fm stations
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community radio
technology
RNI No. UP ENG/2008/25294
www.radioduniya.in November 2008 | Vol: II | Issue: 1 Rs. 50/Annual Subscription Rs. 540/
India’s first radio monthly
editorial The Radio (Duniya) Journey It gives me great pleasure to present the first anniversary issue of Radio Duniya to all of you. In the words of Paulo Coelho, “When you want something, the whole universe conspires to help you realise your dream.” We had a dream, that was to be the voice of the radio industry through a dedicated magazine, which would talk about issues that matter to them and speak up so that the authorities pay attention to their demands. With the support of the radio industry we have been able to realise our dream. The radio industry has grown by leaps and bounds in the last one year, and with you, we have seen the radio success story unfold over the months gone by. It is time now to take a look at the journey that we have taken to reach this very important milestone as the voice of the industry. As we celebrate our first anniversary with this very special issue of your magazine, we also take stock of the way the radio industry has grown in the months gone by. We address various important issues of the radio industry like reach, responsibility, branding, advertising and revenue among others. People from the field of radio and advertising have come forward and contributed, by way of dedicated articles on these topics. This is a unique issue in more ways than one as we have the participation of various radio stations in it through an interesting and innovative survey of what the “voices” on radio really want to do! We got an overwhelming response for our questions which brought to the fore the whacky side of all the radio jockeys who enthrall the masses with their wit and charm. In the course of the last one year we have emerged as the magazine which the industry believes in and vouches for. We know how you wait for our latest edition every month. So, without further ado, let me present the first anniversary issue of Radio Duniya and thank you all for making this possible.
Ravi Gupta Ravi.Gupta@radioduniya.in
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Ravi Gupta President Dr. M P Narayanan Group Directors Maneesh Prasad Sanjay Kumar Marketing Team Bharti Malhotra Sr. Manager Marketing Email: sales@radioduniya.in
Content Team Sanjana Sharma Research Associate Ayesha Khanom Research Assistant Design Team Bishwajeet Kumar Singh Chandrakesh Bihari Lal (James) Om Prakash Thakur Web Team Zia Salahuddin Amit Pal Anil Kumar Shyam Kishore
Subscriptions & Circulation Lipika Dutta, Manoj Kumar Editorial Correspondence Radio Duniya G – 4, Sector 39, NOIDA 201301, India Tel: +91-120-2502180-85 Fax: +91-120-2500060 Email: talk2us@radioduniya.in Web: www.radioduniya.in Owner, Publisher, Printer: Ravi Gupta Printed at Vinayak Print Media E-53, Sector-7, Noida, U.P. and published from 710, Vasto Mahagun Manor, F-30, Sector - 50, Noida, UP Editor: Ravi Gupta
It is hoped that Radio Duniya will serve to foster a growing network by keeping the community up-to-date on many activities in this wide and varied field. Your involvement in providing relevant information is essential to the success of this endevour. Radio Duniya does not subscribe to the views expressed in the publication. All views expressed in this issue are those of the contributors. It is not responsible for any loss to anyone due to the information provided.
st Anniversary
1
Content
November 2008
Special Story Reach Dilip Dugar, Radio Misty
8
Nirupam Sonu, BIG FM
10
Radio Brands
12
Responsibility
Anuj Singh, Red FM
RJing Amit Om Sharma, S FM
Radio Ads Ayaaz Khan, Rediffusion Y&R
Revenue Tapas Sen, Radio Mirchi
8
News
Radio Changing Harrish M Bhatia, MY FM
19, 21, 25, 29
12 14
14 16 18
16 18
20
Radio Stars Find Out The Favourites
22
20 59
The Journey So Far 10
Come Walk Down the Memory Lane
32
Glimpses
34
Review of All the Past Issues
Lose Control
48
Listen to the RJs
Community Radio 32
59
Community Radio in India
For your daily dose of Radio News Log on to www.radioduniya.in
Hi,
Hi,
I would like to congratulate you for such kind of a magazine which is exclusively on radio. I eagerly wait for the magazine every month and love going through it. Please keep bringing out such great issues. Even though I am no longer directly working in the radio industry but I love reading all about radio in your magazine.
I just love your website and magazine and I read all the stories with great interest. I want to congratulate the team that works on the content of the magazine. Your team caters to the growing radio industry and is like the ready reckoner of all that is happening in the world of radio.
You guys really rock.
Debashish Ray Student Kolkata
Sagnik Michael Sinha Manager Sales (East) Times-OOH Media
Dear Sir, Hello Radio Duniya team, First of all hearty congratulations for completing a very successful first year. I’ve been a great great fan of Radio Duniya. The pioneer in publishing a magazine solely dedicated to the radio industry, Radio Duniya has been a fabulous navigator to swift through the air waves of India. I wish you guys all the best for the next twelve hundred issues! Keep coming up with great radio stories always!
I would like to congratulate your team for bringing out such great issues. The magazine covers very important topics and educates us about all that is happening in the world of radio. Rajashree Student Delhi
Dear Radio Duniya Team, Shaikh Sakib Student Vadodara Hey Team Radio Duniya, Radio Duniya is doing a fine job of connecting all the stations around India and bringing them together on one common platform. I just wish you guys all the best and hope you guys keep rocking!
talk2us@radioduniya.in
Send your feedback to us at
TALK2US
Mark Rocha Presenter for Cruise Control 91.9fm Radio Indigo, Goa
Dear Sir, Thanks for the bringing out a great magazine dedicated to the radio industry. You and your associates are doing a remarkable job in the field of radio. I request you to make this magazine available in all the parts of India, so that everyone can feel the power of radio. I am thankful to all of you for your great effort.
Being very true to your name, you bring the world of radio to us every month and I am really thankful to you guys for creating such fantastic issues month after month. Wish you all the best people! Keep up the good work! Latha Student Chennai
Radio Careers Send information about job openings to
Sanjay Journalist Mumbai
jobs@radioduniya.in November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Reach Small Towns Dream Big With FM Radio
S
mall towns and villages have started dreaming big now thanks to the FM radio boom in India. People from these places are enjoying the perfect blend of music and entertainment fused with information about all the latest happenings around the country with Radio Jockeys who know what the listeners’ heart desires! As they say, Bharat ka dil gaon mein basta hai (The heart and soul of India is in small towns and villages). FM radio sets with their low cost and large reach are now part and parcel of every day life of people is small towns and villages. Local connect of FM radio has become a focal point for the growth of the economy. There is no denying that the economy depends on and moves in accordance with the pulse of the masses and what they think. The vision of small towns and villages effects the whole economy. Radio, with it unique reach has established its perfect place as their medium in hearts and minds of these people. Dilip Dugar Vice President Radio Misty 94.3 FM dilip@radiomisty.co.in
FM radio stations have also opened new avenues for employment in areas which were hitherto untouched by the media. Small town announcers of local festivals are now celebrity radio jockeys! There is feeling of brotherhood which connects listeners with the jockeys in these places as they identify with the voice on the radio and view it as one of their own! People connect with radio in the sense that their next door neighbour, a kid they saw grow up is now a celebrity radio jockey. This reaffirms the feeling of faith and trust as they know that this radio station is their own! Radio channels, especially FM radio channels have played a vital role in making the community dream some more! The dreams they see and achieve everyday are closely tied with the radio channels now. People from small towns do get a sense of achievement on hearing their song requests played on air. We all know that Jhumritaliya, a small town in Bihar gained celebrity status on the world map just because of radio. In hilly terrains and in remote parts of the country, radio is the sole medium of entertainment. Radio has bought about a change in the life of the people and it has also changed the way people of small towns think. The connect factor is the best thing about the medium of radio. It is an interactive medium that can reach people all the time. It is a live medium and is totally connected with the people. We can say that radio is beneficial, emotional and also very intimate with the listeners as he/she is in one room with the presenter.
Radio has to grow more in this vivid, vibrant and varied country. It is going to be a force to reckon
The recent floods in Bihar and Orissa have proved again that radio station has the power to reach the hearts of the people and truly make a difference. Radio played a great role in giving information and helping people regain contact with their loved ones. It proved that radio is the unique medium - a medium with local connect and great reach. Radio plays the role of a constant supporter and comforter as it re-establishes the bond of love amid the chaos. There are instances when a patient needs a rare group of blood and with just one announcement on radio, hordes of people line up to donate blood. This is the power of radio - A medium close to the heart of the people. A medium which caters to all people - from the affluent, the middle class to the last man in a remote village.
w i t h i n I n d i a n m e d i a FM radio channels around the country have been focused on local issues and concerns, infusing the right mix of music in it to serve the needs of infotainment. Radio has to grow
scene, specially with the more in this vivid, vibrant and varied country. It is surely going to reach out to more and more areas as and when the third phase of lisensing is announced. It is going to be a force
government giving serious to reckon with in Indian media scene, specially with the government giving serious thought thought to news on radio
to news on radio. This move will open a whole new avenue to connect and radio will make a positive change in people’s lives. November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Responsibility Radio is a Responsible Medium
R
adio is a powerful medium and anything that is “powerful” has to be responsible as well. Due to its immense power, broadcasters must ensure that they give out responsible and correct information to listeners. Radio has the capacity to unite people in times of crisis and if the right information is given out to make people aware of any cause, a lot can be achieved to bring them together on a platform. Radio can play a huge role in bringing about a positive change in society and it is in the hands of the broadcasters to ensure that they do this responsibly. We at BIG 92.7 FM, having completed the goal of a pan India presence spanning across 45 cities, 1000 towns and 50,000 villages to reach 200 million Indians across India, believe in the concept of creating responsible programmes which appeal to the masses. And with this kind of reach, it has become imperative for us to help the society in each and every possible way. Nirupam Sonu National Programming Head BIG 92.7 FM nirupam.sonu@big927fm.com
In regards to power and responsibility of radio in programming, broadcasters have a two fold responsibility. The first is of course towards the listeners and the second is towards advertisers. Since the medium has the capacity to reach out to a wide audience, and the penetration is very deep, the responsibility increases all the more to give out relevant information to the listeners. The trick lies for broadcasters to find a balance between airing socially relevant programmes and commercially viable programmes. The recent bomb blasts in Delhi is a case in point here. Radio rose to the occasion and reverted with assurance and information that was critical and relevant to the listeners at that time. The industry came forward in this hour of need to sooth the feelings of a bruised and wounded city. All the mobile networks were jammed at that time, so the shows helped the city to maintain peace. We took up the challenge and showed that the medium can be very effectively used in the time of crisis. A few radio stations organised candle marches in Delhi to salute the true spirit of the city. The role of programming hence becomes very crucial in this context. There are many things that programmers have to take note of in order to come out with a show that will please listeners and shareholders besides fulfilling the social duties. Keeping a note to include the local flavour in the programmes is something that must be taken care of to ensure that the listeners identify with what is being broadcasted. Radio has huge scope in a country like India and it is the responsibility of the broadcasters to ensure that that they make proper use of the medium.
