Remembering just how unique we are this World Radio Day

In an ever-evolving media landscape, the enduring importance and reassurance of radio is front and centre today as we celebrate World Radio Day.

Driving home this message is Lizzie Young, Chief Executive of industry body Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA).

“It’s critical to remember that, unlike lots of other media platforms, radio is unique,” says Young. “It’s local in a way that others can’t be.”

With a total of 259 metro and regional stations dotted around Australia, radio remains a reassuring, constant presence in the communities it serves.

It’s not just about connection, says Young (pictured above). It’s about being there in times of need.

“I think about the regional radio stations that are so embedded in their community. How they band together the community and deliver.”

“The recent Grampians fires that happened in Victoria over the Australian summer, and I know, speaking with ACE Radio Network that they’ve done a hay bale drive, because a lot of the feed was ruined in those fires … so, (radio is) helping communities get back on their feet after natural disasters.”

Natalie Pozdeev, Convenor, AFTRS Graduate Diploma Radio and Podcasting (pictured above) shares her thoughts on why radio is unique and amazing:

One, it’s accessible by 99.7% of Australians – covering vast distances, connecting city, regional and remote communities.

As well as being the most stable and accessible platform during bushfire or other emergencies with thousands of hours of emergency information each year, radio breaks news as fast (or faster) than the internet.

Radio, Pozdeev notes, also provides over 50,000 hours of content per week, over 50,000 hours of Australian news every year, and, for regional Australia, over 2 million hours of local content every year.

With Radio and Climate Change the theme for World Radio Day this year, the community radio sector continues to be a driving force in raising awareness.

The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia says today is a great day to reflect on the power that community radio has to connect with local audiences, empower communities and lend a voice to underrepresented people.

Young says World Radio Day serves as a reminder of how important it is for us all to protect the radio sector.

“(It’s) really about the uniqueness of it as a medium against all the others. We’ve seen the impact of global technology and the global platforms, and what that’s done to the media industry as a whole.”

“Using World Radio Day as a reminder about the importance of radio, as an industry, is really important to us.”

radioinfo is a partner with World Radio Day. As a partner gift, we are giving you a free chapter from Steve Ahern’s text book, Making Radio.  Download it here.