ASIA

Kadal Osai 90.4 FM in India’s southern state of Tamilnadu is the country’s first and only radio channel for fisherfolk which also raises social and environmental awareness.Armstrong Fernando from Ramanathapuram district’s Pamban town started the station, whose name means ‘Sound of the Sea’, about five years ago. The station now has a team of 12 members.Pamban island is located between peninsular India and Sri Lanka, with a population of over 100,000 out of whom 80 percent are engaged in fishing.

The 24/7 channel provides weather updates, information on potential fishing zones, local news, traditional music and promotes marine conservation. It also serves as a direct link between the government and the community to quickly resolve people’s problems, from receiving government incentives to purchasing tokens for fishing.The station also ran a successful initiative to conserve endangered species who would often get entangled along in the fishermen’s nets along with the fish.Radio Kadal Osai began rewarding fishermen with INR 1,000 ($13.35) if they released trapped turtles to the ocean while capturing the moment on their phones.“This became a huge success. A lot of fishermen sent us videos of them releasing turtles to the sea. We give them cash rewards and also announce their names on the radio. This also helped to create awareness about the conservation of sea turtles,” Gayathri Usman, the station head of Kadal Osai told TRT World.“People now don’t take plastic bags to the sea. They are cautious and aware that polluting the sea would directly affect their livelihood,” she added.The station has also been educating people about pandemic-related issues and debunking disinformation about the virus.Lenin, who works as the channel’s programming coordinator, told TRT: “The radio has a great influence in the lives of the people who listen to it [compared to] TV, social media or word of mouth. People acknowledge that there is little possibility of being misinformed on this medium.” […]

Content from BPRWe’ve all been in brainstorming sessions, whether in a room with others or via Zoom with colleagues based anywhere & everywhere.Whatever the problem to be solved, there are those who will contribute and those who would like to but won’t.

Why?When it comes to group interactions with colleagues, individuals are particularly vulnerable to a condition known as motivation to conform. The reasons for this can include the need to avoid rejection and conflict, accomplish group goals or establish one’s identity. After all, why undercut your Group Program/Content Director’s views or challenge an opinionated CEO if it means somehow diminishing your own power, influence or authority?This risk aversion is a big factor in the success or failure of brainstorming sessions.The global management consultancy, McKinsey & Company, recently posted an article “A Better Way to Brainstorm”.One of McKinsey’s management tools is Anonymous Brainstorming.This concept can be a counterweight to our motivations to conform and help contributors feel like their expertise and ideas are being fairly considered.Here’s how McKinsey’s Anonymous Brainstorming works.To ensure that all ideas are weighted equally, the person in charge of the session (CEO, Group Program Director etc) appoints a facilitator to collect ideas submitted through a central software application. (This step would be managed ahead of the brainstorming session.)During brainstorming, ideas would not be presented in a specific order or tied to specific person. This provides anonymity and allows for proposals that may run counter to the opinions of “the loudest voice”/the most powerful person in the session.The facilitator presents the list of ideas and the individuals vote on them independently (and anonymously) to reveal the degree of alignment behind each idea. Once the ideas have been vetted and reprioritized, the group repeats the silent-voting process until a clear choice can be made.Now this type of structured facilitation will take more time and effort than a traditional brainstorming session—but it has the potential to reveal truly original business initiatives and creative concepts that may not have come to light if the participants thought their reputations were on the line.By David Kidd, BPR […]

Registrations are open for the ABU Digital Broadcasting Symposium 2022, which will take place from March 21 to 24.Organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, the symposium is a leading event for broadcasters in the region and beyond.This year’s theme for the event is ‘Evolving Media Workflows’.

The programme will include a conference where speakers will address topics of interest to broadcasters, masterclasses by sponsors on industry issues of their choice and an opportunity for industry partners to highlight their latest products and services.The virtual event is open to Sponsors, Industry Partners, Speakers and Delegates from ABU Members and around the world.Register for the event here. […]

UNESCO calls on all radio stations to celebrate the eleventh edition of World Radio Day,under the theme “Radio and Trust“, on February 13.Proclaimed in 2011 by the Member States of UNESCO, and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 as an International Day, February 13 became World Radio Day (WRD).Building on more than a century of its history, radio remains one of the most trusted and widely used media.

