UNIT – I

RADIO BROADCAST: STRUCTURE, OVER VIEW

In a radio station, there are basically three different wings. They are

(i) Programme Wing

(ii) Engineering Wing and
(iii) Administration Wing.

While the first two wings are responsible for running a radio station’s broadcasts, the
administrative wing provides all the support that is required for the functioning of the
station.

Radio studio

The moment one mentions the words ‘radio studio’ you may think of good sound. You
may also think of the photo studio with which most of you are familiar or a film studio,
which you imagine to be a special area for shooting. A photo studio is a room which is
made exclusively for taking pictures. It has certain conditions suitable for taking
photographs. The room generally is dark; has plenty of artificial lights, which are
powerful. It is suitable for the purpose of taking photographs. There may be curtains
and pictures or scenery as background. If you want to take a photograph for a passport
or for any formal purpose, you go to a photo studio. In a studio, the visual scenery is
appropriate.

Control Room (CR)

Now let us move to the main technical area of the radio station which is often called a
control room. Whatever is spoken in the studio or played from a CD player or computer
is sent to this control room. All the programmes are sent from here to the transmitter.

 The control room occupies an important place in the radio broadcast. It is the
place, connected with all the other segments of broadcast.

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 Whatever the speaker/announcer speaks from the studio, it reaches the control
room. From here they are sent to the transmitter for its onward transmission to
the listeners. A lot of changes take place when one speaks through a microphone.
You may have noticed that your voice sounds different when it is recorded.
 In the control room, technical people control the whole process and immediately
send these waves to the transmitter.
 The transmitter sends these sound waves to the listeners’ radio sets which
convert them into sounds. There is no time gap in the whole process.

Studio Control Room (CR) Transmitter (XTR) Listener

 Transmitters are generally located outside the city boundaries.

 The transmitters are of different capacities such as 1 KW to 100 KW, 200 KW or
250 KW or above.
 Their locations are decided according to their capacity.
 A 1 KW transmitter is normally installed in the vicinity of the studio/control
room whereas the high power transmitters are installed outside the city.

Transmitter

– A transmitter is the equipment through which we receive the radio broadcast on

our sets.

– This is big equipment in comparison to other equipment installed in the studio or

control room.

– The strength and type of the transmitter determines the coverage area of
broadcast.

– There are two types of transmitters.

 Low Power Transmitter (LPT) and

 High Power Transmitter (HPT)

– Likewise, there are:

 Medium Wave (MW) radio broadcast transmitters and

 Short Wave (SW) radio broadcast transmitters

RADIO BROADCASTING SYSTEM IN INDIA

All India Radio

Three tier broadcasting system

National regional local

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 Officially known as Akashwani, AIR is a division of Prasar Bharati or the
Broadcasting Corporation of India, an autonomous corporation of the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.

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.
This also includes the North-eastern service at Shillong which disseminates the vibrant
and radiant cultural heritage of the north-eastern region of the country.

Local Radio is comparatively a new concept of broadcasting in India. Each of

these local radio stations serving a small area provides utility services and reaches right
into the heart of the community, What distinguishes local radio from the regional
network is its down to earth, intimate and uninhibited approach. The programmes of
the local radio are area specific. They are flexible and spontaneous enough to enable the
station to function as the mouth piece of the local community.

Private radio stations ( FM channels)

Radio Mirchi, Radio Mango, Big FM, Times FM ……The list is becoming longer. You must
have heard about one or more of them. But have you wondered what they are? These
are private or commercial radio stations which have been given a license to broadcast
programmes on radio.

Community Radio

Community Radio is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a limited area
or a community which is homogenous. It broadcasts programmes that are popular and
relevant to the local audience. A community radio license is required to operate a
community radio station. These stations are expected to produce programmes as far as
possible in the local language or dialect. Although the stress is on developmental
programmes, entertainment is not banned on these radio stations.

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 ORGANIZATIONAL CHART OF A MEDIUM-SIZED RADIO STATION

Editor: the owner of the Radio Station, the person who signs contracts, hires personnel,
pays all the Radio Station expenses (including the salaries of all thepersonnel). He owns
or rents the radio premises and sets down the rules, or the “editorial line” as well as the
format to follow. Usually, he personally hires the Station Manager, the Marketing
Director, and the Managing Editor.

Station Manager: handles the general management of the company, coordinates the
directors of the various sectors (advertising, music, programs, editing), makes sure the
editorial line and format are respected and that they correspond to the format agreed
upon with the Editor. He checks to see that each one does his or her own job and listens
to the needs of all the personnel. In general, the Station Manager selects the radio
broadcasters as well as the technicians for live broadcasting and production.

