RADIO PROGRAM

PRODUCTION
BY BIZUAYEHU ABIY
RADIO AS A MEDIUM OF MASS COMMUNICATION
The medium and its characteristics
 During the first years of its development, radio communication was called
"wireless telegraph and telephane".
 However, this name was too long for. convenience and was later changed to
"radio", which comes from the well-known Latin word "radius" a straight line
drawn from the center of a circle to a point on its circumference.
 The word "radio" now means the radiation of waves by transmitting stations,
the propagation of these waves through space, and their reception by receiving
stations.
But this is not all During its rapid growth art of radio has become closely
associated with many other branches of science and engineering, and it is now
difficult to limit the word "radio" to any simple definition.
Radio can also be seen as a medium used for sending and receiving messages
through the air using electronic waves.
It can also be defined as the broadcasting of programmes for the public to
listen to.
It is a medium of transmitting messages by electronic signal to a scattered or
receiving audience.
 It is a box which the receiver possesses and by which he or she traps the
electronic signals through the antenna and receives a message.
Characteristics of radio
Radio makes pictures
It is a blind medium but one which can stimulate the imagination so that, as soon as a
voice comes out of the loudspeaker, the listener attempts to visualize the source of the
sound and to create in the mind’s eye the owner of the voice.
Unlike television, where the pictures are limited by the size of the screen, radio’s
pictures are any size you care to make them.
Radio speaks to millions
Radio is one of the mass media. The very term broadcasting indicates a wide
scattering of the output covering every home, village, town, city and country within
the range of the transmitter.
Its potential for communication therefore is very great, but the actual effect may be
quite small.
Radio speaks to the individual
Unlike television, where the viewer is observing something coming out of a box
‘over there’, the sights and sounds of radio are created within us, and can have
greater impact and involvement.
Radio has no boundaries
Books and magazines can be stopped at national frontiers but radio is no
respecter of territorial limits. Its signals clear mountain barriers and cross deep
oceans.
The transition nature of radio
The transitory nature of the medium means that the listener must not only hear
the programme at the time of its broadcast, but must also understand it then.
The impact and intelligibility of the spoken word should occur on hearing it
there is seldom a second chance.
Radio as background
Radio allows a more tenuous link with its user than that insisted upon by
television or print.
The medium is less demanding in that it permits us to do other things at the
same time programmes become an accompaniment to something else.
Because radio is so often used as background, it frequently results in a low
level of commitment on the part of the listener.
If the broadcaster really wants the listener to do something to act then radio
should be used in conjunction with another medium.
Radio is selective
There is a different kind of responsibility on the broadcaster from that of the
newspaper editor in that the radio producer selects exactly what is to be received
by the consumer.
The selection process takes place in the studio and the listener is presented with
a single thread of material; it is a linear medium.
Radio lacks space
A newspaper is able to give an important item additional impact simply by
using more space.
The personality of radio
It is an invisible quality which attracts us to some people more than to others.
A great advantage of an aural medium over print lies in the sound of the human
voice – the warmth, the compassion, the anger, the pain and the laughter.
A voice is capable of conveying much more than reported speech. It has
inflection and accent, hesitation and pause, a variety of emphasis and speed.
The vitality of radio depends on the diversity of voices which it uses and the
extent to which it allows the colorful turn of phrase and the local idiom.
The simplicity of radio
The basic unit comprises one person with a microphone and recorder rather
than even a small TV crew.
This encourages greater mobility and also makes it easier for the non-
professional to take part, thereby enlarging the possibilities for public access to
the medium.
Radio for the disadvantaged
Because of its relatively low cost and because it doesn’t require the education
level of literacy, radio is particularly well suited to meet the needs of the poor
and disadvantaged
Radio is low cost
Relative to the other media, both its capital cost and its running expenses are
small.
The speed of radio/ medium of immediacy
It can report the event almost instantly, as they are happenings. So it is the
medium of the “here and now”.
The radio is enormously flexible medium and is often at its best in the totally
immediate live situation
A radio receiver is portable / Radio is a Mobile Medium
Don’t you move your radio set at home from the living room to the kitchen or
as you go out somewhere? You can’t do that very easily with television.
This facility of moving an object which is called ‘portability’ gives radio an
advantage
Interactive
The simple phone-in feature during live programming, as well as pre-live
public comments, and suggestions on various issues, make it very interactive.
Radio—its strengths
Its universality
In a sense radio is universal. It can leap across distances and jump the barriers of
illiteracy.
Radio is flexible.
A scheduled programme can be dropped at short notice and replaced with
something more topical or more urgent.
It works in a crises time.
Radio—its weaknesses
Beside its strength radio is dependent upon sound alone. Unfortunately what we
only hear usually has less impact upon us than what we both hear and see.
Turning weakness into strength
Sounds heard and overheard provided they are interesting or provoking can
excite curiosity and stimulate the imagination to a very high degree.
Mental Imagery: Radio promotion utilizes sound, and a significant benefit of
the present circumstance is that it urges crowds to involve their creative mind in
making pictures while handling the advertisement messages.
Although sound-only appears at first to be a weakness there is much to be said
in its favors.
We are inclined to regard the things we hear only with far greater detachment
than the things we both hear and see.
We become less emotionally involved with radio than when we are watching
television or films both of which can absorb us completely and often without
stimulating thought.
Again, while listening to the radio we can do other things.
A radio discussion followed by music creates favorable conditions for family
or group discussion of the theme of the programmer: this is not true of the
cinema and seldom of television.
 HOW RADIO BROADCASTING WORKS

