Radio

The Origins of Radio

The first entertainment broadcast was in the UK by 2MT in 1920. BBC began broadcasting in 1922 and was the only broadcaster in the UK until pirate radio began and grew more popular until the 60s when it became widespread, notably Radio Caroline: a station (like many) based on ships in international waters. To combat the problem of pirate radio, BBC produced on 4 more channels (employing pirate DJs) and the government passed the government enforced the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act of 1967. Pirate radio still continued inland, mainly in London. It was three decades before independent stations could apply for a license legalising their station. The most well known pirate radio stations were generally UK based.

What's on the Radio?

BBC radio has a relatively narrow audience range; Radio 1 plays new music and music in the charts, Radio 2 has a large amount of conversation infused with music, then classical music on the evenings, Radio 3 plays classical music all day round, Radio 4 is talking with occasional audio dramas, Radio 4 extra (or Radio 7) plays nothing but audio dramas and audio plays, 5 Live and 5 extra have pure conversational content. The problem with BBC is that there are no channels with just music or dedicated to playing any genre or age range. Absolute radio is a radio network (previously Virgin radio) which covers the spectrum, there is Absolute Radio, Absolute 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s etc. as well as Absolute Rock and other such channels which exist digitally. Other stations like Smooth, Capitol or Real radio all broadcast similar platforms.

How does Radio Influence?

Radio, similar to print, relies on faithful consumers. The content is usually regular in setup, such as the shows and hosts. It often mixes content which listener's know and like with similar content which they may also like. Playing similar music, for example, plays hugely in the influence of the audience; like playing the Beatles alongside the Stones, or if a person listens to the Comedy Hour on Radio 4 extra for I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, they may also like the show's spin off: I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, or if they listen to Dad's Army -they may enjoy The Navy Lark etc.

The opinions expressed by the show hosts on particular topics or arguments can influence the audience, much the way that their sense of humour can effect someone else's.