narration, editing etc.

Scripting of Features: The producer writes the script him/herself or engages an experienced
script writer to write it. The three cardinal principles of spoken-word namely simplicity, lucidity and
euphony are to be kept in view while writing the script. A feature is possible without a single OB
recording as 'inset'. If there is no recorded inset in the programme, the script has to be presented
by two or three drama voices. The script will then lay emphasis on dialogues. However, as we
have already mentioned, a feature script is not a talk script apportioned between two or three
voices to be read, each voice establishes a separate identity.

Production Techniques
The production techniques and sequence are the same as for a documentary – statement of
intent, planning, research, script, collection of material, assembly, final editing. In a documentary
the emphasis is on the collection of the factual material. Here, the work centres on the writing of
the script – a strong storyline, clear visual images, the unfolding of a sequence of events with the
skill of the dramatist, the handling of known facts but still with a feeling of suspense. Some of the
best programmes have come from the producer/writer who can hear the end result begin to come
together even while doing the research. Only through immersion in the subject comes the
qualification to present it to the rest of us. Once again, because of the multiplicity of treatment
possible and the indistinct definitions we use to describe them, an explanatory subtitle is often
desirable.
‘A personal account of …’
‘An examination of …’
‘The story of …’
‘Some aspects of …’
‘A composition for radio on …’

Thus, the purpose of the finished work is less likely to be misconstrued.

35
Unit 2, Lesson 5 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Radio Documentary
A documentary programme is wholly fact, based on documentary evidence – written records,
attributable sources, contemporary interviews and the like. Its purpose is essentially to inform, to
present a story or situation with a total regard for honest, balanced reporting.

Very often, subjects for programmes present themselves as ideas which suddenly become
obvious. They are frequently to do with contemporary issues such as race relations, urban
development, pollution and the environment, or medical research. A programme might explore in
detail a single aspect of one of these subjects that broadly attempts to examine how society copes
with change. Other types of documentary deal with a single person, activity or event – the
discovery of radium, the building of the Concorde aeroplane, the life of a notable figure, or the
work of a particular factory, theatre group or school. Essentially these are all to do with people,
and while statistical and historical fact is important, the crucial element is the human one – to
underline motivation and help the listener understand the prevailing social climate, why certain
decisions were made and what makes people ‘tick’.

The main advantage of the documentary approach over that of the straightforward talk is that the
subject is made more interesting and brought alive by involving more people, more voices and a
greater range of treatment. It should entertain while it informs, and as it illuminates provoke further
thought and concern.

Types of Documentary
Radio Documentary is generally of two types; the informative and investigative.

Informative Documentary: It can be on any subject or theme, person, event, activity or institution
undertaken to widen the horizon of the listeners. It tries to involve the audience both emotionally
as well as intellectually by presenting a wide spectrum of information. The subject can be an
eminent freedom fighter, AIDS awareness, a research institute or the discovery of insulin etc.

Investigative Documentary: As the title itself suggests, Investigative Documentary investigates

some issues. It takes up special problems like street children, bride burning, drug addiction,
corruption in public life, bogus universities etc.

36
Unit 2, Lesson 5 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Steps of making a Documentary

Planning
Following on the initial idea is the question of how long the programme should be. It may be that
the brief is to produce for a 30-minute or one-hour slot, in which case the problem is one of
selection, of finding the right amount of material. Given a subject that is too large for the time
available, a producer has the choice either of dealing with the whole area fairly superficially or
reducing the topic range and taking a particular aspect in greater depth.

Where no overall duration is specified, simply an intent to cover a given subject, the discipline is to
contain the material within a stated aim without letting it become diffuse, spreading into other
areas. For this reason, it is an excellent practice for the producer to write a programme brief in
answer to the questions ‘What am I trying to achieve?’ ‘What do I want to leave with the listener?’
Later on, when deciding whether or not a particular item should be included, a decision is easier in
the light of the producer’s own statement of intent. This is not to say that programmes cannot
change their shape as the production proceeds, but a positive aim helps to prevent this happening
without the producer’s conscious knowledge and consent.

A final point on planning. A producer’s statement of intent should remain fixed, but how that aim is
met may change. Initial plans to reach the goals in a certain way may be altered, if in the course of
production an unforeseen but crucial line of enquiry opens up. The programme material itself will
influence decisions on content.

Research
Having written the basic planning notes, the producer must then make the programme within the
allocated resources of time, money, people, etc. Now the decision is whether to call on a specialist
writer or to write one’s own script. Depending on this will rest the matter of further research –
perhaps it is possible to obtain the services of a research assistant or reference library. The
producer who is working to a well-defined brief knows what is wanted and in asking the right
questions will save both time and money. The principle with documentary work is always as far as
possible to go back to sources, the people involved, eyewitnesses, the original documents and so
on.

37
Unit 2, Lesson 5 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Structure
The main structural decision is whether or not to use a narrator. A linking, explanatory narrative is
obviously useful in driving the programme forward in a logical, informative way. This can provide
most of the statistical fact and the context of the views expressed, and also the names of various
speakers. A narrator can help a programme to cover a lot of ground in a short space of time, but
this is part of the danger, and may give the overall impression of being too efficient, too ‘clipped’ or
‘cold’. The narrator should link and not interrupt, and there will almost certainly not be any need to
use a narrative voice between every contribution. There are styles of documentary programme
which make no use at all of links, but each item flows naturally from one to the next, pointing
forward in an intelligible juxtaposition. This is not easy to do but can often be more atmospheric.

Collecting the material

Much of the material will be gathered in the form of location interviews, if possible while at sea
during a fishing trip. If it has been decided that there will be no narrator, it is important to ensure
that the interviewees introduce themselves – ‘speaking as a trawler owner …’ or ‘I’ve been in this
business now for 30 years …’ they may also have to be asked to bring out certain statistical
information. This may be deleted in the editing, but it is wise to have it in the source material if
there is no obvious way of adding it in a linking script.

Impression and truth

The purpose of using actuality sounds is to help create the appropriate atmosphere. More than
this, for those listeners who are familiar with the subject, recognition of authentic backgrounds and
specific noises increases the programme’s authority. It may be possible to add atmosphere by
using material from sound effects discs. These should be used with great care, since a sound only
has to be identified as ‘not the genuine article’ for the programme’s whole credibility to suffer. The
professional broadcaster knows that many simulated sounds or specially recorded effects create a
more accurate impression than the real thing. The producer concerned not simply with truth but
with credibility may use non-authentic sounds only if they give an authentic impression.

38
Unit 2, Lesson 5 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Music
The current practice is to make little use of music in documentary programmes, perhaps through a
concern that it can too easily generate an atmosphere, which should more properly be created by
real-life voices and situations. However, producers will quickly recognize those subjects that lend
themselves to special treatment. A line from a popular song will sometimes provide a suitably
perceptive comment, and appropriate music can certainly assist the creation of the correct
historical perspective.

Compilation
Having planned, researched and structured the programme, written the basic script and collected
material, the producer must assemble it so as to meet the original brief within the time allotted.
First, a good opening. The start of the programme can gain attention by a strong piece of sound
actuality, or by a controversial or personal statement carefully selected from material that is to be
heard within the programme. It opens ‘cold’ without music or formal introduction preceded only by
a time check and station identification. An opening narration can outline a situation in broad factual
terms or it can ask questions to which the listener will want the answers. The object is to create
interest, even suspense, and involve the listener in the programme at the earliest possible time.
The remainder of the material may consist of interviews, narrator’s links, actuality, vox pop,
discussion and music.

Programme sequence
There are few rules when it comes to deciding the programme sequence. What matters is that the
end result makes sense – not simply to the producer, who is thoroughly immersed in the subject
and knows every nuance of what was left out as well as what was included, but to the listener who
is hearing it all for the first time. The most consistent fault with documentaries is not with their
content but in their structure. Examples of such problems are insufficient ‘signposting’, the reuse of
a voice heard sometime earlier without repeating the identification, or a change in the convention
regarding the narrator or interviewer. For the producer who is close to the material it is easy to
overlook a simple matter which may present a severe obstacle to the listener. The programme
maker must always be able to stand back and take an objectively detached view of the work as its
shape emerges.

39
Unit 2, Lesson 5 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The ending
To end, there are limitless alternatives. Here are some suggestions:
1. To allow the narrator to sum up – useful in some types of schools programme or where the
material is so complex or the argument so interwoven that some form of clarifying résumé is
desirable.
2 To repeat some of the key statements using the voices of the people who made them.
3 To repeat a single phrase which appears to encapsulate the situation.
4 To speculate on the future with further questions.
5 To end with the same voice and actuality sounds as those used at the opening.

6 To do nothing, leaving it to the listener to form an assessment of the subject. This is often a wise
course to adopt if moral judgements are involved.

Contributors
The producer has a responsibility to those asked to take part. It is first to tell them as much as
possible of what the programme is about. Provide them with the overall context in which their
contribution is to be used. Second, tell them, prior to transmission, if their contribution has had to
be severely edited or omitted altogether. Third, whenever possible, let contributors know in
advance the day and time of transmission. These are simple courtesies and the reason for them is
obvious enough. Whether they receive a fee or not, contributors to documentary programmes
generally take the process extremely seriously, often researching additional material to make sure
their facts are right. They frequently put their professional or personal reputation at risk in
expressing a view or making a prediction. The producer must keep faith with them in keeping them
up to date as to how they will appear in the final result.

40
Unit 2, Lesson 6 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 6
Radio Commentary
Introduction
This format is very popular in radio because big sporting and non-sport events are covered live in
this format. This format enables listeners to see things through their ears. A running commentary
is a description of an event that is broadcast on radio while event is taking place. If you can’t go to
see a football or cricket match in a stadium, you may listen it on radio. But for that you have to be
at home or at some place where there is a television. But if you are travelling or outside, then you
may listen to radio for a running commentary of the match.

In commentary commentator would give you all the details of the match such as the number of
players, the score, and position of the players in the field etc. So by listening to the running
commentary, you get a feeling of being in the stadium and watching the match. Best commentator
needs good communication skills, a good voice and knowledge about what is going on. Running
commentaries on radio can be on various sports events or on ceremonial occasions like the
Republic Day Parade or events like festivals, melas, rath yatras, swearing in ceremony of
ministers, last journey (funeral procession) of national leaders etc. Today radio running
commentaries especially of cricket and other sports can be heard on your mobile phones.
Radio has a marvellous facility for creating pictures in the listener’s mind. It is more flexible than
television in that it is possible to isolate a tiny detail without waiting for the camera to ‘zoom in’ and
it can create a breadth of vision much larger than the dimensions of a glass screen. The listener
does more than simply eavesdrop on an event; radio, more easily than television or video, can
convey the impression of actual participation. The aim of the radio commentator is therefore to
recreate in the listener’s mind not simply a picture but a total impression of the occasion.

This is done in three distinct ways:

1 The words used will be visually descriptive of the scene.
2 The speed and style of their delivery will underline the emotional mood of the event.
3 Additional ‘effects’ microphones will reinforce the sounds of the action, or the public reaction to
it.

41
Unit 2, Lesson 6 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

In describing a scene the commentator should have in mind ‘a blind friend who couldn’t be there’.
It is important to remember the obvious fact that the listener cannot see. Without this, it is easy to
slip into the situation of simply chatting about the event to ‘someone beside you’.

The listener should be regarded as a friend because this implies a real concern to communicate
accurately and fully. The commentator must use more than his or her eyes and convey information
through all the senses, so as to heighten the feeling of participation by the listener. Thus, for
example, temperature, the proximity of people and things, or the sense of smell are important
factors in the overall impression. Smell is particularly evocative – the scent of newly mown grass,
smoke from a fire, the aroma inside a fruit market or the timeless mustiness of an old building.
Combine this with the appropriate style of delivery, and the sounds of the place itself, and you are
on the way to creating a powerful set of pictures.

Preparation
Not only must the commentator be certain of the field of vision and whether the sun is likely to be
in your eyes, but it is important to spend time obtaining essential facts about the event itself. For
example, in preparing for a ceremonial occasion, research:
1 The official programme of events with details of timing, etc.
2 The background of the people taking part, their titles, medals and decorations, position, relevant
history, military uniforms, regalia or other clothing, personal anecdotes – for the unseen as well as
the seen, e.g. organizers, bandmasters, security people, caretakers, etc.
3 The history of where it’s taking place, the buildings and streets, and their architectural detail.
4 The names of the flowers used for decoration, the trees, flags, badges, mottoes and symbols in
the area. The names of any horses or make of vehicles being used.
5 The titles of music to be played or sung, and any special association it may have with the people
and the place.