Radio has the capacity It is crucial for radio broadcasters to realise that it is the people who make the station successful. So, it is very important to have good people to make a better place to live in and
to unite people in times radio can do many things in regards to this by broadcasting programmes that are relevant and offer them a platform to interact and exchange ideas. Radio can infact, help in moulding
of crisis and if the right public opinion, it can move their hearts and minds and that is why programmers have the
responsibility of broadcasting programs about social issues and causes that requires public
information is given out attention and participation.
to make people aware of There are radio stations that are doing really well in reaching out to the listeners in the true meaning of the term by broadcasting socially relevant programmes. To stand out from
any cause, a lot can be the clutter and create a place in the listeners heart, stations will have to deliver something different that will appeal to them. By organising events to commemorate world AIDS day,
achieved to bring them breast cancer awareness, blood donation camps and so on, radio stations are contributing together on a platform
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towards the society in their own way by using their power and using it in a responsible manner. Radio has gradually evolved from being ‘listened to’ to being ‘seen’.
November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Radio Brands
What’s the Frequency? Frankly it doesn’t matter! For most people, the brand of the radio station they are listening to or the frequency for that matter is inconsequential! It’s a very small part of their large world. So should radio brand marketers pack their bags? Heck No! Radio brands like most other low involvement brands grapple with consumer sentiments of the likes of ‘I couldn’t care less’ or ‘I don’t care which station it is… as long as they play my favorite song’. From a marketer’s point of view this is a nightmarish situation, because not only is there low brand awareness, there is also very low emotional involvement with a radio brand. So how does a radio brand make itself heard above the noise? Do you spend crores in buying numerous ads and interrupting enough people? The point is, it’s not possible to force your way into a consumer’s life any more! In the words of Seth Godin, “You don’t create a purple cow by being different. You do it by creating something worth talking about!” If my brand promises the benefit of being the ‘Station for expression’, is that interesting enough in today’s scenario? Therefore the first and foremost thing to start with is to question the relevance of your brand promise TODAY! Are you the only one offering it? Is it believable? Will people have some use of it? Can we develop further need for this promise? Anuj Singh These are questions a brand marketer needs to keep asking himself. For a station of expression National Marketing Head and Station like us, it’s important to build a whole experience surrounding our brand not just on-air but Head (Mumbai), Red FM 93.5 also off-air by giving people a chance to actually experience and live the brand attitude for anuj.singh@myredfm.com themselves. For instance, at Red FM we lay a lot of importance on ‘experiential marketing’ – we don’t just want to offer music, we want to offer 360 degree surround sound! So one will find the brand extending out to the masses with road shows, activations, special shows, listener interactivity, etc. along with ATL and BTL media. Once you determine the unique benefit that you can offer to the audience, please consider if you are talking to the right people, people who care about this promise. Not everybody will be interested… are you making the effort to find the right audience?
The
point
is,
it’s
not
possible to force your way into a consumer’s life
The third step is to make sure that you remain consistent in delivering that promise through all your interactions with the listeners, at all touch points, be it on-air or off-air. Is your programming tuned in, do your RJs embody the station’s personality? Are your off-air communications in sync? Do your ads tangibalise the same promise? Are your communications in tandem? If enough people can differentiate your station from the rest… then you have done your job!
any more! In the words But beware! If you always meet expectations, you become predictable, and like in of Seth Godin, “You don’t relationships, predictable is boring… therefore we always try and infuse some excitement in our relationship with our audiences. So the next step is to constantly excite your audience
create a purple cow by with something new and unexpected, be it our touch points strategy which enables the brand
to reach audiences at the most unexpected of places or conceptualising properties like Bajaate
being different. You do Raho Awards, Red Mike, etc. it all works towards making us the topic of conversations! it by creating something worth talking about!”
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So now that you have created something worth talking about, consider it a great achievement for the so called ‘low involvement’ Radio brand!
November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Radio Hosting It’s More Than Just Talking “Lucky you! You have a job where all you have to do is to talk and you get paid for it!” A common remark made by a majority of people, that an RJ meets in his/her daily life. The only reaction the embarrassed soul can give is to say “God is great Sirjee.” So who is an RJ? Is he someone who is there just to talk and do what he is told to by the person in-charge? Or is he someone who sits in the studio to make sure that the software and the equipments are working properly? Or is he the one who has to air his own views about what is happening all around? Or someone who tries to make sure that the listener is glued to his station’s frequency? The answer, my friend, is “blowing in the wind”. To help define the role of an RJ let me take the help of an old proverb: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy. ( Please replace Jack with RJ)
Amit Om Sharma Radio Jockey 93.5 S FM, Jaipur amitomsharma@gmail.com
So being an RJ is not just talking about everything under the sky while one is on-air (no pun intended). The quality and requirement of an RJ is to be someone who does not sound dull or boring and also speaks in a manner, which makes sense and helps the listener relate to the station. The show cannot be just about work, but has to have an element of fun built into it and should appeal to the listener.! Also, the RJ must have some ‘work’ in the ‘play’. One should not go on babbling just because someone was sane (or insane) enough to grant the opportunity to be before a mic! Once in a bank, an official there enquired if there was a vacancy on my station for the post of RJ. I asked him for whom, so the innocent reply was, “Sooch raha hoon, shaam ko jaldi free ho jata hoon, ja kar studio baith jaon aur kuch bol duoon. Extra income ho jaayegi.” Any dedicated RJ would be up in arms against this gentleman’s view point. But if one looks at the hidden meaning, then he would realise that this is the definition of a true RJ - a friendly person who talks to you, entertains you and connects with you. Lets summarise the true qualities of an RJ; someone who can make “sense” while sounding “nonsense”, who should have the ability to express the mood of the content and make the listener think on the same frequency as his voice. The voice of the RJ is the face of the station. Be it talk format, fixed or community radio the RJ always has to be alert and totally in sync with the mood of the listeners and cater to their needs.
I feel every kind of product and service is suited to radio advertising. The core
An RJ has plenty of unknown friends, who turn to him for advice or share their views. The relationship between these two can only be established when the RJ speaks the mind of the listener. One should not forget that maximum communication on radio is one sided. In the era where most of the time is spent commuting, radio is one thing, which is being carried by all and is constantly, being tuned into. The number of listeners is increasing day by day, resulting in a lot of responsibility for an RJ. Though each station has its own target group, it does not mean that the ones who are drop-in listeners should not be offered anything to stay glued to the station. In sales, customer satisfaction and repeat orders are always solicited. For those who think that the role of an RJ is limited to a few links and playing songs, my
issue is how creatively and advice to them is to sit in the studio during a live show and then judge. It’s just like assuming
that since there are no roads and traffic jams mid-air, an aircraft pilot does not sweat. A
engagingly the message pilot gets equally tired after a flight, as any other driver would be for the same driving time. There lies a huge responsibility on the shoulders of the RJ. These responsibilities cannot be
is communicated to the defined or written as they come according to situations. The entire show maybe planned, audiences and how strong is the radio spot or jingle
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but unfortunately it cannot be predicted! Hope that my banker buys a copy of this magazine and reads this article, as this would make him understand that RJing is not just about talking and some extra income… but a lot more! November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Radio Ads
Radio Advertising Scenario Radio as a medium and category is going to see a lot more players especially in the non-metro towns, that is the tier 2 and 3 cities. Radio is evolving into a medium that is increasingly finding a very prominent place in the media planners kitty. It is yet to be explored and used to its full potential in our country as it has not been long that privatisation in radio has been introduced. In the times to come, radio will evolve from being a passive medium to a relatively more active one!
Ayaaz Khan Brand Partner Rediffusion Y&R ayaaz.khan@rediffusionyr.com
Already, clients are focusing on radio when they are looking at extremely innovative and newer ways of reaching to their target audience. There was a time when television (in the same way as radio today) was fragmented and all the channels were hoping to be everything at the same time. However, that changed in TV and it is slowly changing in radio too, where it is giving rise to specialists rather than just generalists. Radio as a medium has many advantages over other mediums as it has the anonymity attached to it – it does not have a face and is very cost effective. The cost per contact vis-a-vis television is far less for radio as of now. Many people ask me what’s so special about radio? And I tell them that radio offers one a lot. It gives clients cost effectiveness, scale, anonymity (leading to a high interest value), personal one to one approach. All this makes the listener feel extremely close to the radio brand. If the radio station is able to provide the kind of content listeners want and of course their favourite music, which is the single most important reason after companionship for people to tune into a station, then it’s bound to generate immense interest among advertisers. I feel every kind of product and service is suited to radio advertising. The core issue is how creatively and engagingly the message is communicated to the audiences and how strong is the radio spot or jingle. In the present scenario, real estate companies and educational institutes are heavy spenders on radio advertising. But slowly, everybody seems to be catching on the bandwagon. The potential of radio lies in the promotions, contests and the content that it delivers to its audiences. Content is the king no matter how big a radio brand is!
I feel every kind of product In order to garner more revenue through advertising, radio needs to provide the advertisers with far more innovative and engaging content, bigger and better promotions, radio contests
and service is suited to that are interesting enough to hold the audience’s attention. As radio is not a visual medium, radio advertising. The core
it needs to try that much harder to grab ‘eardrums’. In today’s advertising scenario, radio as a stand alone medium is yet a dream that needs
issue is how creatively and to be achieved. The reason for this is that radio alone cannot provide you with the reach
and clutter-breaking ability vis-a-vis a print or television. The content is not engaging and
engagingly the message consistent enough for people to stick to one radio station as of now. For local advertisers radio can work as a stand alone medium but for bigger brands like an Airtel or Maruti, radio
is communicated to the is always the last to feature in a media plan or in terms of a campaign. Radio advertising is still very crude and straight in nature as compared to the giant leaps that print and TV have
audiences and how strong taken. After all, the medium is still evolving and has seen FDI for only the last 5 years - the is the radio spot or jingle
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so called radio revolution. We should all give it some time and it will surely evolve into a force to reckon with!
November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Revenue RADIO and SENSEX Adversity makes strange bedfellows. To suggest that Radio and Sensex have no obvious connection would be like saying that Woody Allen never spoke of sex. Both would be gross misrepresentations of the truth. Jesters and chronicle keepers have never failed to point out that by birth, FM radio is crudely a contemporary of post-modernism. But it grew up in a pure Capitalistic milieu. Yet it had a very Socialistic face. And in most countries, a very Communistic upbringing – that is to say, it remained under state control for most part. The hegemony does not matter. What does is the fact that even after 70 years of FM Radio, it has not been weighed down by any political or social ideology. Pretty much like Woody Allen.
Tapas Sen Chief Programming Officer Radio Mirchi tapas.sen@timesgroup.com
Yet what a lot of people do not know is due to its Capitalistic antecedents, the connection between Radio and the Free Market was established, in a rather tragic way, way back almost 70 years ago. This was the Great Depression of the thirties. As Greg Bjerg writes in his article, “In 1934, much of the world was in the grip of the Great Depression. Unemployment was an epidemic, and many businesses struggled desperately to survive. One notable exception to these economic troubles, however, was the radio industry. Broadcasters in the US were making upwards of two billion dollars a year, and they owed much of their success to the innovations of a brilliant man named Edwin Armstrong.” Armstrong was truly the father of FM radio, yet his invention was so bitterly scuttled by the then media moghuls like David Sarnoff, the then Head of RCA, that he was finally left totally penniless and completely distraught. Armstrong finally committed suicide in 1954. Post the years following Armstrong’s death, his widow brought in twenty-one patent infringement suits against many companies, including RCA. She eventually won a little over $10 million in damages. That story is much forgotten today. But what Capitalistic America never forgot was the fact that even during the Great Depression of the Thirties, the only medium to be making money was Radio. Over the years that would lead them to christen Radio as the “Recession-Proof” medium.