Understanding the sound

 All sounds consist of vibration. An example is the sound of a person's voice that
consists of vibrating in the air that is caused by the person vibrating vocal cords.
Sound travels through the air in the form of waves called sound waves. When
sound waves reach a person hears the original sounds
The three elements for sound to exist
Source: This is where the sound is produced. Sound is created by pressure waves
generated when something vibrates, causing particles to move back and forth and
collide with each other.
For instance, when we speak, our vocal cords vibrate, creating sound waves in the
throat.
Other sources include snapping shrimps underwater or musical instruments
Medium: Sound requires a medium to travel through. Different substances
transmit sound at varying speeds.
Air, for example, has a speed of sound of 343 meters per second at room
temperature, while water allows sound to travel much faster (1,482 meters per
second).
Sound waves propagate by particles bumping into each other. Notably, sound
cannot travel in a vacuum because there are no particles for the waves to
interact with1.
Sound is a mechanical wave, so to propagate it, some material or medium is
required. We know a vacuum is an empty space where no matter particles are
present.
A mechanical wave is a type of wave that propagates through matter (such as a
solid, liquid, or gas) and requires a medium in order to transport energy. Unlike
electromagnetic waves, which can travel through a vacuum, mechanical waves
rely on particles in a medium to transfer their energy
Sound cannot travel through a vacuum as there are no particles present for
vibrations to take place.
Sound waves travel through a medium by particles bumping into each other as
they vibrate.
Imagine it like a relay race: each particle holds a bit of information (like a
baton), and when it contacts the next particle, it passes on the energy of
vibration.
Receiver: To detect sound, there must be a receiver. Humans perceive sounds
within a frequency range of approximately 20Hz to 20,000Hz, depending on
age.
 As we age, our ability to detect high-frequency (high-pitched) and low-
frequency (low-pitched) sounds diminishes.
Sound below the human hearing range is called infrasound, while frequencies
above 20,000Hz are termed ultrasound.
During a radio broadcast, a microphone picks up speech and other live sounds
that make up the programme.
An electric current in the microphone creates vibration in it that match the
sound waves. Accordingly, these electric Waves are used to produce the radio
waves that make up the broadcast.
In the same way, the equipment in the radio station changes the prerecorded
sounds of a programme in to electric waves.
Electric Waves to Radio Waves
Electric waves that represent the sounds of a programme travel over wires to
the control boards.
The control board has many switches and dials. A technician controls the
sounds sent to the board by varying the volume loudness of each sound.
Sometimes, the technician may even blend sounds together.
The electric waves move to the transmitter from the control board
Transmitting Radio Waves
It is the transmitter that strengthens the incoming electric waves that represent
the broadcast.
The transmitter also produces another kind of electric waves called carrier
waves. It combines the carrier waves with the electric waves from the radio
studio.
This combination becomes the radio signal that bring the program to radio.
The transmitter sends the radio signal to the antenna. The antenna, in turn,
sends the signal out into the air as radio waves.
Types of Broadcast Waves
Depending on the way the carrier waves and signal are combined, a radio
programme could be transmitted in one or two ways these two kinds of radio
transmission are Amplitude Modulation (AM) and Frequency Moderation
(FM).
AM radio, or Amplitude Modulation, is a type of radio transmission that encodes
information such as voice, music, or data onto a radio wave by modulating its
amplitude, or strength.
The radio wave is then transmitted over the airwaves and picked up by a receiver.
AM radio has a rich history, dating back to the early 1900s. It was the first type
of radio transmission to be widely used for broadcasting and communication.
 In the early days of radio, AM was the only way to transmit audio signals over
long distances, and it quickly became the dominant technology for radio
broadcasting.
How it transmit
With the AM, an antenna sends out ground waves and sky waves.
Ground waves spread out horizontally from the transmitting antenna. These
waves travel through the air along the earth surface and the curve of the earth
from a slow distance.
Sky waves spread up into the sky when they reach the layer of the atmosphere
called the ionosphere, they are reflected back to earth. Their reflection enables
AM broadcasts to be received at great distances from the antenna. (Uyeh 2007).
AM signals may be either long wave (LW), medium wave (MW), or short
wave (SW). MW signals are commonly used for AM broadcasting.
Short wave
Frequency Range: Shortwave radio operates in the high frequency (HF) band,
which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 meters).
Shortwave radio primarily uses skywave propagation for transmission. In
summary, shortwave radio relies on both ground waves (for local coverage) and
sky wave propagation (for long-distance communication)
Propagation Mechanism:
Shortwave signals can be reflected or refracted by the ionosphere, a layer of
electrically charged atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere.
This allows shortwave signals to be reflected back to Earth at great distances, even
beyond the horizon. This phenomenon is called sky wave propagation or “skip.”
Application
Historically, shortwave broadcasts played a crucial role in early radio history and were
used for international communication.
Today, shortwave broadcasting has declined due to other technologies, but it remains
important in war zones and for long-distance communication.
Shortwave radio is also used by aircraft
 Radio Ethiopia 93.1 is an AM radio station. It operates in the medium wave (MW)
frequency band.
Medium wave
Frequency Range: Medium wave radio operates in the medium frequency (MF) band,
typically from 530 to 1700 kHz (approximately 180 to 560 meters).
Propagation Mechanism:
MW signals primarily use ground waves for transmission.
Ground waves follow the Earth’s curvature and are suitable for local and
regional coverage.
AM radio stations commonly use medium wave frequencies. MW signals
cover shorter distances compared to shortwave Used for local news, music, and
talk shows.
Reliable for local coverage.
Less affected by atmospheric conditions.
Long wave
Long wave radio operates at wavelengths longer than 1,000 meters (or
frequencies up to 300 kilohertz (kHz)).
It includes the low frequency (LF) and very low frequency (VLF) bands.
In Europe, Africa, and large parts of Asia (ITU Region 1), long wave usually
refers specifically to the broadcasting band between 148.5 and 283.5 kHz,
which falls within the low frequency band of the radio spectrum (30–300 kHz).
Propagation Mechanism:
Long wave signals primarily use ground waves for transmission. These waves
follow the Earth’s curvature and can travel over long distances.
Ground waves are suitable for local and regional coverage.
Advantage of AM transmission
One of the reasons why AM radio technology is still relevant today is its
ability to provide reliable and widespread coverage, especially in remote or
rural areas where other forms of communication may not be available.
Simple Detection: AM signals are relatively easy to detect using simple
equipment, even if the signal is weak. This simplicity allows for widespread
reception.
Narrow Bandwidth: AM radio uses a narrower bandwidth compared to FM
(Frequency Modulation). This efficiency allows more stations to coexist
within the available frequency spectrum.
Moreover, AM radio technology has continued to evolve and adapt to
changing times. For example, some AM radio stations have started to
incorporate digital technology, such as HD Radio, which can improve the
sound quality and provide additional programming options.
Frequency Modulation (FM) :
What does FM mean of the radio? We used to refer to the general use FM
radio (76-108MHz, the country is 87.5-108MHz, Japan 76-90MHz), in fact is a
FM modulation, even in the short wavelength range of between 27-30MHz , as
an amateur, radio station, space, satellite communications applications the
band, there is also an FM mode.
In radio communication, in order to enable radio signals to be transmitted over
long distances, data must be "modulated." In the simplest terms, the data must
be loaded into the carrier signal. The carrier signal has a fixed amplitude and
frequency (frequency). Due to these two basic.
The FM radio antenna sends out waves that travel in the same direction as AM
Waves.
The difference between AM and FM waves here is that the FM waves that go
skyward are not reflected. What happens is that they pass through the atmosphere
and go into space.
The waves here travel horizontally do so in what is called “lien or sight” .this
means they cannot be received further than the horizon seen from the antenna.
Advantage of FM transmission
High-Fidelity Sound: FM broadcasting offers higher fidelity—more accurate
reproduction of the original program sound—than other broadcasting techniques,
such as AM (Amplitude Modulation) radio. This makes it ideal for transmitting
music and general audio.
Frequency Modulation decreases the noise; hence, there is a significant increase
in the signal to noise ratio.
It also reduces the interference by the adjacent channels through guard bands.
BASIC ELEMENT OF RADIO
Spoken words
A message through a radio or any other medium, have certain codes form the
sender of the message and one who receives the message decodes them.
there are four basic elements which constitute radio programmes, whenever we
listen to any programme of any radio station from any part of the world, we shall
hear only these four.
Words are the most important part of any radio programme.
These words are different from printed words because they reach a listener
through a ‘human voice’ and thus are ‘spoken words’.
Radio words combine to make a double code. The first is their intrinsic meaning,
enhanced by the beauty of language, and the second is the voice in which these
are delivered
Thus, the quality of voice as well as delivery of words can make the language of
radio more effective, depending on the style of presentation. In brief we may say
that:
Words used in a radio programme are spoken words.
 These give a feel of human presence.
 These also reflect some aspects of the speaker’s personality.
These may tell us about the ‘broadcast stations’ or even the country from where
the broadcast is coming
The role of spoken word/human voice in production
Communication and Connection:
Voice is the primary means of communication in radio. It allows broadcasters to
convey information, ideas, emotions, and stories to their audience.
Listeners connect with radio hosts, announcers, and presenters through their
voices. A warm, engaging voice can create a sense of familiarity and trust.
Conveying Meaning and Emotion:
Spoken words carry meaning, and the way they are delivered influences how
listeners interpret that meaning.
Emotional nuances (such as excitement, empathy, or urgency) are conveyed
through voice modulation, pitch, and tone.
Creating Atmosphere and Mood:
The timbre (quality) of a voice can set the tone for a radio program. For
example:
A deep, resonant voice might suit a serious news segment.
A lively, energetic voice could enhance a music show.
Background music combined with spoken words creates a specific
atmosphere.
Voice actors bring characters to life in radio dramas, creating vivid mental
images for the audience.
Their expressive voices evoke emotions and immerse listeners in the story.
Music
Music is the lifeblood of the radio industry. Music is the soul of radio. It
represents the vast majority of all content on AM/FM radio.
 In radio Film songs and classical music programmes are independent
programmes.
It is used in different ways on radio.
signature tune
 is a short musical passage or song that is chosen by an orchestra or musical
entertainer as a means of identification. It is typically played at the beginning
and/or end of a particular television or radio program, or to mark the
appearance of a specific performer
Introducing music
A radio program introduction, also known as an intro, is a short segment at the
start of a show.
Its purpose is to introduce the hosts, provide a preview of what’s coming up
(such as guests, topics, or music), and set the tone for the show.
Radio intros can vary in length, from 10 seconds to several minutes.
The music can be slow, fast, groovy, or match the show’s theme.
Bridge music
In the context of radio production, a bridge serves as a crucial element in
creating engaging and dynamic content.
A radio bridge is a segment that connects different parts of a radio program.
It acts as a transitional passage between various sections, providing continuity
and variety.
Purpose: The primary purpose of a bridge is to smoothly transition from one
topic, segment, or mood to another. It adds depth and interest to the overall
program.
Background music
 it refers to playing any soundtrack behind the scenes as an accompaniment
playing in a marketing, journalistic, or instructional video background.
These tunes allow you to present your ideas cohesively and systematically,
especially when switching between scenes or thoughts.
Setting the Mood and Atmosphere:
Background music sets the tone and creates an emotional backdrop for the
content being broadcast.
It can evoke feelings of excitement, nostalgia, suspense, or relaxation,
depending on the chosen music.
Engaging the Audience:
Well-selected background music captures listeners’ attention and keeps them engaged.
It adds depth to the content, making it more enjoyable and memorable.