Working with the base studio

The commentator will need to know the precise handover details. This applies both from the studio
to the commentator and at the end for the return to the studio. These details are best written down,
for they easily slip the memory. There should also be clarity at both ends about the procedures to
be followed in the event of any kind of circuit failure – the back-up music to be played and who
makes the decision to restore the programme.

42
Unit 2, Lesson 6 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

It may be necessary to devise some system of hand signals or other means of communication with
technical staff, and on a large OB whether all commentators will get combined or individual
‘talkback’ on their headphones, etc. These matters are the ‘safety nets’ which enable the
commentators to fulfil their role with a proper degree of confidence. As with all outside broadcasts,
the base studio should ensure that the commentary output is recorded.

Sport
First and foremost, the sports commentator must know his or her sport and have detailed
knowledge of the particular event. What was the sequence that led up to this event? What is its
significance in the overall contest? Who are the participants and what is their history? The
possession of this background information is elementary, but what is not so obvious is how to use
it. The tendency is to give it all out at the beginning in the form of an encyclopaedic but fairly
indigestible introduction. Certainly, the basic facts must be provided at the outset, but a much
better way of using background detail is as the game, race or tournament itself proceeds, at an
appropriate moment or during a pause in the action. This way, the commentator sounds much
more as part of what is going on instead of being a rather superior observer.

Coordinating the images

It is all too easy to fall short of an overall picture but to end up instead with some accurately
described but separate pieces of jigsaw. The great art, and challenge, of commentary is to fit them
together, presenting them in a logically coordinated way which allows your ‘blind friend’ to place
the information accurately in their mind’s eye. The commentator must include not only the
information relating to the scene, but also something about how this information should be
integrated to build the appropriate framework of scale. Having provided the context, other items
can then be related to it. Early on, it should be mentioned where the commentator’s own position
is relative to the scene, also giving details of distance, up and down, size (big and small),
foreground and background, side to side, left and right, etc. Movement within a scene needs a
smooth, logical transition if the listener is not to become hopelessly disorientated.

Content and style

The commentator begins with a ‘scene-set’, saying first of all where the broadcast is coming from,
and why. This is best not given in advance by the continuity handover and duplication of this
information must be avoided. The listener should be helped to identify with the location,
particularly if it is likely to be familiar.

43
Unit 2, Lesson 6 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The description continues from the general to the particular noting, as appropriate, the weather,
the overall impression of lighting, the mood of the crowd, the colour content of the scene and what
is about to happen.

Actuality and silence

It may be that, during the event, there are sounds to which the commentary should refer. The
difficulty here is that the noisier the environment, the closer on-microphone will be the
commentator, so that the background will be relatively reduced. It is essential to check that these
other sounds can be heard through separate microphones, otherwise references to ‘the roar of the
helicopters overhead’, ‘the colossal explosions going on around me’ or ‘the shouts of the crowd’
will be quite lost on the listener. It is important in these circumstances for the commentator to stop
talking and to let the event speak for itself.

The ending
Running to time is helped by having a stopwatch synchronized with the studio clock. This will
provide for an accurately timed hand back, but if open-ended, the cue back to the studio is simply
given at the conclusion of the event.

It is all too easy after the excitement of what has been happening to create a sense of anti-climax.
Even though the event is over and the crowds are filtering away, the commentary should maintain
the spirit of the event itself, perhaps with a brief summary or with a mention of the next similar
occasion.

Another technique is radio’s equivalent of the television wide-angle shot. The commentator ‘pulls
back’ from the detail of the scene, concluding as at the beginning with a general impression of the
whole picture before ending with a positive and previously agreed form of words which indicates a
return to the studio.

Tips for Radio Commentary

A commentator should describe the following things:
• Width: describe left to right
• Height: describe bottom to top
• Depth: describe near to far

44
Unit 2, Lesson 6 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

• Keep going if you can: A sense of shock is understandable, but don’t be so easily
deterred by something unusual that you hand back to the studio. Even if your commentary
is not broadcast ‘live’ it could be crucial for later news coverage.
 There’s no need to be ashamed of your own emotions. You are a human being too and
if you are horrified or frightened by what is happening, say so. Your own reaction will be
part of conveying that to your listener. It’s one thing to be professional, objective and
dispassionate at a planned event, it is quite another to remain so during a sudden
emergency.
 Don’t put your own life, or the lives of others, in unnecessary danger: You may from
the best of motives believe that ‘the show must go on’, but few organizations will thank you
for the kind of heroics which result in your death. If you are in a building which is on fire, say
so and leave. If the bullets are flying or riot gas is being used in a demonstration, take
cover. You can then say what’s happening and work out the best vantage point from which
to continue.`
 Don’t dwell on individual anguish or grief: Keep a reasonably ‘wide angle’ and put what
is happening in context. Remember the likelihood that people listening will have relatives or
friends at the event.
 Let the sounds speak for themselves: Don’t feel you have to keep talking, there is much
value in letting your listener hear the actuality – gunfire, explosions, crowd noise, shouts
and screams.
 Don’t jump too swiftly to conclusions as to causes and responsibility: Leave that to a
later perspective. Stick with observable events, relay the facts as you see them.
 Above all, arrive at a station policy for this sort of coverage well before any such event
takes place. Get the subject on the agenda in order to agree emergency procedures.

Things to remember before the event

• The official programme of events with details of timing, etc.
• The background of the people taking part, their titles, medals and decorations, position,
relevant history, military uniforms, other clothing, personal anecdotes – for the unseen as
well as the seen, e.g. organizers, bandmasters, security people, caretakers, etc.
• The history of where it’s taking place, the buildings and streets, and their architectural
detail.
• The names of the flowers used for decoration, the trees, flags, badges, mottoes and
symbols in the area.
45
Unit 2, Lesson 6 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

• The names of any horses or make of vehicles being used.

• The titles of music to be played or sung, and any special association it may have with the
people and the place.

Commentator’s Microphone
• The lip microphone: The microphone has excellent noise-cancellation properties, which
makes it ideal for commentary situations.
• The mouth guard is held against the broadcaster’s lip while the microphone is in use.
• There is a bass cut in the handle to compensate for the bass lift that results from working
close to a ribbon microphone.

Lip microphone

46
Unit 2, Lesson 7 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 7
Radio Play/Drama

Introduction
The radio medium has a long and distinguished history of turning thoughts, words and actions into
satisfying pictures within the listener’s mind by using the techniques of drama. But there is no
need for the producer to think only in terms of the Shakespeare play – the principles of radio
drama apply to the well-made commercial, a programme trail, dramatized reading, five-minute
serial or two-minute teaching point in a programme for schools. The size and scope of the pictures
created are limited only by the minds that devise and interpret them.

The aim with all dramatic writing is for the original ideas to be recreated in the listener’s mind and
since the end result occurs purely within the imagination, there are few limitations of size, reality,
place, mood, time or speed of transition. Unlike the visual arts, where the scenery is provided
directly, the listener to radio supplies personal mental images in response to the information given.
If the ‘signposts’ are too few or of the wrong kind, the listener becomes disorientated and cannot
follow what is happening. If there are too many, the result is likely to be obvious, ‘cheesy’ and
‘corny’. Neither will satisfy. The writer must therefore be especially sensitive to how the audience
is likely to react – and since the individual images may stem largely from personal experience, of
which the writer of course knows nothing, this is not easy. But it is the ageless art of the storyteller
– saying enough to allow listeners to follow the thread but not so much that they do not want to
know what is to happen next or cannot make their own contribution.

Drama is derived from the Greek word "dron", which means "to do": One of the important
constituents of drama is therefore action. Action in drama comprises both movement on stage
and movement of a story line from beginning to end. A Radio drama or a radio play is like any
other play staged in a theatre or a hall.

The only difference is that while a stage play has actors, stage, sets, curtains, properties
movement and live action. A radio play has only 3 components. They are the human voice, music
and sound effects. Radio of course uses its greatest strength for producing radio plays and that is
the power of imagination and suggestively. For example, if you want to have a scene in a radio
play of a north Indian marriage, you don’t have all physical arrangements made.

47
Unit 2, Lesson 7 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

All that you have to do is to use a bright tune on the shehnai and excited voices of people to
create in a listeners’ imagination- a wedding scene. The voice of the actors, music and sound
effects can create any situation in a radio play. Drama is about conflict and resolution,
relationships and feelings and people being motivated by them, both driving and driven by events.
The writer must have a thorough understanding of the medium and the production process, while
the producer needs a firm grasp of the writing requirements.

Adapting for radio

Rewriting an existing work for radio sets a special kind of challenge. Staying faithful to the original
so as not to upset those who already know and love the book or play, yet conveying it in this
different medium, and probably compressing it in time, requires a distinctive writing skill.
Translation from another language is generally easier than working in the same language since it’s
then necessary to use entirely new forms of speech, whereas a great question in adaptation
concerns the need to use the same words and phrases as the original. The adapting writer should
care for the original while analysing it, and preserve its essential features in the new medium. If
the work is still in copyright the original publisher will need to be consulted for permission to adapt,
and May well have views regarding a radio treatment.

Elements of Radio Drama

Idea
Before committing anything to paper, it is essential to think through the basic ideas of plot and
form – once these are decided, a great deal follows naturally. The first question is to do with the
material’s suitability for the target audience, the second with its technical feasibility.

Assuming that the writer is starting from scratch and not adapting an existing work, what is the
broad intention? Is it to make people laugh, to comment on or explain a contemporary situation, to
convey a message, to tell a story, to entertain? How can the writer best enable the listener to
‘connect’ with this intention? Is it by identifying with one of the characters? Should the basic
situation be one with which the listener can easily relate?

The second point at this initial stage is to know whether the play has to be written within certain
technical or cost limitations. To do something simple and well is preferable to failing with
something complicated.

48
Unit 2, Lesson 7 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Story Construction: The simplest way of telling a story is to:

1 Explain the situation
2 Introduce ‘conflict’
3 Develop the action
4 Resolve the conflict

Of course, there may be intriguing complications, mystery and subplots, twists and surprises at
several levels. This an essential aspect of the multi-strand soap opera, where the listener is invited
to relate to several different characters. In an absorbing story there will be small personal
struggles to be resolved as well as the big issues. However, the essence of the thing is to find out
‘what happens in the end’. Who committed the crime? Were the lovers reunited? Did the cavalry
arrive in time? The element that tends to interest us most is the resolution of conflict and since this
comes towards the end, there should be no problem of maintaining interest once into the ‘rising
action’ of the play. And in the final scene it is not necessary to tie up all the loose ends – to dot
every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’ in a neat and tidy conclusion. Life seldom works that way. It is often
better to have something unsaid, leaving the listener still with a question, an issue or a motivation.

Plot: This is the story with lots of twists and turns. The more the merrier. Most listeners like good
exciting plots. Without a good plot you're eating a soufflé that has gone flat. You need plot, more
plots and more plot. Run at least two story lines. Two sub plots would be interesting. Keep the
plots linked logically within the same play. The best system is a major and a minor storyline linked
to one another. Get them to come together at the end.

Characterization: characterization is a key ingredient and many writes find it important to sketch
out a pen portrait of each character. This helps to stabilize them as people and it’s easier to give
convincing dialogue. Who is the hero or heroine? What does he or she want? And why should I
care?

Conflict: Conflict in drama doesn’t always have to be a struggle between two people
(melodrama). Conflict can consist of a person’s struggle to overcome a stomach ache as in radio
commercials (resolution is offered by the sponsor’s pain remedy).

49
Unit 2, Lesson 7 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Action: Because radio is not a visual medium, action must be portrayed through sound. (ex.
Boxing match – dramatized on radio with the ringing of the bell, roar of the crowd, smacking of
gloves with a description of the fight provided by the dialogue).

Speech
Dialogue: Spoken words are very important in radio drama as it provides most of the information
and meaning in a scene and they describe most of the action. Limitations of radio dialogue are
action, multiple characters in a single scene.

Tone: vocal inflexion can show against the lexical meaning of the dialogue (satire, mockery) or
can emphasize it. Tone can also include

Paralinguistic: non-verbal utterances (“oh…er…umm...arrgh”) and the range of emotions they

can signify (surprise, hesitation, pleasure, pain etc.)