Whenever marketers have had to increase share of voice on the back of diminishing budgets, they
have
always
Back in India, Radio lately, on the back of its neo-commercial awakening, came to be called, the FIVE PERCENT Medium (that is, ratio of radio ad spend to the total ATL spend). But that remains a truism of an era which had 21,000 on its Sensex scoreboard. With a 60 percent downturn of the market, that FIVE Percent is geared up for a TWENTY FIVE Percent. And that is the truism of the 8000 Sensex era. Tragically, this jump from 5 to 25 could very much be on the back of a shrinking overall Ad-spend pie. And if this reeks of prophecy, simply do a flashback into all past global cases of “tumbling share markets and humbling radio revenues”. Historically, whenever markets have seen a free-fall (over a sustained period of time), businesses have rushed to protect their bottom-line. And one popular way of doing that has been by saving or cutting down on their middle-line. So while marketers are expected to make the same quantum of noise (if not more), they are also expected to do so at half or one fourth of the cost. All product communication must continue, if anything at all, more aggressively. The top-line cannot be toppled. So CPTs acquire impossible dimensions and marketers look for not just a greater bang for their buck, but huge bangs for hugely reduced “bucks”.
fallen back on radio, in Very little there in way of logic. But an empirical truth does emerge. That whenever marketers have had to increase share of voice on the back of diminishing budgets, they have always
an incommensurately fallen back on radio, in an incommensurately favorable way. Not just for better CPTs, not favorable way 18
just for better cost-effectiveness, not just for it simply being a less expensive medium, but primarily because of that one promise that radio has always held out for all – “Creativity” and November 2008 | Radio Duniya
FM players light up during Diwali Along with the sporadic sounds of crackers and rockets renting the air, and amid the gifts and sweets buying frenzy, FM radio stations joined in the joyous celebrations with various contests and special shows. Radio Mirchi’s Diwali celebrations consisted of Radio Mirchi Giftawali, a three-day on-air campaign in which the RJs gave out prizes like LCD TVs, shopping vouchers worth Rs 10,000, Ultra Motor scooter, MP3 players and much more to listeners. Mumbai’s Radio City’s ‘Gift a Diwali – A City Smile initiative’ in association with CRY (Child Rights and You) concluded on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. Mumbai’s Radio City 91.1FM collected Rs. 2,64,325 which was presented to Smita Das, GM, CRY by RJs Harssh and Archana.
www.radioduniya.in www.radioduniya.in
BIG FM Bangalore, in association with Lion’s International Eye Hospital, organised a camp for its employees and listeners to pledge their eyes. Every listener who came forward to pledge their eyes was given a certificate and a hand painted diya. Red FM celebrated Diwali with Dhaasu Diwali contest where every show had interesting content weaved around the theme of the festival of lights. MY FM celebrated the festival of lights with Suno My FM, Jeeto LCD contest, which elicited a huge response. The station also urged its listeners to celebrate the festival responsibly through the contest ‘Is Diwali lighting karo dil se’.
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emerging from it, pure “Creative” Business Solutions. Diminishing budgets force Brawny Brands to become Brainy. They now need to achieve the same share of voice at hugely reduced costs. And Creativity becomes the Holy Grail. Brands that hitherto had the muscle power (read $$$), and would extol the virtues of “Out-shouting”, suddenly had to resort to more “meek” alternatives. So “Creativity” became the operative word, and “CreativeDecibel” became the new currency. The Sensex is not the Stock Market. The Sensex is not the Economy. Its only a group of 30 scrips. However having said that, it would be naïve not to read the writing on the wall. Marketeers who have always believed in “power-selling” have an inordinate need for re-visiting their brand / product communication strategy. Perhaps a localised approach or at best a regional one will better suit the times and would be a fitting replacement for the behemoth called a “national campaign”. Clearly, a brand or a product CANNOT have precisely the same communication needs across the entire country. Such homogenisation of communication invariably results in not just audience overspill, but more importantly fails to address the real product or brand issues specific to each individual market. Radio truly provides that unexplored opportunity by providing pure localised streams of broadcast which enables marketers to customise their communication as per each specific market or audience group. Perhaps the tumbling Sensex is just the right provocation for businesses to explore this promise of the medium. Like Woody Allen says, “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to attain immortality by Not Dying”. Not dying is never the radio promise. Its just a state of being that most brands would like to achieve. This milieu of Economic despondency need not be apocalyptic. The silver lining may just be an arm-stretch away. Turn it on.
Radio is Changing The past year has seen a lot of development in the radio industry with many new radio stations being launched and established. Most companies have launched their stations and the reach of radio has grown. This year saw the radio industry gear up for the coming phase of licensing and some interesting innovative campaigns cropped up in the industry. There were various high points in the year as well. These included the TRAI’s recommendations to disseminate News, networking multiple frequencies and increase the FDI limit in radio units and also the implementation of liberalization of de-merger policies for radio units.
Harrish M Bhatia VP, Northern Region AROI & COO, 94.3 MY FM harrishmbhatia@myfmindia.net
There is no denying that the radio market has expanded substantially in this past year with many new stations cropping up especially in the smaller towns. Radio, from the very beginning, was expected to boom and it hasn’t disappointed those who had faith in its abilities. With inflation rising, radio also come to command a greater share of the advertising spend owing to its features of giving cuctomers value for money and also its vast reach and innovative advertising opportunities. There have also been certain interesting advancements in terms of technology like the proliferation of FM radio on mobile phones and i-pods, which will help in further enhancing the reach of radio. There are still many issues which plague the radio industry like the pendency of music royalty issue, continuance of exclusion of radio from budget priorities and absence of common measurement tool like RAM in markets other than 4 metros. One can only wish that with the passage of time, things would be different.
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
news Industry Updates
Radio One ups the glamour quotient Radio One 94.3 FM had one of Bollywood’s hottest newcomers Imran Khan at their studios in conversation with the station’s RJs Jaggu and Tarana in a fun tete-a-tete on the Good Morning Mumbai show. With Bollywood music, trivia and more being a mainstay of the station’s programming, Radio One has upped its focus on providing listeners their dose of Bollywood through conversations with celebrities, a chance for listeners to meet them in person at the Radio One studios and by organising exclusive ground activities for such interactions. Says Vehrnon Ibrahim, National Programming Director, Radio One, “This is Bollywood Fataafat. Radio One listeners get immediate access to the best in Bollywood, through conversation with stars, hit songs, opportunities to meet celebrities one on one or experience first-hand the ultimate glamour evening in Bollywood – a film premiere.”
Hello FM bags 3 Tamizh Awards Hello FM bagged three awards at the first ever Tamizh awards given by the Ad club of Madras in association with Daily Thanthi groups. The awards were given with a view to appreciate and celebrate the communication for the Tamizh consumer true to the soil. Work that celebrates the language of Tamizh, its culture, evolving pop-culture, cinema, music, ‘way of life’ and any other nuances that is unique to Tamizh tradition were given recognition by the Tamizh awards. The Advertising Club of Madras conducted a competition for work centering on the “Concept of Tamizh”, under 26 categories released between January 1, 2007 and July 31, 2008. Hello FM won gold in the Promos and Sparkler category (radio medium) silver for the Best Punch line Idhan right number and bronze for Celebrity endorsement. On winning the awards, Rajeev Nambiar, the COO of Hello FM commented that “In the current radio scenario, with a plethora of FM channels entering the Radio FM space, radio stations are looking at various ways to capture the attention of their audiences through new formats of content programming. At this juncture we at Hello FM are elated on the recognition given by Tamizh Awards as our sole aim has been to reach out and impact audience across Tamil Nadu emphasising on the uniqueness & nuances of Tamizh language & traditions.” are organising a lot of outdoor events.
Radio High wins Best FM Station Award Radio High has been awarded ‘The Best Regional FM Channel of West Bengal’ by Bangla Sangeet Prachar Samiti. Legends like Shanda Rai, Chinmoy Rai, Rituparna Sengupta , Sandeep Rai were present during the occasion. This Durga Puja Radio High came up with lots of branding activity with the help of several clubs with whom they are tied up. The station is hunting for fresh talents, and for this they
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“We can say our radio station is different from others as it is specially made for the people of North Bengal keeping their taste in mind. Our motto is not only to promote in the commercial market but at the same time to take social responsibility for all kind of issues to bring awareness and betterment of our country. Radio High is always their ready to join hands for the betterment of any kind” says Kalyan Mitra, GM (Operations).
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radio duniya awards 2009
Submit Entry NOW
Nominations Invited In The Following Categories
Last date: 30 January 2009
AIR STATION To accolade the AIR station, which has exhibited innovation and zeal in achieving the AIR objective of covering varied subjects from G to G (grassroots to global), appealing to all levels of audience. • Nominations are invited from the Station Heads. • The station should be functional for a minimum of three months as on 30th January 2009. FM STATION To recognise the FM station which creatively stands out, striking a chord with the Indian population through its programs, music, interviews, games, community contribution and more. • Nominations are invited from the Station Heads. • The station should be functional for a minimum of three months as on 30th January 2009. COMMUNITY/ CAMPUS RADIO STATION To acknowledge the community/campus radio which epitomises the spirit of community radio by airing programmes that have mesmerised the community/students at large. • Nominations are invited from the Station Heads. • The station should be functional for a minimum of three months as on 30th January 2009. RADIO HOST Pleasant voice, perky ‘n’ warm, connecting, spontaneously creative, community conscious, passion for music - are words which describe a Radio Host! However, the judicious mix of all these qualities will decide the Best Radio Host 2009. • Nominations are invited from the Programming Heads and endorsed by the Station Directors. • Radio hosts who are freelancing can submit their nominations directly. • The radio host should be presently, on air for a minimum of one year to be eligible. RADIO ADVERTISEMENT To award the most innovative & creative advertisement with unique impact on the audience. • Nominations are invited from the Advertising Agencies or Marketing Heads of the Companies/Radio Stations. • The advertisement should have been on air during the period of 30th January 2008 to 30th January 2009.
radio duniya awards is to acclaim and honour the professionals from the radio industry for their innovative contribution.The award is an attempt to boost the morale of the new comers, who are here to carry the legacy of radio further ahead for the generations to come.
RADIO SHOW The award for the best radio show/programme is a tribute to the most comprehensive and engaging radio show. • Nominations are invited from the Programming Head, further endorsed by the Station Head. • Only programme/show aired between 30th January 2008 to 30th January 2009 are eligible. RADIO WEBSITE The award is to acknowledge the most interactive, innovative, user-friendly and popular radio website. • Nominations are invited from the Head of the Company. • The website should be functional for a minimum of three months as on 30th January 2009 SIGNATURE TUNE To award the signature tune which fulfilled its purpose of giving a mass appeal to the brand • Nominations are invited from the National Programming/Marketing/Branding Heads and further endorsed by the Head of the Company. • The signature tune used between 30th January 2008 to 30th January 2009 should be nominated. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INITIATIVE To acknowledge the most responsible social initiative programme by a radio station, which has made people aware about water resources, pollution, conservation, social and management issues. • Nominations are invited from the Programming/Branding Heads, further endorsed by the Head of the Company. • The social responsibility initiative should have been organized between 30th January 2008 to 30th January 2009 in order to be eligible. MARKETING CAMPAIGN To give credence to the most motivational marketing campaign of a radio brand, which justified its marketing/sales strategies. • Nominations are invited from the Marketing/Branding Head and further endorsed by the Head of the Organisation. (CEO/COO/Business Head). • The Marketing Campaign should have been running during the period of 1st January 2008 to 30th January 2009.
