BRPP Unit1
BRPP Unit1
BRPP Unit1
Broadcasting in India actually began about 13 years before AIR came into
existence. In June 1923 the Radio Club of Bombay made the first ever broadcast
in the country. This was followed by the setting up of the Calcutta Radio Club
five months later. The Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) came into being on
July 23, 1927, only to face liquidation in less than three years.
The phenomenal growth achieved by All India Radio has made it one of the
largest media organisations in the world. With a network of 262 radio stations,
AIR today is accessible to almost the entire population of the country and nearly
92% of the total area. A broadcasting giant, AIR today broadcasts in 23
languages and 146 dialects catering to a vast spectrum of socio-economically
and culturally diverse populace.
The News Services Division, of All India Radio broadcasts 647 bulletins daily
for a total duration of nearly 56 hours in about 90 Languages/Dialects in Home,
Regional, External and DTH Services. 314 news headlines on hourly basis are
also being mounted on FM mode from 41 AIR Stations. 44 Regional News
Units originate 469 daily news bulletins in 75 languages. In addition to the daily
news bulletins, the News Services Division also mounts number of news-based
programmes on topical subjects from Delhi and its Regional News Units
The Three Tier System: The National channel of All India Radio started
functioning on May 18, 1988. It caters to the information, education and
entertainment needs of the people, through its transmitters at Nagpur, Mogra
and Delhi beaming from dusk to dawn. It transmits centrally originated news
bulletins in Hindi and English, plays, sports, music, newsreel, spoken word and
other topical programmes, to nearly 76% of the country’s population fully
reflecting the broad spectrum of national life. The languages of broadcast are
Hindi, English and Urdu apart from some music from other Indian languages.
The Regional Stations in different States form the middle tier of broadcasting.
They originate programmes in the regional languages and dialects. Regional
Channels are located in the major linguistic-cultural region of every state. 116
Regional Channels are spread over 29 states & 6 Union Territories including the
North-Eastern Service at Shillong that projects the vibrant cultural heritage of
the North-Eastern region of this country. The Regional Channels, broadcast
largely on the Medium Wave frequency, follow a composite programme pattern
comprising of music - classical, light, folk and film, News and Current Affairs,
Radio plays, features, Farm and Home programmes, programmes on Health &
Family Welfare and programmes for Woman, Children etc.
Community radio is when local people produce and broadcast their own
programs and participate in operating the station. It is community space for
people to meet and collaborate. It is extraordinarily fun and often life-changing.
It typically leads to individual creativity and self-empowerment. Participants
find it extraordinarily satisfying, not just to make radio in this unique fashion,
but to also help transform community life. Community radio is a world-wide
phenomenon. Its roots date back to the late 1940s when it was introduced as a
way to offer media access to union members and their families during a labor
strike in Bolivia.
• In 1949, Pacifica Foundation established the first community radio station in
the United States. Since then, this vibrant media movement continues to spread
throughout the world—from Western countries to remote third-world
communities. The urge to do community radio fulfills the basic desire for
communication and self-expression and is on the forefront of today’s
democracy movements. Typically, two principal aims are achieved: • Cultural,
political and artistic voices excluded elsewhere get heard. • Individuals and
communities are enriched. • Community volunteers are trained and given a
central role in radio production, operation and program development. Youths
also get a chance to participate. Stations remain responsive to community needs
and consistently seek input from listeners.
Benefits of Community Radio
Each radio station, except the smaller ones, has Programme, News,
Engineering, Administration, Accounts, Audience Research and Security
Units. The head of the station reports to the Director-General directly or
through regional/zonal heads. He coordinates the various units to ensure
that the communication objectives of the organization are achieved through
the station's programming and other activities. The typical organization
chart of a radio station is given below:
Station Manager At the top of the pyramid is the station manager, who's
responsible for day-to-day operations. She enforces the owner's standards while
making sure the needs of all employees are being met. The station manager
maintains the budget, hires and fires, trains personnel and reviews employee
performance. She also ensures that operations comply with Federal
Communications Commission regulations.
Operations Manager The operations manager holds down the No. 2 spot within
a radio station and usually focuses on coordinating, scheduling and promoting
on-air programming. He works closely with disc jockeys, anchors and hosts to
make sure they represent the station's branding correctly. When new
programming options must be found the operations manager is usually in charge
of doing the detective work. He answers to the station manager.
Program Director Program directors create and plan the daily broadcast
schedule. This means locating and providing the news, music, or entertainment
that should be covered while monitoring on-air activity to ensure content is
disseminated properly. There is usually a program director for each individual
broadcast. Program directors generally work with the same staff every day and
report to the operations manager.
Sales Manager Having a sales manager working with a team which constantly
generates revenue by selling air time to advertisers is vital. Some of her charges
research potential accounts, do some cold-calling and generally generate sales
leads. Others actually sell air time to meet a quota while negotiating price and
payment schedules. The sales manager must often designate employees to
perform collections on past-due accounts.
Office Manager The office manager works with a team of administrative and
finance employees to handle logistics, payroll, taxes, bills, audits and legal
matters. Administrative employees also field phone calls and take messages for
the station manager and operations director. They also book any outside
business travel for station employees as well as lodging for guests. The office
manager reports to the operations manager or station manager.
Chief Engineer The chief engineer manages a team that handles all technical
matters. In addition to supervising, he must regularly inspect equipment,
maintain and repair it when necessary, purchase new equipment when merited
and abide by FCC regulations. The engineering staff is often directly involved
with broadcasts by editing tracks, managing sound effects and monitoring the
station's signal for strength, quality and overall clarity. The chief engineer
reports to the operations manager.
On-Air Personalities Transmitting the station's voice to the public falls to on-air
personalities. Disc jockeys play music, take requests and provide information.
Anchors deliver the news, weather and traffic updates. Hosts often conduct
interviews and allow listeners to call in and become part of the show. All must
align with station branding. On-air personalities report to their program director.