Sound Effects: When the curtain rises on a theatre stage the scenery is immediately obvious and
the audience is given all the contextual information it requires for the play to start. So it is with
radio, except that to achieve an unambiguous impact the sounds must be refined and simplified to
those few which really carry the message. The equivalent of the theatre’s ‘backdrop’ are those
sounds which run throughout a scene – for example, rain, conversation at a party, traffic noise or
the sounds of battle. These are most likely to be pre-recorded and reproduced from a CD. The
‘incidental furniture’ and ‘props’ are those effects which are specially placed to suit the action – for
instance, a ringing telephone, pouring a drink, closing a door or firing a gun. Such sounds are best
made in the studio at the time of the appropriate dialogue, if possible by the actors themselves –
for example, lighting a cigarette or taking a drink – but by someone else if hands are not free due
to their holding a script.
Some other sounds which have become immediately understood are:
1 Passage of time – clock ticking.
2 Night time – owl hooting.
3 On the coast – seagulls and seawash.
4 On board sailing ship – creaking of ropes.
5 Early morning – cock crowing.
6 Urban night time – distant clock chime, dog barking.
7 Out of doors, rural – birdsong.

50
Unit 2, Lesson 7 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Music
An ally to the resourceful producer, music can add greatly to the radio play. However, if it is
overused or badly chosen, it becomes only an irritating distraction. Avoiding the obvious or
overfamiliar, the producer must decide in which of its various roles music is to be used:
1 As a ‘leitmotif’ to create an overall style: Opening and closing music plus its use within the
play as links between some of the scenes will provide thematic continuity. The extracts are likely
to be the same piece of music, or different passages from the same work, throughout.
2 Music chosen simply to create mood and establish the atmosphere of a scene. Whether it is
‘haunted house’ music or ‘a day at the races’, music should be chosen that is not so well known
that it arouses in the listener personally preconceived ideas and associations. In this respect it
pays the producer to cultivate an awareness of the more unfamiliar works in the various production
‘mood music’ libraries, some of which is non-copyright.
3 Reiterative or relentless music can be used to mark the passage of time, thus heightening the
sense of passing hours or seconds. Weariness or monotony is economically reinforced.

Silence: use of silence exemplifies the “invisibility” of radio - reinforces the “enigma code”,
creating suspense, ambiguity, tension, reflection.

Rhythm /Speed: both within the line, and within the dialogue as a whole - defining the pace of the
scene.

Unfolding of a Radio Drama

• Introduction: setting and context, characterization established;
• Conflict: Events resulting from characters in the situation;
• Rising action: complication and suspense
• Maximum Tension: crisis and climax
• Falling action: resolution
• Twist

51
Unit 2, Lesson 8 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 8
Radio Ads (Social and Commercial)

Introduction
Radio commercials are an old but still popular mode of advertising. And the format hasn't changed
much since radio advertising's inception. The ads should first catch the listener's attention, and
then quickly list the benefits of the product. The modern market encourages entertaining
advertisements with funny bits between speakers. But often that detracts from the actual product,
and is rarely funny to a majority of people. As a beginner, start with a straightforward approach.

Radio commercial/advertisements vary in format, but one of the most common is a dialogue
between consumers sharing information about the product you are trying to sell. This is effective
because it creates the facade of word-of-mouth advertising, which is the one of the most effective
versions, and because it can be entertaining as well as informative.

Definition of Advertising
According to S.S. Dunn and A.M. Barban, “Advertising is defined as “Paid, non-personal
communication through various media by business firms, non-profit organizations and individuals
who are in some way identified in the advertising message and who hope to inform or persuade
members of a particular audience.”

Advertising is not restricted to products but encompasses services and ideas also. It is also
evident that the two basic functions of advertisement are to inform and to persuade. Thus
advertising leads to promotion of sales, change of attitude and arousal of awareness.

Advertising Campaign
There are many types of advertising campaign. But basically any campaign strategy has to
address itself to the following six questions:
 Who is advertising?
 For whom is the advertisement intended?
 What is being advertised?
 What is the purpose of the advertising campaign?
 Which geographic area does it cater to
 Which medium is to be used?
52
Unit 2, Lesson 8 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

The process also involves five important decisions to be made namely-

 Advertising objectives
 Estimation of the budget in the selection of the medium
 Creative strategy as to how to communicate the message
 Media strategy with reference to the delivery of the message and
 Evaluation of the effectiveness of the message

Radio Advertising
The purpose of an advertisement is to sell things. The radio advertiser must use a good deal of
skill in motivating a target audience to a specific action.
The effective advertisement will:
 interest
 inform
 involve
 motivate
 Direct.
Elements to be considered before making a commercial
 The target audience – for whom is this message primarily intended?
 The product or service – what is the specific quality to be promoted?
 The writing – what content and style will be appropriate?
 The voice or voices – who will best reinforce the style?
 The background – is music or sound effects needed?

Radio Spot
 Advertisements of 5 to 60 seconds at the beginning or end of a programme or between film
songs are known as "spots".
 Advertisements during fixed important programmes are known as "fixed spots".

53
Unit 2, Lesson 8 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Sponsored Programmes

There are two kinds of sponsored programmes

 During sports commentaries or other programmes broadcast by the radio station,

advertisements can be made
 The advertiser can also sponsor a special programme like quiz or a play or film-based
songs or serials and the advertisements can be made during the period of broadcast of
these programmes.

Purpose of Advertising
 The basic purposes of advertising messages (commercial/PSA) are to inform, to persuade
and to remind.
 All advertising messages have one or two or all these elements embodied in them.
 The objectives of the message are to stimulate (demand (commercial product) and
awareness (PSA), to promote a brand/idea and to cause direct or indirect action to be
taken by the consumer (buy/motivate to act).

Advertising Appeal
Any strategy for advertising a product or an idea has to have
 Appeal strategy: Advertisement, if it has to have an appeal should engage the attention of the
consumer create interest in the idea or message promote his desire or awareness and motivate
him/to take action. For Instance-

Don't just practise, Preach". . . (Pause) "Tell someone who is less aware, less experienced,
less educated how simple it is to plan a family"
"Your daughter will never be as good as a son" (Pause). . . "Unless you give her a chance"
 Humour strategy: Humour as a strategy enhances audience's attention, at least when they
listen to the advertisement for the first few times. The advertiser who prefers humour as a
creative strategy should bear in mind the following points:
Humorous messages attract attention.
They may detrimentally affect comprehension
Humour increases persuasion
Humour tends to enhance source credibility
A humorous context may increase liking for the source and create a positive mood.

54
Unit 2, Lesson 8 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

 Comparison advertising: While in commercial advertisements, this strategy generates heated

controversy in respect of advertising ethics, in PSAs, this comparative strategy does enhance the
audience's attention.

In the family planning ads, the comparison between a planned family household to the
disadvantage of the latter is more effective than a slogan that says "a small family is a
happy, one".

Samples of Radio Advertisements

 "The tyre that never tires" (Modi tyres)
 "Utterly, butterly delicious – (Amul)“
 "Don't let litter spoil the glitter“
 "Keep your house clean, Keep your country green“
 "Woman is more than man's equal, If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be here"
 "Mango Frooti, Fresh and Juicy"

Writing for Radio ads/commercial

When you write a radio ad, the most important thing to remember is that you are writing for a
listener, not a reader or viewer. You have a limited amount of time to convey the message
because the advertisements are just fifteen thirty or sixty seconds. So before the writing few points
given below keep in mind.

1. Know your audience: Ask your client what sort of customer they want to target. Commercial
selling yachts will definitely be different than a commercial promoting special at the local sports
bar.
2. Formulate your idea: Bounce some creative ideas of other writers or with the client. The
commercial will be short, so pick one idea and stick to it.
3. Begin your first draft: Radio ads are fifteen, thirty or sixty seconds in length. Find out which,
and then write the advertisement.
4. Insert the business name into the draft: Do this twice for a fifteen second commercial, three
times for thirty second commercials and at least four times for a sixty second commercial.
5. Read the draft out loud with a stopwatch: Read at an even, realistic pace, and time how long
the script runs. Add or delete words to get the commercial to the right length. Do not try to read
faster, just read it as you would any script.

55
Unit 2, Lesson 8 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

6. Let the script sit for a while, take a break, and then return to it with fresh eyes: Edit it as
necessary, but remember to time it again once you arc done.

Radio Jingles
This format of short durations a market driver, to inform the listeners about a product or service. It
may be a public service or a commercial ad also. A radio jingle is a memorable slogan, set to an
engaging melody. Some tips for effective jingle writing:
Know the product: What are you trying to sell? A service? A product? A company? What does it
do, provide or offer? Familiarize yourself with its benefits, capabilities, and distinction. What makes
it superior to others of its kind?
Drill the name: The jingle must mention and repeat the specific name of the product or company
and what it does. You want to ensure that the consumer remembers the name in conjunction with
the type of product. If they repeat it, the’ are more likely to buy it. With a good jingle, the consumer
may actually begin to call all products of that type by the trade name.
Set your slogan to a tune: There is much evidence to show that we remember tunes better than
mere words. That’s why a jingle is generally much easier to remember than just a slogan.

56
Unit 2, Lesson 9 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Lesson 9
Phone-in and Radio Bridge

Introduction
In this age of technological development, phone-in is the most important format. This is called
interactive programming where the listener and the presenter talk to each other. Their talk goes on
air instantly. The listener has the satisfaction that his voice is being listened to and replied
immediately. Other listeners also listen to him. Such presentations need advance publicity so that
the listeners get ready to air their grievances/queries or requests.

They dial up the announced telephone number at a stipulated time and get their problems
discussed with experts in the studio. Initially this format was introduced for playing the listeners’
request based film songs. Now it is being used for health related programmes, rural broadcasts,
complaints against the government/ administrative machinery etc.

Phone-In Programme
In phone programme the caller is connected via a telephone hybrid, which connects the telephone
line to the audio console through impedance matching, or more modern through digital signal
processing, which can improve the perceived audio quality of the call.

Telephone calls are often organized through a system which also provides broadcast automation,
with an administrative assistant answering calls and entering caller information on a personal
computer, which also displays on the radio presenter's screen.

Types of Phone-in
 The open line – conversation with the studio presenter.
 The specific subject – expert advice on a chosen topic.
 Consumer affairs – a series providing ‘action’ advice on detailed cases.
 Personal counselling – problems discussed for the individual rather than the audience.

57
Unit 2, Lesson 9 Basics of Radio Programming & Production

Technical requirement for phone-in

When inviting listeners to phone the programme, it is best to have a special number rather than
take the calls through the normal station telephone number; otherwise the programme can bring
the general telephone traffic to a halt. The technical means of taking calls have almost infinite
variation, but the facilities should include:
1. Off –air answering of calls
2. Acceptance of several calls- says four or five simultaneously.
3. Holding a call until required, sending the caller a feed of cue programme.
4. The ability to take two call simultaneously on the air.
5. Picking up a call by the answering position after its on-air use.

Tips for a Radio Presenter while taking calls

 To be sincere – say what you really feel and avoid acting.
 To be friendly – use an ordinary tone of voice and be capable of talking with an audible
smile. Avoid ‘jargon’ and specialist or technical language.
 To appear human – use normal conversational language. Admit when you do not know the
answer.
 To be considerate – demonstrate the capacity to understand views other than your own.
 To be helpful – offer useful, constructive practical advice.
 To appear competent – demonstrate an appreciation of the question and ensure accuracy
of answers. Avoid ‘waffle’ and ‘padding’.

Radio Bridge
 Radio Bridge means connecting different stations throughout the length and breadth of the
country.
 In this technique, for example, an expert sitting at Chennai can interact with the common
man in the studio in Delhi.
 This format was first used by All India Radio during elections.