Filling Dead Air:

Dead air (silence) can be awkward for listeners. Background music fills those gaps,
maintaining a continuous flow.
Enhancing Storytelling:
Background music complements narratives, enhancing storytelling in radio dramas,
interviews, or documentaries.
It adds depth and intensity to the spoken words.

Entertainment music
 The purpose of these type of music is to entertain the audience
 it may also used for massage transfer and for enhancing the massage as well as
conveying the mood.
The role of music in production
Music adds color and life to any spoken word programme.
Music can break monotony.
Music is used to give the desired effect of happy or unhappy situations, fear or
joy.
Music can suggest scenes and locations. For example, you have to create a
bright early morning situation.
Sound effect, atmosphere or ambience
Because radio is a blind medium with no visuals, appropriate sound effects
enrich the visuals created by spoken words in listeners’ minds.
Radio plays and documentaries take immense help from suitable sound effects
Sound effects in a radio programme give meaning and sense of location. It
adds realism to a programme and helps a listener to use imagination.
 A sound or audio effect is defined as a sound that has been enhanced or
entirely created through artificial means. The background sounds of footsteps,
rainfall, a telephone ringing, or other effects helped the listener to visualize a
scene in their minds.
Pose or silence
Radio is a sound medium but absence of any sound is also an important part
of language of radio.
This really is the most interesting contradiction that no radio programme can
be imagined without natural and even deliberate pauses or silences.
Pause is an integral part of the grammar of radio. The use of a comma or full
stop in print is replaced by that of a pause in radio.
Basic element that affect radio sounds
There are different factors that affect sounds' quality in a radio program production.
These are:
 Acoustic
 Echo and reverberation
 Microphone position

Acoustic
 it is the property of an enclosure (a room or studio) in relation to sound. The science
of absorption and reflection sound is also called acoustic.
The shape, design and furnishing property of a room that make good or bad for
carrying sound is taken as the acoustics of that room.
When we talk about acoustics' effect of recording studio, its effect on sound becomes
very clear.
Mind you, sound travels much differently in an enclosed space than it does outdoors.
Acoustic divide into two:- dead and live
Dead Acoustic:- to understand this, imagine a recording studio sound.
 If the studio's wall, floor and ceiling are made up of sound absorbing (not
reflecting) materials there will be no re-bouncing of sound to the mic. In this
case we will have dead acoustic.
When a sound is created, it radiates from the source in all directions. traveling
out wards until it meets an obstacle such as the walls, floor or ceiling. When it
does so it is either wholly or partly absorbed or reflected, according to the
nature of the substance it encounters.
If the material concerned is porous and of sufficient thickness, the sound waves
will penetrate it and find their way through it. Thus, there will be no bouncing
back sound. This forms dead acoustic.
In most cases radio studios are constructed with sound absorbing materials that
suit the production of sound.
Since studios are designed to dead acoustic, the sound that bounces around the
room has a very minimum effect on the recording.
Thus, the microphones in the studio deal with the direct sound of the voice
speaking into them.
Generally, a room with an abundance of absorbent materials has dead acoustic
Live acoustic:- A room is said to be live if it is lacking in absorbent materials.
When a sound is produced in an enclosed space, the waves will hit the walls,
floors and ceiling and the proportion of their energy that is not absorbed in the
surface will be reflected. That shows live acoustic.
The walls, floor and ceiling of most rooms are reflective in their natural state.
plastic, wood and glass-window
To reduce reflections draperies (fabric or clothing hanging) must be thick and
preferably spaced away from the walls.
Echo and Reverberation
Echo and reverberation are indirect sounds, which means the sound created by
the direct sound reflection reaches a shorter time later after the direct sound
reflects from the different surfaces.
Echo:- It is the repetition of sound caused by early reflections
Reverberation:- is the densely spaced reflection created by repetitions of a
sound.
It is an audio effect consisting of a reechoing or reflection of sound
Both echo and reverberation can be used for radio production to perform
 Dramas, like imaginary ghosts speaking to create a fearful feeling
 advertisement
 documentaries
 song/orchestra
Mic position
For microphones to pick up sounds they must be pointed to the direction of
the sound source, otherwise the sounds or voices will be "off mike".
Not only is the direction that is important, but the distance between the mic
and the sound source is equally important.
Particularly mic perspective (the effect of distance that mic creates pictures in
the audience's mind) is important aspect for environmental settings.
The more reverberant the room, or the greater the risk of disturbance noise,
the closer must be the microphone and the narrower its angle of acceptance.
Getting Know the Working Environment
1. Organizational structure
The basic departments in every radio station are:
 Administrative Department
 Programmes Department
 News and Current Affairs Department
 Engineering Department
 Commercial Department

