(Subject Code- 203)

UNIT-1 {Understanding the Medium}

Radio as a Medium of Mass Communication:-

Meaning of Radio: Radio is known as a medium of communication. It is one form of mass

media. Radio was started experimentally in India in 1920. According to the Oxford dictionary
“Radio is a piece of electronic equipment used for listening to radio broadcasting”.

Radio as a medium of Mass Communication

●We see every medium of mass communication works in its own unique way and carries the
message far and wide. Each medium has its advantages and limitations in the areas of
operation, influence and impact. For instance, print depends on the ability to read. For
communicating a message to a child or an illiterate person, television, film or radio would be
effective.

● The 1920s witnessed the coming of radio broadcasting in many countries, including India.
However, during World War I, the need of radio started taking the shape of reality. First time,
during war, the need of wireless transmission is realized to communicate with allies,

● By 1930s, radio was considered an intimate and credible medium. The public used it as a
news source and expected it to provide factual information. Radio was the first truly mass
medium of communication, reaching millions of people instantly.

● However, over a period of time, the media scene has changed drastically. Television with
its strength of audio-visual component has captured the imagination of the people. However,
despite the presence of a plethora of media, there is room and scope for each medium.
Experience has revealed that ‘new technologies add things on but they don’t replace’. In the
changed media scenario, radio is reorienting itself with more innovative programmes and
formats.

● Radio is an attractive medium among the various mass communication media because of its
special characteristics. It continues to be as relevant and potent as it was in the early years
despite the emergence of more glamorous media. Kapoor, Director General of AIR (1995)
said, " Radio is far more interactive and stimulating medium than TV where the viewer is
spoon-fed. Radio allows you to think, to use your imagination. That is why nobody ever
called it the idiot box".

Objectives of Radio – The Operations of All India Radio began formally in 1936, as a
government organization, with clear objectives to inform, educate and entertain the masses.
Firstly, radio informs; secondly, radio educates; and thirdly radio also entertains.
Mass Medium- Radio, a form of mass media and sound communication by radio waves,
usually through the transmission of music, news, and other types of programs from single
broadcast stations to multitudes of individual listeners equipped with radio receivers. From its
birth early in the 20th century, broadcast radio astonished and delighted the public by
providing news and entertainment with an immediacy never before thought possible. Radio is
an art form that heavily relies on the power of human voice. It creates a connection that are
beyond physical distance with the help of radio It feels like performer voices directly to your
soul making it an everlasting medium for heartfelt communication. It is a much cheaper and
readily available media The very essence of the word broadcasting implies why
dissemination of information covering every home village town city will be transmitted. It is
an important accessible to all the platforms where the radio apps are truly free.

It is one of the best communication tools that can deliver fresh music and up-to-date news. It
might also be argued to be the one medium that benefits everyone as one does not have to be
literate to engage with it. Similarly, Radio can add value to many if the right sources are used
for information, education and entertainment.

Some of the common terms used in the medium of radio:

Audience: The group of people whom radio or media reaches for a particular programme.

Listener/s: A person or a group of people who form the target audience of radio
programmes.

Broadcaster: a person who presents or announces programmes over radio for the public.

Broadcasting: any communication or transmission of any message or signal to the public

through electronic apparatus.

Tuning into radio: You have to switch on your radio and tune into the station you want to
listen to.

Live broadcast: It means a programme being broadcast directly without any pre-recording
or the sounds made at the moment of broadcast.

Pre-recorded programme: The programme recorded on magnetic tape, phonographic discs

or compact disc for broadcasting it later.

Script: The written copy of the words to be spoken during a radio programme.
CHARACTERISTICS OF RADIO -

Radio makes pictures: As you listen to any radio programme, you are able to visualize or
‘see’ pictures in your mind of what is being described.

Radio speaks to individuals: An intimate medium - Radio carves a unique niche as an

intimate medium dominated by visual spectacles. Unlike television, where the audience
remains passive observers of distant events, radio’s magic unfolds within the confines of our
own consciousness. It has the potential to resonate, creating a deep personal connection with
each listener.

The unique appeal of radio lies in the intimate connection it creates by directly telling stories
into the listener's ear. Radio is an art form that heavily relies on the power of the human
voice. It creates connections that are beyond physical distances. With the radio, it feels like
the performer speaks directly to your soul, making it an everlasting medium for heartfelt
communication.

Radio speaks to millions: A mass medium - It is a much cheaper and readily available
medium. The very essence of the word “broadcasting” implies wide dissemination, covering
every home, village, town, city, and country within the transmitter’s range. And,
importantly, radio is accessible to all, a democratic platform where the airwaves are
truly free.

“Man ki Baat,” a renowned radio program, exemplifies radio's role as a megaphone to

the masses. With the Prime Minister at the forefront, this initiative empowers citizens
with direct communication with their leader.
This platform has the ability to cross geographical and social boundaries, making it accessible
to millions of households. Through “Man ki Baat,” the Prime Minister addresses pressing
issues, shares inspirational stories, and connects with people on a personal level. Radio
remains a powerful tool to unite nations, disseminate information, and strengthen bonds
between the government and its people.

(iii) The speed of radio: Medium of immediacy-: Radio is the fastest medium. It is instant.
As things happen in a studio or outside, messages can be sent or broadcast. These messages
can be picked up by anyone who has a radio set or receiver which is tuned into a radio
station.