Throughout the years, radio has provided quick and affordable access to information in real time and professional coverage about matters of public interest, as well as guaranteed distance education and entertainment.Bridging between traditional and state-of-the art technologies, radio now offers a variety of content through different devices and formats, such as podcasts and multimedia websites.Still, not all world citizens believe they get the information they need. Recent world events and the Covid-19 pandemic have eroded trust in the media in general, fuelled by the circulation of false content rapidly spreading on social media.The resulting financial constrains that forced reduction of staff and the loss of advertisement to Internet companies have accelerated declines in news media revenue, including for radio, and raised the costs of verified information, particularly for local radio outlets.This year’s subthemes for World Radio DayTrust in radio journalism: Produce independent and high-quality contentRespecting basic standards of ethical journalism has become challenging in the present high- tempo digital age. However, in order to keep or raise listeners’ trust, journalism must continue to be based on verifiable information that is shared in the public interest, holds the powerful to account and helps society build a better future for all.In this context, editorial independence is essential, as it may show the ability of radio stations to bring news free of influence. Moreover, the understanding of digital technologies and social platforms is key to avoid circulation of unverified information. Investing in fact-checking, investigative journalism and rigorous verification of sources and content are some of the practices radio broadcasters could strengthen to keep audience trust.An informed audience equipped with Media and Information Literacy competencies is also necessary, so that listeners discover, consume, and respond critically to content, and thereby appreciate the quality journalism that the radio station is bringing to them. More and more radio stations are therefore including media and information literacy shows in their programming schedule.Trust and accessibility: Take care of your audienceGaining listeners’ trust implies conveying diversity in all its forms: staff origins, information sources, formats, distribution channels, programming, editorial content, etc. People who feel represented and can access information that is relevant to them may become loyal listeners.However, reaching out to a selected audience group implies serving the informational needs of all listeners and being a catalyst for integration and social participation – including persons with disabilities. Digital radio platforms provide grounds for innovation in the accessibility of content for the latter, such as the use of sign languages or automated subtitles for hearing-impaired audience when streaming, or announcements of content for blind listeners.Furthermore, voice being the main communication resource in radio, stations with the ability to recruit personnel with disabilities, for example blind radio hosts, could let it be known. Their experience could be inspirational for listeners.In terms of diversity, participatory radio such as community radio is likewise important to ensure that communities of interest, especially hard-to-reach, under-represented or diaspora groups, do not feel at the margins of news making and can credit radio with their confidence.Trust and viability of radio stations: Ensure competitivenessHow can radio survive when financial crisis hits the media market? How to transform loyal audience engagement into financial sustainability?This sub-theme links the economic survival of radio stations to their ability to attract and retain a large enough base of loyal listeners to be sustainable or to embed listener interaction into their business models.Most radio stations are small or medium enterprises, when not totally non-profit, and find themselves in dire situation. Even public service broadcasting is facing license fee cut plans and reticence from citizens to pay audio-visual taxes in times of streaming services and Web radio when they can access content otherwise.New funding models are to be researched and discussed, for instance subscriptions, membership models, pay-per-listened content, very local advertisement and other. […]

A group of Malay singers has performed a Chinese New Year (CNY) song with a festive video to welcome the Year of the Tiger.CNY, also known as the Lunar New Year, is believed to be significant to ensure good fortune and prosperity for the coming year and has many religious traditions and beliefs.CNY 2022, the Year of the Tiger will be celebrated on Feb 1. The tiger is considered the symbol of power in Chinese culture.

The four-minute video has garnered over 600,000 views since it premiered on YouTube on January 7.The Bahasa Malaysia song, ‘Dong Dong Qiang’, is a Malay version of the traditional CNY song.It features a number of local artistes including Ayie Floor 88, Harry Khalifah, Sarah Suhairi, Beby Acha, Lia Aziz and Aidilia Hilda and had been produced by MVM Music.Certain Chinese phrases like ‘Dong Dong Qiang’ (traditional Chinese drum sound) and ‘Gong Xi Fa Cai’ (Wishing you prosperity) are peppered through the song, making it very relatable to the Malaysian Chinese community.The song also incorporates Malay phrases such as ‘Lain bangsa tapi bersama’, ‘Luar kita berbeza, hati tetapkan sama’ (Different race but the same; We’re different on the outside, but have the same heart). […]

Content from BPROriginally published Feb 2021It’s summer, just gone holiday time in the Southern Hemisphere – radio stations mostly have their stars back after backup teams have in place as the main presenters, often the ‘face’ of their station, took a well-earned break.

But what does this say to consumers who may still be in a more normal work and listening environment? Their favourite radio station is on auto-pilot?In many cases these front-line personalities are the main focus of the relationship between listeners and the station – you need to be able to answer the question, ‘what does the brand stand for when the ‘A’ team is away?’Successful radio stations fulfil three essential requirements:
They have clear brand attributes – consumers know and understand what they stand for
They are acquisitive – they attract listening beyond a narrow music or interest group
They ‘bestow status’ – people like it and want to be associated with it.
The new media reality is that radio is now just one of many media choices available for consumers, the choice is often not just about which radio station but it is often about which audio source listeners might choose – music on Spotify, stories on Podcasts etc.At one level Radio competes with Big Tech as a ‘brand choice’ among many others yet at another it’s an intensely personal choice – radio is the one medium that can establish a personal relationship with its listeners yet it seems to be in danger of giving up the very thing that makes it special.Radio still needs to provide primary motivation for listeners to continue to listen and to build a strong relationship between brand and listeners. It needs to identify that link and rekindle the passion.Ask yourself, do your listeners care about your station? Do they care enough to want to be involved in something that your station does?  An event, a fundraiser or other activity?As brand marketing disappears – has visibility for your brand been replaced by short term contest ‘noise’ or a set of faces on a billboard that no-one recognises?To survive and thrive radio and individual radio stations need to re-focus on the key elements that make it an essential part of people’s lives, the things that make it special.Take care of that relationship, once its lost it may be impossible to replace it.Brand passion: a type of consumer–brand relationship whereby consumers exhibit high levels of enthusiasm and desire and is considered the core of the emotional connection between brands and consumers.By Peter Don, BPR […]