What is radio?

1. WHAT IS RADIO?
Lecture
June 27, 2014 – Friday
3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES DEPARTMENT

2. WHAT IS RADIO?
•Radio is the radiation
(wireless transmission) of
electromagnetic signals through the
atmosphere or free space.

3. •Transmission and reception of electromagnetic
waves of radio frequency especially those carrying
sound messages
•Communication of audible signals encoded in
electromagnetic wave
•Radio is a small part of the electromagnetic
spectrum that is used for a wide range of business
and non-business purposes.

4. ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY IS A TERM USED TO DESCRIBE ALL THE
DIFFERENT KINDS OF ENERGIES RELEASED INTO SPACE BY STARS SUCH AS
THE SUN. THESE KINDS OF ENERGIES INCLUDE SOME THAT YOU WILL
RECOGNIZE AND SOME THAT WILL SOUND STRANGE. THEY INCLUDE:
• Radio Waves
• TV waves
• Radar waves
• Heat (infrared radiation)
• Light
• Ultraviolet Light (This is what causes Sunburns)
• X-rays (Just like the kind you get at the doctor's office)
• Short waves
• Microwaves, like in a microwave oven

5. • We are living in an age of scientific wonders. One of these
wonders is broadcasting. The meaning of the word is to
send the news to people everywhere. But in modern times
the term has come to mean to relay programs by wireless
to the owners of radio sets. Now every country has its own
radio-station from where all sorts of programs are
broadcast to the nation and to the world at large.

6. ADVANTAGES OF BROADCASTING
• Radio is often considered as a talking newspaper where
people can update themselves with the latest news and be
in touch with the world events.
• We do not need to read the newspaper and exert our eyes. Lying
down in our easy chair or bed, we may listen to the important news
from the farthest corner of the world. Even illiterate persons can
keep themselves abreast of world events by listening to the radio.
So broadcasting is a boon for the literates and illiterates alike.

7. • Broadcasting is very useful for educating the people.
People can listen to the talk and lectures of the great
thinkers sitting in their rooms. The whole mankind can
know the views of some great philosopher or leader of any
country through his own words. Through special radio
programs, classroom lessons of schools and colleges can
be supplemented by broadcasting. Even the subjects which
are said to be very dry can be made interesting by
specialists.

8. •Broadcasting has placed entertainment. Radio
station plays different types of music that range
from hard music to jazz, rock, soft and classic, which
the people can listen to the music according to their
personal choice. Lovers of classical music may listen
to the best singers. Those who have no ears for
classical music may turn to light music. Still others
like to enjoy short stories or dramas on their radios.

9. • The radio enables us to listen to the running
commentaries. Even the clapping and the shouting of the
spectators can be heard. The rural folk can listen to the
programs, specially meant for them.
• The radio can be used in commerce and industry. We hear
advertisements of so many medicines, cosmetics and other
articles. Business-men will know the ups and downs of the
different markets. Hence, market reports are regularly aired
on the radio.

10. • Broadcasting is a powerful medium of propaganda. The
public can be educated in civic sense, health rules and
other rules of public conduct. Corrupt politicians or
considered as social evils can be removed by broadcasting.
In war time, the radio helps the warring nations to keep up
the morale of the people. Radio is also being used to
explain the Government Develop Plans to the people. Thus
it is an important medium of reconstruction.

11. • But now the Radio is facing stiff competition from the TV.
There is a network of TV receivers all over the country. TV
programs can now be viewed in every corner of the
country. But the Radio will always have its own role and
significance in the life of the nation.

12. THE IMPORTANCE OF RADIO IN THE 21ST
CENTURY
• Advances in technology have given people more ways to access an
increasing amount of information. Local and international news can
be read in the newspaper, listened to on radio, watched on
television and found on cell-phones or online. For those with
access to these options, a wealth of information is always readily
available. In countries where free expression is suppressed, access
to technology is expensive or illiteracy rates are high, radio
continues to play an important role in information sharing.

13. REPORTING OVER
INTERNATIONAL AIRWAVES
• Radio broadcasts can provide real-time information,
broadcasted 24 hours a day to provide the most recent
updates to listeners. Stations have the ability to reach across
borders and become a source of information where reliable
news is scarce. When access to the internet is blocked and
phone lines are cut, people can still search the airwaves for
trustworthy sources. Even electricity is not a necessity for
battery operated and hand-cranked radios.

14. RADIO JOURNALISTS AT RISK
• Radio journalists are at risk of harassment, intimidation and
physical threats for their work. Stations around the world have had
their signals blocked, their licenses to broadcast revoked and have
been the target of attacks. Violations such as those below
demonstrate that radio remains a powerful tool in disseminating
information and are perceived as threats by some governments.
Somalia and China are examples of countries where the authorities
have taken steps to silence radio broadcasts.

15. THE
ELEMENTS
OF RADIO

16. THE ELEMENTS
OF RADIO
1. Human voice
2. Music
3. Sound effects
4. Silence

17. HUMAN
VOICEVoice is a crucial
element in radio. It can
provoke different
reactions to the
listeners depending on
its characteristics

18. • Speak slowly. Do not hurry!
• Move your mouth as much as you can
while pronouncing words
• Do not laugh! (if not on script) take note
there are people listening to you.
If we do not take care of our voice and the
way we speak, it is not easy for the listener
to understand your message

19. MUSIC
Music is very important. Its purpose is to generate
the appropriate atmosphere so as to make
language work on the listener and with the desired
objective.

20. Music does not transmit ideas or
concrete realities, instead it
works on emotions. The listener
would understand and feel
different emotions depending
on the images and feelings
generated by the music. It is one
of the most meaningful
elements of the radio language.

21. MUSIC FUNCTIONS
•Grammatical: it joins different
spaces and identifies different
contents and sections of the
programme
•Descriptive: when the music is
part of the narration
•As content: in musical programs

22. SILENCE
Silence is a very useful resource
to put emphasis and atmosphere
to the radio message.
However, there is usually not
much place for silence in radio
scripts. Silence can provide a
message with tension, emotion
and very deep feelings.

23. SILENCE FUNCTIONS:
• Expressive: to represent emotional states.
• Interactive: when doing interviews, the
interviewer does not speak to stimulate the
thinking time.
• Narrative: to represent a gap in time.

24. SOUND
EFFECTS
Sound effects are sounds produced by a human voice or by
other things (e.g. animals, objects) which are neither words
nor music. Noises and effects provoke the listener to
imagine, thus they are very important in a radio message.

25. Sound Effects Function:
• Descriptive: effects are crucial in the
process of building a sound landscape.
SOUND LANDSCAPES
Radio listeners create images in their
minds with the help of these sound
elements. A radio piece makes your
listeners imagine.

26. Human voice,
music, sound
effects and silence
are the
that creates sound
landscapes
or sound images to the
listeners