58
 Characteristics of Radio News as against
news in other media

Writing styles have evolved in newspapers, radio and

television due to the unique nature of each medium and to
the manner in which its audience consumes each medium.
An evolutionary process has been at work adapting each
news writing style to its medium.
 Newspaper Style

News in newspapers is written so that it may be edited

from the bottom up.
As old editors liked to say, a page form is not made of
rubber. It won’t stretch.
What doesn’t fit is thrown away. Historians trace the
inverted pyramid, which is not the traditional style of
British or other foreign newspapers.
The reading of a newspaper matches bottom-up
editing.
The reader’s eye scans the headlines on a page. If the
headline indicates a news story of interest, the reader
looks at the first paragraph. If that also proves
interesting, the reader continues.
The reader who stops short of the end of a story is
basically doing what the editor does in throwing words
away from the bottom.
Yet, although the newspaper reader can go back over a
difficult paragraph until it becomes clear, a luxury
denied to listeners to broadcast news.
It is also true, as one newspaper editor noted, that if the
newspaper reader has to go back often to make sense of
stories, the reader is likely to go back to the television
set.
 Television Style

Television news style is much like radio news style, for

a viewer can no more return to a group of facts than a
listener can.
The viewer, like the listener, does not always focus on
what the newscaster says. Television news adds further
complexities when pictures join the words; that is,
anchors or reporters deliver what is called a "voice
over."
Ideally the words that accompany a videotape story of an
event are written, even under time pressure, only after the
writer has viewed the unedited videotape and made
editing decisions such that the pictures follow a logic of
their own.
In practice the ideal method of editing video first and
writing text afterward is rarely followed in television
newsrooms, but the better news writers at least keep the
pictures in mind as they write, and the tape is edited to fit
the words.
Besides all the other constraints which limit the writing of
a news story — lead, chronology, clarity, etc. — the words
should relate in some way to the pictures.
If the words and the pictures do not support each other,
they surely fight each other for the viewer’s attention, a
dissonance that detracts from understanding.
An examination of a random selection of television
newscasts will demonstrate that nearly all of the fresh
information is found in the words, but it is the pictures
that carry the impact for the viewers. It is the pictures that
will be remembered.
Television has one advantage over radio here, because
numbers can be presented visually while the newscaster
reads them; the presentation can be enhanced by graphs,
pie charts or other visual aids lacking in radio.
 Radio Style
Radio bulletins are usually made up from three types of
material:
• Written stories in the form of a script;
• Voice reports from journalists, either recorded or live;
• Recorded sound called actuality. This is usually the
sound of someone speaking, perhaps taken from an
interview or a speech. A short segment of actuality is
called a grab. Grabs are used in a similar way to quotes in
a newspaper story. In some countries, grabs are
called cuts or inserts.
Preparing a bulletin should not be difficult if you remember
the basic principles of news reporting. Remind yourself of
the criteria for what is news: Is it new, unusual,
interesting, significant and about people?
Each of these criteria will help you to decide what stories
you should include in your bulletin and where you should
place them within your five, 10 or 15 minutes. It is usual to
give the most important story first and the least important
story last. If you are putting together your first bulletin,
stick to this technique.
However, once you feel confident that you can put together
a simple bulletin, you can start to consider some extra
factors which will change it from a list of stories to a proper
bulletin.
The two main factors you have to consider are the overall
order or balance of the bulletin and the pace of it.

The radio newscast must be consumed sequentially; that is,

the listener does not hear the second story in the newscast
without hearing the first story.
The eighth story waits on the first seven, which means in
practice that all seven are chosen to be interesting to a
significant number of listeners and are presented at a
length, which maintains that interest.
In addition to the inevitable centrality of thinking which
affects story choice and story length, a pressing concern
exists for clarity in both sentence length and word choice
because the radio listener, unlike the newspaper reader, is
unable to stop to review and reconsider the meaning of a
sentence.
The eye can go back; the ear can go only forward with
the voice of the newscaster.
During the “golden age of radio,” 1930-1950, before
television sets appeared in every home, the family
gathering around the parlor radio console in the evening
sat facing it, a natural thing to do because the radio
talked to them.
Today, it seems, no one looks at radios. They speak to
us from under the steering wheel or over our shoulder.
Unlike the attentive newspaper reader, the radio listener
is often driving, working, or engaged in some task other
than absorbing the latest news, and consequently is
paying less than full attention.
As a result radio news stories are written to be told in
familiar words combined into sentences, which run at
comfortable lengths in a style known as
“conversational.”
One textbook guideline suggests writing as if telling a
story to a friend who is trying to catch a bus that is
ready to pull away.
Because listeners lack opportunity to go back to
reconsider a bit of information, there should be no need
to do so.
The radio broadcast news writer learns to beware of
innocent little words like “it.” These conditions influence
television news as well, but perhaps they apply with a
little more force to the writing of radio news summaries,
where news items average two or three sentences and
then the topic shifts.
Particularly important is the care needed in the
presentation of the numbers sprinkled throughout
economic news. Writing news of the economy requires a
balance between precision and understanding.
An additional difficulty in absorbing the information in
a summary newscast is its demand on the listener’s
ability to keep up not only with a rapid delivery but also
with the variety of news.
The newscaster jumps from topic to topic, geographic
location to location, as if the listener would have no
difficulty in going from a flood in Bangladesh to a
political crisis in Romania to a train accident north of
town.
Radio news is hard enough for anyone to follow but the
confusion is greater for people who are not on top of
events.
The thoughtful newscaster takes these topical twists and
turns into consideration in both writing and delivery; the
newspaper editor need not give the matter a moment’s
thought.
The radio news writing style that has developed includes
the choice of simple words and short, declarative
sentences.
Attribution precedes statements as it does in normal
conversation. Sentence structure is incomplete at times,
such as verb less sentences. Purists may howl, but the
reality is that understanding is more important than
grammar to a radio news writer.
The radio has its drawbacks too. We can summarize
the limitations of radio as a medium of instruction as
follows:
When you read a newspaper, you can keep it with you
and read it again. You have the printed word there and
unless the paper is destroyed it will remain with you and
if you do not understand the meaning of certain words.
You can refer to a dictionary or ask someone who knows
to find out the meaning.
But in case of radio. Suppose you are listening to a news
bulletin in English and you are not able to understand
some words.
Can you refer to a dictionary or ask someone else for
the meaning? If you stop to do that, you will miss
the rest of the news. You have only one chance to
listen on radio. What is said on radio does not exist
any longer; unless you record it. The words have
momentary life. After it is spoken, it disappears
unlike a newspaper or a printed book.
So one of the greatest limitations or weaknesses of
radio is it’s momentary nature or if we put it
differently – radio is a one chance medium. A
listener has just one chance to receive the message
and understand it.
Let us consider a news item on radio and the same
item on television. For example, the news about the
devastating cyclone Nargis that hit Myanmar in
May 2008.
Radio news talked about the intensity of the
cyclone, the number of deaths, details about
property destroyed etc. However in the case of
television, it showed the actual cyclone hitting the
country, visuals of properties destroyed, rescue
operations and many more details which could be
seen.
Now compare the two. A natural disaster like a
cyclone when seen on television is more effective
than what you hear on radio.
It is said that “a picture is worth a thousand
words”. It is also said that ‘‘seeing is believing’’.
So when you see something, it is more believable
than what you hear. So having no visuals is a major
limitation of radio.
The problem of not having visuals leads to another
limitation of radio. What is seen is often
remembered and may remain with us.
For example if you have seen the fine visuals of the
Taj Mahal in Agra, it will remain in your memory.
But what you hear is normally forgotten fast.
Probably you may remember what you have heard
in a class room if you found it interesting.
But can you recall all the head lines of a news
bulletin you heard on radio?
Normally, you don’t. So this is another limitation
of radio.
Messages heard on radio are easily forgotten.
Presenters or participants in a radio programme can
be boring or uninteresting that it can result in
listeners switching off their radio sets.
So listeners’ interest depends up on how information
or messages are presented.
• The radio is not a flexible medium. There is no face-
to-face interaction, dialogue or discussion between
the listener and the speaker/producer.
In the absence of motivation, guidance and
supervision, the atmosphere for learning is not very
conducive and the teaching/learning process becomes
a one-way transit of information.
• The doubts/queries arising in the mind of a learner
cannot be attended to immediately.
Thus there is no provision for immediate feedback to
the learner; nor is there any feedback on the quality of
the content.
• It may not be an effective medium for all types of
course materials; for example, the subjects which
need demonstration or visual illustrations cannot be
taught effectively through radio.

• Educational radio programmes have not been

given adequate and appropriate broadcast time-
chunk. This phenomenon causes inconvenience to
learners as they have to make themselves available
during the scheduled broadcast time whatever be
their engagements at the moment.
• In most developing countries like india, educators
have to plan programmes for heterogeneous masses
(such as the illiterate, school dropouts, the
unemployed, etc.). the‘ more heterogeneous the
audience, the more difficult it is to produce a radio
programme of common utility/appeal.
• The span or attention of a learner is short in radio
and thus, the retention of factual information given
after the first few minutes of the start of the
programme is generally low unless some special
efforts are made to reassure attention from time to
time.
Furthermore, educational broadcast is not a priority
area of programming in the radio set-up.
• The technical staff concerned with the planning
and production of radio programmes often lack
adequate knowledge of the relevant pedagogical
needs of the learners and their characteristics.
The subject experts do not have any deep
acquaintance with the complexities of programme
production. So unless there is a perfect co-
ordination and understanding between the two
groups, no good production could ever be achieved.
• Radio broadcasts are of no use to people who
have no sense of hearing especially those with
hearing disabilities
 BASICS OF RADIO
PROGRAMMING AND
PRODUCTION
 UNIT 1
UNDERSTANDING THE MEDIUM

RADIO AS MEDIUM OF MASS COMMUNICATION:

Rapid communication through latest technology has facilitated speedy information
gathering and dissemination and this has become an essential part of the modern
society.
Extraordinary information explosion have dramatically shrunk time and distance and
have converted our world into a Global Village.
Historically speaking, G.Marconi started radio broadcasting in 1896 with the
invention of first wireless telegraph link.
It took ten years since then for the first demonstration of radio broadcasting to
establish but it was hard to distinguish words from music.
Another successful demonstration took place from the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1908.
A New York Station transmitted the first radio news bulletin in 1916 on the occasion
of the election of US President.
By 1927, broadcasting services were started as a major medium of information.
 HISTORY OF RADIO IN INDIA

HISTORY:
Radio broadcasting in India began as a private venture in 1923 and 1924,
when three radio clubs were established in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.
The Radio Club broadcast the first radio programme in India in June 1923.
The daily broadcasts of 2 to 3 hours consisted mainly of music and talks.
These stations had to close down in 1927 for lack of sufficient financial
support.
It was followed by the setting up a Broadcasting Service that began
broadcasting in India in July 1927 on an experimental basis at Bombay and a
month later at Calcutta under an agreement between the Government of
India and a private company called the Indian Broadcasting Company Ltd.
Faced with a widespread public outcry against the closure of the IBC, the
Government acquired its assets and constituted the Indian Broadcasting
Service under the Department of Labour and Industries.
Since then, broadcasting in India has remained under Government control.
 In 1936, a radio station was commissioned in Delhi.
In the same year, the Indian Broadcasting Service was renamed “All India
Radio”
and a new signature tune was added.
The Delhi station became the nucleus of broadcasting at the national level.
All India Radio has come a long way since June1936.
When India became Independent, the AIR network had only six stations at
Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Lucknow and Tiruchirapalli with 18
transmitters - six on the medium wave and the remaining on short wave,
Radio listening on medium wave was confined to the urban elite of these
cities.
After Independence, the broadcast scenario has dramatically changed with
198 broadcasting centers, including 74 local radio stations, covering more than
97.3 per cent of the country's population.
Mostly the broadcasting centers are full-fledged stations with a network of
medium wave, short wave and FM transmission.
 RADIO - MASS COMMUNICATION
MEDIUM

