As a nation we have access to so many different types of media, as a result of this many forms may get put to one side. One interesting part of this module for me was convergence, how year on year medias are coming together and producing something brand new. Radio is sometimes seen as a dying media, and many believe that it will not survive among the crowded media market. Radio out of all forms of media is considered to be one of the oldest yet most powerful forms, would it have come this far however without converging with a
ll other media formats, who knows. As a radio student i obviously would argue no, it opens the minds eye and encourages imagination, there is something quintessentially personal about turning on the radio rather that staring mindlessly at a screen. Although looking at the statistics from RAJAR you can see that radio listening is on the rise year on year. Media forms are personal to all of us we sometimes represent ourselves by what station we tune in to, what television shows we watch or the papers we read. i would argue that radio is the most personal of all media; David Lloyd claims that a radio station defines a person’s identity audiences proudly say they are a listener of a certain show or station, ‘I am yet to hear anyone say proudly I’m a ITV listener, the specific radio relationship is a strong one.’ (Lloyd, 2015, p8.)
In 2016 radio covers all areas of the media, integrating with sites such as YouTube as well as the use of webcams becoming used more and more, along with that radio has large fan bases on social media posting photos and videos. The other main stage of convergence within radio was allowing listeners to tune in digitally useing their phones and laptops. The most exciting thing about convergence is we don’t know what to expect within the future the possibilities are endless.In years to come which form of media will die out and would they all still be around today if it weren’t for convergence?
- Lloyd, D (2015). How to make great radio. London: Biteback Publishing
- (2016).Quarterly summary figures. Available: http://www.rajar.co.uk/docs/2015_12/2015_Q4_Quarterly_Summary_Figures. Last accessed 02/03/2016.
Network Society and the Media 
I like how you have talked about a medium in media which no one as talked about much but does link in with a lot with we have done this semester. I like how you highlighted and emphasised on how it is now, for radio, about being able to be connected anyway and it now is being more visual which is something you would not associate with being visual in terms of videos. I think it is definitely a convergence that should have been talked about more within in time now.
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I completely agree with the point you made about radio growing year on year. The way in which Radio now aims to be both visual and audible through its online presence it very well constructed. The rise of apps such as TuneIn and the BBC iPlayer app allows users to use screens in order to listen to radio, as opposed to physically tuning in. You’ve also linked it well to many other topics in the module.
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As someone who has had internships in radio in the past, this post made me so happy! I totally agree. I think we are seeing a resurgence in radio for a variety of reasons. One is the rise of the podcast. Now that people carry their smartphones everywhere, they love listening to podcasts on commutes and during their free time, and I think this popular alternative to music is one of the reasons radio journalism is flourishing.
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I found it really interesting how you talked about that “radio covers all areas of the media”, also about convergence. I personally think it’s great how radio merged sound and image, for example the majority of the radio stations now have YouTube channels, where they post videos of interviews with celebrities. I personally like being able to look inside a radio station.
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Lucy, what a great post. Also as a Radio Student, it is a worry to keep reading “Radio is dying of death” but if you look into its history, it is the longest surviving medium because it is able to adapt. As you pointed out, the visualisation of radio and the means of the web has allowed for so much more. And although radio stations like to keep the imagination fresh, they also offer an alternative to support their audio only content.
Radio4lyf!
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