A distinguished jury comprising of personage from the media industry will contribute in an unbiased manner to the decision making process for the awards. The Jury will review the content, credibility, realistic approach, creativity, accuracy, technicality, awareness value and motivational element of the nominations.
Radio Duniya Secretariat, G-4 Sector 39, Noida Tel: +91-120-250 2180-85 Fax: +91-120-2500060 email: talk2us@radioduniya.in www.radioduniya.in
We gave an opportunity to the radio industry to talk, and once they started they simply could not stop! We were not surprised and we were certainly not complaining! For the anniversary issue we decided to go to the people of the industry and find out their favourite things on radio. The overwhelming response we got from radio professionals surprised us no doubt, specially when we were asking them to take names which did not include their own. To find out the radio stars which were named as such by their peers, we asked people from the industry to name a few of their personal favourites.
Most Popular RJs Sayema from Radio Mirchi, Delhi takes listeners on a nostalgic trip through her show Purani Jeans everyday and this journey is enjoyed by her peers as well, who named her as a favourite.
Sayema Jonathan Brady is not a name that will ring a bell instantly in many radio lovers mind! Better known as Nitin or rather Khurafati Nitin of Red FM Delhi.
Nitin
“It feels great! Normally you have listeners call in on the show and tell you how good you are. But this is a totally new kind of feeling as here fellow jocks have taken my name as their favourite radio jockey. I think what works in my favour is the fact that I am totally myself on air. I never put on an act during my show, unless I am playing a character that is! :-)� - Nitin
Simran Simran from Radio City Delhi who wakes up the city with a song and dance in her whattefun ishtyle was another favourite of the industry. Her charm and wit easily win over people from all the rival stations it seems!
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
news Industry Updates
Meet ‘Hello’ stars at Radio Mirchi
Nine FM collaborates with The Statesman Awards With the festive fervor having gripped Siliguri, Nine 91.9 FM and The Statesman had jointly embarked on the Sharad Samman 2008 the principal objective of which is to present awards to the community Puja Organisers in five categories of excellence. The jury included K.K Chowdhury, General Manager, The Statesman, Samar Chakravarty, Lecturer, Siliguri College, Debashish Dutta, North Bengal University and Bobby Gupta, CEO, Nine 91.9 FM.
In an effort to provide relief to call centre employees from their mundane life, Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, introduced a unique contest Mirchi pe Hello bolo aur Hello ke stars se milo. The contest kicked off on October 2nd and culminated on October 7th. To participate in the contest, call centre employees had to sms their call centre name to a short code with the reason why they wanted to meet the star cast of Hello. Ten listeners were short listed as winners on the basis of their response and were invited to the Mirchi studio to have a tête-à-tête with the stars of Hello. The start cast of Hello shared their experiences and interesting moments while shooting for the film. In addition, the winners received personalised Hello goodies like mugs and autographed books of Chetan Bhagat’s One Night at a Call Center. Radio One concludes College Radio Championship
Subashpally Sanghashree Durga Puja won the award for best idol, Jatiya Tarun Sangha Durga won for the best lighting, Central Colony Durga Puja Committee won it for the best pandal while Subrata Sangha won for the best theme and Ujjal Sangha won the award for Maintaining Safety Security and pollution Control Measures. The awards were given away to the winners at the respective Puja Pandals by the jury members.
different aspects of being an RJ, through role plays. The panel looked at the contestant’s presence of mind, wit, his ability to deal with various studio and outdoor broadcasting situations, his knack of presenting current affairs in an engaging manner and so on. Says Vehrnon Ibrahim, Programming Director, Radio One, “The best way for college students to get fame fataafat is to participate in Radio One’s College Radio Championships and do their college proud’
Radio One concluded College Championship 2008. Shriya Saran was the guest of honor at the event. This annual RJ hunt is conducted in colleges across metros in India, at the end of which, the winners, a team of two per city, are selected to join Radio One’s award winning programming team on air. The championship received over 3000 registrations from colleges across the country. Contestants were tested on
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The stylish dude, Jeeturaj from Radio Mirchi, Mumbai was also among the favourites. His style of rj-ing is said to reach out from the radio set or mobile phone and shake up the listeners leaving them feeling like they’ve just survived a tsunami.
Jeeturaj Malishka
Mumbai’s darling, Malishka of Red FM who speaks out her mind for every cause proved that she is not just the apple of the masses eyes, but is loved deeply by the industry also. “I love it! Despite winning numerous awards over the past few years it still feels great to be told that I am one of the most popular jocks in the country. Especially since they say you are only as good as your last performance :). It proves that people of the industry are listening and appreciating the hard work our team puts in. All I can say is that I love my job, I love my listeners, love the place I am working at, as I get to be myself on air!” - Malishka
The sole male radio host on the only for women radio station - Meow FM, Anil Srivatsa, is a hot favouite among the ladies with his charming ways and deep voice. No surprises then, when he was named as one of the most popular radio hosts on air today.
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Anil
November 2008 | Radio Duniya
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Radio Duniya Magazine G-4 Sector 39, Noida Tel: +91-120-250 2180-85 Fax: +91-120-2500060 www.radioduniya.in
Most Loved Programmes
Purani Jeans, as the name says, is all about old Bollywood music which forms a very important part of everyone’s life. It is a late evening show where people can get to know all about old singers and music directors. The show offers listeners their daily fix of evergreen classics and tells them everything that they ever wanted to know about retro. From Rafi to RD, Sayema can mix it up with the best of them- surprising listeners with what she knows - and teasing them as only she can! She takes listeners on a beautiful voyage through their wonder years - and leaves them asking for more!
The show is now on for five hours non-stop. It is a daily dose of all that is happening around the world for the listeners, who tune in deligently from six to eleven in the morning. Khurafati Nitin delivers the news fresh to the people in a ‘shayarana andaaz’. He follows it up with a ‘bhakti style’ delivery of the happenings in the day, along with his Bhaktajans for an auspicious start to the day. The most sought after segment of the show is ‘Band Bajegaa’, as Nitin is the baap of all pranks, so at least thrice in the show Nitin ‘bajaata hai kissi ka band’! He also gives away the Bajate Raho Award for “great” work done by the authorities. The segment that has caught the fancy of the masses is the Jhootiya, where people are put on the ‘Red FM Jhootiya Machine’ and their lies are exposed.
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
news Industry Updates
Fever launches first television commercial Fever 104 FM, a collaboration of HT Media and Virgin Radio has launched its first ever television commercial, based on the theme, ‘It’s all about the music’. The TVC went on air on all general entertainment channels and music channels like MTV and Channel V. Fever 104 FM National Head – Marketing and Promotions Gowri Satyamoorthy Kapre said, “In the first round of bidding, we had licenses for four stations and we launched our Kolkata station in the recent past. So, over all after a year of operation we were able to launch our stations in the four key markets of the country. We felt that now is the time to consolidate Fever 104 FM’s presence in each market because in each, Fever now has its own set of listeners. We also felt that this is the time for us to take the brand to the next level and build an over all salience around the brand.” Created by Lowe Burnett, Delhi the campaign will be further promoted through print medium like Hindustan Times and out of home media. When asked whether this is a re-launch of the FM station; Kapre answered, “It’s not really a re-launch because we are not saying anything new to the listeners. The Fever brand has always been about, ‘It’s all about the music’ and even with this campaign, we are emphasising the same.” Radio One revenues jump 92 pc in Q2 Radio One, the FM joint venture between Mid-Day Multimedia and BBC Worldwide, has reported a 92 per cent jump in revenues for second quarter ended September 30, FY09 as compared to the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. Radio One had a growth of 85 per cent in Q1 over the corresponding period last year.
When asked how competitive radio advertising was, Hukmani replied, “A rapidly fragmenting market is leaving enough choices for clients to pick any FM station brand, and needless to say, a healthy combination of values and volumes have contributed to our super normal growth in national figures.”
Commenting on the Q2 results, Vineet Singh Hukmani, CEO, Radio One, said, “The company’s PBT operations for the half year ended September 30 is now reported to be positive and has grown by 117 per cent over the corresponding period last year. According to estimates, the radio sector has grown 27 per cent in the six metros that Radio One operates in over last year’s net revenue figures.” He further said, “We have always focused on maximising business yield at the current level of business investment before we expand to the next level. So, you can call our approach more ‘mid-term entrepreneurial’ versus ‘long term speculative.”
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It is a show on which women call in to discuss issues like marital rape, child abuse, domestic violence etc. Women feel free to discuss what they stare at and when they stare at a man to what is the right age to tell a child the difference between the good touch and the bad touch. Men call in, too, and listen in as well. According to Meow 40 per cent of its listeners are male. The show, hosted by Anil has catapulated Meow into the big league.
Sexiest Voice on Radio Radio is all about voices so we wanted to know who has the sexiest voice on radio? You do not see them, but their voice works magic with the listeners, you just have to listen to them to fall in love with their voices. At the end of a tiring day, Radio Mirchi’s Sayema captivates listeners with her wit, humour, charm and of course her deep and sultry voice. “Surprisingly I don’t have ceremonial tears in my eyes!... though I am beaming with joy. This seems to be a fantastic kickstart to the year ahead. Till now I never restrained myself from gol gappas and chaat papris but now after being crowned as the Sexiest Voice, I guess I would be required to have one at a time! Hopefully, this fantastic journey goes on and I continue to be instrumental in setting milestone. Last but certainly the most important... I take a bow to my listeners!” - Sayema
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Most Stylish Radio Icon
It is how you carry yourself that makes you stylish! In radio you do not see them, but their distinctive way of carrying themselves with poise, grace and elegance makes them the most stylish people on radio. Nisha Narayanan of S FM is poised elegantly at the top of the list! You just have to see her once and then you’ll know why she has been voted as the most stylish radio icon!
Baap of Radio There were no real surprises when it came to crowing the Baap of Radio as well. A. P. Parigi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ENIL towered over the other contenders. Parigi has spearheaded the Times Group’s foray into FM radio broadcasting, event management, out-of -home advertising and filmed entertainment. Parigi leads from the front and manages businesses and brands like Radio Mirchi, 360 Degrees and Times OOH Media. Parigi has developed the Radio Mirchi brand as a pioneer in the sector with not many models to follow and emulate, and has built 360 Degrees, the Times event management business, into a power brand.
We came across some very interesting responses during the survey. We came to know that if you take listeners on a trip down the memory lane, if you make a mickey out of people, if you manage to make listeners confess their deepest feelings on air, if you take up and talk about issues that make an impact or if you mend broken hearts on-air, you will become peoples hot favourite!
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The Journey So Far... s we celebrate our anniversary with this very special issue, we take out some time and look back at the journey so far. Come walk down memory lane with us and get an insight into the life and times of Radio Duniya.
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as well as immediacy creates as many threats as opportunities. Thus, it is to a great extent the responsibility of a radio station to regulate its own content. Radio, like any media influences public opinion and has a socially responsible role to play.
It happened one quiet day in November 2007 when slowly but surely a new magazine was launched. A magazine dedicated to the radio industry. Radio Duniya, as it was named, saw the light of day after a lot of hard work, blood and sweat.
