RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

rnere 2.5 hours to 25.5 hours a weeK , i.e. ten times , while television's output rose only seven times (from 39 hours to 276 hours a weeK ) . And then , how do you compare "radio listening" in the early days and today? Then at least some of the time it was "a central and selective activity" (Moores , 1988), and involved listening to radio programs , scripted and performed with painstaKing care (cf. e.g. Carđiff, 1980). Today, rađio "listening" is largeiy a seconđary or tertiary activity, and. often involves listening to a stream-of-consciousness chatter of D.J.s or personalities . RADIO BOOM Still.it Is true that in terms of size and output, at least, in many countries radio seems to be in the middle of an unprecedented boom . In France and ltaly , of course , private radio stations have been counted In thousands for some years now . Britain will soon mtroduce at least three new national commercial channels and some 500 new private community stations; -Sweden has some 1000 neighborhood radios , in addition to the many regional and local statlons wlthin the Sveriges Radio networK; -DenmarK , Flnlanđ, Norway , Belgium and Spain have dozens or literally hundreds of new private radio stations; —in Hoiland , about one hundred non-commercial community radio stations will go on the air in 1988; -Greece has abolished broadcastmg monopoly and in February 1988 the government announced that it would consider applications for the setting up of private radio stations . Elsewhere , too , radio is growing . In April 1988 there were over 10 000 radio stations in the United States (as compared with over 7 600 m 1975), and further growth is forecast (Abel, Ducey , 1987). In Canada , the Caplan/Sauvageau Broadcasting TasK Force's Report acKnowledged that the medium had a major role to play m the future . It was based in part on recommendations and proposals submitted by the CBC (Let's Do It , 1985) which had long been on the record as favonng future growth of radio (cf , e.g. The English Radio Development Project , 1983 ). Australia is another country where strong voices in favor of the expansion of rađio are