Radio ga-ga~ ----------- In times when cable, television and the Internet are synonyms for the media, we often forget good, old-fashioned radio. But ruling out its potential is something we can do at our own peril. None of the other electronic media has the ability to operate locally, relatively inexpensively and reflect diversity that a country the size of India badly needs.
In Goa, a state where the colonial-time Emissora Goa once ruled the airwaves -- nevermind if it was a largely entertainment-based precursor to Radio Ceylon, and Vividh Bharathi -- radio has yet to touch its potential. Goa was supposed to have got two privately-run FM radio stations some years ago. But this hasn't happened yet; and listeners to the airwaves have to be content with the All India Radio. Over the years, AIR has lost its dominant position. Much needs to be done to revitalise this channel funded by the taxpayer's money. First of all, AIR Panaji seems to suffer from a lack of direction. There's little clarity on what's wanted from the station. To take one example, those charting out the direction of AIR have little idea what to do with the three channels that they have. Currently, Goa has a Vividh Bharati channel, the main channel and FM. Very often, you hear the same limited-appeal classical music programme on all three channels. Since all the three channels are run by AIR itself, wouldn't it make sense to have completely differentiated programming? On the contrary, AIR ends up in a situation where it seems to be competing with itself. Old habits die hard. What logic did it make to carry on with the Yuva Vani programmes for youth, when there is almost exactly the same content going out on the FM channel, at the same time? Then, there are other roadblocks. One is language. Goa's unfortunate legacy with linguistic infighting has resulted in unhealthy Konkani-Marathi rivarly. For every hour of Konkani, demands are put forth for equivalent time in Marathi. Shouldn't such decisions be based on the market demand, rather than just going by some bureaucratic decision-making approach? In addition, there are simply too many different kinds of programmes and languges on each channel, leading to a mish-mash of content. For instance, a listener could switch from a Western music program to a Konkani agricultural one. Or, from an English news bulletin to Marathi. This means a sharp loss of listeners, for the station, for obvious reasons. In the race to be all things to all ears, Goa's lone radio station ends up having as many as five languages on some channels. This situation is compounded with a demoralised programming staff, who have to face up to fault-finding rather than attempts to build up team spirit. Audience research seems lacking, and imagination and vision are not present in the measure required. There's a reluctance to change, and probably the bureaucratic mindset dictates that precedent is everything. Add to this antiquated broadcast equipment, and poor production facilities, and the picture becomes clear. But that's not all. Incidentally, the Panaji station has its own modern auditorium and studio, which has hardly ever been used since its construction. While Goa's capital starves for suitable venues for entertainment, isn't this a sad case of callousness? More so, since this was supposed to have been a state-of-the-art studio. Needless to say, if the local radio station is to be locally meaningful, it has a major role to play in terms of fostering culture and music, and more. Local cultural events, which could be recorded and broadcast in an entertainment-oriented state, are simply ignored for most part. One exception being the occasional youth-oriented entertainment events, broadcast live on FM. AIR Panaji has the infrastructure, and needs to consider extending its hours of broadcast, specially for its currently more popular FM services. Goa got its own FM station along with the four major metros in the country, thanks to an official decision taken at New Delhi. But, while this service, including in days when its time-slots were run privately, have helped to resusciate interest in radio, it carried on directionless for much of the time. FM could indeed play a critical role in making Goa a better-informed state. But, apart from occasionally reading out the headlines during the early morning show, there's not much else by way of news. And while on this subject, could not the station consider mentioning the source of the news, by crediting the publication where it came from, as does the national channel in its review of the day's press? To quite some extent, we the listeners of AIR are to blame for the decline of an instution which once ruled the air. Very few have voiced their concerns, or demanded improvements. Apart from settling linguistic scores, or asking why the long-popular Konkani news bulletin from Mumbai vanished off the airwaves some time back, few other issues seem to have been raised. Whatever the case, something needs to be done. As many of us would be accustomed to hearing: This is All India Radio, Panaji. The time is... time to change. Goa's listener deserves better. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
