2. Choose one of the most important media forms (e.g. cinema, TV, radio, mobile phone, photography, animation, games, music etc) of the 20th Century and tell us how you think it will change, develop or disappear in the 21st Century?
Radio was first born in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s (1906), when the first noted radio broadcast program was played by Reginald Fessenden, consisting of light violin playing and a passage from the Bible on Christmas Eve. Before this, it was said that a Young Italian man (Gugliemo Marconi), used what he called “the wireless telegraph” whilst experimenting, to send Morse code signals. Back then, it would have been impossible to imagine Radio would evolve so much from so few acclaimed broadcasts. Radio has seen remarkable new advancement- not just in the physical sense. After the birth of radio broadcasting in the early 1900’s, there was much progression: like the excitement and thrill of Pirate radio, important broadcasts about the war, BBC’s first ever broadcast, on-air advertisement and so much more. Are we to see more?
Due to technological development, the media world has seen tremendous change and advancement, from the large boxy radios with extendable pointy ariels, to remote, Bluetooth, digital radios; with some radio stations having the ability to listen from your mobile devices.
For example, BBC Radio has seen so much advancement since its first broadcast in the 1920’s. Like all media platforms, they must compete with other applications/stations, for audience’s attention. Since new app’s, like Spotify, offer instant media and content to all audiences for a monthly fee, other music platforms have had to adapt; developing their platform to keep audience numbers up and a positive view on Radio. By introducing tailored apps like BBC Sounds, this has allowed audiences, especially young audiences like myself, to access all the Radio stations, as well as curated playlists for free. This not only encourages new and more digitally-native audiences to access Radio, but also allows on-the-go listening; whether you are in bed, on a walk, at the gym (or even in the bath!) Yet, is this synergy enough for audiences to wish to engage with Radio, when there are so many other options in our ever-changing world? We cannot be certain that Radio will survive for many more decades to come. If we were to evaluate how much change technology (and the world as a whole) has seen in the last 100 years, it represents an enigma, a question- how much more change is to come in the next century? We are already seeing new technology being tested, tried and released into our day-to-day world; for example, technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and even applications which can write and compose a song for you. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine how much more evolution Radio will see. We already have social interaction, mini-games and new applications through Radio. What else could possibly revolutionise Radio to re-create the buzz it once had?
Although I may have a more cynical view about the platform’s future growth and lifespan, with all the new technological development we have seen in the last decade (let alone, century), there may be more extravagant change coming, which will ultimately shake and change Radio forever. We will just have to see.
