ASIA

On the occasion of World Radio Day 2023, Eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar hosted the Ninth International Radio Fair from February 11 to 13.The objective of the event is to increase Radio listenership, sensitizing broadcasters on importance of radio in public service, encouraging youngsters to choose radio as career, promotion and exchange of culture and providing assistance to community radio enthusiasts.Radio listeners from many parts of India, working Radio Jockeys, Broadcasters and technicians from different stations of India, Union & State Ministers, Government officials, station owners, stake holders, radio associations, radio Stations from different parts of the country and abroad, artists from different states, broadcasting equipment manufacturers, radio Set manufacturers and ham radio operators from different states joined the event.

Stalls on the exhibition ground displayed thousands of antique radio sets, old and new broadcasting equipment, Digital Radio Mondiale Sets (DRM), auxiliary studio and sand art.There was also a radio repairing shop, new radio sets for sale and a handmade radio shop.Simultaneously, there were meetings, seminars, workshops and cultural programs featuring popular radio stars performing on stage.The fair also featured a Radio Jockey from Jammu and Kashmir, who said he was thankful for the chance to promote his culture through the radio.“In 2012-13, there was a decline in radio listeners, but in 2021 and 2022, the craze was back for the radio. We are here to promote the radio. Ours is a community radio which promotes our culture and we got a good platform here to do so,” Kasim, an RJ at Radio Pir Panjal from Poonch told ANI. […]

On the occassion of World Radio Day, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) released the following statement:World Radio Day is February 13 and this year’s theme is “Radio and Peace”. During times of war, radio has been an important tool to promote access to accurate news and information.Due to the Ukraine War, Russia has blocked foreign and independent media from operating in Russia. In response, the BBC resumed its shortwave broadcasts so that people in Ukraine can access news and information, demonstrating the value of the medium. Radio Taiwan International, for its part, has increased its Russian language shortwave broadcasts to Ukraine by one hour. It has also started a Ukranian Facebook fan page to show its support as people in Ukraine fight for their freedom.

RTI’s Chairperson Cheryl Lai said: “Taiwan is constantly facing threats of the mind rather than of gunpowder, so we need to be on our guard. Rti continues its mission to broadcast the truth, foster dialogue and safeguard Taiwan’s values in order to build a foundation for peace.”The United Nations has said that radio is a pillar to prevent conflicts and build peace. Radio programs can help people have deeper clarity and conversations about current affairs, which can help prevent misunderstandings and conflicts.RTI is one of the world’s oldest radio stations in operations today and was established in 1928 by the Republic of China (ROC) government as the Central Broadcasting System (CBS) in Nanjing, China. It followed the ROC government from city to city during and after WWII, eventually coming to Taipei, Taiwan. It now broadcasts news, audio and video features about Taiwan in 18 languages. […]

February 13 is World Radio Day (WRD) and the theme for the 12th edition of the event is Radio and Peace.It acknowledges that in reporting and informing the general public, radio stations shape public opinion and frame a narrative that can influence domestic and international situations and decision-making processes.On World Radio Day 2023, UNESCO will highlight independent radio as a pillar for conflict prevention and peace building, saying that this is the reason why support to independent radio has to be viewed as an integral part of peace and stability.

In India, a Community Radio Symposium is being organised on Saturday, February 11. It start with a panel discussion on Role of CR in Deepening Democracy, followed by another discussion on Radio in the Digital Age. It will conclude with media presentations by radio stations from across the country featuring snippets of their programs and discussing their relevance in today’s scenario.All India Radio, Delhi, will organise a special edition of its program Mati Ke Rang featuring Rajasthani folk music by Seema Mishra and Group which will be broadcast live on air and on the channel’s YouTube channel on February 13.Eastern Indian city of Bhubaneshwar will host the ninth International Radio Fair from February 11 to 13 to mark WRD. It will feature radio professionals, ministers, government officials, radio associations, equipment manufacturers and sand art on WRD theme, besides meetings, seminars and workshops. […]

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonLast week I spent 5 days working with a new hire. Note I said, “New Hire” which should send you all into spasms of envy that we found a new salesperson. Not only did we find one, but he pursued US and he is absolutely thrilled to be in the radio industry. When was the last time that happened to you?This gentleman has no history in radio. He has some history in sales, but in an entirely different industry and sales system. So, he is a novice.