We also discussed how radio is the medium of the masses and as the community radio movement in the country develops, radio will emerge as the medium by the masses. No other medium of communication can match the reach, effectiveness or audience response that is achieved by radio. As a free medium of entertainment and knowledge dissemination, radio is free from any kinds of boundaries. The most valuable asset of radio is its reach and non intrusive, non obstructive nature. It is available to the listeners all round the clock, and this very nature of radio, when it is with the people always, makes it a true mass oriented media.
When we first discussed the idea of a radio magazine, there were a lot of cynical voices, people asked us if we were sure of what we were doing. If yes, then why were we doing it? What were our expectations from such an exercise? Funnily, many people questioned whether the radio industry needed a magazine at all!? Well, we felt that it did and that was exactly what we set out to deliver! We began our journey with a look at the the radio revolution in India. Being a new entrant into the field, we tried looking at how the radio scene had developed over the last few years. There was a time when radio was seen as the poor cousin of television, but times were changing as radio was fast emerging as a cool yet affordable means of entertainment for all people. Everyone tuned in to radio - from the college going kid, to the canteen boy, from the Yuppie on the move to the paanwala selling smokes. The radio revolution was finally happening in India! Radio was truly omnipresent, it was for the masses as much as it was for the classes.
In the month of February the Radio Duniya 2008 conference was organised which brought together the think tank of the radio industry and decision makers in the government, to build a community of multiple stakeholders to exchange ideas, deliberate on issues that still confront the industry and predict the economic scenario for the private sector radio industry. In the course of deliberations we realised that manpower crunch, copyright issues, increasing listenership and revenue generation were certain issues that needed urgent attention. Our endeavour was to provide the impetus for the radio industry to come together and realise the power it has in its hands, the power of masses who fuel the industry.
Understanding the earnest role that radio plays in the development of a society, we next focussed on the social responsibility of radio as a mass media. Being a live and interactive medium, every radio station has to keep in mind the sensitivities of the public at large. Unlike TV, radio’s reach
Celebrating excellence in Radio! That is what Radio Duniya Awards 2008 were all about. We got the chance to salute some of the best work of dedicated radio professionals for the year 2007 and appreciate their efforts to constantly engage, entertain and enthrall the masses.
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
In April, we focussed on the TRAI recommendations on issue of policy for FM radio broadcast which were sought by the Ministry of I&B. The authority had sought suggestions from all the stakeholders and to facilitate this process we brought forth the views of the industry players on these issues. With our aim of being the voice of the industry, we tried to present the views of the stakeholders to the right authorities and aid in the incorporation of their views in the policy framework. We all know that radio is unique in its reach, appeal and strength. The potential of radio to connect with the masses increases manifold, if it understands the pulse of the city and creates the right kind of programming mix. The audience is bombarded with a plethora of sounds everyday and if radio has to capture them and make its mark in today’s short attention span, it must give the audiences what they really want and that includes local happenings, issues and events. The industry has started shifting it focus towards social and civic duties and spreading awareness about issues of local relevance, and this is what we discussed in May. Keeping in line with our aim to address all important issues in radio, we next discussed what the big brother of entertainment in the form of cricketainmnet meant for radio? Since the IPL began we witnessed a myriad of specials focused on the cricket fever that had gripped the country. We addressed the question of what this marriage between radio and cricket meant for the listeners? We also introduced a new section in our magazine with the June issue, called ‘Programme Talk’. We tried to find out what makes radio the real medium of entertainment, what all goes into the planning of a show and how does the team catch the pulse of the city with its programming line-up. We did some mid-year cleaning of the house, so to say when we looked at some of the key issue that radio needs to www.radioduniya.in
address. Prominent among these, were the issues of getting a level playing field with television and satellite radio. For radio to really grow as a category, it is essential to identify the bottlenecks and strive to remove them. The industry should organise its efforts towards improving the situation and come together when it discusses issues with the authorities. For this, the industry needs to prioritise and focus on the core issues that need immediate attention. It must not confuse itself and the authorities, with too many issues at once. It is impossible to think of radio in India without All India Radio. In spite of its potential and early achievements, AIR has moved to the background since the coming in of private radio in India. AIR has the biggest cache of funds at its disposal, it has some of the finest on-air and off-air talents that Indian radio can boast off, but still... there is something seriously amiss. We tried to find out what ails the public broadcasting in the country. Having covered a range of issues being faced by the radio industry, next we discussed a vision for the future. It was heartening to see, both the young and the experienced people, get into the spirit of what they saw in the future. We also realised that if one really looks at it in the right way, it’s not that difficult to achieve ones vision for radio. We truly believe that we are one with the industry, the public broadcaster and the community radio leaders. We didn’t even realise when we reached a milestone that said - ONE. The twelfth issue of Radio Duniya – the magazine that brings the radio industry closer to you every month and has come to be the voice of the emerging radio industry completed one glorious year! We know the journey will continue and you will support us all through. In many ways, this is a new beginning for all of us!!! 33
Glimpses...
Optimism Booms Asha Swarup, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, GoI While issuing licenses to FM channels, they are asked to follow the program code stipulated for All India Radio. We expect the channel owners to self regulate the content. Only in case of an aberration or breach of the program and advertising code brought to the notice of the ministry, the ministry intervenes. As of now we do not even have the wherewithals to monitor content on a 24×7 basis. We respect the channel’s freedom to decide the content it would like to broadcast, as long as it follows the code. Radio is a Free Medium S Keerthivasan, CEO Fever FM Radio is a free medium – there is no cost of access, no subscriptions costs etc. Therefore, it is certainly the medium of the masses. Not only does radio as a medium reach out to maximum people, but is available with the listeners 24x7. You listen to radio when you are driving and traveling, housewives when they are cooking; shopkeepers have radios turned on throughout the day, so do the vendors on the road, taxi & auto drivers. It has the potential of being the most passive medium as background music, to a very involving medium as when you are driving. Thus, it provides numbers and it provides quality. The Battle for Brand Loyalty is on Rana Barua, EVP and National Head – Programming and Marketing, Radio City Everyone in the industry is realising now that while last year was all about expansion, this year is about consolidation of the brand and the radio channel. This could be a very big challenge in the sense that all stations will have to work towards getting the listener’s loyalty. Being Mass, is Being the Boss Rajeev Nambiar, President and COO Hello FM I would say radio is the media for the masses. Thanks to the free access to this entertainment medium, it is surely a media for the masses and the success formula is in being mass oriented! However, I want to stress that being “mass” is not a limitation. We are a Tamil radio station and Tamil audience exists in various socio-economic forms, and all of them consume the medium. So by being local, we are perceptibly the mass. Being Mass, is being the Boss. The fact that radio signal is distributed freely in a time when most of the local television channels are encrypted, I would say radio today, with near complete pan-TN reach, will match or even out do the reach of television. We could get into small villages and rural homes where probably a television may not reach. Sweet Success Amit Mathew, Chief General Manager, Radio Mango There are various advantages that we have over nation wide networks. We have a better understanding of a local market and the flexibility to tweak programming to reflect the cultural values according to each region. Also, we can resist the temptation to paint everything with the same brush just to optimise economies of scale. A faster leaner scale of operation allows us to put ideas out (commercial and programming) quicker.
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
I am Back Home Pallavi, Radio Mirchi I missed three Diwali’s, three Dusherra’s, three Holi’s, three Christmas’s, three New Years and six Eid’s with my listeners! And that is a whole lot of festivity and celebration that I missed out on as I was not on air. But I am back now, and it’s been amazing!!!
RJs Need to Constantly Innovate Harsha Shivaram, BIG FM In a way it is true that RJs are key differentiators. However, what also differentiates is the station’s music strategy and the clear positioning that the station has for itself. But a station with cool sounding RJ’s with vibrant personalities would definitely stand out amidst the lot!!!
I Love the Irreverence of Radio Malishka, Red FM Radio is just the thing between newspaper and TV; newspaper is yesterday’s news dolled out, if the reporter thinks of something today, he can’t put it in, it’s gone. Whereas on TV, news has a format, you have to be a certain way. But on radio, there is no such thing, there is no pretense. It is just the transition then, it’s a place where you can be yourself, it is your personality that speaks to the people.
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Glimpses...
Current Licensing Policy is Successful Zonra Chatterjee, Joint Secretary (Broadcasting), Ministry of I&B, GoI News and current affairs is not currently permitted on radio. However, in view of a strong demand by the FM operators, the broadcast of news from certain approved sources could be considered for a start. Till the radio stations establish their credibility with respect to treatment of news and the monitoring and security concerns are suitably addressed, it may not be possible to allow radio stations to broadcast news independently. Radio is Changing: It’s quality Vs Quantity Vineet Singh Hukmani, CEO, Radio One I firmly believe that there cannot be a good brand without a good product. My advertising experience tells me that 95% of the products in the market have no real differentiation, and whatever little is there, is created out of perception. As an example…. all mobile service providers give you incoming and outgoing calls, SMSes etc., so there is no product differentiation, but 100s of crores are spent on building the brand. Change the Mindset Amritendu Roy, Business Head, friends FM A fundamental issue for all players in this industry is a “mindset” issue. We have suddenly leaped from a very small media to a huge media which reaches about 80 cities and over 40 crores of listeners. I feel that radio operators, clients and media agencies have to adjust their mindset to this sudden growth. They have to take this industry seriously and once this is done, a lot of obstacles, which are actually trivial issues, will be solved and help the industry become solid and profitable. Dil Se Harrish M Bhatia, CEO, MY FM The advertisers and other players have to be willing to invest in the measurement process. And as the industry evolves, better things will follow, like Radio Duniya has been launched as a magazine for the radio industry, because there is a need for it. So that is how people Quality Radio Should be Inconsistent Shailja Naqvi, Programming Head, MY FM The one thing that we are looking at is the factor that consistent quality of subtle words does not belong to radio. Quality radio programming must always include inconsistency, if you want it to work tomorrow as well. Consistency normally leads to boredom, so we have decided to change our packaging and programming practically every one and a half months with new promos and sounds. We are gearing up to cater to the youth. We are not being consistent (and boring) by dishing out the same fare all the time, without any changes.
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Virus in my System Shekar, BIG FM Common sense and awareness of all that is happening around you, creativity and innovation are the basic things that you need to have in you, if you want to become a successful radio host. It is important to know what to say, when to say it and how to say it. Also, you must be ready to give something new to the listeners every single day and they should be able to relate to it.
Khurafati Nitin Nitin, Red FM It was this one time when I played a prank and bajaoed two restaurants together! I called up a restaurant and placed an order, and then I told him to hold the line for confirmation, just then I called up another restaurant and placed a different order and then put him on hold and then I put both lines together. So, there were two people, going crazy over the orders I had placed, not one item on the two lists were same and they were so irritated, saying you ordered this and the other saying the order was this.... it was so funny and so maddeningly weird!
Pleasing the Listeners Tuhin, Fever 104 FM In both law and radio, you are paid for speaking and the way you talk is what decides how successful you really are. I guess the gift of the gab is central to both professions and I am surely doing what I would be doing as a lawyer too.... and that is talking!
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Glimpses...