Administrative Department
This department is in charge of recruitment, welfare, promotion, development,
discipline, and demotion or dismissal of staff of the media house.
This department has the following units:
 Accounting/ Finance Department: The department is in-charge of all monetary dealings
that involved the station It is in charge of collecting accounts, distributing the operating
budget, handling sales contact, guides the station on money matters such as budget planning .
 Pay roll: This handles the monthly payroll of all personnel.
Programmes Department
The department handles the production of various programmes that are
carried out by the station. It houses producers, research assistants, and
presenters.
News and Current Affairs Department
This department is saddled with the responsibility of collecting, processing
and disseminating news and other report on current to its audience.
The department according to Ajidahun (2007) has workers like reporters,
editors, drivers, cameramen, typist, etc. The head is the director of news.
Engineering Department
This department ensures that all technical facilities are in order.
It controls and maintains the transmitter, electrical appliances, and cars meant
for the station. The chief-engineer often heads it.
Commercial Department
This department is basically designated to raise a fund that will help in the
continuous transmission and survival of the station.
 Therefore, the department canvasses commercials (advertisement),
announcement, seek programme sponsorship and does other activities that will
generate funds for the organization.
2. Facility for Radio Station
Facilities for radio stations are that essential thing that makes up a radio station.
The Studio
A studio is to the broadcast station what the heart is to the human body.
Apuke (2014) describes it as the actual bridge between the sender and the receiver
in a broadcast business.
It contains a lot of equipment. The studio simply put is the heart of every radio
station. It is normally divided into Cubicle and control room
The Cubicle:- The cubicle contains chairs, tables, microphones, speakers,
world clock and other gadgets. It is separated from the control room with a
transparent glass panel.
Apart from the announcer, operators any other person stays in the cubicle. It
may also be called a performance arena.
The control room:- it is the technical hub of a radio station, managing and
processing all audio content.
Its main function is to receive audio from various sources, such as
microphones in the studio, CD players, or computers, and mix them to create a
cohesive broadcast.
Once everything is mixed and balanced, the control room sends the final
output to the transmitter for broadcasting to listeners.
It is the heart of radio production, ensuring high-quality audio reaches the
audience.
3. Equipment For Radio Production
By definition, equipment are all the materials installed in the studio for the
production of programmes, starting from furniture to digital equipment.
The microphones
This is a technology that amplifies and regulates the sound output in a
programme.
It is a transducer or a device which converts the variation of sound pressure in a
sound wave into corresponding electrical variation in an electric circuit. In other
word it is a device that converts or changes sound energy into electrical energy
In other words a microphone can be regarded as an instrument which changes
sound energy into electrical signals.
These signals are further amplified by an amplifier to make them suitable for
loud speaker’s hertz and for modulating waves.
There are basically two ways of distinguishing microphones.
 how they generate current
 By the pickup pattern; the direction(s) from which the mike ismost sensitive to incoming
sound
The main difference between dynamic, condenser and ribbon mics is the way
they convert sound to audio.
As transducers, dynamic and ribbon mics rely on electromagnetic induction
while condensers work on electrostatic principles.
 The transducer elements (diaphragms and capsules) are vastly different.
Moving-coil/Dynamic Microphones
Moving-coil mike is the most common type of microphone, (sometimes
referred to as a dynamic mike.
The term “dynamic” really refers to the electromagnetic transducer type, so
ribbon mics (which we'll get to shortly) are also technically dynamic
microphones.
In the moving-coil mike, the diaphragm is connected to the coil of wire
(sometimes called a voice coil], and the coil surrounds a magnet.
When the diaphragm vibrates in reaction to sound, the coil moves in a similar
fashion around the magnet, causing a small current to flow through the coil and
out the mike.
The moving coil mike is relatively inexpensive, very durable, and responds
well to powerful signals, such as those created by screaming singers
Unlike condenser mikes, the moving-coil mike doesn't require a separate power
source, and so it's quite portable.
The only thing less than terrific about this mike is its frequency response,
especially in the high-frequency range. (A mike's frequency response is the
range of frequencies to which it's capable of responding.)
The Ribbon Microphone
As mentioned earlier, ribbon microphone transducers are dynamic. The term
“ribbon microphone” refers to the diaphragm of these mics and has been
popularized to distinguish them from moving-coil dynamic mics.
The ribbon mike operates on the same principle as the moving coil, except
that the diaphragm and coil of wire have been replaced by a thin metallic
ribbon.
Sound causes the ribbon to vibrate (within the magnetic field), thus generating
the current.
Even though ribbon mikes produce fantastic sound, they have serious
drawbacks. The ribbons themselves are very fragile.
Also, ribbon mikes are very expensive, prohibitively so for many small
studios and radio stations. What's more, the sensitivity that makes them so
wonderful in the studio is a real problem in out-of-studio settings.
The Condenser Microphone
A condenser microphone converts sound waves into audio signals via
electrostatic principles. It does so with a capsule designed like a parallel-plate
capacitor. One plate is movable (the diaphragm), and the other is stationary (the
backplate).
The condenser mike (sometimes called a capacitor or electret mike] attempts to
combine the positive qualities of ribbon and moving-coil mikes, while
minimizing their shortcomings.
They may not have the high price tag of good ribbon mikes, but they're
considerably more expensive than moving-coil mikes.
These mikes also have the problem which was alluded to earlier. They run on
electricity provided by an outside power source.
Pick Up Pattern: Microphone can be made so that they pick sound from one,
two or all directions.
1. Uni-Directional Microphones
Unidirectional microphones, also referred to as directional microphones, pick
up sound from one direction.
they have a polar pattern (see below) that’s designed to focus on sound
coming from a particular direction while excluding sounds from other
directions.
In this kind of one side is alive and the other side dead. they are preferred in
situations where a single sound source is the focus of live audio or recording
sessions without picking up too much ambiance or background noise.
Telephone Hybrid
The advantage it has against the others is that it discriminate unwanted
sounds.
2. Bi-Directional Microphones
This is a microphone that picks sound from two opposite directions (the front
and the back) and not from the sides because the diaphragm is open to air at
both sides.
The possibilities with a bidirectional microphone are endless. Bidirectional
microphones can be used for recording vocals, live performances, podcasting,
and more.
When strong rejection from both sides is a must.
Captures a discussion between people across from each other
When recording in a small space yet wanting to get the sound reflections.
3. Omni-Directional Microphone:
It picks sound from all directions. It measures the pressure of air in sound waves
and responds equally to sound from directions.
Omnidirectional microphones are recommended in any situation that requires the
audience to hear sounds from multiple directions.