DEFINE:
Radio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves
with frequencies below those of visible light.
In electronics, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of
high frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with respect to a
modulating signal.
This is done in a similar fashion as a musician may modulate the tone from a
musical instrument by varying its volume, timing and pitch.
The three key parameters of a periodic waveform are its amplitude ("volume"),
its phase ("timing") and its frequency ("pitch"), all of which can be modified
in accordance with a low frequency signal to obtain the modulated signal.
During the 1930s, radio was considered an intimate and credible medium.
The public used it as a news source and expected it to provide factual
information.
Radio was the first truly mass medium of communication, reaching millions of people
instantly and altering social attitudes, family relationships, and how people related to
their environment.
Radio is widely used mass communication medium and has a great potentiality in
dissemination of information as radio signals cover almost entire population.
More than 190 radio stations are there across the country.
In present scenario, about 98.1 percent of the population is reached by the radio.
Radio being a convenient form of entertainment caters to a large audience.
Radio is effective not only in informing the people but also in creating awareness
regarding many social issues and need for social reformation, developing interest and
initiating action.
Radio is an attractive medium among the various mass communication media because of
its special characteristics.
It continues to be as relevant and potent as it was in the early years despite the emergence
of more glamorous media.
However, over a period of time, the media scene has changed drastically.
Television with its inherent strength of audio-visual component has captured the
imagination of the people.
The advent of satellite television, the Internet and the convergence of technology have
added further dimensions in media utilization patterns.
Radio is still the cheap alternative to television, but is no longer the poor medium in
advertising terms.
It can serve as a standalone medium of information dissemination or a support
medium for curricular learning, jointly with print material or with fieldwork.
It has also prospered as an advertising medium for reaching local audiences.
As a vehicle of information for masses it is still the fastest medium.
One medium is not displaced by another - each medium reinvents itself in the context
of changes in the communication environment.
In the changed media scenario, radio is reorienting itself with more innovative
programmes and formats.
 RADIO BROADCASTING IN INDIA

RADIO BROADCASTING IN WORLD:

In 1893 the inventor Nikolai Tesla demonstrated a wireless radio in St.
Louis, Missouri.
Despite this demonstration, it was Guglielmo Marconi who is often credited
as the father and inventor of the radio.
One of these reasons was that he was given the very first wireless telegraphy
patent in England in the year 1896.
A year later, however, Tesla filed for patents for his basic radio in the U.S.,
and they were granted in 1900.
On December 12, 1901, Marconi's place in history was forever sealed when
he
became the first person to transmit signals across the Atlantic Ocean.
During the World war 1, the military used it almost exclusively and it
became an invaluable tool in sending and receiving messages to the armed
forces.
During World War II, the radio once again fulfilled an important role for both the
U.S. and the U.K.
With the help of journalists, radio relayed news of the war to the public.
It was also a rallying source and was used by the government to gain public support.
In the U.K. it became the primary source of information after the shut-down of
television stations.
The way in which radio was used also changed the world after World War II.
While it had been a source of entertainment in the form of serial programs, it began to
focus more on playing the music of the time.
The so-called Golden Age of Radio occurred between 1930 and the mid-1950s.
Because many associate the 1930s with the struggles of the Great Depression, it may
seem contradictory that such a fruitful cultural occurrence arose during this decade.
The show called "Top-40" in music became popular and the target audience went
from families to pre-teens up to adults in their mid-thirties.
Music and radio continued to rise in popularity until they became synonymous with
one another.
FM radio stations began to overtake the original AM stations, and new forms of
music, such as rock and roll, began to emerge.
RADIO BROADCASTING IN INDIA BEFORE INDEPENDENCE:
Radio as a communication medium has played a very important role in the
economic, political and cultural development of nations.
It has the unique advantage of being receivable through low cost, battery operated, and
mobile receiving sets, affordable for almost everyone, even in the rural areas.
Radio Broadcasting was pioneered in India by the Madras Presidency Club Radio in
1924.
The Club worked a broadcasting service for three years, but owing to financial
difficulties gave it up in 1927.
In the same year, 1927 some enterprising businessmen in Bombay started the Indian
Broadcasting Company with stations at Bombay and Calcutta.
 This company failed in 1930, in 1932 the Government of India took
over broadcasting.
A separate department known as Indian Broadcasting Service was opened.
The Service was later designated 'All India Radio' (AIR) and was placed under a
separate Ministry-the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The AIR is controlled by a Director General, who is assisted by several Deputy
Directors and a Chief Engineer.
SOME IMPORTANT DATES:
In September 1939, “News bulletins” were centralized in all languages at Delhi.
In October 1, 1939, “External Service” started and directed to Afghanistan, Iran
and
Arab countries in Pushtu in order to counter radio propaganda from Germany.
By 1939, in addition to the existing medium wave transmitters, short
wave transmitters had also been Installed at Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and
Madras.
 RADIO BROADCASTING IN INDIA AFTER INDEPENDENCE:
After Independence, Indian radio was regarded as a vital medium of networking
and communication, mainly because of the lack of any other mediums.
After independence, All India Radio was converted into a separate Department.
All India Radio has five regional headquarters in New Delhi, for the North Zone; in
Kolkata, for the East Zone; in Guwahati, for the North-East Zone, in Mumbai,
for the West Zone; and in Chennai, for the South Zone.
In the year 1957, All India Radio was renamed “Akashvani”, which is controlled
by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
During the period of independence only a mere 6 radio stations existed through
out
the country.
But during the late 2000s, the network of All India Radio extended to almost 155
AM stations.
Moreover the Integrated North-East Service focused on reaching to the
population in northeast India.
All India Radio offers programmes in English, Hindi and numerous regional and
local languages.
In the year 1967, Commercial Radio services started in India.
The initiative was taken by Vividh Bharati and Commercial Service, from the
headquarters in Mumbai.
Vividh Bharati accumulated revenues from widespread sponsorships
and
advertisements.
During the mid-1990s, broadcasting was carried on from 31 AM and FM stations.
Today there are as many as 90 plus AIR stations.
With some more stations that will start working soon, India's broadcasting
network would cover 98.1 per cent of the population.
All India Radio mainly focused on development of a national consciousness as
well as over all National integration.
All India Radio also provided assistance in enhancing the economic condition of
the country.
 ALL INDIA RADIO
SERVICES

 NEW SERVICES:
 The News Services Division of AIR through its central and regional news
bulletins and its current affairs, commentaries and discussions, provides accurate,
objective, speedy and comprehensive coverage of news to listeners at home and
abroad.
 AIR now broadcasts a total of 239 news bulletins a day, with duration of 32 hours
17minutes.
 Of these, 67 are Central bulletins broadcast from Delhi in 19 languages, with a
daily duration of 10 hours 3 minutes; 57 external bulletins (from Delhi) broadcast
in 24 languages for a duration of 7 hours 14 minutes and 15 regional bulletins
from 34 regional centers (including the Pradeshik desk in Delhi) broadcast in 22
languages and 34 tribal dialects with a total duration of 15 hours every day.
 The major sources of news for AIR are its correspondents at home and
abroad, the news agencies and the monitoring services, AIR has a total of 206
correspondents, Of these, 111 are part-time.
 EXTERNAL SERVICES:
AIR made its first broadcast to listeners outside India on October 1, 1939.
Today the External Services of AIR broadcast in 25 languages for about 50 hours
daily round-the-clock, reaching listeners in widely scattered areas of the world.

VIVIDH BHARATI:
A self-contained service of popular entertainment, known as Vividh Bharati was
started in October 1957 to meet the growing demand for popular music and light
features.
Commercial advertising was introduced on AIR in November, 1967, from the
Bombay-Nagpur channel of Vividh-Bharati on an experimental basis.
Vividh Bharati, an alternative national service of All India Radio, now forms a
part of the Central Sales Unit of the Commercial Broadcasting Service.
It has also started originating programmes.
 The total duration of broadcasts of the Vividh Bharati service is now 12 hours 45
minutes, on week days and 13 hours 20 minutes on Sundays and holidays.
The network covers 29 full-fledged centers and seven partial centers.
Vividh Bharati is also radiated through two powerful short-wave transmitters
from Delhi, Bombay and Madras.

NATIONAL PROGRAMME:
Started in July 1952, the weekly National Programme of Music provides an
opportunity to listeners to hear well-known exponents of Hindustani and
Karnataka music.
It has helped in a better understanding of the two systems prevalent in the North
and
the South.
At suitable intervals, programmes based on recordings of old masters are
also featured in this programme.
 The medium of the drama is utilized for popularizing the Economic Programme.
A special series of short plays on various themes including the Economic
Programme, Family Planning, Dowry and anti Casteism are regularly broadcast.
Nearly 4,000 plays are broadcast from the different stations of AIR annually on an
average.
The most significant achievement of AIR in the field of Radio drama is its National
Programme of Plays.
The National Programme of Features attempts to mirror the progress made in
different spheres of development in the country and to project various aspects of
its social and cultural life.
The original broadcast of this feature might be in Hindi or English, but these are
invariably translated into all regional languages and presented from the regional
stations.
 YUVA-VANI:
Programmes for the youth in Yuva Vani are broadcast from Calcutta, Delhi, Hyderabad,
Jammu, Patna and Srinagar stations.
This service provides a forum to the youth between the ages of l5 and 25 years, who
present their viewpoint by participating in a wide range of programmes-talks,
discussions interviews, plays, features and music.
A youth news bulletin is also broadcast by the youth themselves.
WOMEN PROGRAMMES:
Women programme of All India Radio covers subjects related to socio- economic
development of women, health & family welfare, Food and nutrition, scientific home
management, women entrepreneurship, education including adult education, women
empowerment, gender issues etc.
Special programmes focusing on the status and importance of the girl child are broadcast
throughout the year to create social awareness to welcome the girl child’s birth.
These programmes also aim at creating social awareness about the rights and
privileges of women through the propagation of legal literacy.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF RADIO STATIONS AND TRANSMISSIONS:

ON THE BASIS OF REACH: NATIONAL, REGIONAL, LOCAL AND
COMMUNITY:
THREE-TIER BROADCASTING SYSTEM:
AIR has a three-tier system of broadcasting.
These three levels of programmes are the National, Regional and Local each having
distinct audiences.
NATIONAL RADIO:
The stations broadcasting throughout the nation are called national radio stations.
The National channel of All India Radio started functioning on May 18, 1988.
 It caters to the information, education and entertainment needs of the
people, through its transmitters at Nagpur, Mogra and Delhi beaming from dusk
to dawn.
It transmits centrally originated news bulletins in Hindi and English, plays, sports,
music, newsreel, spoken word and other topical programmes, to nearly 76% of the
country’s population fully reflecting the broad spectrum of national life.
The languages of broadcast are Hindi, English and Urdu apart from some music
from other Indian languages.

REGIONAL STATIONS:
The Regional Stations in different States form the middle tier of broadcasting.
This also includes the North-eastern service at Shillong which disseminates the
vibrant and radiant cultural heritage of the north-eastern region of the country.
 LOCAL RADIO:
It is comparatively a new concept of broadcasting in India.
Each of these local radio stations serving a small area provides utility services
and reaches right into the heart of the community, What distinguishes local
radio from the regional network is its down to earth, intimate and
uninhibited approach.
The programmes of the local radio are area specific.
They are flexible and spontaneous enough to enable the station to function
as the
mouth piece of the local community.

COMMUNITY RADIO:
Community Radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio
broadcasting beyond commercial and public service.
Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of
interest.
They broadcast content that is popular to a local/specific audience but
which may often be overlooked by commercial or mass-media broadcasters.
Community Radio Stations are operated, owned, and driven by the
communities they serve.
Community radio is not-for profit and provides a mechanism for facilitating
individuals, groups, and communities to tell their own diverse stories, to
share experiences, and in a media rich world to become active creators and
contributors of media.