We are Sober, not Dull B S Lalli, CEO, Prasar Bharti
Yes, there has to be a continuous emphasis on being sensitive to the priorities of a public service broadcaster. We cannot be frivolous in our programming and presentation. We cannot come up with a programme, which could be attractive, but which is not entirely according to established tastes and priorities of the society. We have to be mindful of this all the time, but I don’t find this to be a constraint. It is possible to make the two co-exist. start coming in the industry and good things will follow. Scope of Radio is Immense Tarun Katial, COO, BIG FM It is our endeavor to highlight the ‘local heroes of our society’. Simple people who have never been given due credit for things they have done for the betterment of the society. We salute the common man. In addition, we always look for ways in which we can touch / change / impact lives in a positive way. Radio Buzz Revolutionised the Radio Scene in the Region Hardeep Singh Chandpuri, Founder, Academy of Broadcasting There are more than 500 private radio stations coming up in more than 100 cities, plus the community radio concept is catching up with the government proposal of setting up nearly 4000 stations in the next few years. There is a huge shortage of talent and we are trying to bridge that divide. We need to take our training to other cities as well, where the demand is very high and for this we have adopted the time-tested franchise route. Stand out from the Clutter Balendran Kandeeban, head of Creative and Marketing, Aahaa FM In India the real journey for radio has just begun. It is only after the bidding of licenses in phase II, that radio is being seen at par with the print and electronic media. With fresh creativity and successful strategic efforts, it is clearly visible that the Indian radio industry can overtake others in the near future. Dhum Mitha Monica Nayyar Patnaik, Director The the major advantage of running a radio station in places like Cuttack/Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela is the fact that these places are very compact. Due to this compactness, my station can reach out to almost anybody and everybody who lives here. I do not need to put too much of an effort to reach out to the people, they are easily accessible and I can reach out to many districts in and around the city. My station reaches out to about 20 lakh people.
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Kuch Aisa Karo ki Naam to ho! Nitin, BIG FM I once heard a radio programme in Kolkata and thats when I decided to be a Radio Jockey. It gives me the freedom and space to enhance my creativity…what better option than being a RJ where your creativity reaches its peak. Also, this profession gives me ample opportunity to make great new friends.
Thank God Radio Happened Supriya Jambhunathan, Radio Jhankar, Worldspace Talking to me on radio is just like being with a group of friends. In the group you are not going to open up and talk to everyone about your secrets. Now, I want everyone to come up to me and confide in me about their secrets and and desires. First of all, I try to make them feel that I am an approachable person, by being as real as possible, and not someone they cannot relate to. Second, I create an image and rapport with my listeners where they feel that they can just approach me and talk about anything under the sun.
Totally Charged Up Amit Om Sharma, S FM My voice is my USP, which can be modulated according to the needs and is also soothing to listen. The style of presenting information or the generic content in a link is also different. My takes always leave my listener wondering and making him / her think and feel concerned or connected. They take me as their friend, just like them.
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Glimpses...
Get Addicted to Radio Tarun Goyal, Director Radio Chaska
Chaska symoblises addiction, and addiction could be of anything, be it studies, business, news or sports. I think radio is one such addiction, when you tune to Radio Chaska you get addicted. Bindaas Bajao is our tag line, which is totally youth-oriented and the channel identity is itself Bindaas. I think the name was completely in sync with our idea of making people tuned into radio as a habit and get addicted to it as they keep tuning in. The Ultimate Music Experience Harshad Jain, Chief Marketing Officer, Worldspace The Indian audience just has to be made used to the concept of satellite radio. To educate the consumers we have provided a 360-degree experience by generating consumer education and awareness. This has been done by launching an advertising and communication campaign, providing better product availability through an enhanced sales and distribution network and customer service set up. We undertook a sustained campaign that involved consumer education and trial initiation, below the line activities, retail network expansion and a host of experiential marketing strategies. An aggressive product strategy also helped bringing more people into our subscriber base. Gungunate Raho Nishant Mittal, CEO, Radio Misty The main idea behind our brand line is to convey the fact that it is very normal for people to keep humming songs. You will find people humming various kinds of tunes almost all the time. We just wanted to show that we are not different and hence the brand line Gungunate Raho. The musical experience that we offer to our listeners is a blend of all cultures prevalent in this area. We air the latest numbers, as well as old numbers; our song line-up includes slow songs from the 70s to 80s and also the rocking numbers that come out these days. We Target the Informed Crowd George M George, Executive Director, Muthoot Group Our target audience is basically the informed crowd. Talking about Chennai, it is the informed and well connected crowd who want much more from radio than just music. So, our target would range from people who are in their late 20’s to late 30’s. We have talk shows in the morning that pick up one issue, which is very relevant to the city. Here, we have guests, not necessarily celebrities, but people in the administrative services who deal with particular issues that are of concern to the city. We have people calling in when we have these guests, they come up with questions and they have every right to know what is happening in their city. Keeping it Fresh Naval Toshniwal, CEO, Tomato FM We completely support the idea of allowing news on radio. If the cable operators can be allowed to air news, why not radio? Since the radio stations are well screened from the bidding phase itself, there should not be any restriction on the broadcast of news. Also, all radio stations are responsible organisations and part of big media groups mostly. Another issue is that if news is permitted from certain limited source, then news on all the stations will sound similar.
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Conviction Equals to Success Jaishree, Moew FM When I pitch a topic, I keep myself and my co-host in the forefront, and try to find out how we would react if this question was put to us. We share anecdotes and experiences , as a result the listener opens up and feels comfortable enough to share his or her story. The topics in my show deal with the day to day life of an individual, their achievements, goals and aspirations. Everyone is not comfortable sharing their stories on air, but while talking to us, the kind of comfort they feel helps establish the connect with the listeners.
Playing Cupid Meenakshi, BIG FM I am not being clichĂŠd or politically correct here, but there is nothing that I dislike about my job. More than a job, its my passion, I get so involved with my work that it is always with me. That is why I believe that I enjoy doing my work without disliking any aspect.
Speed Dheena Dheena, BIG FM My most memorable moment was when I successfully completed 92.7 hours of non stop on-air marathon to get a place in the Limca Book of World Records. My record attempt started on 20th August 2007 at 3.00 pm and ended on 24th August 2007 at 11.07 am.
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Glimpses...
Radio is not Competing with TV Tapas Sen, Chief Programming Officer, Radio Mirchi
The most important regulatory change that needs to come about is “Multiple Frequency”. That will truly ensure diversity of content and an exponential rise in radio penetration. But purely speaking about content restriction, News needs to be allowed on the private FM channels. The embargo on news is really impacting the industry adversely. Radio all over the world provides news. In fact radio News is highly respected (pretty much like All India Radio). Preventing news content on air makes the listener feel very disconnected. If he is listening to radio for a longish period, during which a major event has occurred (say a 9/11), there is no way he gets to know of that from radio. So, when he finally does get to know from some other media, he feels betrayed. It need not be like that. Consumer Involvement is Increasing Abraham Thomas, CEO, Reed FM Consumers today want to not just participate but also create content, as is evident by the success of concepts like the Red Mike – which focused on user generated content. Involvement is actually increasing amongst the core consumer groups. It is this need of the people that radio players need to target. Radio has the potential of becoming a social media for India’s middle class! Promising Tons of Fun George Sebastian, COO, Club FM There are many important issues which need to be addresses for radio to grow. The first being the issue of music royalty. We believe that content must be compensated; but it should be to the right organisation, and the royalty payment must be based on a pragmatic policy. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, and Ministry of HR must not delay any longer in formulating a uniform policy pertaining to music licence and royalty. Secondly, News, sports and current affairs must be allowed on FM radio. How does the Ministry want FM radio stations to be local and relevant? By broadcasting film songs? And thirdly, the listenership research must cover all cities as soon as possible. Serious Syllabus is Essential for Training S R Chari, Professor of Broadcast and Journalism, IIMC Our focus is more on voice training, broadcast language, radio anchoring and radio scripting. These are the areas that we consider essential in our radio training programme. The jockeys should identify with what the listeners want if they want to be successful in what they are doing. They must be able to take up social issues, public issues, educational issues and health issues at a public platform so that these can be discussed properly. Adding Flavour to Life Vikaas Tiwari, Programming Head, Tadka FM The radio scenario in India is in its initial state and genre based FM stations are yet to register their presence. As a result the approach of radio stations today is bound in open intervals. The thought process is still not restricted to have a linear approach which in turn leads to more experiments. Experience is the outcome of experiments you do and I feel that more and more experiments should be done on radio now so as to make the future of radio in India blossom.
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Bindass Hoke Bolne Ka Saffy, S FM Frankly, I didn’t know what radio was all about till I joined SFM: I owe every single bit of inspiration to the SFM Team. And radio presenter - Larry King- he’s the best. Then, Howard Stern, the most controversial radio host (also the richest). I would love to be him… Hmm…Is the Censor Board listening?? Just Kidding!!!
Jodi Kamal Ki Harssh and Archana, Radio City We have been very good friends for about six years now. We have known each other even before we started hosting the show together. We know each others families, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, dogs almost everything and that should have helped us a lot in doing the show. But our first on air link was complete madness, it was literally like directing a movie without any rehearsals.
Fall in Love with Radio Meghana Dhawan, Radio Indigo A love for radio and everything about it, you have to be crazy (in a good way!!) about the music you play and with the risk of it sounding clichéd, you have to have ‘the gift of the gab’!!A lot of work goes into preparing a shows content, so before every show I make sure I know what I’m going to be talking about and how I’m going to spread it across the show.
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Glimpses...
Empowering Radio Industry Apurva Purohit, President AROI
Well, the last few months have been spent in building a consensus and the beginning has already been made with the setting up of a high powered governing council from across the country and across radio operators. With organization heads like Abraham Thomas, CEO, Red FM, Tarun Katial, Chief Operating Officer, Big 92.7 FM and Prashant Pandey, CEO, Radio Mirchi and other reputed leaders as part of the committee, we believe the AROI will emerge as a very strong entity which will work aggressively towards the progress and strengthening of this medium and industry in the coming months. Small Operators Need a Voice Anil Srivatsa, COO, Meow FM The broadcasting bill is quite flawed and inward looking as opposed to outward and progressive. I guess, like every other law, this needs some work. If it is just arbitrary and ‘one size fits all’, it does not work. You can’t put the same law for cable or DTH or terrestrial. Future Lies in Small Cities Nisha Narayanan, Project Head, S FM If you bid the highest, you can get the license to run your own FM station and play Kajrare Kajrare all day long!! There is no problem with that kind of programming, which is why now days most FM stations sound the same. I feel the government should introduce the system that is successfully used the world over, which is the ‘Beauty Contest Way’ of licensing Tension Free Radio Ranjit Kumar Dutta, GM, Prabhat Khabar One must understand that there are hundreds of TV channels and radio channels that are broadcasting news all over the day and night. Right to get information is fundamental. So why bar radio stations from broadcasting news? However, TRAI has to regulate what news to broadcast. One simple formula may be broadcast what has actually and factually happened and no sensation or prediction or comments on what may happen, to begin with. ARM: The Talent Designers Simran Kohli, Founder, Director, ARM There is an A to Z of radio. If you don’t know these ins and outs, you will never be able to manage radio. There was a time when you could just enter, like when I entered, and you could have done everything. But we are now moving towards an era of specialization. Everybody prefers specialized people, like in films you have editors, actors, directors, singers, etc. And radio is not going to be left behind. Also there is so much at stake at any given radio station. When you are employing people, you don’t want to spend extra on training them.