Many musicians swear by omnidirectional mics for moments when multiple
instruments need to be picked up at once.
The greatest advantage of an omnidirectional microphone is its ability to
eliminate the proximity effect, which is a term for the additional bass a
microphone picks up based on how close the speaker is to the mic, improving the
overall quality.
Omnidirectional microphones are advantageous over un-directional microphones
in that they allow greater flexibility in the directionality of sound pick-up. Stated
again, a user can speak into any side of the microphone and it will still pick up
good gain from all sides
Special Purpose Microphones
There are many microphone designed for special purposes.
Lavalier: This microphone is hung on clothing at neck level permitting easy
movement on stages or within an audience. They work well in fairly noisy
conditions.
Noise cancelling microphones: Microphones often have to be used in noisy
places, e.g. sporting events where the time of the loudest noise may coincide
with the greatest need for explanation by the commentator.
Bass-Tip-Up: the selective emphasis of bass, which occurs when a microphone
responding to pressure gradients is placed where there is a substantial reduction
in sound intensity between the two points at which the sound wave is sampled.
 It is most noticeable when the microphone is close to the sources
Audio console
The audio console is an essential part of a radio station studio12. It is also
known as a mixing console, mixing desk, broadcasting desk, sound panel, or
sound desk.
The console is to the audio producer what the heart and brain are to the human
body.
Despite the wide variety of consoles on the market, all of them, from the
simplest to the most complex, basically perform only a few standard functions:
 Amplification—raising and lowering a signal's level (the signal is an electrical
representation of a sound]
This means that the console can be used to boost the sound.
Mixing—combining signals from different sources into a single compound
signal.
The mixing console has a lot of input and output, which are these days
digitally operated.
Switching—sending a signal from one piece of apparatus to another Some
consoles, especially larger ones, are equipped for one other function:
Processing—electronically altering the signal.
Tape recorder
The broadcast control room houses a tape recorder that looks like the
consumer model open reel-to-reel recorders.
Patch panel:
This is found in most control rooms, the patch panel is a series of jacks that are
connected to various points in the control room.
The patch may be used to connect any source into the console or it may serve
in emergencies to route audio around a defective piece of equipment.
Monitor Speakers
 Essential to any production is the ability to hear what is being done. A good
monitor system allows the producer to carefully evaluate the quality of what is
being recorded or broadcast.
Turntable
Two or more turntable allows the engineer to cue one record while another is
playing.
Cartridge tape
Tape Broadcast stations use cartridge for announcements, music, commercials
and news stories. They are also useful in production of music and sound effect
Telephone Hybrid
 It is used to join the console with audios coming from phone calls.
This is important if you want to take phone calls while you are on-air.
In simple terms, a Hybrid is an interface that connects two-wire phone lines into input
and output. These connectors are plugged into an audio console.
Many Hybrids also contain echo cancellation and an automatic equalizer.
On Air light
There is a special light just for that!
This light is automatically turned on/off by the audio console whenever a microphone
channel is turned on.
In fact, in order to show everybody that the program is live, you need an On-Air light.
There must be one inside the studio, and one outside.
It prevents people from coming into the studio, opening doors or disturbing the show
with any kind of noise.
Broadcast Audio Processor
The Audio Processor is a very important piece of equipment, as it is usually the last one
you use before your audio is transmitted. It improves and optimizes the sound quality of
your Radio, thus giving it a unique sound with its own character.
You may choose between several mood sounds such as jazz, pop, rock, classical,
etc... or even create your own sound.
Mainly designed for medium/small radios (local radio stations, community
radios, web radios), the Audio Processor combines ease of use, flexibility and
robustness.
It is indeed a combination of a multiband compressor/limiter and a parametric
equalizer together with other effects.
It compresses the overall dynamics of the program, but it is also possible to
increase the volume, because it prevents against over-deviation, clipping and
other saturations – all effects that create distortion.
The final result will be a “louder” and “bigger" sound for your radio.
Headphone Distributor
In the studio there is often more than one person participating in the program.
For this reason, a Headphone Distributor is necessary to connect several users to
the same source.
Headphone distributors have four, eight or more outputs; each one with an
independent volume adjuster so as to allow each user to set a self-comfortable
level.
Headphones
Headphones allow you to listen carefully to the audio you broadcast.
These are connected to the same audio channel that feeds the speakers: when
you plug in the headphones, the speakers will mute automatically.
If you want to have complete control over your audio, you need to be able to
monitor it using headphones.
Mic Arm
Studio microphones are often mounted on a special arm that keeps the
microphone at the proper height.
A Mic Arm helps you move the mic around and adjust it to your liking.
Microphone Processor
To stabilize the voice of the speaker on a constant level, a Microphone
Processor is necessary. This is an audio compressor than can decrease the
volume of the voice when it is too loud, or amplify it when it is too low.
Doing so produces a sound that captures all the details of the voice but levels
out volume changes.
A microphone processor helps smooth the audio, minimizes background noise
and cleans the signal.
It helps with the mixer control, since it is not necessary to continuously adjust
the level of the microphone.
It also helps to get "Radio Sound", so that it always sounds at the right level
and the speaker can concentrate on performance – rather than worry about
being too close or too far from the microphone, or even speaking in too loud or
too soft a voice.
Computer Automation Software.
This computer system makes it possible to play background music and
commercials.
The software is called Automation Software or “Playout”, and it is designed to
continually play music in the background.
The heart of these programs is the Playlist – which is a list with all the audio
files that need to be played.
Most automation systems also contain a Music Database, Hot Keys (to play
ad-hoc audio), an Audio Editor, a Segue Editor (to change the mix between the
different elements), Interfaces for Website and RDS data, and a lot more.
Talent Panel
If you are planning on having guests on your radio show, it is important to get
a Talent Panel.
With a Talent Panel, guests can control their own headphones and microphone.
It would be smart to place the Talent Panel in front of the guest’s microphone.
In fact, while the Main Announcer or Panel Operator controls everything via the Audio
Console, guests often need their own individual control for headphone levels, cough mute
and mic on/off.
Most panels include a headphone jack, and some also contain an XLR connector for the
microphone.
CD player
 Even though nowadays most of the music comes from some MP3 source, you still need a
CD Player of good quality to play music.
The CD Player is used even just as a backup, or as a way to capture old archival material.
uner FM Receiver (good quality)
Tuner
To monitor the real sound you are broadcasting a good quality Tuner is necessary.
This will also help you compare your on-air sound with that of your competitors.
 WRITING RADIO SCRIPT
What is research?
According to the American sociologist Earl Robert Babbie, “research

