Broadcast radio as a collaborative space and enduring audio medium

“Radio’s present era is marked by a transformative new materiality, as digital platforms finally overcome the ephemerality that once made radio so hard to capture and assess as a cultural form; a new mobility, as radio moves across devices and into new spaces; and by a new globalism, as digital accessibility unleashes radio and extends it well beyond its former local and national boundaries. Radio has not only survived but revived, both as a creative medium and as a shared cultural experience.”

M. Hilmes (2013)

STUDIO PROMPT

What is the role of radio in a globalised media environment that is dominated by screens? What forms and formats does modern radio take? And how can we produce compelling content for both “live” broadcast radio and on- demand listening?

DESCRIPTION

In this studio you will learn the skills required to produce live-to-air and pre-recorded radio, as well as consider the role of radio in the wider media landscape in Australia and globally.

For years now, critics have predicted the death of radio as a medium. However despite these dire predictions, not only has radio endured – it continues to matter deeply to the almost 3 billion people around the world who tune into it weekly. In fact in some parts of the world, radio listenership has grown over the past year as people have sought company, community and vital information during the Covid 19 pandemic (Rodero 2020).

Due to ongoing Covid 19 restrictions, this semester’s Room With a View will be a little different from in previous years.

Working both in teams and individually you will:

use the RMIT radio studios to produce an “as-live” pre- recorded radio show for broadcast overnight on our project partner radio station, 3RRRFM.
learn the collaborative and technical skills needed to produce an hour of broadcast radio – including interviews, music, promos and pre-recorded radio feature packages
create content for the show’s dedicated page on the 3RRR website as well as publicity material for social media.
You’ll also be asked to reflect upon questions around the social, cultural and political role of radio by examining concepts such as voice, representation, listening and accessibility – particularly in relation to community radio.

Photo by Gabriel Tan on Unsplash