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Glamour of Radio Aditi, S FM I always thought that the most interesting part of being an RJ is that one gets to interview a lot of celebrities. That’s one thing that always interested me. I must admit that this is probably a big reason why I took up jockeying as a serious profession. Also, whenever I listened to other stations, I always felt that I could do much better, and probably play a better song list.
I am an Entertainer Jimmy, Radio Mirchi I love the job, so its not really a ‘job’ for me. It’s a great medium to be part of, especially since the industry is still growing. The cons, well… one has to be constantly on the look out to source gripping and relevant content for the listeners. Basically it’s a 22 hours 28 minutes job but since I love it so much it isn’t actually a con.
Host is Spontaneously Creative Ved, Radio City Well, there are several ‘pros’ of hosting a radio show. Of those which come to mind are that one gets to interact with so many people from diverse backgrounds and the chance to be a part of their lives! Listeners share some very interesting things about themselves which they probably don’t share even with their parents, spouses or best friends! It makes an RJ feel very special indeed!
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Gift of the gab, presence of mind, wit, humour and entertainment are some of the elements that are inbuilt in an RJ! The questions we posed to them brought to the fore their crazy streak for which they are loved by the audiences. In this special anniversary issue we decided to ask RJs across the country about the craziest thing they want to do on radio! We also asked them to name a radio personality they would like to go out on a date with and a celebrity they think is just ideal for radio, but is not on radio right now! While talking about the craziest thing that they would like to do the jocks really let their imagination run wild. Someone wanted to take a bath on-air while another wanted to get David Copperfield perform magic on his show! One wanted to do a show from the depths of the sea; setting up an OB van at a the runway of Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and doing a radio 46
show seemed crazy enough for some while many wanted to conduct a sting operation and dabble in radio reality shows. Some of the jocks would not even consider dating anyone from radio, they do not date within family! Many jocks wanted to see the radio personality first before even thinking about going out on a date with them. Laloo Prasad Yadav should seriously consider hosting a show on radio really soon! He is the winner hands-down, in the category of celebrity best suited for radio. Armed with his unique sense of rib tickling humour and infotainment many respondents felt that a radio station can survive just on his show which could be called Laloo....hoo ja chaloo! The choices ranged from the Shehanshah of Bollywood Amitabh Bachchan to the Badshah Shahrukh Khan to the Little Master Sunil Gavaskar!
November 2008 | Radio Duniya
The Whackiest Responses Craziest thing on Radio!
Radio personality you would like to date?
Celebrity on Radio
• Get drunk and host the show (wow would be fun!!!!)
• Mmmmmm....Let me see them first
• Laloo Prasad Yadav!!!! He is like super entertaining... He will have some new story (true or false) to inform listeners every single day... Our ratings will go up
• Have David Copperfield perform a magic show on radio!!! • Get married to the lady with the sexiest voice everyday on my show LIVE ON AIR! • Have an OB booth set up on the runway of a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show - that’ll not only be crazy, but downright classy! • The craziest thing to do would be a Radio Reality Show (Breaking News..) (sabki pol kholo) !! • I would like to play a treasure hunt game on air with participants scattered all around the city with maps and OB jocks taking live bites and create a live sensation. • Sky diving and giving live links from there in return for heavy moolah in case I survive, considering the financial crunch everyone is facing!
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• Radio ? Oh No.. • Umm… I would like to go back in time and date Ameen Sayani • To date a radio personality is next to impossible for me because you have to see it to believe it and in this case don’t know if what sounds good looks good too! • Ameen Sayani…..kaash wo aik “mahila” hoti aur unka naam hota –“Amina Bano” • Anybody who’d want to go with me! I’ve 365 evenings free in a year and I’m still very young! I’ve enough time to date everyone profiled in Radio Duniya ! ;) • The guys in the industry aren’t good looking, so I wouldn’t date anyone. • I would like to date Nisha Narayanan, I belive she has the most beautiful eyes…
• Lalu Prasad Yadav - I think his style and sense of humour is out of the world. It has an absolute mass appeal. • Well there are quite a few celebs I would like to listen to on Radio… But I guess the Baadshah and Begum on Radio would be Rakhi Sawant and Laloo Prasad Yadav who would host a show by name The Late Night School with Rakhi and Laloo where they would give the listeners lessons in English grammar, pointing out mistakes in Wren and Martin. • Javed Jaffrey ! (Film actor and TV host). I think he’s amazing! I love to watch Takeshi’s castle just for his commentary! He has a good voice, nice energy, great humor and a funny language too! He should make good radio material. Would love to listen to him on a drive time show!
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4 1. Mark Rocha, Radio Indigo, Goa: - Have an OB booth set up on the runway of a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show - that’ll not only be crazy, but downright classy! I can see it now, “It’s Cruise Control right here on 91.9 FM Radio Indigo - The Colour of Music and “Ai Pappit” ... sorry, little distracted as we come to you live from the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show - abreast with the latest in fashion and music ...” 2. Amit, S FM, Jaipur :- Sing a complete song.......this is the only way I can get away with it!! 3. Som, Radio Choklate, Cuttack:- I would like to date Nisha Narayanan, I belive she has the most beautiful eyes… 4. Sanjal, Radio Tadka, Jaipur: - Ameen Sayani…..kaash wo ek “mahila” hoti aur unka naam hota –“Amina Bano” 5. Zoya, Red FM, Mumbai :- Sky diving and giving live links from there in return for heavy moolah in case I survive, considering the financial crunch everyone is facing!
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
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1. Nupur, Radio Misty, Siliguri:- I would like to make the best use of radio and get all my enemies thrashed up by my fans.... hehe….so people should think twice before messing up with me!! 2. Archana, Radio City, Mumbai:- Himmesh Reshamiya is the celebrity best suited for radio. He has a solid connect with the common man. His music plays everywhere right from cabs to clubs and he is also someone very ‘relatable’ with his Gujju Dhokla talks! 3. Jones, Hello FM, Chennai:- Think of an RJ and the image you get is that of a young person, well educated, well groomed and sophisticated with quite a lot of gizmos, etc. I would love to look at an option of featuring some of the more lively people of our society, for instance a rickshaw puller, a slum dweller, etc and how they would speak on radio / interact with people. 4. Vineet, Red FM, Kolkata:- I would like to play a treasure hunt game on air with participants scattered all around the city with maps and OB jocks taking live bites and create a live sensation. 5. Anjaan, Radio One, Bangalore:- I believe anyone can be a radio personality with good training, So I’d like to open it out to the public. My milkman, my ironing guy, the maid , the building security and of course the local auto driver!!! Each of them world famous in their own locality!
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1. Nitin Red FM, Delhi:- I want to run a contest on Radio where winners win a two day / night stay as a convict in Tihar Jail, and at the end of it, they get to escape from the jail through a tunnel 2. Dorjee, Radio Misty, Siliguri:- I would love to go out on date with Ryan Seacrest 3. Bhavna, Radio Misty, Siliguri:- Hrithik Roshan is the ideal celebrity to be on radio 4. Kunj, Radio Mirchi, Rajkot: - Abhishek Bachan and Ritiesh Deshmukh for their tickling spontaneous humor bone; Zulfi Sayed(model and actor) are just perfect for radio!! 5. Lavanya, Hello FM: - Suyamvaram – Maybe you can try selecting your better half if u can really find one ;) (bride or groom hunt)
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
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1. Bala, Red FM, Kolkata:- Who else but the Badshah ….King Khan….Shahrukh Khan!!….any show on Shahrukh gets phenomenal response…what if you have the man himself doing a show on radio!! 2. Samina, Radio Mirchi, Rajkot : - Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu for their sexy voice, Rakhi Sawant for her bindaasness, Shahrukh Khan for his long list of fans………all should be on radio!! 3. Abraham, Mango FM, Cochin:- Musharraf should do a show on radio 4. Animesh, Red FM, Kolkata :- I want to interview Mamta didi for 24 hours, asking her only one question repeatedly - “didi Nano holo na keno?” (Didi, why did Nano not happen in Kolkata)? 5. Saffy, S FM, Bhubaneshwar: - I would like Azharruddin yeah our old captan sahab on radio.. I mean u mean what is... :-)
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4 1. Kaushi, Hello FM, Chennai: - If I had a choice of planning something crazy on air may be I would want to make a reality show out of my marriage! That way I could get sponsors and save my dad some good money! ;) Everything right from the talks between the families to the ceremony could go on air. May be we could even have a groom hunt like the way we usually have RJ hunts on air. And we could have caller interactions and sms contests etc to ensure listener participation. They could even vote on what color I should wear on my wedding! Not only will this be a first time ever concept on radio but this could be a great opportunity for a radio presenter to get closer with the listeners! Sounds crazy enough I believe! ;) But hey.. wait a minute ! I haven’t still discussed it with my parents! 2. Sheetal Radio Mirchi, Rajkot: - I want to go out on a date with Sud and Tapas Da. 3. Murari, Radio Misty, Siliguri :- Sudesh Bhosle the mimicri artist should be on radio. 4. Sunit, Radio Misty, Siliguri :- Call handling while sleeping would be really crazy. 5. Abhijeet, Radio City, Pune : - I think Irfaan Khan will rock as an RJ. I just love the way he delivers his dialogues - Kya bhaee!
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
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5 1. Mantra, Red FM, Mumbai :- Carry my radio station with me wherever I go, and not turn up in studios. So I can do my show from wherever I am. 2. Aloysius, Hello FM, Chennai : - I think actor Vijay T. Rajendran or Loose Mohan would be perfect for radio 3. Khushi, Radio Misty, Siliguri: - Get drunk and host the show (wow! would be fun!!!!) 4. Nishit, Radio Mirchi, Rajkot :- Bring in Hijdaas (eunuchs) in my show and do a dual jock show 5. Divya, Mango FM, Cochin : - Invite date on-air
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1. Thiyagu, Hello FM, Chennai :- Actor Vikram. Though he came to the industry for acting, he initially penetrated the movie industry as a dubbing artist and is quite qualified for the job. Moreover, his role in the movie Anniyan was extremely superb with excellent voice modulation for each of the 3 split personality characters he portrayed which qualifies him as an RJ without doubt. 2. Sameer, Radio Mirchi, Rajkot:- Sree Sree Ravishankar should host a show on radio 3. Arun, Mango FM, Cochin :- Laloo Prasad Yadav must have his own show on radio 4. Abhay, Red FM, Delhi :- The celebrity who suits best for radio comes on my show daily “Swati” 5. Muduli Bhaina, S FM, Bhubaneshwar: - The craziest thing hmmm.....well, in most cases “Been there, done that” in the rest “Ignorance is bliss!”
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
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1. Harssh, Radio City, Mumbai: - Amisha Patel – that’s cause she has the face for radio and we wont have to see her again! Just kidding! Shahrukh and Saif hosting Breakfast Radio together would be a cracker of a combo! 2. Suresh, Hello FM, Chennai:- It’s based on a reality show existent in the UK where a couple is chosen and without the husband being informed that the wife is on line, he is told that he has won a fully sponsored trip to a foreign destination along with a young, beautiful woman. Once the response from the husband is obtained, it’s revealed that the wife is also on the show and further discussions with the couple happen. This is one show that I’d like to bring to India. 3. Nizam, Radio Misty, Siliguri :- I want to do a comedy show like laughter challenge & ulta pulta show in which caller is asked, about some thing and a nonsense and funny answer should be provided! 4. Zaara, Radio One, Mumbai :- Lalu Prasad Yadav is perfect for radio. I think his style and sense of humour is out of the world. It has absolute mass appeal. 5. Khalid, Red FM, Kolkata :- I want to interview Laloo Prasad and Narendra Modi together!