is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and control the

observed phenomenon.”

What is a researcher?
A researcher is a person engaged in conducting research, possibly

recognized as an occupation by a formal job title.

The researcher's role in media production
suggest ideas;

suggest new treatments;

find contributors, audition and interview them and ‘mind’ them in studio or on

location (celebrities, experts, MPs, contestants, documentary subjects

check facts;

find statistics and confirm their accuracy;

The personal attributes of a researcher.

well educated and informed with interests in a wide variety of subjects; a whizz at
Curious and with the ability to ask pertinent (having a clear decisive

relevance to the matter in hand) questions and sound convincing even

when they know nothing about the subject.
A good listener with the ability to précis accurately and take good notes;

An excellent memory;

Excellent organisational and administrative skills;

careful and gives attention to detail;

The essential social skills

WRITING FOR RADIO
“SAY IT Before You Write It.’ That’s the only cardinal(basic) rule of talks writing for

radio. The good radio talk must live up to its name.

It is neither literature nor print journalism. It is made with the mouth

Writing words to be heard by the ear is quite different from words to be read by the

eye.
The layout of sentences, their order and construction has to be thought through in

order to be totally clear and unambiguous at their first hearing.

The listener does not have the possibility of re-hearing something. It must make sense

first time, and this places a special responsibility on the radio writer.
Who are you talking to?
The listener comes first. Decide who it is you are talking to. Is this for a

specialist audience – like children, doctors or farmers – or is it for the general,

unspecified listener?

Structure and signposting

 In radio not only are our words simple and our sentences shorter, but things

must be in the right order cause comes before effect.

Tell stories in a logical order
Make sure that your content has a beginning, a middle and an ending.

Alike the literature product radio program also share the common narration

structure introduction/beginning, middle/body and ending/conclusion.

 since every story telling is follow the common narration stay it is not

difference for radio program including news the difference lies on the content,
and information order.
Unlike the other literature In case of news the most important information or

the climax come first.

Some basic rule
Conventional writing
Writing for broadcast can mean tossing away literary conventions, including the

rules of grammar, if the words are to make sense to the ear, rather than the eye.
Write the way people talk. Sentence fragments as long as they make sense are

acceptable
Writing in conversational style means writing for the ear.

Newspapers, obviously, are written for the eye, which means that if readers do not

understand something, they can return to the paragraph or sentence and read it a
second time.
In broadcast news, the audience has no such luxury; they hear the copy just once. As a

result, broadcast copy must be written clearly and simply.

Thoughts must be expressed quickly with brief, declarative sentences.

Plain English/language
It is about straight forward writing using commonly understood words, rather than fancy

language(using elaborate or pretentious language to impress others) intended to impress.

As journalist Harold Evans put it, plain English is about calling a spade a spade and not a

factor of production.
The enemy of good writing is the official, the bureaucrat and the so-called expert who

uses words as a barrier to understanding instead of as a means of communication. Their

aim is to mystify rather than enlighten.
A good deal of the journalist’s time is spent translating their obscure language

into plain English so ordinary people can make sense of it.

Never run anything on air that does not make complete sense to you.

Keep it concrete
Precise instructions, complex abstractions, ideas or statistics – anything, in fact, which is

hard to picture in the mind – do not come across well.

What it boils down to is that broadcasting is a pretty poor medium for analysis, compared

with hard copy, written at length, in print where it can be pored over and digested.
As somebody once said: ‘Half of what you say is forgotten; the rest gets twisted.’

The way to use the medium successfully is to keep statements simple, direct, concrete and

to the point, and to express them in a way that everyone will readily understand.
Rhythm
Usually with spoken English sentences rise and fall and end with the voice turned down; unless

that sentence is a question, when the voice will rise at the end.
While print journalists concentrate on cutting words out, broadcasters sometimes extend

sentences to make them sound more natural.

Be brief.
A good newspaper story ranges from hundreds to thousands of words.

The same story on television or radio may have to fit into 30 seconds perhaps no more than 100

words.
If it is an important story, it may be 90 seconds or two minutes.

You have to condense a lot of information into the most important points for broadcast writing.
Tick to short sentences of 20 words or less.
The announcer has to breathe. Long sentences make it difficult for the person voicing the

script to take a breath.

American broadcaster Irving E. Fang researched what makes broadcast copy easy or

difficult to understand. He devised the Easy Listening Formula, which is based on the
length of words in a sentence.

Avoiding Information Overload

Often, copy that is difficult to understand contains too much information in any one

sentence, a situation known as information overload.

 Some of the nation’s finest newspapers are guilty of overloading sentences, but, as

mentioned earlier, readers can always reread complicated passages.

Familiar words:- Speaking the layperson’s language also means using familiar words.

Re-statement helps the listener to get the message.

In radio broadcasting the listener must get the message immediately and clearly. We can

help him to do this by re-stating in another way what we have already told him.
These are the main characteristics of the spoken word.

Though it is written, it is spoken.

 It is written for the ear not the eye.

It is conversational and should therefore sound like one and have the following qualities

 It should be simply worded without any difficult or unfamiliar words.

 There should be only one idea in a sentence and not many idea

 The words chosen should denote the exact meaning and not be vague or abstract

 The words should make pictures in the minds of the listeners.

 Abbreviations or short forms should be avoided. If an abbreviation is used, then

its full form should be given.

 While referring to more than one person, avoid using ‘he’ or ‘she’. It can confuse

the listeners
 Though there are thousands of listeners, what is written should be meant for just

one listener.
THE CONCEPT AND TYPES OF PROGRAMS
Radio Programming/Production
In the very early days of radio the hours of transmission were
short in some cases as little as half an hour a week and the
programmes were almost entirely music.
As the hours increased talks were added and later on the news.
It was not until technical facilities had greatly improved and
audiences had grown in size that the elaborate programme
structure of today emerged with its aim to please everybody.
The early patterns of programming were arrived at more by
accident than design as no one had prior experience of the
medium.
because of the rise of television and its relegation/removal to an almost

wholly secondary or background medium

radio largely abandoned its pattern of varied, separate, 'constructed'

programmes, a pattern known as mixed programming, and adopted

instead.
'streamed' programming, output of one particular and predictable type

organized into strips or sequences, each lasting several hours.

This continuous, specialized output has become known as 'format' radio
Each station has the liberty to determine which programme comes up at what
time, provided such programmes meet the desire of the station audience.
The plane of allocation program according to time of the day and duration of
each programme is known as programming.
Programmes are scheduled to take care of a variety of programmes
such as drama, sports, documentary, cultural displays, discussions and
a host of others.
All these are presented to meet the desires or for the consumption of
the stations audience.
Programme Creation
Programme creation deals with both real-life and imagined situations
that need to be addressed.
In programme creation certain stages must be followed these are:
Programme Idea
According to the BBC Dictionary (1992:573), an idea is a plan or
possible cause of action.
Owuamalam (2007:41) states that, an idea is a mental construction
crafted to generate stimulation.
It is an imagination that seeks actualisation through programme
production.
Programme idea involves the selection and placement of materials
in a manner that ensures understanding by the audience.
 The material should also have an appeal to the audience.
Programme Proposal
A programme proposal tends to be a statement, often a written one which

is put forward for the accomplishment of a task.

