RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

Karol Jakubowicz ,

Polish Radio and Television

GAZING INTO THE CRTSTAL BALL; RADIO IN THE NEW MEDIA AGE

"CRISIS IN RADIO : WHAT CRISIS?" For апуопе who Is worried about the situation of radio today , Peter Meneer of the BBC has words of cheer ; "all is well in the world of Radio" (Heneer , 1987: 1). For one thing, BBC radio's output has grown lmmensely - from 391 hours of programming a week in 195 1 to 37 12 hours in 1986. For another, since 197 1 UK radio audiences have held reasonably steady in terms of their average listening time at around 12 hours per week per person . Elsewhere in Europe , the average person "consumed" throughout the 80s about 30 hours of rađio and television programming a week , wlth radio listening accounting for nearly 50Х of that time . In fact, rađio attracts a larger share of the auđience in countries where less time is generally đevoted to broadcast media consumption . Meneer concludes by saymg : Radio delivers 40/ of our (i.e. the BBC's - K.J.) audience for ЗОХ of our expenditure . Radio's inherent cost effectiveness will help protect it , despite the mcreasingly competitive world of Television . . . Radio's future will remam economically and financially sound , for as long as broadcastmg management nurtures the talent to maKe the programs that people want to hear . . . Radio is holding its own in the Television age . There is no cnsis fог Radio (Meneer , 1987: 9; emphasis added ) . This is pretty strong language , if one remembers tnat it is based solely on audience share figures and relative listenmg and viewmg times . After all, by the same cnteria, it might be said that radio is m a grave cnsis , considenng that between 195 1 anđ 1986, the average Bntain's listenmg time fell from 18 to 11.5 hours a weeK , even as output rose almost ten times, while his/her viewmg time shot up f rom a

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