It can report the events almost instantly as they are happening. So, it is the medium of the
“here and now." Even for television, it is more challenging to take the camera immediately to
events as they are happening. But the radio is an enormously flexible medium and is often at
its best in the immediate live situation.
Radio is a mobile medium - Radio is a reliable companion that can keep you entertained,
informed, and comforted no matter where you are. Whether you're relaxing at home, out for a
picnic, driving on the highway, or attending a special occasion, the radio is always there to
keep you company. Its ability to transcend the boundaries of place and time makes it an ever-
present and accessible source of entertainment.

Simplicity of Radio: Compared to all other media, radio needs very simple technology and
equipment. The simplicity of radio - For program production, radio is a much cheaper and
simpler medium. A basic radio setup can comprise just one individual armed with a tape
recorder, a testament to the medium’s flexibility and affordability. For broadcasters, this
simplicity allows for dynamic scheduling, with programs easily added, shifted, or dropped at
a moment's notice. Radio has no boundaries - Radio signals know no territorial bounds; they
effortlessly traverse mountains and oceans. In a world where geographical barriers often
fragment communication, radio unifies. It connects disparate communities, bridging divides
and fostering a sense of global togetherness.

Breaking Language Barriers - Radio is an accessible medium of & communication,

especially in developing nations, due to its simplicity and directness. It is easy to understand
for people who are illiterate or have low literacy levels. In regions where reading and writing
is difficult, radio is regarded as a source of enlightenment. It disseminates knowledge and
information through spoken language, which is clear and easy to comprehend.

The Transient nature of radio - Broadcasting requires listeners to tune in at specific times,
limiting their ability to understand content beyond the broadcast window.

Radio as background- Radio is a wonderful companion that doesn't require your full
attention. It enables you to multitask, seamlessly blending into the background of your daily
life. Whether you're cooking, cleaning, or working, radio effortlessly interweaves its stories
and melodies into the fabric of your routine.

Radio is selective- Radio is a medium that operates in a linear fashion. The selection process
is done within the studio, and the listener is presented with a single, uninterrupted thread of
content. This provides a well-thought-out and curated experience that is deliberately created
for them. Due to the simplicity of choice, the listener is able to have a focused and immersive
journey through the medium.

The limitations of radio are as follows:-

A one chance medium: When you read a newspaper, you can keep it with you and read it
again. You have the printed word there and unless the paper is destroyed it will remain
with you. Suppose when you read a news item, you do not understand the meaning of
certain words. You can refer to a dictionary or ask someone who knows to find out the
meaning. Now think of radio. Suppose you are listening to a news bulletin in English and
you hear words that you don’t understand. Can you refer to a dictionary or ask someone
else for the meaning? If you stop to do that, you will miss the rest of the news. You have to
understand what is being said on radio as you listen. You have only one chance to listen.
What is said on radio does not exist any longer; unless you record it. The words have
momentary life. After it is spoken, it disappears unlike a newspaper or a printed book. So
that is one of the greatest limitations or weaknesses of radio. It’s momentary nature or to
put it differently – radio is a one chance medium. A listener has just one chance to receive
the message and understand it.
Radio has no visual images: Let us consider a news item on radio and the same item on
television. For example, the news about the devastating cyclone Nargis that hit Myanmar
in May 2008. Radio news talked about the intensity of the cyclone, the number of deaths,
details about property destroyed etc. However in the case of television, it showed the
actual cyclone hitting the country, visuals of properties destroyed, rescue operations and
many more details which could be seen. Now compare the two. A natural disaster like a
cyclone when seen on television is more effective than what you hear on radio. It is said
that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. It is also said that ‘‘seeing is believing’’. So
when you see something, it is more believable than what you hear. So having no visuals is
a major limitation of radio.
Messages on radio are easily forgotten: The problem of not having visuals leads to
another limitation of radio. What is seen is often remembered and may remain with us. For
example if you have seen the fine visuals of the Taj Mahal in Agra, it will remain in your
memory. But what you hear is normally forgotten fast. Probably you may remember what
you have heard in a class room if you found it interesting. But can you recall all the
headlines of a news bulletin you heard on radio? Normally, you don’t. So this is another
limitation of radio. Messages heard on radio are easily forgotten.

Poor performance on the part of announcers: Presenters or participants in a radio

programme can be boring or uninteresting that it can result in listeners switching off their
Radio sets. So listeners’ interest depends up on how information or messages are
presented.

Radio broadcasts are of no use to people who have no sense of hearing especially those
with hearing disabilities
 RADIO BROADCASTING IN INDIA PRE AND POST INDEPENDENCES

Radio broadcasting in India began in the 1920s during British rule with the first broadcasts in
Bombay and Calcutta. The government established the All India Radio in 1936 which became
the sole broadcaster until the 1990s when private FM stations were introduced. By the 2000s,
over 200 private FM stations launched providing entertainment and over 40 community radio
stations provided local content. Major Private Stations today include Radio Mirchi, Radio
City, and the government-run All India Radio.

Evolution and Growth of Radio in India

Radio broadcasting started in India during the British Raj. The Radio Club of Bombay
made the first broadcast in the country in June 1923.
Later in the year, Calcutta Radio Club was established.
In 1927, Indian Broadcasting Company Ltd. (IBC) was established. It operated only
two radio stations in Bombay and Calcutta. However, the company was liquidated
in1930.
In April 1930, the government started the Indian State Broadcasting Service
(ISBS).After 2 years, it became a permanent service.
Later in 1936, it officially became the All-India Radio on 8th June. In 1956 it was
renamed as ‘Akashvani.’
At the time of independence, there were 6 radio stations in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta,
Madras, Tiruchirappalli, and Lucknow.
In 1957, Vividh Bharati Service, the entertainment part of AIR was launched.
FM broadcasting began in 1972 in Madras.
Until 1993, radio was under the government and no private players were allowed.