Marketing Director: as the name suggests, the marketing director studies the
advertising strategies that the radio will have to follow. He coordinates the agents in the
search for new advertisers and he handles the relations with the large firms which are
in contact with the Radio (for commercials).

Advertising Agent: an essential figure for the proper functioning of the Radio Station
because it is his main task to procure advertisers, in other words, money for the Station
itself. For the most part, marketing agents work by appointment, hunting down

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advertisers. They spend their day on the phone and also move physically from one
advertiser to another, presenting the advertising offers proposed by the station.

Music Director: deals with the Station’s choice of music, tries to respect the Station’s
“musical line” and broadcasting format agreed upon with the Station Manager and
Editor. He usually directs a music office where his collaborators, and he himself, listen
to and select pieces which will later be put into the programming of the radio.

Program Director: checks that all things aired are correct. He resolves any sudden
problems that come up during the program and, together with the Musical Director and
Station Manager, studies the airing of new programs or makes changes to an existing
program.

Editor-in-Chief: directs the journalistic section of the Station, checking that the
information is impeccable and correct and usually provides the Radio News. He
personally chooses and hires new newscasters and the Station’s press agent.

Newscaster: handles the editing part of the Station. He collects the news, does the
interviews, writes and anchors the Radio News, and in addition records features and in
depth analyses to air during the news program.

Radio Announcer/Broadcaster: The Broadcasting Announcer is the Company’s Voice,

he is on the front line to express The Company’s image to the public. His voice
represents that of the entire staff: technicians, newscasters, editors, and directors
included. (We’ll go deeper into the figure of the radio announcer in the following pages
of this book).

Broadcast Technician: deals with the airing of programs. Checks that the volume
levels are correct, the radio has no holes (minutes of silence), and that everything that
arrives to the public sounds good. He’s the announcer’s right-hand man, he’s with him
for the duration of the airing, and often intervenes with sound effects, theme songs or
pieces of songs. His role is very delicate, at least as delicate as the announcer’s: the
airing of the entire staff’s work is entrusted to him.

Production Engineer: produces audio material which will be aired as pre-recorded

material: jingles, backing tracks, promos, liners, theme songs, programs, spot ads,
interviews, etc.

Web Designer: as you can imagine he’s the one who is responsible for the internet site
of the Station. He usually has a number of collaborators, often the members of the Radio,
including the marketing agents with whom he works with in order to insert advertising
campaigns online.

Secretaries: handle all the work associated with secretarial duties, phone calls, faxes,
prize games, editorial work, etc…

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 FUNCTIONARIES OF A RADIO STATION

 Station director
 Station engineer
 Programme personnel
 Transmission staff
 Radio announcer
 Artist

Station Director

The Station Director is in charge of the radio station and also the head of the
programme wing. In some stations they are called managers.

Station Engineer

The Station Engineer heads the engineering wing and is responsible for all the technical
work at the radio station. In addition there is a group of technicians and engineers,
working quietly behind the scene. They operate and maintain broadcast equipment and
oversee the control room. They are responsible for the technical quality of the
broadcasts.

Programme personnel

These are persons who are engaged in planning, production, preparation and
presentation of radio programmes. They are known as programme executives or
producers. They are part of the programme broadcast process.

Transmission staff

Persons who are responsible for a smooth and trouble free transmission process are
known as transmission executives.

Radio Announcer

The radio announcer presents the programmes and is responsible for making them
interesting. The announcer has to convey feelings through his voice only. If the
announcer is dull, his description will also be dull.

Artists

In addition to the above staff, there are also music artists such as vocalists and
instrumentalists who form part of the programme staff. They are all eminent
performers in their own fields and graded according to their experience.

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 PLANNING AND DEVELOPING STORIES

(a) Number of people — i.e. the total population of the area.

(b) Number of men and women — Sex ratio

(c) Literate people/Illiterate people

(d) The languages spoken in the area.

(e) Schools/Colleges

(f) Children going to school

(g) Health facilities — availability of doctors, primary health centre, clinics, hospitals.

(h) Any major diseases

(i) Religions in the area-population wise

(j) Power supply

(k) Nearest radio stations/Television stations

(l) Climate of the place

(m) Main occupation of the people

(n) Income per head/people below poverty line

(o) Roads/transport facilities

(p) Irrigation facilities

(q) Number of people engaged in agriculture/other occupations.

(r) Types of crops.

