Philippine radio has radically changed over the past years. Certain trends have conquered the air waves, especially in the FM radio industry where there has been a shift from purely musical radio shows to programs that actually devote more time to talking, conversation and interaction among the DJs and listeners. One of the more obvious radio stations that exhibit this kind of treatment is Magic 89.9, wherein most, if not all, of the station’s shows follow the “more talk, less music” rule. 25 years in the business, it was a risk the station had to take as their competing stations stuck to the usual format when they decided to switch (which actually, more or less, started with the station’s early morning program, Good Times). Soon after, seeing that the format sells to a lot of listeners, it became an apparent trend in the FM world.Seeing that more and more people eventually became active audiences, radio stations explored the world of the internet and made use of this medium that reaches a wider range of audience – or in a more technical term, convergence.
What then is convergence? “Media convergence is the merging of mass communications outlets—print, television, radio, the Internet along with portable and interactive technologies through various digital presentation platforms.” Convergence refers to the fusion of media channels that is driven by technological advancements. It originated from recent technological advancements—particularly the birth of the Internet and the digitization of information. Because of convergence, mass media producers can present information and entertainment using a variety of media and in return, it lets consumers “select the level of interactivity while self-directing the content and its delivery”. Audiences are able to interact and produce mass media content and also control accessibility to information. Clearly, Magic 89.9 has entered and made use of media convergence to reach and expand to more audience and explore the different venues they can tap. They have clearly used technology to their own advantage given that they are able to reach out to non-radio listeners while still keeping their loyal fans close. The station created its very own website which featured almost everything it features on air, and then some. It was practically bringing in the station to the World Wide Web. With the use of advance technology, live streaming was made possible wherein people who aren’t able to tune in using a radio can listen in to their favorite program just by visiting the site. Another significant feature the website of Magic has is its archive of podcasts which allows its avid listeners to download uncensored, once-in-a-lifetime shows and interviews. Moreover, not only are the station’s programs advertised and promoted, but also its partner-radio program in the States, American Top 40. The station has also made use of other networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to be able to interact with their listeners even more – and interaction is their unique selling point as compared to their direct competitions. And in my (biased) opinion (as a listener of the station), believe their strategies in approaching their listeners have been more than effective and efficient.
Looking it at a bigger picture, convergence basically gives the audience a variety of options to choose from when he or she wants to consume a media product. However, not all technological advancements are made to be affordable for the mass, which basically means that not everyone is given the equal chance to “feel and use convergence”. Another important implication of convergence would be the persona vs. public experience. Because of convergence, people end up altering their viewing or listening experience. For instance, watching a movie or watching the television may be done in a public setting, but surfing the internet and listening to one’s mp3 player can only be done by an individual, alone. Media then, continues to evolve into a more personal activity and experience for all of us.
-Jara Lucero
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When a radio station opens up a website, they open their content to a wider audience. For one, how far could their airwaves reach? The entire country and neighboring islands perhaps. But now with their content online, they can be accessed anywhere, at any point in the world!
ReplyDeleteCase in point (the closer case study) is DZUP. It can just reach parts of Luzon, not even the entire Philippines. But now that they stream it live via the DILC website, they can now be heard in other timezones, even in the US, and even by my parents in the Middle East, just anywhere.
And that archive thing is truly wonderful. I think TV programs are also being archived in a website pinoychannel.tv. :)