Private Radio Stations

In 1993, the Government of India started an experiment of a 2-hours daily FM

broadcast in Delhi and Mumbai.
In 2001 FM Phase-1 was conducted wherein an open auction was conducted for FM
license. Hence, 22 private radio stations or FM started operating in 12 cities in India.
Radio City Bangalore became India’s first private FM radio station on 3July 2001.
FM Phase-2 was conducted in 2005. During this auction, 245 licenses were issued.

Community Radio Stations

In 2002, the Government of India granted permission for setting up community radio
stations for educational institutes.
In 2004, Anna FM of Anna University was launched on 1 February.
Later in 2006, the policy was amended to include other institutions.
Hence in 2008, Sangham Radio became the first NGO-operated radio station in the
country. The radio station was licensed to the Deccan Development Society.

Invention of Radio - A look at the beginning of radio reveals that a series of inventions led to
the invention of radio. In 1860, James Maxwell, a Scottish physicist predicted the existence
of electromagnetic waves or what we now call 'radio waves'. In 1886, German physicist
Heinrich Rodolph Hertz experimentally demonstrated the production and detection of radio
waves. Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian mventor repeated Hertz experiments and proved the
feasibility of radio communication. He sent and received the first wireless signals in Italy m
1895. Further inventors of tubes by John Fleming an Englishman and Lee de Forest an
Americail were significant steps in the development of radio.

There are conflicting claims for the first broadcast of speech sounds over the air. Some
Growth of broadcast in I say the first broadcast of speech sounds to be that ,of Reginald A.
Fessenden in 1906 from Massachusetts which was heard by radio-equipped ships. Another
claim dates back to 1892 wherein 'Hello Rainey' was spoken by Natan B. Stubblefield to a
test partner near Murray, Kentucky. It is said that in 19 15 the first successful attempts at
transmitting music and speech over a transmitter was probably undertaken by an American
Company when it sent its programmes across 4,000 miles tom Arlington (a U.S. naval
station) to the Eiffel Tower m Paris.

During the First World War in 1917, a weekly programme of recorded music was broadcast
for the troops by Captain H-de-A-Donisthrope and his wife. At the end of the war in 1920,
the Marconi station at Chemlsford was set up. It began to broadcast two daily programmes of
thirty minutes duration each. These programmes were heard as far as a thousand miles away
by ships sailing on the sea. Another famous broadcast was the Daily Mail concert which was
heard in many countries in Europe. In 1922, a Marconi station, named 2L0, came into
existence. This later became the famous London' station, aroid which the British
Broadcasting Company (BBC) network grew. In May 1922, the Post Master General of UK
announced that regular broadcasting would be permitted in the country and in November
1922, the BBC was formed.

Beginnings In India - In India, in November 1923, a Radio Club was set up at Calcutta,
followed by one each at Bombay and Madras in June 1924. These clubs used transmitters
provided by the Marconi Company. Radio broadcasts in those days were for two-and-a-half
hours. In 1926, the Government of India granted a private concern the Indian Broadcasting
Company license to establish broadcasting stations in India. However, in October 1927, the
Madras Club folded up due to financial problems. In the same year, Bombay and Calcutta
Radio Clubs started the Indian Broadcasting Company-the first commercial broadcasting
venture in India. These stations were equipped with 1.5 kW medium-wave transmitters
having a range of 30 miles. Regular broadcasting in India started on 23 July 1927 at Bombay
and on 26August 1927 at Calcutta with two privately owned transmitters. All India Radio
came into existence in 1936 and came to be known as Akashvani from 1957. The growth of
broadcasting in India can be traced in different stages.

The First Phase Radio broadcasts started in India in November 1923 when the Indian
Broadcasting Company was formed. It was the first commercial broadcasting venture in
India. In the beginning, the company had a capital of only one and a half million rupees. Out
of which, approximately four hundred and fifty thousand was spent on setting up its two
stations at Calcutta and Bombay. The company's major source of revenue was the radio
license fee fixed by the government at Rs. 10 per radio set per annum. The company had to
collect the fee annually from those who possessed a receiving set. However, the company's
earnings proved to be less than its expenditure.

According to P.C. Chatterji, former Director General of All India Radio, initially, there were
not more than a thousand radio sets in India which by the end of 1929, increased to 7,775.
But the number of licenses fell in 1930 making it difficult for the company to carry on its
business. The company applied for a loan, but the application was turned down by the " I
government and as a result the company was forced into liquidation in June 1930.

Broadcasting in those days was service for the British ruling class and officers of the
Government of India. The programmes of the Indian Broadcasting Company catered to the
small European community and the westernised Indians. There was little or no effort to reach
out to the vast majority of the Indian people. The programmes started at 7 in the morning
long after the rest of Indians were already up and gone out for their day's work and closed
down as the Englishmen and the officers went out for the office. The service started again as
they returned home for lunch and ended in the afternoon with an occasional brief session
again around the afternoon tea for the English women. At dusk, the evening programmes
started.

Lionel Fielden, the Father of Indian Broadcasting, in his Report to the Government
submitted in 1939 gave reasons for the failure of the Indian Broadcasting Company. He
contended that in India apart from Calcutta and Bombay, there was apathy towards the art
forms such as music and theatre, and at any rate, channels for bringing them before the public
did not exist.

After the liquidation of the Indian Broadcasting Company, several representations were made
to the government seeking the revival of broadcasting in India. The leaders of the political
parties in the Central Assembly urged the Minster of Labour and Industry to re-start the
service. On 24 February 1930, the Standing Committee of the Government approved the
proposals to acquire and run broadcasting stations. On April 1, 1930 broadcasting came under
the direct control of the Department of Labour and Industries. Now, it was called the Indian
State Broadcasting Service (ISBS), and an Advisory Committee was set up to advice on the
management and expansion of the service. The assets and liabilities of the company were
taken up by the Indian State Broadcasting Service and the collection of annual license fee
became the responsibility of the Posts and Telegraph Department. This arrangement
continued till 1985 when the license fee was finally abolished.