RADIO GENRES / RADIO PROGRAMMES

1. Announcements:

These are specifically written clear messages to inform. They can be of different types.
For example station/programme identification. These mention the station you are
tuned into, the frequency, the time and the programme/song you are going to listen to.
As mentioned already you find in today’s commercial radio channels, these
announcements have become informal and resemble ordinary conversation. There can
be more than one presenter in some programmes like magazines.

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2. Radio talk:

The radio talk probably is the oldest format on radio. There has been a tradition in India
and Britain to invite experts or prominent persons to speak for 10 or 15 minutes on a
specific topic. These talks have to go through a process of being changed into radio’s
spoken word style.

Phone in programme – In this age of technological development, phone-in is the

most important format. This is called interactive programming where the
listener and the presenter talk to each other.

3. Radio interviews:

Firstly, there are full-fledged interview programmes. The duration of these may vary
from 10 minutes to 30 minutes or even 60 minutes depending up on the topic, and the
person being interviewed. There are interviews which are used in various radio
programmes like documentaries. Here the interviews are short, questions specific and
not many. The purpose is to get a very brief, to the point answer.

4. Radio discussions:-

When you have a problem in your family or with your friends, don’t you say “let us
discuss?” Yes we do. Radio discussions are produced when there are social or economic
issues which may be controversial. So when different experts meet and discuss such
issues, people understand various points of view. Generally, these discussions on radio
are of longer duration-say 15 to 30 minutes.

5. Radio documentaries/features:

 If you see a film in a movie hall, it is generally a feature film, which is story based
and not real. Radio documentaries are based on facts presented in an attractive
manner or dramatically. Radio documentaries are radio’s own creative format.
The producer of a documentary needs to be very creative to use human voice,
script, music and sound effects very effectively. Radio documentaries are also
called radio features.
 The documentary programme is a story of something. It is generally between 15
and 60 minutes in length. The actual length is usually related to the size of the
subject and the way in which it is treated. An industrial or agricultural
development may warrant up to 30 minutes, while a historical re-enactment or
archive programme (that is one using previously recorded historical material)
may require 45 or 60 minutes

6. Radio drama:

A Radio drama or a radio play is only 3 components. They are the human voice, music
and sound effects. Radio of course uses its greatest strength for producing radio plays
and that is the power of imagination and suggestively.

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7. Running commentaries:

Listening to the running commentary, you get a feeling of being in the stadium and
watching the match. The commentator needs good communication skills, a good voice
and knowledge about what is going on. Running commentaries on radio can be on
various sports events or on ceremonial occasions like the Republic Day Parade or
events like festivals, meals, rath yatras, swearing in ceremony of ministers, last journey
(funeral procession) of national leaders etc. Today radio running commentaries
especially of cricket and other sports can be heard on your mobile phones.

8. Magazine programmes:

A radio magazine is broadcast at a particular time on a particular day of a week or a

month. That means it has periodicity. Similarly it has plenty of variety in contents. Some
or many formats of radio are included in a radio magazine. These may be talks,
discussions, interviews, reviews, music etc.

9. NEWS:

Among all the spoken word formats on radio, news is the most popular. News bulletins
and news programmes are broadcast every hour by radio stations. In India, only All
India Radio is allowed to broadcast news. Duration of news bulletins vary from 5
minute to 30 minutes.

10. MUSIC:

When we say radio, the first thing that comes to our mind is music. So music is the main
stay in radio. There is no radio without music. Music is used in different ways on radio.
There are programmes of music and music is also used in different programmes. These
include signature tunes, music used as effects in radio plays and features. India has a
great heritage of music and radio in India reflects that. Let us understand the different
types of music.

11. Entertainments

Light entertainment is a rather loose term used by many stations to cover a wide field of
programming: book and short story readings; serialized drama, particularly light and
humorous drama; variety programmes featuring light musical entertainment, comics,
community singing, some types of listeners’ letter programmes, quizzes and panel
games.

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 WRITING RADIO SCRIPTS

Radio writing differs from writing for publication in print because the medium is
different. Broadcasting is a form of live publication. It is not static, but something which
moves forward in present time. This calls for a different approach - a difference in style.

