Radio Today and Tomorrow

For this discussion, watch “Radio Today and Tomorrow” and “Ron Della Chiesa on Radio and Culture.” Then create a post supporting or critiquing the notion that radio will continue to be a viable mass communication platform as we move into an increasingly technological world. You will need to support your argument with at least one example from the video segments

I found the videos Radio Today and Tomorrow” and “Ron Della Chiesa on Radio and Culture” interesting; I had never given much thought to how radio is a viable mass communication platform. I personally believe that radio will continue to be a viable mass communication platform though it will never be as popular as TV or the internet. Unlike TV and the internet, radio can be used while driving in the car. According to Statistic Brain (2014) approximately 128.3 million people in the US commute to work, 87.89% of them commute by car. These commuters have only two means of mass communication available to them while in the car, their phone and their radio. The radio is the safer option when you consider that using a mobile device while driving causes about 1,600,000 accidents per year according to the National Safety Council (Texting and Driving, 2015). According to “Radio Today and Tomorrow” radio has three major genres: music, talk, and sports. These three genres are more interesting than sitting silently in a car on the way to work and much safer than using a mobile device while in the car.

“Radio Today and Tomorrow” states that “maybe the last thing that radio really can do that nobody else does is long term local programming.” While I have never lived in a smaller community nor a community that participated in local programing, I can imagine how radio could be a great means of mass communication for them. Radio would allow smaller communities to broadcast their local sports without having to pay for the TV time. The radio would allow people to hear about the local sports without having to go to the game. I believe that while radio will never win a popularity contest with the TV or the internet it will remain a viable mass communication platform even if only due to the number of people that listen to the radio while they are in the car.

Commute Statistics. (2014, January 1). Retrieved March 25, 2015, from http://www.statisticbrain.com/commute-statistics/

Texting and Driving Statistics. (2015). Retrieved March 25, 2015, from http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats/

Sterin, J. C. (2014). Mass media revolution (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.