Broadcasting in India was hailed by the leaders of the country. Jawaharlal Nehru while
Inaugurating the educational programme in 1934, wrote in the visitor's book at the Bombay
Radio station; "Forward Radio!" A week later, Sarojini Naidu, the Nightingale of India,
expressed her feelings in these words: "To harness the ether for the service of those who
dwell upon the earth is one of the loveliest services that modem age can render to humanity.
So - Upward, Radio." Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore composed the following poem
entitled, "Akashvani", in 1938 on the inauguration of the Calcutta short-wave transmission:

"Hark to Akashvani up-surgring

From here below,
The earth is bathed in Heaven’s glory,
Its purple glow,
Across the blue expanse is firmly planted
The altar of the Muse
The lyre unheard of Light is throbbing,
With human hues.
From earth, to heaven, distance conquered,
In waves of Light
Flows the music of man’s divining
Fancy’s flight,
To East and West speech careers,
Swift as the Sun,
The mind of man reaches Heaven’s confines
Its freedom won. "

The Second Phase: Birth of All India Radio Between

1930 and 1935, a great deal of uncertainty prevailed on Indian broadcasting. In the depression
of the thirties, speakers and script-writers were lowly paid leading to a decline in
professionalism. Moreover, censorship also loomed large on the horizon. The real leaders of
the country fighting for the cause of democracy and freedom in the land were kept away from
the government controlled Indian State Broadcasting Service despite their great enthusiasm
for it and were shunned from broadcasting activity. Even the name of Mahatma Gandhi was a
sin to mention. Such repressive measures increased and intensified the Government control
over Radio. According to H.R. Luthra, left to itself, Indian Broadcasting would have died in
early 1930s, but it was for the pressure of public opinion, the trade and the lay radio
enthusiasts which gave a new lease of life to radio. It also helped to set apart money for its
planned development on a regular basis.

To supplement the earning of the Indian State Broadcasting Service, the Indian Tariff
(Wireless Broadcasting) Act was amended in 1932 leading to a sharp increase in the duty on
the wireless receiving set. The possession of a radio set without a license was made an
offence. With the increase in the duty on receiving sets, the financial position improved and
provided money for the expansion of broadcasting in India. Yet another important step in this
direction was the appointment of Lionel Fielden, an expert from the BBC, as Controller of
Broadcasting in August 1935. Thereafter, the development of broadcasting in India became a
well-planned activity. The name Indian State Broadcasting Service was changed to All India
Radio (AIR), In June ' 1935. This development has been described by Fielden in his
autobiography, The Natural - Bent (1960), in these words: "I had never liked the title ISBS
(Indian State Broadcasting Service) which to me seemed not only unwieldy, but also tainted
with officialdom. After a good deal of cogitation-which may seem ndiculous now, I had
concluded that All India Radio would give me only protections from clauses which I most
feared in the 1935 Act, but would also have the suitable mitials, AIR. I worked out a
monogram which placed these letters over the map of India, and it is now about the only
thing which remains of me in India. But, when I mooted this point, I found that there was
immense opposition in the secretariat to any such change. They wanted ISBS and they
thought it fine. I realized that I must employ a little unnatural tact. I cornered Lord
Linlithgow after a Viceregal banquet, and said plaintively that I was in great difficulty and
needed his advice. (He usually responded well to such an opening). I said I was sure that he
agreed with me that ISBS was a clumsy title. After as light pause, he nodded his long head
wisely Yes, it was rather a mouthful. I said that perhaps it was a pity to use the word
broadcasting at all, since all Indians had to say 'broadcasting' - 'broad' was for them an
unpronounceable word. But I could not, I said, think of another title: could he help me?
'Indian state', I ad was a term which as he knew well, hardly fitted into the 1935 Act It should
be something general. He rose beautifully to the bait, "All India?' I expressed my
astonishment and admiration. The very thing. But surely not "Broadcasting"? After some
thought he suggested "radio"? Splendid, I said, and what beautiful initials: (AIR) The viceroy
concluded that he had invented it and there was no more trouble. His pet name must be
adopted. Thus, "All India Radio" was born.

On the New Year's Day in 1936, the Central Radio Station at Delhi was inaugurated. Fielden
took the help of H.L. Kirke and Mr. C. W. Goyder also from the BBC in the expansion of
Radio. It was not possible to cover a country as large as India by a medium wave network
alone, and hence, it was decided to provide a basic short-wave service for the entire country
at important centres. Once, more finances were available, these services were extended to
other places. In 1937, AIR was transferred from the Ministry of Labour and Industries to the
Department of Communications. In 194 1, it was again transferred to the department of
Information and Broadcasting, which after Independence in 1947, became a separate ministry
by itself. By 1939, in addition to the existing medium wave transmitters, short wave
transmitters had also been installed at Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. New stations
with medium wave transmitters were opened at Lucknow and Tiruchiraplli. By now, the
constitutional position of Broadcasting had been defined by the Government of India Act of
1935. The princely states of Mysore, Baroda, Hyderabad, Aurangabad and Trivandrum set up
radio stations in their territories under the provision of section 129 of the Act.
THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND EXPANSION OF AIR

World War I1 provided a great impetus to the development and expansion of radio all over
the world. In the U.S., the Voice of America (VoA) was started during this period. In the
U.K., BBC's External Service emerged as the world's largest established major overseas
network. Overseas broadcasting had been discussed as far back as 1927 at the colonial
conference and a short-wave transmitter set up at Chelmsford in Britain on a experimental
basis. By 1932, the Empire Service had come into existence. Broadcasts of important events
such as the Coronation, the Test Matches, the Derby, and the Wimbeldon were also
instrumental in establishing BBC as a major world network.

