The market has been experiencing a rapid change because of globalization and the continuous innovations in technologies, which is having a deep impact on the workings of the society as well as the businesses. Similarly radio stations are also undergoing a change where the new idea floating around and taking shape is that of ‘more music, less talk’ format. Before deciding, finalizing and implementing, the radio stations have to look at the cost, benefits, advantages and disadvantages of whether it should be used more frequently or not.
Everything has its pros and cons which have to be taken under consideration before actually finalizing the idea. If we look at the present situation of the world, we see that an amazing number of programs have started in order to bring more and more people together, to raise social issues, and to help them in anyway possible. In short, amazing number of ways are being thought of, to create a more sensitive world instead of the indifferent, isolated, business oriented, fast paced life, that we see and live every day, without once questioning as to the reason of our distancing ourselves with the rest of the human race.
The radios have helped a lot in humanizing the whole world by bringing people, belonging from various ethnic backgrounds, to a single platform and giving them chance to freely express themselves. Now if we concentrate on the new format of‘ more music, less talk’, then the little time a DJ spends in interacting with people, from all forms of life will be finished. This interaction has various forms and various reactions. Mostly a DJ introduces a new topic on which people give their opinions and viewpoints which helps in giving a wider picture of the topic as well as educating and creating awareness among people regarding various issues.
Also a DJ plays dedication songs, which is a very sentimental and human behavior thus creating an environment of love and friendship. Now if all this is finished, the world will become even more cold and bleak to live without this form of interaction. Yes most certainly, people will find other ways to express, to mingle with people, to speak their minds, but they will not be able to fill the void left by de-humanizing the radio stations. Secondly, a large amount of awareness is due to the discussion topics that take place on-air.
If DJs stop interacting, then these discussion topics or the themed informative, educational and recreational programs will end, which will decrease the awareness level among the listeners who would be deprived of a very good and healthy form of entertainment. Computers can and do work a lot more then people, but if computers take over, this form of entertainment would cease to exist as we know it now. Those amazing theme based shows or patterns, with which the world sings along today, will be finished.
The remaining DJ’s would be spending most of their time behind computers rather than interacting and talking to the listeners. Many people will also become jobless because of the technology influx, raising the issue of unemployment to a higher level and causing the economic condition of the country to worsen. The demand of technicians will increase however, but not enough to fill the void created by the now jobless people. Also finding suitable technicians is also going to be a problem for the radio centre who if are unable to find them, the business will suffer causing tension to rise up to sky high level.
We all certainly know that computers don’t have feelings and can’t be considered running shows, unless and until they are back to back musical shows. A large number of people who will work on programming the computers for such purpose will just program it in a way that it chooses the songs randomly without an theme which would create an insensitive air. Also these people would have to be properly trained for the proper usage of the technology so that no blunders are made one on-air.
One even has to consider the computer reliability while introducing new technology and computers and internet cannot be relied on to function at all times. They have a lot of functional, technological and maintenance problems which are usually costly. Now if such a problem takes place and can’t be immediately resolved, then there station will have to closed until the problem can be solved or an alternative has been found, thus facing a lot of financial risks and the threat of losing viewers in the absence of their transmission.
All this would damage the business and if that continues, then the station would be forced to shut down. Another major issue is that of the internet connectivity. In most of the world the internet speed is pretty fast and connectivity is very efficient, but it is not reliable. Sometimes an accident takes place which cuts of the connection for a few minutes to as much a few days (Sauder, 2008). Now if this happens, the radio stations will not be able to connect with one another.
And since the station won’t be able to connect with others, other alternatives would have to be considered. DJs, of course, can be considered provided that they are still working. Also even if the radio stations are using the technology instead of the human work force someone has to feed in the music order sheets and check whether it is running in a proper way or not. Since the negative points are not the only thing to be thought about before making a decision, positive points will also have to be looked upon.
The online linking programs will give a wider selection of music, which will cater to a wider circle of people. People will be able to hear international music and in some cases international DJs. With the large amount of audience it will attract, it will also be gaining more profits in their business. People will be more informed about the music of the world and the upcoming genres of music. Since most of the work will be done by computers, the human work force will be less, which will save considerable amount of money.
Programs could be done day and night, without any breaks. In the end, all that can be said is that like everything, this also has its pros and cons. It is a wonderful idea for small periods, but for longer periods, it is better that humans handle such things. In this world of technology, one time or another, everyone wishes for a break and if that break is handled with some technology then it would be proving a good enough strategy to retain the employees.
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