Amidst the growing competition between news channels and newspapers, FM radios have still managed to isolate itself with the market trends of merely ‘news’ and have stuck to its main purpose of providing entertainment to the listeners.
After 68 years of the creation of Pakistan and the conversion of All India Radio to Radio Pakistan, we can now see a media revolution that has strongly ingrained itself in our culture.
Starting from only one radio broadcaster, the state-owned Radio Pakistan in 1947, we can now see a multitude of private and state-owned Frequency Modulation (FM) channels in Pakistan that are providing entertainment and infotainment to its listeners.
With a new television channel launching every now and then, the focus of electronic media remains majorly on news and drama content. Amidst the growing competition between the news channels and newspapers, FM radios have still managed to isolate itself with the market trends of merely ‘news’ and ‘political news’ in particular. In the chaos and upheaval of news content, the FM channels, on a lighter note, have stuck to the main purpose of providing entertainment to the listeners.
Radio still remains a powerful source of information as it has a wide outreach. Currently, Pakistan has around 17 FM channels which have a large-scale coverage along with several regional and provincial level frequencies and on-campus radios. Among bigger channels, we have Mast FM 103, Radio one FM 91, FM 100, HUM FM 106.2, City FM 89, FM 100, Samaa FM 107.4 and others.
The radio shows are usually hosted by a radio broadcaster, commonly known as Radio Jockeys (RJs) who come up with a topic, have discussions on it, take callers, read text messages and most importantly play music. The communication with listeners is direct and new ideas, information and music are shared. Some FM channels are purpose-based who only focus on giving particular information; for instance, Rasta FM 88.8 Lahore guides the citizens of the traffic situation in the city.
What we must understand is that radio still is a very powerful and impactful platform and should be taken just as seriously, says RJ Seemal
Pakistan Today talked to various RJs to know what they think of the FM channels in Pakistan and if they are doing anything progressive for the country.
Syeda Seemal Ali of Mast FM 103 said, “I believe radio is still a very effective medium, despite all other forms of media that are now widely available, mainly because of its reach, low cost and the way it can be easily connected to.”
Our channels are going strong, our radio broadcasters are immensely popular and enjoy a vast listenership. The reason for this is that radio brings its listeners and presenters close with the presenters being live and receiving feedback every second. This way, when listeners feel connected to the person on the other side, they develop a certain bond with the broadcaster that might not be possible through television, RJ Seemal further said.
What we must understand is that radio still is a very powerful and impactful platform and should be taken just as seriously by the people working at radio stations or departments concerned, she said and added that if led in the right direction, it can continue being a resourceful medium of communication.
“However, I do miss the fact that broadcasters nowadays are not as formally trained as they were a few decades ago. Their language, its delivery and pronunciation are not given as much importance as it should but since it’s the same with television broadcasting, one cannot single out the radio and its presenters,” RJ Seemal added.
The radio trends have plateaued to a certain extent, the spectrum of growth is limited but a few stations are taking more initiatives to integrate digital and new technologies to the platform for maximum engagement, says RJ Iman
RJ Iman Azmat of radio one FM 91 said, “The radio stations in Pakistan cater to a wide array of people and different target audiences. For example, the only purely English based radio station is City FM 89. The stations with the most reach are terrestrial hence they cover more cities and have far more listeners.”
In metro cities such as Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, the listenership of radio is less as most people tune in when they are in their cars or have an affinity to particular shows, said RJ Iman.
Terrestrial stations reach out to people who do not have access to television and still listen to radio intently for news, entertainment and more, Iman added.
He said that radio stations are now mainly owned privately and though they are affiliated with large news organisations, they are not a medium of communication for news, adding, “Hence, I would say that they do have a positive impact in bringing entertainment and positivity. Progressiveness is re-established itself in terms of promotion of local talent as Pakistani music.”
About the radio listening trends in present age, the RJ said that the radio trends have plateaued to a certain extent, the spectrum of growth is limited but a few stations are taking more initiatives to integrate digital and new technologies to the platform for maximum engagement.
After 17 years of broadcasting on radio, I thought my audience would grow old with me but I find new listeners every single day, says RJ Wes
RJ Awais Malik of City FM 89 said, “From personal experience, I can safely say that my audience spans many generations who listen to radio. After 17 years of broadcasting on radio, I thought my audience would grow old with me but I find new listeners every single day increasing radio’s reach to many segments of society and different age groups.”
Primarily musical entertainment, radio’s basic function is to relay information, and in terms of progression, we inform our audience about new musicians, new technology trends and current events that are affecting our audience, said RJ Awais.
Radios create awareness and its value can be determined from the fact that despite the adoption and reach of the internet, radio still remains an important source of information when you are not connected to the internet or distracted from using an internet-enabled device.
The fact that radio is still free, which is made possible by selling your attention span to advertisers who ensure radio remains free of cost service, still makes it important and relevant in this day and age, the RJ added.