 Use words which are in everyday use and are readily understood by the
majority of people. This does not mean to say that we should use only simple
words to the exclusion of all others. Where it is necessary to use an unfamiliar
word it should be explained or enlarged upon in a short explanatory sentence or
a short parenthesis.
 Sentences should be kept short. But we must avoid a series of short staccato
sentences which would make a speech sound jerky. Variety in sentence length
makes a speech sound interesting. In general, however, the length should tend to
be short rather than long. A sentence should never be longer than the number of
words we can easily carry on a breath.
 Avoid dependent clauses and clumsy inversions. Dependent clauses and
inverted clauses are quite common in written matter but we seldom use them in
normal speech. For example, we may write: ‘Longing for a cold drink, as he had
walked many miles that day under a hot sun, Festus walked into the first bar he
came to in the village.’ In radio style the idea may be better expressed this way:
‘Festus was thirsty. He had walked many miles that day and the sun had been
agonizingly hot. He entered the first bar he came to in the village.’
 Use descriptive words where possible but use them with care. The radio
listener has only words to guide him and to sketch pictures which he would
otherwise see with his eyes. The use of a descriptive word helps him to see the
picture. In the example above ‘agonizingly hot’ says more than simply ‘Under a
hot sun’. But descriptive words can be over-used if a script is filled with them.
Descriptive words are better than figures where it is possible to use them-
(twenty minutes’ walk away’ says more to the listener than a mile away’.
 Speech has rhythm and speech rhythms should be kept in mind when writing
radio script. A radio script should flow with the fluency of poetry. It helps to
carry the listener along and it holds his attention. Some of the best of radio
dramas and radio documentaries have been written by poets who have a flair for
the rhythms of language.
 A radio script should display an element of immediacy. Whatever the
broadcast, as far as the listener is concerned, it is happening now. It is an
immediate and a personal experience. This should always be kept in mind when
writing for radio. The choice of viewpoint from which a script is written, the
choice of words, the author’s approach and the enthusiasm with which he writes
all have a bearing on the sense of immediacy.

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 RADIO NEWS

 There is no specific format for radio news writing. It varies by radio stations.
Generally, scripts are prepared in all caps and lines are double spaced. The
scripts should have descriptions on sound cuts, speaker, kind of the cut like
wrap, voice, actuality, length etc. Nowadays, radio news writing style is akin to
normal conversational method. It is better write the radio news as though telling
the story to a friend. But, the vocabulary should be formal though the style is
conversational. A good news writer use words economically. Using as few words
as possible to convey message effectively will save time of the listener and make
the text more attractive. However, economy of words should not compromise
clarity, accuracy and objectivity.
 Which tense is more suitable for radio news writing? Being a commentary on the
world events, present tense is more appropriate to use. Brief sentences in
present tense will help the news readers and presenters deliver the content
easily. It is difficult for the audience to comprehend the long, run-on complex
sentences.
 Clarity and flow are the two main characteristics a radio news script should
have. The flow in writing may not help the anchor in delivery. So, conversational
flow shall be the objective. To ensure this, after preparation of the script, the
writer should read the story loud many times. If found any kind of difficulty, then
word or structure can be changed to ensure flow. Giving pronunciation guide by
inserting marks of pronunciation and pause in the script itself will help the
presenter deliver the news with nice flow.
 Repetition is waste of time and will breed contempt among the audience. Do not
repeat the facts already mentioned in the sound cuts used. However, hints given
in lead shall serve as an introduction to what the listeners can expect in the
entire news.
 Using he/she may confusing since the listener has no option to refer back. That’s
why, when referencing individuals, especially more than one, use the person by
name or title.
 There is no need to write lengthy, detail-inclusive stories for radio as we do for
the newspapers. Radio news serves to provide only the most vital facts in a story.

SOUND CLIPS, -SOUND BITES

A sound bite is a short clip of speech or music extracted from a longer piece of audio,
often used to promote or exemplify the full length piece. In the context of journalism, a
sound bite is characterized by a short phrase or sentence that captures the essence of
what the speaker was trying to say, and is used to summarize information and entice
the reader or viewer. The term was coined by the U.S. media in the 1970s. Since then,
politicians have increasingly employed sound bites to summarize their positions.

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Due to its brevity, the sound bite often overshadows the broader context in which it was
spoken, and can be misleading or inaccurate. The insertion of sound bites into news
broadcasts or documentaries is open to manipulation, leading to conflict over
journalistic ethics.

A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound
process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live
performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. These are normally
created with foley. In motion picture and television production, a sound effect is a sound
recorded and presented to make a specific storytelling or creative point without the use
of dialogue or music. The term often refers to a process applied to a recording, without
necessarily referring to the recording itself. In professional motion picture and
television production, dialogue, music, and sound effects recordings are treated as
separate elements. Dialogue and music recordings are never referred to as sound
effects, even though the processes applied to such as reverberation or flanging effects,
often are called "sound effects".

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