By the-time the Second World War broke out in 1939, India had a well-organised An
Introduction broadcasting service with six major stations apart from the ones operating in the
states ruled by the Indian Princes. The network served more than one lakh radio license
holders across the land.

During the war, radio emerged as a powerful medium of communication and a useful and
effective means of propaganda. This led to a further increase in the number of transmitters
and transmission hours, more variety of programmes, expansion of news services and
monitoring of important foreign broadcasts. The government exercised a direct control of
broadcasting. As war correspondents were sent to the battle fronts for news coverage and
broadcasts were begun to foreign countries, the external service of All India Radio was
launched.

External Services AIR began its broadcasts to foreign audiences in Afghanistan, Iran and the
Arab countries in 1939 to counter German propaganda on Radio. As the German broadcasts
constituted a threat to the British interests in the region, AIR launched its own External
Broadcasts first In Pushtu for Afghanistan on October 1, 1939, followed by the Persian and
Arabic programmes. These broadcasts were under the supervision of an officer of the
Military Intelligence. When Japan joined the war in 194 1, the service had to be extended to
the regions of South and South East Asia. Thus began AIR's Burmese, Chinese, Japanese,
Thai, Malay and the Indo-Chinese languages broadcasts. To meet the requirements of the
Indians residing in those areas, programmes in Tamil and Hindi were also broadcast.

Controlled by the British Ministry of Information, many of these broadcasts were aptly
called, 'Political Warfare' broadcasts. Famous writers such as Nirad C. Chaudhuri were
recruited 10 write these commentaries. When the war ended, AIR took over the responsibility
of these broadcasts. Today, AIR'S external broadcasts put out in 26 languages, including 16
Foreign and 10 Indian languages. Now called the External Services Division (ESD), the Urdu
Service and the English Service are the most important ones being on air daily. Prominent
among the other languages are Chinese, Indonesian, Burmese, Pushto and Persian. Earlier,
the core of the programmes in AIR's external broadcasts comprised a news bulletin, a
commentary and music, which were the responsibility of AIR's News Services, the Centla1
News Organisation (CNO). Later, this was re-designated as the office of the Director of News
and External Services.

Central News Organisation

AIR's first radio news bulletin was broadcast in 1936. With the establishment of the Central
News Organisation (CNO) in 1937, broadcast of daily news bulletins in English at 1800
hours and in Hindustani at 1805 were begun. Initially, the CNO did not have its own
arrangements for news collection, even editing of the news bulletins was not done at AIR and
a news summary was obtained from Reuters at reduced rates. As the need arose, AIR's news
gathering activities began to grow. Events like the Simla Conference in June 1945 called by
the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, to discuss proposals for self-rule with Indian leaders led to the
development of AIR's own Reporting Unit. At the end of the Second World War, AIR's first
batch of foreign correspondents was appointed in China, Indonesia and Japan. Another
significant development in the history of broadcasting in India was the setting up of private
stations in 1935 in Peshawar in the North-West Frontier Province ( NFWP) and in Allahabad
in the then United Provinces. These stations started India's first rural broadcasts. This is what
Fielden wrote about the rural listener: "the villager tended to regard the radio with suspicion,
as a possible means of taxation or instrument of propaganda.. . apart from this, the limited
range of his interest made him an excessively difficult listener to please." (Fielden's First
Report).

Lionel Fielden left India in 1940 to help in the war effort in England. On the eve of Fielden's
departure from India in 1939, there were more than 100 community village sets working in
the country. Produced by the Research Department of All India Radio one such set along with
its batteries and time switch used to cost around Rs. 300/- .

Fielden was succeeded by Professor A.S. Bokhari who remained the head of All India Radio
Growth of Broadcasting for six crucial years. In 1943, the designation, Controller of
Broadcasting, was changed to- Director General. Thus, professor Bokhari who was the first
Indian to head AIR also became the first Indian to hold the 'designation of Director General
of All India Radio. Bokhari provided an able administration and a brilliant leadership to AIR
during the sensitive war period. He also established a zest for inquiry and standards of artistic
excellence and efficiency for which AIR came to be known in its early days.

EXPANSION SINCE INDEPENDENCE

At the time of partition, there were a total of nine stations in the country. There were six radio
stations in India located at Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Tiruchirapalli and Lucknow
covering 2.5 percent area and 1 1 percent population. The remaining three were in Pakistan at
Peshwar, Lahore and Dacca. According to an estimate, the total number of radio sets was
approximately 2,75,000. Sardar Vallabhai Patel was the first Minister of Information and
Broadcasting in Independent India. Broadcasting in the country was developed on the policy
guideline "Bahujana Hitaya, Bahujana Sukhaya. " The development plans during the last five
deoades were designed to help radio to accomplish the objectives of purveying to the vast
audiences aesthetically the best of sound-information and education, music and drama.
During the First Plan, the National Programme for Music and Talks was introduced leading to
a revival of Indian classical music.

It had been neglected ever since its patrons, the ruling princes of the various Indian states,
had ceased to exist as rulers and were not able to provide patronage to the classical musicians
of the courts. In 1952, AIR set up the National Orchestra or Vadya Vrinda. Pandit Ravi
Shankar was its first conductor. This orchestra gave a new dimension to Indian traditional
music. Efforts were made to establish at least one radio station in each state to develop
broadcasting.