His first day on the job, I arrived. I prefer to come a week or so later, but the timing worked out this way. We began with “radio 101” and then proceeded to work on learning my sales system: best practices, how to plan your daily activities, prospecting, doing good needs analysis meetings, writing proposals, handling objections, understanding the basics of how marketing works on the brain of consumers, how to create effective campaigns, what makes a great radio commercial, using ROI sheets. In other words, the plan he must follow to insure success.The last day, we did something additional. I had the owner and the tenured salespeople come into our meeting and share the history of the stations.Which brings up the subject of this newsletter: what is your on-boarding system?One of the problems we encounter, other than finding good people to hire, is keeping good people. And one of the reasons people leave is that they have not fallen in love with the radio industry. They don’t understand WHY we do what we do. They don’t understand how vital the radio industry is to the communities we serve. Nor do they understand that advertising is the grease on the wheels of commerce. When consumers buy, the economy improves. Advertising delivers messages from businesses to potential consumers. Our life blood is the local business person and we can help them to compete with the giant companies of the world.So, what should be included in your on-boarding process?Ideally, the owner or general manager of the company should set aside some time to meet the new person and to share their history and their “Why?”. They should share their vision for the company moving forward.The new hire should spend some time with each department in the station: sit in on a morning show and listen to the interaction with listeners. Watch the production department produce commercials. Watch the traffic department do their jobs (no person new to radio understands what a traffic person does. They think of the cross walk guard in the neon yellow vest.) Go out with the current sales staff to see them in action. Go to station promotions to SEE the listeners.Learn the forms and paperwork that each station needs to function. In other words, the internal flow of information. What resources are available at the station to help them to do their job?At each and every step, emphasize the “Why?”I remember the first time I attended an NAB. I saw 100,000 broadcasters in one place and it hit me that this was the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the staffs were still at home running the stations. Wow! I was blown away by how big and powerful we are!New hires need to feel that they are a part of something bigger than one station or group. Yes, they need to enjoy their fellow workers. They need to believe in our mission. But they also need to believe in the mission of radio in general.Radio is not dead nor dying. We have only to remember how vital we were in 2020. We remain that vital as we serve our communities in a hundred different ways. We should all be proud to call ourselves “radio broadcasters”.I hope you may formulate your own on-boarding system. Indoctrinate the new hires in the best of our industry. Welcome them into the midst of one of the best jobs in the world.Happy recruiting and happy retaining! […]

There are now even more speakers at Radiodays Europe 2023.To register with the special radioinfo rate, go to this registration page and at checkout, use this discount code RTDA23PRA for a 10% discount.Joining the list of speakers that have already been announced are

Anna Rastner (pictured), Content Director of Audio for Bauer Media Audio Sweden
Ben Cooper, Chief Content and Music Officer Bauer Media Audio UK
Benjamin Biering, Head of AI at Podimo, who brings a wealth of expertise in Artificial Intelligence
Nina Bendstrup, Sound designer and music mediator at The Danish Broadcasting Corporation at Splittet til Atomer
Francis Currie, International Audio Consultant and partner in specialist radio research company, Currie Nordén
Dennis Clark, Vice President of Talent Development for America’s biggest radio company, iHeartMedia
Nina Fletcher, International Sales Director at Bauer Media Audio
Radiodays Europe will be held on 26-28 March 2023, Prague, Czech Republic, and this year begins at 9.00am on Sunday 26th March with the Free Radiodays Europe Inclusive (formerly Radiodays Europe Women), event followed by three Summits on the Sunday afternoon: Youth, Podcast and Data Research. […]

DAB+ is now established as the core future platform for radio in Europe and Australia. DAB+ has a huge range of receivers for home and portable use with prices starting around 20 USD and now comes as standard in over 90% of new cars sold in Europe.DAB+ is now either established or under consideration in virtually all European countries as the expansion of coverage and the number of services continues. For example, national DAB+ in France was launched in October 2021, expansion in eastern Europe in 2022 including Poland and the Czech Republic, and Switzerland is preparing to switch off FM in 2024. We are also seeing a step change in interest in Africa and Middle East with multiple new deployments being undertaken for both permanent services and technical trials and demonstrations.Within this context the establishment of DAB+ in South East Asia is being led by activities in Thailand. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (NBTC) in conjunction with the Royal Thai Army Radio and Television have been running a high power DAB+ trial in the Thai capital of Bangkok since 2018. A second project has been established to test DAB+ in four major regional areas, Chon Buri south of Bangkok, Chiang Mai in the north, Khon Kaen in the northeast, and Song Khla in the south of Thailand. The regional trails are an extension of the Bangkok trial and focus on determining the suitable technical standard and parameters for the regional areas.

The NBTC commissioner for Radio Broadcast Air-Vice-Marshall Dr. Thanapant said: “The NBTC is now considering how to deliver state-of-the-art DAB digital broadcast radio to all of Thailand to ensure that the public can receive high quality radio with increased services. The results of the regional trial will be useful input into that process”.The DAB+ system design was completed  by the end of 2018 and the transmission sites, regional broadcasters’ input programs and the network implementation are in progress. The new transmissions include high power, 10 kW ERP, sites in Chiang Mai,  Khon Kaen and Song Khla to provide wide area coverage. The current Bangkok ensemble is being updated with six new services from the regional areas and form a prototype example of a national ensemble.The testing to be conducted includes comprehensive field testing to verify and update coverage field strength predictions, with particular attention being paid to the impact of building types and heights on received signal strength and quality. Indoor tests will also be undertaken in a range of in-building environments to determine the building entry loss for different types of buildings in Thailand.The Royal Thai Army TV5 is working with a number of suppliers to test new Announcement capabilities in a newly developed home/portable receiver product. The use of the Announcement feature is increasing with the Alarm Announcement (Emergency Warning) now being mandatory for portable receivers as per ETSI Technical Specification 103 461. There is also increasing interest in other announcements e.g. in Norway Announcements are regularly delivered for Traffic and Public Transport and in Germany DAB is being be integrated into a new national warning system. In Thailand the current emphasis is on the Alarm Announcement as well as the potential to use the Announcement system for local alerts such as traffic, news and other warnings such as Air-Quality.The testing programme will provide important feedback to the NBTC to help assess the cost benefits for DAB+ in Thailand. Currently there is significant congestion in FM broadcasting and little opportunity for new services. DAB+ offers a route to provide a state-of-the-art digital broadcasting solution with additional high quality audio services in defined interference free coverage areas.The initial testing is expected to be complete by the end of February 2023, however the regional trial is set to run until 2024. […]