The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : ‘Radio has changed to match public interest’

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Monday, Jan 21, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

‘Radio has changed to match public interest’

Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE: “The culture of radio listening has changed drastically in the last five years in the country. More than 95 per cent of radio broadcasting consists of film music,” G. Jayalal, Deputy Director-General (South) All India Radio (AIR), said here on Sunday.

Speaking at the ‘Kaithari Thiruvizha’ organised by All India Radio and Rainbow FM Neyar Peravai at Perks Matriculation Higher Secondary School, he said that while the FM listenership had gone up significantly, that of conventional radio had plummeted.

The nation was in the grip of FM fever. People even identified the radio through FM. The AIR had a presence in the country for over 80 years and it had evolved from its earlier mode of transmission to keep pace with the changing world. Earlier, the radio was not just taken as a medium of entertainment. It also bore the responsibility of educating the masses. It had a prominent role in the nation building process and was a harmonious mix of education, information and entertainment. In the face of stiff competition, the AIR had also taken to the ‘FM technology,’ Mr. Jayalal said. The popularity of Rainbow FM service of the AIR was an example of the changing interests of the public. “Modernisation of technology is required to survive competition,” he said.

Catering to all segments of society, the AIR took pride in its qualities of the best use of language and the culture of presentation.

P.V. Ravi, Chairman of Park Educational Institutions, said the AIR and Rainbow FM had touched the lives of the weaver community in particular. J. Kamalanathan, Station Director, All India Radio, Coimbatore, said the AIR and Rainbow FM had been able to feel the pulse of the listeners through the ‘Neyar Peravai,’ a forum of the listeners of the AIR.

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