Vividh Bharati During the fifties, under the influence of Dr. B.V. Keskar, the next Minster of
State for Information and Broadcasting, AIR stopped broadcasting popular film songs on the
ground that they were vulgar and catered to cheap tastes. But, the immense popularity of film
songs led to a drop in AIR'S audience, as the public at large turned to Radio Ceylon which
started broadcasting Indian film songs to reach out to a larger audience. To counter the effect
of Radio Ceylon, AIR launched a new service in 1957 known as Vividh Bharati, a programme
mostly consisting of film songs. Soon it became immensely popular. This led to a shift from
Radio Ceylon. However, this also marked an increase on the element of entertainment as
radio was increasingly looked upon as a medium of entertainment.
 In 1959, the World Administrative Radio Conference was held in Geneva. As a result of this,
steps were taken to utilize the medium wave frequencies allotted to India. Thus, Vividh
Bharati programmes were made available on medium wave service which was extended to
areas not having access to it. This led to an increase in production and use of low cost
medium wave radio sets.

Radio Rural Forums Another event of importance in 1957 was the launching of Radio Rural
Forums. The idea originated in Canada in the 1930'2 The UNESCO had extensively used it
the world over. In India with the assistance of UNESCO, an experiment in Radio Rural
Forums was conducted in 1956 at the Poona station (now called Pune) to establish two way
communication between the farming community on the one hand, and the broadcasters and
programme producers on the other. As a result of the experiment, it was decided to set up
such forums at all stations. But after 1964, these forums lost their popularity due to a number
of factors. The scheme was withdrawn by 1970s. Once the transistor became available at
cheap rates, people preferred to sit at home and listen rather than attend the Radio Forum at
the community centre in a group.

Transistor Revolution During the 1960's radio became extremely popular among the
masses. The prime reason for this popularity was the advent of cheap transistor sets which
flooded the markets in a variety of ranges. The mobility coupled with the low cost were
instrumental for the popularity of transistors which became a status symbol in the rural area.
According to David Page and William Crawley, the transistor radio facilitated the beginning
of a genuine mass media in South Asia and set the pattern of future media technologies.

At the time of independence, there were only six radio stations and transmitters. Over the past
five decades radio broadcasting has reached out to 98.84 percent of the population spread
over 90 percent area through 209 broadcasting centres and 335 transmitters. In the stage by
stage development of radio, care was taken to ensure that listeners get access to at least one
radio programme in the principal language of the area where they live. Radio broadcasting
began and identified itself as a regional service. Later efforts were made for providing
national as well as local radio service. Despite the advent of television and other mass
communication media, radio continues to be a popular source of information, education and
entertainment among the rural poor and people residing in remote hilly areas. The popularity
of FM Radio has further established the relevance of radio in the changed media
environment.
Pre Independence
Broadcasting in India actually began about 13 years before AIR came into existence. In
June1923 the Radio Club of Bombay made the first ever broadcast in the country. This
was followed by the setting up of the Calcutta Radio Club five months later. The Indian
Broadcasting Company (IBC) came into being on July 23, 1927, inaugurated by The
British Viceroy of India, Lord Irwin, only to face liquidation in less than three years. It
was under an agreement between the Government of India and a private company called
the Indian Broadcasting Company Ltd.
On 26th August 1927, five weeks later the Calcutta station was inaugurated by the
Governor of Bengal, Sir Stanley Jackson. Both the stations at Bombay and Calcutta
promoted music and drama.
IBC was shut down due to financial crisis. Faced with a widespread public outcry against
the closure of the IBC, the Government acquired its assets and from April 1, 1930
constituted the Indian Broadcasting Service under the Department of Labour
and Industries.
 The Delhi station of Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS) went on air on 1st
January1936. Lionel Fielden was the Controller of Broadcasting. On June 8, 1936, the
Indian State Broadcasting Service became All India Radio.
The Central News Organisation (CNO) came into existence in August, 1937. In the same
year, AIR came under the Department of Communications and four years later came under
the Department of Information and Broadcasting.
On June 3rd 1947, the historic announcement of partition was made by All India Radio.
The AIR network by then had 9 stations of which Delhi Calcutta, Madras, Bombay,
Tiruchi and Lucknow remained in India and the remaining three Lahore, Peshawar and
Dacca went to Pakistan. When the princely states joined India, the stations at Mysore,
Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Aurangabad and Baroda became a part of AIR by 1950.

Post-Independence
India’s first five year plan allocated 40 million Rupees for the expansion and development
of AIR. During this period six new stations were set up and a number of low power
transmitters were upgraded. On July 20 1952, the first national programme on music went
on air.
In 1956 the name AKASHVANI was adopted for the National Broadcaster. The Vividh
Bharati Service was launched in 1957 with popular film music as its main component.
Indian radio was regarded as a vital medium of networking and communication, mainly
because of the lack of any other mediums. All the major national affairs and social events
were transmitted through radio. Indian radio played a significant role in social integration
of the entire nation. All India Radio mainly focused on development of a national
consciousness as well as overall National integration. Programming was organised and
created keeping in mind the solitary purpose of national political integration. This
supported in prevailing over the imperative crisis of political instability, which was created
after the Independence. Thus political enhancement and progressive nation building efforts
were aided by the transmission of planned broadcasts.
All India Radio also provided assistance in enhancing the economic condition of the
country. Indian radio was particularly designed and programmed to provide support to the
procedure of social improvement, which was a vital pre-requisite of economic
enhancement. Later, with the modernisation of the country, television was introduced and
broadcasting achieved new status. But by then, radio had become a veteran medium in
India.
FM Radio was first introduced by All India Radio in 1972 at Madras and later in
1992Jalandhar. In 1993, the government sold airtime blocks on its FM channels in Madras,
Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Goa to private operators, who developed their own
programme content.
Currently, AIR’s home service comprises 420 stations located across the country, reaching
nearly 92% of the country’s area and 99.19% of the total population. AIR originates
programming in 23 languages and 179 dialects. The function in of All India Radio is
unparalleled in sense that it is perhaps the only news organizations, which remain active,
round-the-clock and never sleeps.