These stations are expected to produce programmes as far as possible in the olcal
language or dialect.
Although the stress is on developmental programmes, entertainment is not
banned onthese radio stations.
FIRST COMMUNITY RADIO STATION:
“Anna FM” is India’s first campus community radio operating from Anna
University in Chennai, Tamilnadu.
This was launched on 1 February 2004.
 On 16 November 2006, the government of India notified new Community Radio
Guidelines which permit NGOs and other civil society organizations to own
and operate community radio stations.
CAMPUS RADIO STATION:
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a
college,
university or other educational institution.
Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers
from the wider community in which the station is based.
Sometimes campus stations are operated for the purpose of training
professional radio personnel, sometimes with the aim of broadcasting
educational programming, while other stations exist to provide an
alternative to commercial or government broadcasters.
INTERNET RADIO:
Internet radio has been around since the late 1990s.
 Traditional radio broadcasters have used the Internet to simulcast their programming.
Internet radio is undergoing a revolution that will expand its reach from your desktop
computer to access broadcasts anywhere, anytime, and expand its programming from
traditional broadcasters to individuals, organizations and government.
Radio broadcasting began in the early ‘20s, but it wasn’t until the introduction of the
transistor radio in 1954 that radio became available in mobile situations.
Internet radio is in much the same place.
Until the 21st century, the only way to obtain radio broadcasts over the Internet was
through your PC.
That will soon change, as wireless connectivity will feed Internet broadcasts to car
radios, PDAs and cell phones.
The next generation of wireless devices will greatly expand the reach and
convenience of Internet radio.
In comparison to traditional radio, Internet radio is not limited to audio.
 An Internet radio broadcast can be accompanied by photos or graphics, text
and links, as well as interactivity, such as message boards and chat rooms.
This advancement allows a listener to do more than listen.
Most of the radio channels in India have an online channel as well.
PRIVATE FM RADIO STATIONS:
In India, All India Radio - the public service broadcaster, had monopoly on
Radio Broadcast, till a couple of years back.
In May 2000, the Government of India opened the Sector for participation by
the private FM broadcasters and offered 108 frequencies in 40 cities for open
tender bidding.
At present, 21 private FM stations are on the air in 12 cities.
These are private or commercial radio stations which have been given a
license to broadcast programmes on radio.
Most of them cater to the younger generation by providing a mix of music
and fun.
 SATELLITE RADIO STATION:
Satellite Radio or Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS) is a subscriber based
radio service that is broadcast directly from satellites.
Subscribers will be able to receive up to100 radio channels featuring Compact
Disk digital quality music, news, weather, sports. talk radio and other
entertainment channels.
BASIC COMPONENTS OF SATELLITE RADIO:
SATELLITES
GROUND REPEATERS
RADIO RECEIVERS
SOME SATELLITE RADIO STATIONS:
“XM Satellite Radio” launched commercial service in limited areas of the
United States on September 25, 2001.
 “Sirius Satellite Radio” is now operational in the United States, with its
official launch on July 1, 2002.
“World Space” is already broadcasting in Africa and Asia, and will begin
broadcasting in South America sometime soon.
ON THE BASIS OF TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY: AM, SW, FM,
WEB:
TRANSMISSION:
Transmission is the act or process of sending a message, picture, or other
information from one location to one or more other locations by means of
radio waves, electrical signals, light signals, etc.
In radio electronics and broadcasting, a transmitter usually has a power
supply, an oscillator, a modulator, and amplifiers for audio frequency (AF)
and radio frequency (RF).
The modulator is the device which modulates the signal information onto the
carrier frequency, which is then broadcast.
 AMPLITUDE MODULATION

 Amplitude modulation was the first radio transmission method.

 Amplitude modulation works by creating a signal which is has a
constant frequency at whatever radio frequency you want to broadcast at
(1Mhz for example).
 The amplitude of the wave is then changed according to the strength of
the signal being broadcasted.
 In amplitude modulation, the strength (amplitude) of the carrier from a
transmitter is varied according to how a modulating signal varies.
 ADVANTAGES OF AM:
 It is easy to produce in a transmitter and AM receivers are simple in design.
 AM is simple to tune on ordinary receivers, and that is why it is used for
almost all
 shortwave broadcasting.
 DISADVANTAGE OF AM:
 Its main disadvantage is its inefficiency.
 About two-thirds of an AM signal's power is concentrated in the carrier,
which
contains no intelligence.
Other disadvantages of AM include the relatively wide amount of frequency
space an AM signal occupies and its susceptibility to static and other forms
of electrical noise.
FREQUENCY MODULATION:
Frequency Modulation is the most popular radio transmission technique
used today.
FM is so popular because it is able to transmit more of the sound that we
want to here.
AM has problems in transmitting sounds which are at higher frequencies,
such as those created by a flute.
Frequency modulation works by first creating a signal at the desired carrier
frequency
(107.7 MHz for example).
Then the varying sound level causes frequency changes - The louder the
sound, the frequency of the carrier wave increases.
 The unmodulated frequency of a FM signal is called its centre frequency.
When a modulating signal is applied, the FM transmitter's frequency will swing
above and below the centre frequency according to the modulating signal.
The amount of "swing" in the transmitter's frequency in any direction above or
below the centre frequency is called its deviation.
The total frequency space occupied by a FM signal is twice its deviation.
The deviation of a FM broadcast station is 75 kHz, for a total frequency space of
150 kHz.
Most other users of FM use a deviation of 5 kHz, for a total frequency space
occupied of 10 kHz.
For these reasons, FM is mainly used on frequency above 30 MHz, where
adequate
frequency space is available.
ADVANTAGE OF FM:
The big advantage of FM is its audio quality and immunity to noise.
Most forms of static and electrical noise is naturally AM, and a FM receiver will
not respond to AM signals.
FM receivers also exhibit a characteristic known as the capture effect.
If two or more FM signals are on the same frequency, the FM receiver will
respond to the strongest of the signals and ignore the rest.
The audio quality of a FM signal increases as its deviation increases, which is
why FM broadcast stations use such large deviation.
DISADVANTAGE OF FM:
The main disadvantage of FM is the amount of frequency space a signal requires.
SHORTWAVE RADIO:
Shortwave radio is a type of long-range radio transmission that bounces signals
off a layer of the atmosphere to be received in another part of the world.
The shortwave radio spectrum is made of groups of frequencies between about 3
and 30 megahertz (MHz).
 Shortwave radio depends largely on special layer of the Earth‘s atmosphere called
the
ionosphere.
The ionosphere, located about 100 miles (160 km) over the earth's surface, has the
unique ability of being able to reflect certain radio frequencies.
Unlike AM and FM radio, shortwave radio frequencies can bounce off of
the
ionosphere and be heard many thousands of miles away.
This allows users to be able to hear shortwave radio broadcasters from other
countries
throughout the world.
The ionosphere typically bounces the widest variety of shortwave radio
frequencies at night, especially within a few hours of sunset and sunrise.
Shortwave frequencies are capable of reaching any location on the Earth.
The selection of a frequency to use to reach a target area depends on several
factors:
 The distance from the transmitter to the target receiver.
 During the day, frequencies higher than approximately 12MHz can travel longer
distances than lower ones; at night, this property is reversed.
 During the winter months the AM broadcast band tends to be more favorable
because of longer hours of darkness.
 Solar activity, Sunspots, solar flares, and overall solar variation affect the
ionosphere.
 Solar flares can prevent the ionosphere from reflecting or refracting radio waves.
ADVANTAGES:
Low-cost shortwave radios are widely available in all but the most repressive
countries in the world.
Shortwave radio travels much farther than broadcast FM.
Many newer shortwave receivers are portable and can be battery operated,
making them useful in difficult circumstances.
Shortwave radios can be used in situations where Internet or satellite technology
is unavailable.
Particularly in tropical regions SW is somewhat less prone to interference from
thunderstorms than Medium wave and is able to cover a large geographic area
with relatively low power.
 DISADVANTAGES:
Shortwave broadcasts often suffer from serious interference problems because
of overcrowding on the wavebands, atmospheric disturbances and electrical
interference problems from TV sets, computers, poorly designed domestic
appliances, and substandard electrical installations.
Even under ideal reception conditions, the audio quality of a shortwave
broadcast is usually inferior to that of domestic stations, particularly FM
stations, and it is always in mono.
As more people around the world have access to television and the Internet,
old technologies such as shortwave radio find it difficult to compete for
listeners’ attention.
Many new standard radios do not have the shortwave band facility, Therefore,
Western audiences are limited.
Radio transmitters can generate three types of waves:
SKY WAVES:
Sky waves radiate upward from the transmitter and either go into space or
bounce off a part of the ionosphere to a distant spot on the Earth, a process
called skipping.
GROUND WAVES:
Ground waves are conducted by soil and water and follow the curvature of
the Earth until they dissipate, or attenuate.
DIRECT WAVES:
Direct waves travel in a line of sight from the transmitter to the receiver.
Their range is limited by the straight-line formed form the top of the
autumnal to the horizon, which can be interrupted by tall buildings,
mountains, etc.
RADIO RECEIVERS:
AM RECEIVERS:
Tall and telescopic antennas are not required due to the effectiveness of the
ground waves.
Good signal may be received even when the radio is in motion.
The phenomenon of the sky wave enables listening over long distances.
However AM receiver are not free from limitations.
AM radio is prone to interference and noise.
There is limited frequency response.
FM RECEIVERS:
The noise free dynamic range of FM makes it a natural choice for
the hi-fi enthusiasts.
FM receivers do not have amplifiers or speakers attached to them; there are
separate tuners, which need to be plugged into the hi-fi system.
The FM signal requires a clear path or line of sight from the transmitter to
the receiver.
It Requires a long antenna.
FM signals tend to be blocked by buildings, mountains and moving objects.
MULTI-BAND RECEIVERS:
Today most radio receivers have both AM and FM bands.
In addition, many radios offer access to a range of other bandwidths that
provide various radio services.
More popular are Radio with TV. Sound digital tuner is an exciting and
useful feature of many radio receivers.
Digital tuners display a stations frequency in real numbers.
The numbers may be presented on a liquid crystal display or on a light
emitting diode.
Digital tuners perform impressive functions.
When equipped with a numeric keypad, they enable the listener to
programme specific frequencies.
They enable clock radios and radio-tape recorder combinations to operate
with up to the minute accuracy.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONARIES OF A

RADIO STATION: GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE:
RADIO STATION:
Radio station is a centre or House for the production and transmission of
AM or FM radio broadcasts.
In a radio station, there are basically three different wings, Namely
Programme wing, Engineering Wing and Administration Wing.
PROGRAMME WING:
The department which handles the content generation.
ENGINEERING WING:
The department that handles the broadcasting of the content.
ADMINISTRATION WING:
The department which facilitates and connects the two.

LAYOUT OF THE STATION:

Every radio stations are basically divided in three different parts.
STUDIO:
A studio is so designed without any interference to ensure that outside
noises are not recorded and you hear the voice of the speakers clearly.
For this, besides the sound lock and heavy doors, you will find the ceiling
and walls with perforated panels.
 Of course the studio is nice and cool with proper air-conditioning.
Here you will find the announcer or the anchor person sitting on a revolving chair
with a microphone in front of the table.
There will be a computer, CD players, tape decks and a mixer.
This is the actual broadcast studio from where presenters make announcements.
This may be called an announcer’s booth or a transmission studio.

CONTROL ROOM (CR):

The main technical area of the radio station which is often called a control room.
Whatever is spoken in the studio or played from a CD player or computer is sent
to
this control room.
All the programmes are sent from here to the transmitter.
Whatever the speaker/announcer speaks from the studio, it reaches the control
room.
 From here they are sent to the transmitter for its onward transmission to the
listeners.
A lot of changes take place when one speaks through a microphone.
In the control room, technical people control the whole process and
immediately send these waves to the transmitter.
A transmitter is the equipment through which we receive the radio broadcast
on our sets.
This is big equipment in comparison to other equipment installed in the
studio or control room.
The strength and type of the transmitter determines the coverage area of
broadcast.
The transmitter sends these sound waves to the listeners’ radio sets which
convert
them into sounds.
There is no time gap in the whole process.
 TRANSMITTER:
A transmitter is the equipment through which we receive the radio broadcast
on our sets.
This is big equipment in comparison to other equipment installed in the
studio or control room.
The strength and type of the transmitter determines the coverage area of
broadcast.
Transmitters are generally located outside the city boundaries.
The transmitters are of different capacities such as 1 KW to 100 KW, 200
KW or 250 KW or above.
Their locations are decided according to their capacity.
A 1 KW transmitter is normally installed in the vicinity of the
studio/control room whereas the high power transmitters are installed
outside the city.
There are two types of transmitters, Namely Low Power & High Power
 FUNCTIONARIES OF A
STATION DIRECTOR:
 RADIO
The Station Director STATION
is in charge of the radio station and also the head
of the programme wing, In some stations they are called managers.
 STATION ENGINEER:
 The Station Engineer heads the engineering wing and is responsible for
all the technical work at the radio station.
 In addition there is a group of technicians and engineers, working
quietly behind the scene.
 They operate and maintain broadcast equipment and oversee the control
room.
 They are responsible for the technical quality of the broadcasts.
 PROGRAMME PERSONNEL:
 These are persons who are
engaged in planning, production, preparation
and presentation of radio programmes.
They are part of the programme broadcast process.
TRANSMISSION STAFF:
Persons who are responsible for a smooth and trouble free transmission
process are known as transmission executives.
RADIO ANNOUNCER:
The radio announcer presents the programmes and is responsible for making
them interesting.
The announcer has to convey feelings through his voice only.
If the announcer is dull, his description will also be dull.
ARTISTS:
In addition to the above staff, there are also music artists such as vocalists
and instrumentalists who form part of the programme staff.
They are all eminent performers in their own fields and graded according to
their experience.
THANKS
BASICS OF RADIO PROGRAMMING
A N D PRODUCTION

UNIT 2
 UNIT 2
PROGRAMME FORMATS

RADIO PROGRAMMES FORMATS:

Radio programmes may be classified into two broad groups:
SPOKEN WORD PROGRAMMES.
SPECIFIC AUDIENCE PROGRAMMES.
SPOKEN WORD PROGRAMMES: It include news bulletins, talks discussions,
interviews, educational programmes for schools and colleges.
SPECIFIC AUDIENCE PROGRAMMES: It directed at of English and the various
regional English and the various regional languages.
The major bulletins are of 15 minutes duration, while others are of only 5 minutes
duration.
They present summaries of news stories in order of importance and interest-value.
National and international happenings get pride of place, while regional and local
news is read out if time permits.
Human interest stories and sports news generally round of the major bulletins.
AIR’s news bulletins are much too formal in language, structure and presentation,
suitable more for a lecture than a talk across the table which news reading really is.