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1. Rohith, BIG FM, Bangalore :- Wish Katrina Kaif was a radio personality and then I would love to date her...Kats are you reading this 2. Adi, S FM Bhubaneshwar :- Radio pe dikhta hi nahi so its difficult to say who I would like to date 3. Praveen, Red FM, Kolkata :- Celebrity who would be best suited for radio according to me is Manoj Kumar. He wont be able to speak anything so finally people`s perception about radio jockey`s might change ‘that they talk a lot’. 4. Pavitra, Radio One, Bangalore :- Well there are quite a few celebs I would like to listen to on radio… But I guess the Baadshah and Begum on Radio would be Rakhi Sawant and Laloo Prasad Yadav who would host a show by name The Late Night School with Rakhi and Laloo where they would give the listeners lessons in English grammar, pointing out mistakes in Wren and Martin. 5. Swati, Red FM, Delhi :- The guys in the industry aren’t good looking, so I wouldn’t date anyone of them.
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November 2008 | Radio Duniya
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4 1. Indra, Radio Misty, Siliguri : - I would love to host a show totally based on women’s desire 2. Manisha, Radio Misty, Siliguri: - I would love to go out on a date with Mantra 3. Rocky, Red Fm, Delhi: - I want to do Bhangra on-air!!! 4. Short Circuit, S FM, Bhubaneshwar :- Would love to go out with Amin Sayani, he is the only radio jockey I know!!! 5. Prithvi, Radio One, Bangalore: - Amitabh Bachchan! The man who was turned away years ago on the grounds that his voice was not fit for radio!!!
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Community Radio in India
Community radio is truly a people’s radio that perceives listeners not only as receivers and consumers, but also as active participants and creative producers of content. Community radio covers all developmental and rights based issues and updates listeners on the latest developments in environmental, policy related and other issues. Community radio has the responsibility to help sustain the diversity of the local cultures and languages and thus should be supported through legislative, administrative, and financial measures. In this special issue of Radio Duniya, we decided to take stock of the situation and get the people involved in the community radio movement to share their views on the state of community radio in the country, the policy issues and the changes it can bring about. What is your view on the state of Community Radio in India? According to R. Sreedher, Director, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), “Community radio in India can be compared to a four year old child and it is trying to understand the system.” Karthik Panchapakesan of Radio Active agrees with this view and says that community radio is India is in a state of infancy, www.radioduniya.in
but he adds that it is also delivering and making inroads (in some cases headways) in dissemination and creating awareness of scientific information and empowerment. According to K.Thangaraj, Chief Co-ordinator, Kongu Community Radio, “A vast country like India, needs several thousand community radios [with the permitted antenna height (30 m) and power (50 watts)]. Target has been fixed for 4,000 to 5,000 community radios but till now we have realised only 45. Even these 45 stations are on air only for a few hours. Once again only a few among these are really functioning with the aim of serving the community. More agencies and institutions must come forward to establish community radios in the true spirit. Now that the government has come forward to permit limited advertising it is hoped that more service minded organisations may come forward to set up community radio stations. A concerted effort can bring in more community radios in the country.” J. Paul Bhaskar of Pasumai Community Radio, feels that in India, community radio has been limited as the low-powered, small reach radio. This is because the government characterises the community radio for its limited local reach and low-power transmission, though community radio and its programming 59
Rukmini Vemraju, Programme Officer, CEMCA adds, “The spectrum usage fee should be reduced substantially (if not altogether waived); all application processes should be available both on-line as well as off-line for a while and more agencies should be approved and certified by the government to make transmitters, so that the current waiting period is cut down.” Speaking about the policy changes the team at Radio Active would like to see in the near future, Karthik gives an elaborate list, which includes more wattage power (minimum 1kw); waivers within conformity; governmental funding and support; availability of information and content; accessibility and expertise and resource from persons; corporate, public, private and people support; involvement and participation of educational institutions, ranging from primary to collegiate and specialisation educational institution,in their immediate and surrounding geographical area.
content purely reflects the broad educational, developmental and cultural needs of the target community it serves on micro to macro level. Rahul Joshi, Assistant Station Head, Vivek Community Radio feels, “Community radio in India has got tied up in political decision making and bureaucracy. We have all the failed to create awareness among people at the grass root level”. This is established by the fact that there have been hardly 70-80 applications from NGO’s for community radio and this coupled with the slow process of decision making is hampering the growth of community radio in the country. He adds that certain bureaucratic blocks in the decision making process have to be removed and greater awareness about community radio has to be created. Amolina Ray of Radio JU (Jadavpur University CR) feels that community radio has great potential that is yet to be tapped. It gives a platform to the community to voice their opinion and radio is easily affordable and accessible, so it can be developed as a medium for community interaction on a one to one basis. What are the policy changes you would like to see in the near future? Talking about the policy changes he would like to see in the near future, Sreedher says, “I would like to see a single window for all licenses. The WPC must be in a position to simplify procedures or allow some frequencies to be made available for free use for this sector. Advertisement policies including Government advertisements must evolve. Nationalised banks may come forward to fund capital cost for these radio stations. Rules must be amended for a campus-community partnership to apply for licenses. Policies may be amended to allow a consortium of NGOs to apply for the license in an operational area.” 60
Paul adds that there are huge investments in terms of setting up a community radio, but the reach only falls within the one or two blocks of the district. The government should increase the power of transmitter and the height of antenna, assessing the performance and functioning of the community radio station. Also, relaxation of certain rules like fixing the tower in a place where there is scope for better reach and clarity of receiving can also be added in the policy. The government can also encourage networking of community radios with All India Radio. AIR can help in training the community radio’s human resources and also enhance the broadcasting power. The power of AIR’s towers or capacities can be utilised in reaching out to more people. This networking will also help in information or content development and in providing the best of information to cater to the real need of the people. According to Paul, “Community radio stations have the mandate to create awareness among people and current affairs and various developments have to be discussed in order to create democratic values and peaceful conflict resolution methods. The news presentation within the scope of guidelines may be allowed for community radios. The source could be websites maintained by Government, and independent news agencies”. According to Amolina Ray of Radio JU, “It would be great if the procedure for the license is simplified by decentralisation. We would suggest that the transmitter wattage should be more flexible in urban areas depending on the congestion of airways. Support should be provided for programming concepts, financial advice and technical problems.” Rahul adds, “We could do with a little improvement, the procedure of applying for a license could be made easier and the decision making could be a little quicker. Also the ban on news and current affairs is a serious concern and it is not consistent with international laws. So, the ban on news should not be allowed on community radio.”
November 2008 | Radio Duniya
Thangraj is of the view that efforts should be made to popularise community radio. These methods should include government initiatives, in which national, state wise and regional initiatives of the government should be communicated to the people through community radios. For this purpose a CR should be given the status of press by the state governments and any welfare scheme of the government like NREGA, agricultural information, rural health mission, mid-day meal scheme, NALSA etc. should be given publicity through CR. He suggests that whenever a commercial FM or TV licence is given or renewed it should be made compulsory that they start at least 2 community radios in the neighbourhood. Also, the Ministry of Panchayatraj and Ministry of Rural Development should come forward to encourage Panchayats and rural areas to set up community radio. To increase the number of community radios in the country by at least 500, every University in India and colleges offering Media Science,
Communication or Journalism courses should compulsorily have their own community radios. According to Thangraj, “Given the large cultural, social, political and economic diversities in India, it is advisable to have CR broadcasts relevant to the target community, that is, people in the coverage area of the CR. Instead of following any foreign model it is better to evolve a brand ‘Indian Model’ with all the components any Indian citizen should be aware of.” How has radio brought about a change in the community you work with? Elaborating on how radio has brought about a change in the community, Sreedher cites a large number of examples from Anna university, Holy Cross College Tiruchi, Manakula Vinayagar College, Pondicherry, Kongu Engineering College, Erode, Vidya Prathistan Baramati, Banasthali Vidyapeeth, Rajasthan, etc. Anna FM’s success in Kottupuram and Kannigapuram is well documented. At present, CEMCA is facilitating the Science for Women project of the RVPSP, Government of India, in 12 radio stations which is a role model for the CRs situated in educational institutions and is sure to bring about greater development and awareness in the community. Pasumai FM tries to cover all developmental issues and they consider reaching out to the people as their real success. Sensitising the community towards social issues and problems is being achieved through the Pasumai community radio. Paul says, “Pasumai community radio deliberately involves professionals and local people from almost all the fields to enhance equal participation. Since community radio concentrates more on the problems faced by the oppressed and suppressed and downtrodden people the representative members include academicians, social workers, civil society members, students, youth group,
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and the people in an around the college. Hundreds of students produce and participate in community oriented programmes like skits, songs, essays, talk shows, etc. Producing and presenting programmes increases their confidence level, boosts their creativity, improves their communication and develops their personality and civic sense. The society members also contribute equally to broadcast programmes of local interest on a variety of topics. Kongu CR has brought about interaction between the common people on the one side and professionals like doctors, engineers, experts, on the other. Live phone-in programmes have helped the community interact with local elected representatives.
volunteers, farmers, women, etc. on daily basis in the phone in and live programmes to share the community views.”
Community members with social bent of mind have started taking keen interest in the activities of community radio and are producing programmes of local interests like “Mann Vaasanai” (Local fragrance). According to Thangraj, “Kongu Community radio is an important out-reach programme of the college, serving the customers, the students and the society
Community radio tells the story of the people and helps communities striving to speak out and be heard. Community radio has provided means of empowerment to the community. It has given children the chance to speak confidently. It has also helped create awareness about various issues such as environmental sustainability, social duties etc. According to Rahul, “Vivek High School’s community radio does not only give a chance to children but also parents, teachers and many more people to voice their views. Recently, the involvement is increasing among the people of the community.” The best thing about community radio is that it is operated by the community, it speaks for the community and is all about the issues of the community. Amolina feels that community radio has helped bridge the gap between the listener and the speaker. Everyone actively participates in conceptualizing the programmes. Radio JU has helped in generating confidence among students. Students from different educational institutions participate in the programme. Without slightest hesitation local people, who were prior listeners, come here to showcase their talent and ideas. Campus Jamjamat is where they speak their mind. Children from different schools participate in Shishu Tirtho where they read their self-composed stories, recite poems. The community with which Kongu CR is working is made up of two large groups - the students of Kongu Engineering College which it caters to. The change has been slow but steady and measurable.” Thus, there can be no doubt in the minds of the people that community radio, though still in its early years in the country, has made a hue difference to the lives of the people it has touched so far. There are many milestones that the movement has to cross before it is recognised as a true medium “of, by and for” the masses. Sreedher sums it beautifully when he says, “There is no doubt that ultimately the CRs must be owned by the community and already steps are being taken in that direction. No one can give an example of a radio station absolutely and completely owned by the people or the community anywhere in the world. Such a situation does not really exist but is an ideal towards which people can aspire.” 62
November 2008 | Radio Duniya
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