Growth & Development

Broadcasting in India actually began about 13 years before AIR came into existence. In June
1923 the Radio Club of Bombay made the first ever broadcast in the country. This was
followed by the setting up of the Calcutta Radio Club five months later. The Indian
Broadcasting Company (IBC) came into being on July 23, 1927, only to face liquidation in
less than three years.
In April 1930, the Indian Broadcasting Service, under the Department of Industries and
Labour, commenced its operations on an experimental basis. Lionel Fielden was appointed
the first Controller of Broadcasting in August 1935. In the following month Akashvani
Mysore, a private radio station was set up. On June 8, 1936, the Indian State Broadcasting
Service became All India Radio.

The Central News Organisation (CNO) came into existence in August, 1937. In the same
year, AIR came under the Department of Communications and four years later came under
the Department of Information and Broadcasting. When India attained independence, there
were six radio stations in India, at Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Tiruchirapalli and
Lucknow. There were three in Pakistan (Peshawar, Lahore and Dacca). AIR then had
coverage of just 2.5 % of the area and 11% of the population.

The following year, CNO was split up into two divisions, the News Services Division (NSD)
and the External Services Division (ESD). In 1956 the name AKASHVANI was adopted for
the National Broadcaster. The Vividh Bharati Service was launched in 1957 with popular film
music as its main component.

The phenomenal growth achieved by All India Radio has made it one of the largest media
organisations in the world. With a network of 262 radio stations, AIR today is accessible to
almost the entire population of the country and nearly 92% of the total area. A broadcasting
giant, AIR today broadcasts in 23 languages and 146 dialects catering to a vast spectrum of
socio-economically and culturally diverse populace.

Programmes of the External Services Division are broadcast in 11 Indian and 16 foreign
languages reaching out to more than 100 countries. These external broadcasts aim to keep the
overseas listeners informed about developments in the country and provide a rich fare of
entertainment as well.

The News Services Division, of All India Radio broadcasts 647 bulletins daily for a total
duration of nearly 56 hours in about 90 Languages/Dialects in Home, Regional, External and
DTH Services. 314 news headlines on hourly basis are also being mounted on FM mode from
41 AIR Stations. 44 Regional News Units originate 469 daily news bulletins in 75 languages.
In addition to the daily news bulletins, the News Services Division also mounts number of
news-based programmes on topical subjects from Delhi and its Regional News Units

AIR operates at present 18 FM stereo channels, called AIR FM Rainbow, targeting the urban
audience in a refreshing style of presentation. Four more FM channels called, AIR FM Gold,
broadcast composite news and entertainment programmes from Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and
Mumbai. With the FM wave sweeping the country, AIR is augmenting its Medium Wave
transmission with additional FM transmitters at Regional stations.

In keeping with the Government decision for transition to the digital mode of transmission,
AIR is switching from analog to digital in a phased manner.
Popular FM Stations in India
1- Radio Mirchi – 98.3 FM
•Owned and operated by Entertainment Network India Ltd.
•Operates in 8 metro cities including Delhi and Mumbai.
•First private broadcaster in the country.◦
2-Radio City – 91.1 FM
•The first private radio station in India.
•Launched the first internet radio station.
•Has 18 online radio stations.
AIR – 100.7 FM
• National public broadcaster of the country.
• Largest radio network in the world.
• 420 radio stations across the country.
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF RADIO STATIONS AND TRANSMISSIONS-
ON THE BASIS OF REACH: NATIONAL, REGIONAL, LOCAL AND COMMUNITY
 Different Types of Radio Stations and Transmissions:
On the Basis of Reach: National, Regional, Local and Community
On the Basis of Transmission Technology: AM, SW, FM, Web
Introduction

Transmission is the act or process of sending a message and information from one location to
one or more locations by means of radio waves, electrical signals, light signals, etc. In radio
electronics and broadcasting, a transmitter usually has a power supply, an oscillator, a
modulator, and amplifiers for audio frequency (AF) and radio frequency (RF).The modulator
is the device which modulates the signal information onto the carrier frequency, which is then
broadcast.

Process of Radio Transmission on the basis of Transmission Technology

The Radio Receiver -In daily parlance, a radio is an apparatus that receives signals broadcast
by radio stations in the form of electromagnetic waves and converts them into audible
sounds. We use it in fact as a shortened form of a RADIO RECEIVER.

Now let us see what components a radio receiver has.

Aerials - A radio receiver is generally is attached to an aerial. The aerial picks up all the radio
frequency waves around it.

Tuner- These frequencies are conveyed to the tuner that selects the desired frequency and
rejects the others.

Vacuum Tubes -With the help of special vacuum tubes the programme current is separated
from the carrier current so that the former alone remains.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF ALL INDIA RADIO

The type of organisation and the principles of management adopted by a broadcasting station
will depend on its size, range of operations and ownership. In our country, radio broadcasting
had been the responsibility of All India Radio funded by the government. A number of radio
stations in the private sector are coming up. A number of educational channels operated by
IGNOU known as Gyan Vani have come up and more are to be commissioned. The NGO
sector may also set up community broadcasting stations as and when Government regulations
pennit. Their organisational pattern would be different depending on their size, financial
outlay and activities to be undertaken. In this unit, we shall discuss the organisational
structure of All India Radio.