The statement indicates the direction towards which the programme

would go.
It may not contain all the details but should be comprehensive enough to

give the producer an idea of what the scenario is all about so that
assessment would be made as to the requirements of putting up such a
programme.
Programme packaging
Having taking into consideration, a programme proposal, idea,

concept the next step is the packaging of the programme.

At this stage, the producer already knows the reason behind his

programme. He then picks a format either documentary, children,

feature, entertainment, etc. it should be noted that the format of a
programme is affected by the Idea and Concept.
Programme Production and presentation
After a programme is set up in its genres the next step is the

production of the programme.

Programme production deals with how programs are finally

produced and presented to the listeners.

It deals with the manipulation of the studio equipment to bring out

the desired output.

It is this stage that requires the creativity of the producer in terms of

sound manipulation and other special effects.

Here programmes are edited in terms of recorded programmes in

order to give an enticing output.

A producer is required to choose a special sound effect if the

programme is a drama programme.

It is common practice in most broadcasting organizations to classify

programmes under two general headings:

Spoken word broadcasting, which includes talks, discussions,

educational broadcasting, programmes for special audiences

(women, children, rural listeners), drama, documentary, magazines
and news, and religious broadcasting.
Music, which includes programmes of gramophone records, live

musical performances of all kinds and variety entertainment.

Spoken word
Talks and Discussions Format
 Most of the spoken-word formats are talk-based.
Talks were the earliest form of spoken word broadcasting. They are the simplest
form and can still be the most effective.
Talk is a straight delivery of words by a particular speaker. Radio talks are
generally of short duration i.e. 5 to 10 minutes.
Talk can be an effective format to present an opinion on an issue or a problem.
These are generally planed in advance; however, talks on important items or
current affairs are also arranged at a short notice.
In most broadcasting organizations the term ‘talk’ embraces the straightforward
talk, the interview and the discussion. In some it also includes the documentary.
The personality of the speaker in a talks programme is of the greatest
importance and far more so than in any other kind of programming.
The best of radio talks is a friendly chat built around one subject. It is a spoken
composition and like any composition it needs a unified structure: it has a
clearly defined beginning, middle and an end.
Some talks producers reduce the structure of the talk to the following four
phases Begin to say it. Say it. Say it again. Say what you have said.
Discussion program
The discussion programme provides a platform for the exchange of ideas.
The ideas may be important ones which concern us as individuals, as members
of a community or as nationals of a country; or they may be ideas intended
simply to entertain us
It presents analysis of an issue from different angles and brings forth more than
one opinion on a given subject
In sharp contrast to the talk, which is presented by one person, a discussion
generally includes ~adio Formats 2-3 participants and a moderator.
The simplest discussion is an extension of the interview in which the
interviewer plays a more positive or provocative role.
This kind of discussion is best handled by a station personality.
More conventional discussions are those presided over by a chairman and
taking place between three or four participants;
such panel discussions or forums are generally rather formal, with chairman
acting as moderator and not participating in the discussion himself except to
spark off a new line of inquiry
Still another type of discussion follows the lines of a debate and is usually held
before an audience
A chairman presides and two protagonists put forward opposing views on the
question under debate, the audience being invited to join in their discussion.
The essential ingredient of any discussion is conflict. The members of the
panel must have differing points of view.
Interviews
An interview requires the participation of two people; the interviewee and the
interviewer. Interviewee is the subject expert who may be a political leader,
scholar, adventurer, dancer, actor, comedian etc.
There are several kinds of radio interview but essentially they can all be
classified under two headings:
The personality interview which seeks to bring out the personality of the
interviewee and tells us something about his life and ideas.
The personality interview may be with or about a celebrity or someone whom
we call a celebrity for the time being.
It may show us how the interviewee thinks and feels, and how he reached his
position in the public eye; it may bring out his views on questions of the day
The information interview which seeks out facts.
The information interview is less interested in the personality of the
interviewee than in what he/she has to tell us: about something that is in the
news, some work he is engaged in or his views on an issue on which he is
competent to talk.
NEWS PROGRAMMES
For quite some time the quickest and the most important way of getting new
information used to be Radio.
Even today, there are many loyal listeners of radio news who start the day
with listening to morning news bulletin.
Radio News is basically a spoken-word item. But as its production is distinctly
different from that of other programmes, it is taken as an independent segment
of broadcasting.
Radio News is different from a newspaper or television news. Radio news can
only provide hard facts and not the finer details of an event as given in
newspapers.
News Bulletins
The News Bulletin has been the traditional format of presenting radio news.
The News Bulletins cover both national and international news, human-interest
stories and sports news, which generally round off the major bulletin.
News Magazines
News magazine format is in vogue these days. A news magazine as the title
suggests, includes a variety of news based items in different formats.
These could be a news bulletin, a topical commentary, talk, interview,
discussion and a press review.
Newsreels
Newsreel is in the nature of a news report. It is generally of ten minutes
duration.
In sharp contrast to the news bulletin which is broadcast live, newsreels are
always recorded.
In a news bulletin, news items are dealt in crisp and concise manner. Newsreel
deals a story in greater detail by including voice dispatches, interviews and
actual background sound.
Documentary and feature programmes
 The terms are often used as if they were interchangeable and there is some confusion as

to their precise meaning.

 The basic distinctions of type are to do with the initial selection and treatment of the

source material.
 A documentary programme is wholly fact, based on documentary evidence written

records, attributable sources, contemporary interviews and the like. Its purpose is
essentially to inform, to present a story or situation with a total regard for honest,
balanced reporting.
 The feature programme, on the other hand, need not be wholly true in the factual sense,

it may include folk song, poetry or fictional drama to help illustrate its theme.
Purpose: The primary goal of a documentary is to educate and inform the

audience. It may also serve as a historical record.

Here the basic intent is to give some point of view( it is beyond teleing the

story there is always the expected course of action).

 Feature news aims to provide a deeper understanding and context. It allows

journalists to tell compelling stories beyond the headlines.

The intent is to give broad coverage of the issue in detailed and entertainment

or soft manner.
The radio feature
Whereas the documentary must distinguish carefully between fact and fiction

and have a structure which separates fact from opinion, the feature
programme does not have the same formal constraints.
radio features may be fifteen to forty-five minutes long. In this kind of

programme the aim is to introduce and present a topic of current interest,

about which there is a fair amount of knowledge, gained through research.
Radio documentary
It is factual broadcasting, specifically informational in character and often

directly educational in intent. The word documentary’ is frequently used to

describe it.
The word documentary is derived from the French documentaire and was first

coined by early film-makers to describe a school of film-making which was

neither wholly fictional nor wholly factual.
The documentary can tell the story of something that is happening or that has

happened.
 It may tell of an important national event about to take place, or one that did take

place in the past. It can tell us about the life of a person, what he did and what he
thought.
 Most are factual-that is they are concerned with real things. But some are abstract-

they are extensions of reality or they probe into hidden regions beyond reality.
 The critical questions for the producer to ask himself when embarking on a

documentary programme are:

 What length will the subject interestingly sustain?
 What techniques can I use to hold listener interest over a long period? There are
many types of documentary programmes.
Talk Shows
Talk shows have become very popular on television. Talk shows are also

organized on radio In this format, two or three speakers are invited to speak
on a given topic, and the audience present in the studio question them.
This may be termed as an extension of interview format in which one person

talks with one expert.