RADIO TALK:
The radio talk is probably the oldest format on radio.
There has been a tradition in India and Britain to invite experts or prominent persons
to speak for 10 or 15 minutes on a specific topic.
These talks have to go through a process of being changed into radio’s spoken word
style.
It should be interesting and informative and not a boring lecture.
Over the years, these long radio talks have become unpopular.
Instead, today, shorter duration talks are broadcast.
Of course, you can listen to these talks only on public service broadcasting stations.
The words of a radio talk need to be kept simple and familiar, yet descriptive and
powerful, and the sentences short and without dependent clauses and awkward
inversions.
Care should be taken to keep close to the rhythm of ordinary speech when writing the
talk, and also when recording it.
Talk is a straight delivery of words by a particular speaker.
Talk can be an effective format to present an opinion on an issue or a problem.
These are generally planned in advance; however, talks on important items or current
affairs are also arranged at a short notice.
RADIO ANNOUNCEMENTS:
These are specifically written clear messages to inform.
They can be of different types.
For example station/programme identification.
These mention the station you are tuned into, the frequency, the time and the
programme/song you are going to listen to.
These announcements have become informal and resemble ordinary conversation.
There can be more than one presenter in some programmes like magazines.

RADIO COMMERCIALS/JINGLES:
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and other commercial uses.
The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product
being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans.
Ad buyers use jingles in radio; they can also be used in non-advertising contexts to
establish or maintain a brand image.
When you write a radio ad, the most important thing to remember is that you are
writing for a listener, not a reader or viewer.
Plus, you have a limited amount of time to convey the message because the
advertisements are just fifteen, thirty or sixty seconds.

TIPS FOR WRITING JINGLE:

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE:
Ask your client what sort of customer they want to target.
Commercial selling yachts will definitely be different than a commercial promoting
special at the local sports bar.
FORMULATE YOUR IDEA:
Bounce some creative ideas off other writers or with the client.
The commercial will be short, so pick one idea and stick to it.
BEGIN YOUR FIRST DRAFT:
Radio ads are fifteen, thirty or sixty seconds in length.
Find out which, and then write the advertisement.
INSERT THE BUSINESS NAME INTO THE DRAFT:
Do this twice for a fifteen second commercial, three times for thirty second
commercials and at least four times for a sixty second commercial.
READ THE DRAFT OUT LOUD WITH A STOPWATCH:
Read at an even, realistic pace, and time how long the script runs.
Add or delete words to get the commercial to the right length.
Do not try to read faster, just read it as you would any script.
Let the script sit for awhile, take a break, and then return to it with fresh eyes.
Edit it as necessary, but remember to time it again once you are done, and then Present
the script to your editor or client for final approval.
GREAT JINGLES SHOULD BE:
Short.
Easy to Understand.
Recognizable.
Memorable.
Tell a true story.
Use a single message.
Understand and Praise the Audience.

NOTE:
The jingles are usually composed by professionals.
Since jingles are important components of the ad campaign, a lot of care is taken to
ensure that only a very high quality advertising jingle is produced.
Because they are so popular, and also given the wide reach of them, a lot of
established musicians also lend their talents to it.
As a result, it is often seen that the advertising jingles are of superior quality.
 A radio jingle is a memorable slogan, set to an engaging melody.
Always use a Strong Opening Statement in Your Radio Advertisement.
Determine Your Radio Commercial Length.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

A public service announcement (PSA) or public service ad, is a message in the public
interest disseminated by the media without charge, with the objective of raising
awareness, changing public attitudes and behavior towards a social issue.
The earliest public service announcements were made before and during the Second
World War years in both the UK and the US.

ADVANTAGES OF PSA’s:
PSA's are generally inexpensive.
 Since the airtime is donated, your only cost is production.
If you keep to a tight budget, you can make PSA's very cheaply.
Most stations will allow you to include a telephone number for more information in
your PSA.
PSA's can raise awareness of your issue.
LIMITATIONS OF PSA'S:
Because PSA's depend on donated time, you'll often find you're not able to get them run
on all the media outlets you'd like to, or you may find yourself at the mercy of station
staff members who may be overworked, arbitrary, or personally opposed to your
group's work.
PSA's are often run as "filler" in the middle of the night or during other times when
only a few people are listening or watching.
Stations may not track and report when your PSA's have been played, but they will do
this for paid advertising.
WHEN SHOULD YOU CONSIDER USING PSA'S?
When your group is a nonprofit organization.
When you have a specific announcement to make (for example, the time and place of
a meeting or event).
When you have a clear and easy-to-understand issue.
When you're requesting a very specific action.
When you have good contacts for getting your PSA on the air.
When you have good writing and production skills.
When you've previously used PSA's with success.
When it's going to be part of a larger media campaign.

LENGTH OF PSA WITH DURATION:

Length of PSA 10 seconds: 20-25 words.
Length of PSA 15 seconds: 30-35 words.
Length of PSA 20 seconds: 40-50 words.
Length of PSA 30 seconds: 60-75 words.
WHAT SHOULD INVOLVE IN SCRIPTS:
Title, agency, Duration, Information about topic must be involved in the script.

RADIO PHONE INS AND RADIO BRIDGE:

In this age of technological development, phone-in is the most important format.
This is called interactive programming where the listener and the presenter talk to
each other.
Their talk goes on air instantly.
The listener has the satisfaction that his voice is being listened to and replied
immediately.
 Other listeners also listen to him.
Such presentations need advance publicity so that the listeners get ready to air their
grievances/queries or requests.
In radio broadcasting, a phone-in or call-in is a programme format in which audience or
listeners are invited to air their live comments by telephone, usually in respect of a
specific topic selected for discussion on the day of the broadcast.
On radio, it is common for an entire programme to be dedicated to a phone-in session.
The main aim of a phone-in is to allow a democratic expression of view and to create
the possibility of community action.
Initially this format was introduced for playing the listeners’ request based film songs.
Now it is being used for health related programmes, rural broadcasts, complaints
against the government/ administrative machinery etc.
In phone programme the caller is connected via a telephone hybrid, which connects the
telephone line to the audio console through impedance matching, or more modernly
through digital signal processing, which can improve the perceived audio quality of the
call.
Telephone calls are often organized through a system which also provides broadcast
automation, with an administrative assistant answering calls and entering caller
information on a personal computer, which also displays on the radio presenter‘s
screen.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENT FOR PHONE-IN:

Off –air answering of calls.
Acceptance of several calls- says four or five simultaneously.
Holding a call until required, sending the caller a feed of cue programme.
The ability to take two call simultaneously on the air.
PROGRAMME CLASSIFICATION:
The open line: Conversation with the studio presenter.
The specific subject: expert advice on a chosen topic.
Consumer affair: a series providing ‘action’ advice on detailed cases.
Personal Counseling: problem discussed for the individual rather than the audience.

GUIDELINES FOR PRESENTER:

TO BE SINCERE: It means what you really feel and avoid acting.
TO BE FRIENDLY: use an ordinary tone of voice and be capable of talking with an
audible smile.
AVOID TECHNICAL WORDS: Avoid ‘jargon’ and specialist or technical language.
TO BE HELPFUL: It offer useful, constructive practical advice.
TO APPEAR COMPETENT: It demonstrate and appreciation of the question and
ensure accuracy of answer.
RADIO BRIDGE:
Radio Bridge signifies the extension of Phone-in programmes.
In a phone-in programme, listeners usually interact with the experts located in the
studio of a particular radio station.
However, in a Radio Bridge programme four or more studios of different cities are
connected and experts called to discuss a given topic or issue.
Thus, the listeners are able to listen to the opinions or views of different experts at one
time from different places and can also elicit clarification from the experts 'live'.

RADIO DRAMA:
APPROACHES TO WRITING FOR RADIO DRAMA:
Radio drama is capable of capturing the imagination of the listener with very fine
strokes of sound, and much can be achieved with a subtle use of effects.
Silence in radio drama can be as dramatic as the spoken word or a devastating sound
effect.
Entire plays have been constructed without a single word of dialogue.
Radio drama is referred to as ‘Theatre of the mind’.
It presents word pictures.
Dialogues, instruments and background sound effects keep a harmony to make
pictures in hearer’s mind.
Simple dramatic situations, language and imagery are used in a radio drama.
Tonal variations make impacts.
Each words and sounds should provide exact pictures.
Instead of actions and facial expressions words and sounds dominate in radio
dramas.
Radio drama is a story told through sound alone.
All the ingredients of the drama like the voices of characters, background or mood
effects, musical effects, atmospheric effects is conveying only through sound.
So, when writing a script for radio drama, the script writer should be known to write
the entire visual picture through sounds i.e. the audio script should draw the visuals.
NOTE: Radio drama can be either single, self contained plays or serial dramas
consisting of several episodes.
 Listeners can visualize everything by hearing the audio and Sound should create
facial expressions, body language, gestures, crisis, conflict, fight and the like.
Generally they have not more than 3 or 4 characters whose voices must be sufficiently
distinguishable lest the listener gets confused.
They must sound natural and speak true to character.
DURATION: Average time duration is 30 to 60minutes.

FEATURES THAT MAKE A RADIO PLAY STAND OUT ARE:

QUALITY OF CHARACTERIZATION:
 Can the listener imagine the experience of the character through the script?
 Is the character immediate to the listener and can they empathize with her or him?
 Do the characters undergo some significant change through the course of the drama
and does that change encompass conflict?
 QUALITY AND ORIGINALITY OF SOUND DESIGN:
 Is your script uniquely suited to the radio medium?
 Have you created a sound atmosphere and 'sound set' that enhances and
complements the mood of the writing, the characters and the plot?
 Is sound used symbolically, ironically, surrealistically, or satirically and does it form
part of the texture and artistic fabric of the play?

QUALITY AND ORIGINALITY OF DIALOGUE:

 Are the characters created by the idiom and speech rhythms of their lines?
 Are characters developed by effective and revelatory dialogue?
 Is there a sense of reality in the speeches?
 If you are writing about real people do they sound like them?
 QUALITY AND ORIGINALITY OF THE PLOT:
 Are you able to keep the listener on tenterhooks?
 Do you leave the listener determined to hear the play to the very end?
 How logical and believable is the story?
 Is the listener sure of what is happening in each of the developing scenes?

ELEMENTS OF RADIO DRAMA:

The elements of radio drama are the same as those of stage drama:
ROLE: Characters in the play.
TIME: When the action takes place.
PLACE: Where the action takes place.
ACTION: What happens in the drama.
TENSION: Conflict within and between characters and their environment.
 FOCUS: The ideas, feelings, or characters that the play righter wants us to
concentrate on in a particular moment.

CHARACTERS' IN DRAMA:
A radio play generally has fewer characters than a staged play.
This partly because it is easy for an audience to forget who characters are if they do not
speak frequently as they cannot be seen on stage, and partly because it can difficult for
an audience to distinguish between a number of characters by voice alone.
The audience learns about the characters through what they say and what others say
about them, and the sound of their voice.
Characters have to have distinctive voices.
DIALOGUES IN DRAMA:
Dialogue is essential to define sounds heard in a radio play.
A listener might interpret a sound in a number of different ways, unless there is
dialogue from the characters to set the scene.
The words need to sound the way people speak.
For this reason it is a good idea to say the words as you write them so that you can hear
what they sound like.
The words that a character uses will tell the listener about the character‘s
background.
ACTION IN DRAMA:
Characters need to describe what they are doing, or to describe what they can see
others doing.
Whether in a radio play or stage play, action is still about what happens.
It is about what happens to characters, what they do in response, and how it all ends
up.
TENSION IN DRAMA:
Tension can be developed by using silence, changing the length of scenes, locations,
and the use of music as well as the events in the play.
Dialogue can be faster or slower.
Most radio drama is very badly written.

RADIO COMMENTARIES:
Running commentary is one of the popular formats of radio.
In sharp contrast with television, in which visuals unfold an event, a Radio listener
'sees' the event through the word picture given by the commentator.
Radio commentary is faster than television, as the radio commentator has to give the
details, which the TV camera provides.
A commentator would give you all the details of the match such as the number of
players, the score, position of the players in the field etc.
A radio commentator has to mention whether the sky is clear or overcast, what is the
colour of the dresses of the teams playing the match or if a batsman in a cricket match
is wearing a helmet or not and so on.
So by listening to the running commentary, you get a feeling of being in the stadium and
watching the match.
The commentator needs good communication skills, a good voice and knowledge about
what is going on.
Running commentaries on radio can be on various sports events or on ceremonial
occasions like the Republic Day Parade or events like festivals, melas, rath yatras,
swearing in ceremony of ministers, last journey of national leaders etc.

RADIO MAGAZINE PROGRAMS:

A radio magazine is a variety programme which may consist of talk, interview, music,
poetry, short story etc.
It is designed for a specific audience.
These programmes should be linked together by an anchor with interesting
comments, announcements and narration.
Emphasis goes on to content.
They are tightly structured.
Magazine titles reflect the core theme of the program or the taste of the target
audience.
The title will be very realistic rather than abstract ones.
Magazines appear regularly in a regular time.
Periodicity of a magazine is important as it is in print magazines.
This programme always tries to transmit more than one format or item in a magazine.
Usually in a half an hour magazine, more than fifteen minutes will not be spent for a
single item including the presenter’s explanation.
 Relevance of the topic, trends, innovation and novelty are factors promoting the
value of magazine programs.
An example is Yuvavani programme in AIR.
A radio magazine includes a variety of items such as an informative talk, an
interview with the expert in the field, poetry, a quiz etc.
All these items are presented with suitable linkages.
In spite of the variety in content, the items of the programme follow a set pattern and
are usually presented in the next edition in a similar order.
Radio magazine could be thematic like a science magazine, sports magazine, literary
magazine or cultural magazine programme.

RADIO REPORT:
A Radio Report is based on outside recording (OB), including excerpts fro-m speeches,
eyewitness accounts with actuality, interviews, and statements by the local authorities
etc.
Radio report uses a narrator in order to link up pieces of actuality sound pertaining
to an event.
The presenter's job is to put this material into a coherent perspective, filling the gaps.
The chronology of the event should not get distorted despite various parts being
presented in the report in a different order.
The producer here resorts to the technique of "back and forth” in order to give
prominence to important segments of the event.

RADIO DOCUMENTARY:
Documentary is any feature or programme that is based on ‘documents’.
It is a form directed forwards presenting a factual record about real people, things, and
events.
It sets out not just to ‘entertain’ but to explore.
 However, documentary attempts to persuade and thus the social relevance of
documentary are immense.
A radio documentary or feature is a radio documentary programme devoted to covering a
particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentary and sound
pictures.
The documentary, since it usually has a specific message to communicate, must be
organized in order to be clear and effective.
Structure, i.e. the sequence of presentation, is very important.
The material should be organized in such a way that it indicates the various
relationships between facts and ideas of the programme.
This pattern, linking facts and ideas, is the outline of the structure.
It lists the ideas of the documentary and separates the major ideas from the
subordinate ones.
This outline provides the structural foundation on which you base the programme
plan.
 The organizational plan of a documentary should have several qualities-simplicity,
logical connection and clarity.
A major step to creating a plan with these qualities is to make sure that the script is
dominated by one overriding thought to which all the other ideas in the programme
are related.
These supporting ideas, in turn, should be arranged to show their relationship to the main
thought and one another.

DEVELOPING THE IDEA:

The first step in outlining your material is to determine the basic purpose of your
script.
We may want to arouse concern about a specific social problem or political issue:
convince people to accept an idea or develop a certain attitude; reinforce an existing
attitude or motivate your audience to carry out a specific course of action.
The next step is to develop a preliminary statement of the central idea of the
programme.
It should be a one-sentence expression of what your programme wants to
communicate.
This statement may also include the basic purpose of the programme.
Thus the purpose and central idea can be expressed as follows: to convince the
audience that capital punishment is wrong.
Next, you should write down the main ideas and the supporting ideas and make their
relationship very clear.
POINTS TO BE REMEBERED:
A radio documentary is a programme based on real sounds and real people and their
views and experiences.
Radio documentaries are based on facts presented in an attractive manner or
dramatically.
 Radio documentaries are radio’s own creative format.
The producer of a documentary needs to be very creative to use human voice, script,
music and sound effects very effectively.
Radio documentaries are also called radio features.

RELATION BETWEEN DOCUMNETARY AND FEATURE:

The dividing line between a documentary and a feature is very thin.
One of the largely accepted views is that if the producer provides a balanced and
truthful account of a place or a person, it is considered a documentary.
However, if she gives greater rein to imagination and does not stick to the facts, even
though the source material is real-that is a feature.
We should be careful to ensure that fact and fiction are not combined and their
boundaries are clearly demarcated, maintaining the essential difference between what
is real and what is not.
Scripting and voicing are important requirements for both feature and documentary.
While scripting, only the simplest possible terms are used.
Language is kept in tune with the overall tone and tenor of the programme.
Minimum words are used allowing the actuality of recordings to explain the subject.
The narration should sound natural and clear to sustain as well as enhance the
listener's interest.
Shouting, preaching or talking down needs to be avoided at all cost.

RADIO FEATURE:
There are various types of features.
These programmes generally aim to entertain, inform and sometimes even influence
thought and action.
In preparing features, you may encounter many of the problems faced in producing
documentaries and informational programmes.
 A sound structural plan is as important to feature writing as to other programmes
dealing with information.
We should clearly define the general purpose and the central idea before you start
writing.
A relevant and logical succession of supporting points should also be prepared.

STRUCTURE OF FEATURE:
The beginning and ending of a broadcast feature are particularly important.
Your beginning should be able to ‘catch’ the listener’s attention.
If your beginning fails to grip, chances are that you have lost your listeners.
The conclusion is equally important because it leaves the audience with a last impression
which will ensure memorability, or guarantee that what you have written will not soon
be forgotten.
The feature today uses a number of forms and techniques of broadcasting; and
producers have to know the potential of each form and technique, and the best way to
utilize them in a feature.

FEATURE PRODUCTION:
One of the richest and most rewarding sources to draw on for features is the world in which
we live.
The outside Broadcasting Van and travelling microphone have, over the years
thoroughly exploited this field.
Mobile recording techniques have frequently helped to garner exciting and priceless
sound for the feature producer, whose business is with reality-real men and women, in
their natural habitat-at home, at work, or at play.
It is no longer necessary for the feature producer to imitate reality.
He can now go direct to the sources-photographs in sound-edit and shape them.
 It s a capacity unique to the feature programme-the stuff of reality-shaped in a
disciplined way and patterned into a form, controlled by a single, creative mind.
The feature programme marked the birth of creative broadcasting.
Every feature calls for an idea, research and a script.
Some features need actors, sound effects and music.
Many call for extensive recording of sound and voices.
All call for three main processes:
 Research.
 Writing.
 Production.

NEWSREEL:
Newsreels are typically featured as short subjects preceding the main subject.
 A newsreel is a form of short documentary radio programme regularly released
containing news stories and items of topical interest.
It is a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of radio listeners.
Newsreels are considered significant documents, since they are often the only audio
record of cultural events.

RADIO INTERVIEWS:
The aim of an interview is to provide, in the interviewee’s own words, facts, reasons, or
opinions on a particular topic so that the listener can form a conclusion as to the
validity of what she/he is saying.
There can be different types of interviews in terms of their duration, content and
purpose.
Firstly, there are full fledged interview programmes.
The duration of these may vary from 10 minutes to 30 minutes or even 60 minutes
depending up on the topic, and the person being interviewed.
Most of such interviews are personality based.
You might have heard of long interviews with well known people in the field of public
life, literature, science, sports, films etc.
Secondly, there are interviews which are used in various radio programmes like
documentaries.
Here the interviews are short, questions specific and not many.
The purpose is to get a very brief, to the point answer.
Thirdly there are a lot of interviews or interview based programmes in news and
current affairs programmes.
With phone-in-programmes becoming popular, you might have heard live interviews
with listeners.
These interviews have been made interactive.
There is another type of interview based programme.
 Here generally just one or two questions are put across to ordinary people or people
with knowledge on some current topic to measure public opinion.
For example when the general budget or the railway budget is presented in the parliament,
people representing radio go out and ask the general public about their opinion.
Their names and identity may not be asked.
Such programmes are called ‘vox pop’ which is a Latin phrase meaning‘ voice of
people’.

RADIO DISCUSSIONS:
The radio discussion usually involves several participants and a moderator.
The discussions are usually over issues and events that are of some importance to the
common man.
Radio discussions could be on any subject: politics, medicine, science, sports,
literature, engineering, etc.
 A radio discussion cannot and should not be fully scripted.
This does not mean that the programme should proceed any old way.
It has to be very carefully structured by the moderator.
First, the participants have to be chosen with great care.
They should be well informed on whatever subject they are to discuss and they should be
willing to be disciplined in their own presentation under the direction of the
moderator.
Undisciplined participants can ruin the whole discussion by projecting their point-of-
view at the expense of others.
This is a common phenomenon when politicians are asked to speak.
A good participant listens, awaits his turn and chooses to debate instead of argue.
A GOOD MODERATOR SHOULD:
Introduce the topic briefly and comprehensively.
Clarify the focus of the discussion.
Introduce the participants and clarify why they are eligible to speak on the issue.
Present a question or statement.
Choose a participant to respond to it.
Go round the table to make sure that everybody gets a chance to speak.
Ensure that everyone has a chance to speak.
Persuade an evasive speaker to make a point.
Encourage the participants to speak by being interested.
Research plays an important role in organizing a discussion.

NOTE:
The producer of a discussion has not only to study the subject being discussed but
make an intelligent choice of participants.
The participants need not be ‘experts’ in the formal sense of the word but should
have some reason for being on the panel.

RADIO NEWS:
Among all the spoken word formats on radio, news is the most popular.
News bulletins and news programmes are broadcast every hour by radio stations.
In India, only All India Radio is allowed to broadcast news.
Duration of news bulletins vary from 5 minute to 30 minutes.
The longer news bulletins have interviews, features, reviews and comments from
experts.
RADIO NEWS WRITING:
News stories must be legible and intelligible.
They should be designed for effortless reading.
News stories must be well structured and organized.
Five Ws should be incorporated into each story.
News bulletins are broadcasted by AIR almost every hour of the day in English and
the various regional languages.
The major bulletins are of 15 minutes duration, while others are of only five minutes
duration.
News bulletins present summaries of news stories in order of importance and
interest-value.
The major ingredients of news bulletins are the following:
National news.
International news.
Regional news.
Local news.
Human interest stories.
Sports news.
For a news bulletin, the script writing should be in interesting, brief, clear, accurate and
well authenticated.
The listener cannot re-read a sentence if he does not understand it.
So the sentences for the script must be concise and clear.
It dealt with the news of the day and carried interviews and the voice and sound of
important events and personalities round the world.
In the west, the personal element began to dominate in its content and presentation
and was copied in other countries.
Radio news reel was the fore runner of many later developments in radio news
broadcasting.
News bulletins are usually of 10 minutes duration.
About 1,500 words are needed to fill a 10 minute bulletin.
Individual stories are considered long if they go much beyond 100 words lasting
about 40 seconds.
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING IN MIND WHEN WE WRITE A RADIO
SCRIPT:
How long was the programme?
Where are the headlines?
Did the programme contain music?
How many stories did the programme contain?
How long was each of the report?
What was the language like?
Which sound and video clips were used?
Is it interesting?
To sum up follow the script closely with Clarity, Correctness and Conciseness.