 In talk shows, the experts may be more than one, and the persons to ask the

questions are also more than one.

Radio drama
Radio drama are good entertainment and are especially effective in the

dissemination of information.
There are many advantages that radio dramas have which make them the ideal

vehicle for conveying information/awareness that may otherwise end to be

boring.
Drama programmes according to Asemah (2011) is seen as a play that is acted

out. It is a play that is written and performed by an artist who personifies

certain areas of beliefs with the major aim of bringing about a change.
Commercial Programme
This comprises advertisement, jingles, announcement, and publicities. These

programmes are mostly paid for by an identified sponsor or a community

developmental program.

Magazine programmes
 These consist of a talk, news report, a discussion, drama, interviews,

commentaries, eyewitness account, a narrative, music, short story, etc.

Normally, the magazine programme starts with a topical issue. It puts a variety

of items together and these varieties of items normally break monotony.

Qualities of radio program producer
ability to see and hear what is happening around you.
This would mean a keen desire to know more about things. We may call this
inquisitiveness.
Unless a person is inquisitive, he or she cannot be a good radio producer. This
is because you need ideas to produce interesting programmes.
How do you get ideas? Let us think. Firstly, we need to observe things to get
ideas
 observing things as discussed above.
drawing from experiences : We have good and bad experiences in life. People
who have written stories, novels, poems and plays draw their ideas mostly from
their experiences
You have just read about the experiences of others. How do you come to
know about them. Well, you need to talk to others to find out and understand
their experiences.
Ability to conceptualize ideas:
You may get any number of ideas, but you need to turn them into concepts
and then in to radio scripts.
Creativity
What is creativity ? Are you creative? This is a quality which is found in
almost everyone.
But you need to be creative in putting together an idea in a manner which can
attract people .
Creativity would mean, doing something new or different. The same idea can
be made into a radio programme differently by different people.
A good user of words.
 You need the ability to use the right word at the right time in the right manner.
Radio programmes depend on a good script and that depends on your ability to
write well.
For this you need a very good knowledge or stock of words or a good
vocabulary. You have to be using words in the appropriate manner.
pre-production stage
Identifying the Aim and Defining the Scope
In planning an effective radio programme, the most important step is to identify the broad

aim of the programme

 whether the intended programme imparts education, whether it is informative, aimed to

generate awareness or enrichment type or entertaining in nature.

it is an important part of the planning process because your entire effort is geared towards

achieving those objectives.

Content Planning and Research
Content planning begins when you collect and collate(arange) all the material connected

with a subject.
Selecting the right material help in content planning which must ensure that the

programme does full justice to the subject chosen.

Selection of Format
In radio language, the word ‘format’ is used to refer to the form of the

programme such as the talk format, the story format, the feature format and so on.
Selection of Scriptwriter and Other Talents
In radio broadcast most of what goes on the air is written in advance. If it is a

programme in the talk format the producer selects a talker who writes the script.
In the case of a feature, the producer writes the script himself or engages a

scriptwriter. The selection of a script writer is of crucial importance.

Selection of Time Slot
Radio stations maintain a chart which indicates the time slots for various

programmes meant for different targets groups. The selection of time slots is
done by the station management taking into account the views of producers.
 The selection of time slots depends upon the preferred listening timings,

which may vary according to the local conditions.

production stage
The two important steps of production are: rehearsal and recording.

Studio time is precious and therefore, before the talker/artists/participants

begin recording, they are to be rehearsed.

 Most of the radio stations have a separate room in the studio complex for

rehearsal known as Read Over Room (ROR). This is the first stage of rehearsal
without microphone. The second stage of rehearsal is inside the studios with
microphones.
studio recording and outside studio recording (both are live and recorded)
key to good presentation.
The seven Ps Here are the recognized basics of good presentation:

Posture.
Is the sitting position comfortable, to allow good breathing and movement?

Cramped or slouching posture does not generally make for an easy alertness.
Projection.
Is the amount of vocal energy being used appropriate to the programme?

Pace.
Is the delivery correct? Too high a word rate can impair intelligibility or cause

errors.
Pitch.
Is there sufficient rise and fall to make the overall sound interesting?

Pause
Are suitable silences used intelligently to separate ideas and allow

understanding to take place?

Pronunciation.
Can the reader cope adequately with worldwide names and places? If a

presenter is unfamiliar with people in the news, or musical terms in other

languages, it may be helpful to teach the basics of phonetic guidelines.
Personality.
The sum total of all that communicates from microphone to loudspeaker, how

does the broadcaster come over? What is the visual image conjured up? Is it
appropriate to the programme?
Post-production Stage
The completion stage

It is only in the post-production stage that the desired content takes the final

shape.
As this is the final stage, here the producer gets the opportunity to give the

finishing touches to the content.

The main component of post-production is the editing
It is The process of selecting and re-recording the footage and eliminating
the bad.
Radio editing and its principle
 Audio often has to be edited before transmission to remove unwanted parts of
a recording.
 In an interview, people tend to cough, pause, make false starts and other
mistakes; all these events are annoying for the listener and, if left untouched,
would waste valuable time in a news bulletin.
 Editing should never be used to change the sense of what someone is saying.
 It is not acceptable, for example, to splice together a question and answer
which did not actually occur together in the original conversation.
 Fluffs and unnecessary hesitations can be remedied. But you must be aware
of the ethics of editing an interview to make someone sound more fluent.
 Remember to remove any reference to material already edited out. You will
confuse the listener if you leave in things like ‘As I said before …’, and ‘I tell
you again …’.
 By the same token, remove any time references if the interview is
being prepared in advance.
 You should interview in such a way that editing is reduced to a
minimum.
WHY EDIT?
 To remove hesitations, repetitions, coughs etc.
 To shorten material to make it fit the limited time-slot available.
 To pick the key points out of a long and rambling interview.
 To remove errors and stumbles — ‘fluffs’, in the jargon.
 To add coloured leader and trailer tape at the beginning and end of
a programme or insert, and to add similar spacers between the
different bands of an insert tape.
Typical Audio Editing Applications
 Trim sound bites out of longer audio files
 Reduce vocals from a music track
 Cut together audio for radio broadcasts or podcasts
 Save files for your iPod, PSP or other portable devices
 Create ringtones from music files or recordings
 Record voiceovers for multimedia projects
 Restore audio files by removing noise, hissing or hums
 Normalize the level of audio files