All India Radio (AIR) is one of the major public service broadcasting organisations in the
world, and perhaps the largest in Asia. It has a network comprising 209 broadcasting centres
with a staff component of over 30,000 employees and an annual, expenditure of over Rs. 450
crores in the year 2000. Its home service, averaging 2300 hours of output every day, includes
national, regional, sub-regional and local service in 26 languages and 146 dialects, beside
light entertainment commercial service. Its external service in 16 foreign and 10 Indian
languages is beamed to 84 countries around the globe for a daily duration of over 70 hours.

The headquarters of the network located in New Delhi is headed by a Director-General. The
Director-General is assisted by an Engineer-in Chief, a Director-General (News), Additional
Deputy Director-General for Programme, Administration and Security, a Director of
Monitoring Service and a Director for Audience Research. The Director General is
answerable to the Parsar Bharati Board of Management.
The Director-General provides the professional leadership. He controls and supervises the
Organisation activities of various divisions. The heads of programme and engineering
divisions are, in turn, Radio Station assisted by regional/ zonal heads and a chief engineer in-
charge of civil construction. The heads of programme regions are located in Mumbai,
Calcutta and Guwahati, while the zone chief engineers are headquartered at the four
metropolises. There are 4 1 Regional News Units attached to the various radio stations and
they receive professional guidance from the Director-General. A Deputy Director General
carries out the inspection of radio offices. The chart given below explains the hierarchical
arrangement:

TYPES OF RADIO STATIONS

AIR has a three-tier system of broadcasting comprising national, regional, sub-regional and
local stations.

National Channel
Regional station
Sub-regional station
Local stations
Other stations/offices

1. National channel The National Channel transmits programmes of national relevance. It is

an alternative channel to the listeners who have access to the regional /sub-regional and
Vividh Bharati Service. The languages of the spoken-word broadcast of the National
Channel are Hindi and English.
The National Channel features Hindustani and Carnatic music. light and folk music' from
different regions of the country, Western music, plays, dramatized presentation of short
stories translate into Hindi from different Indian languages, documentaries, financial
reviews, sports magazines and programmes in Urdu. The national service is available to
substantial segments of the people in different regions. It begins every day at 1855 hours
in the evening and continues up to 0610 hours. The production of programmes is
undertaken at Delhi and Chennai, and supplemented by the recordings received from
stations in different regions of the country. Its organisational structure is indicated below:
 The head of a regional station is Station Director who is the controller of the station and
it’s responsible for its final output. Public relations are directly under the Station Director.
It keeps liaison with state government functionaries, eminent writers, thinkers, scientists,
technologists, musicians, artistes and others. She/he also presides over the Programme
Advisory Committees and Consultative Panels attached to the stations.
A Station Director of a radio station in a state capital has the added responsibility of
organising and coordinating the programmes of state level relevance and importance. S/he
also inspects other stations in the state.

Programme Wing Each station is equipped with facilities for programme production and
presentation. The Programme Wing is divided into a number of production units such as;
the Talks Unit, Women and Children's Programmes Unit, the Farm and Home Unit (for
producing rural programme), Youth Programmes Wing, the Education Programme Unit,
Science Programme Unit, Music Units (for classical, light and folk music programmes)
Outdoor Broadcasting (field based) programme, Morning Information Programme and
Senior Citizen Programme Units. In some stations, there are Western Music and Industrial
Workers Programme Units also. All the stations have a Programme Coordination Unit and
Public Relations Unit.

The programmes are produced by Programme Executives Prograrnme Officers/Farm

Radio Officers who are deployed at the station according to the language and other special
requirements. The programme producers are assisted by reporters, script writers and
production assistants. Instrumentalists and music composer’s assist in the production of
music programmes. The work of the programme executives is supervised by assistant
station directors/deputy director in accordance with the Scalar Principle. The Station
Director coordinates all the activities in accordance with the principle of Line of Control.

The presentation of programmes is generally made by announcers and broadcast of

programme in accordance with a pre-determined schedule is ensured by a cadre of officers
referred to as Transmission Executives.

Engineering Wing - The head of the engineering wing is a Station Engineer/superintending

Engineer. She controls and coordinates all the technical activities of the stations. They are
assisted by Assistant Station Engineer, Assistant Engineer, Senior Engineering Assistant,
Engineering Assistants and Technicians. They handle all programme origination and
transmission, including relays from Delhi or other stations. They are responsible for
maintenance and operation of the technical facilities created at the station.

News Wing - The News Wing is headed by a Joint Director or News Editor and is assisted by
sub-editors and news reporters. For news reporting and news gathering there are staff
correspondents, supported by a number of part-time correspondents or stringers. The news
editing is done by the editorial staff, while translation and reading of news is done by
translators and news readers respectively. The news wing also produces district newsletters
and one or two in a newsreel in a week.

Administration and Accounting Wing -This is headed by an Administrative Officer

assisted by a head clerk, accountant and a number of assistants.

Audience Research Wing - An Audience Research Officer, supported by field investigators

conduct feedback studies which help the station to formulate their programme-fare. The
Audience Research Wing also conducts formative research studies to provide the
programmers with a profile of the audience, their tastes and preferences.

Sub-Regional Station - These are located at various cities/towns. To illustrate, in Uttar

Pradesh, sub-regional stations are located in Allahabad, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Rampur,
Najibabad, Agra and Mathura. These stations broadcast programmes not only in Hindi, the
regional language, but also in the dialects of the area. They cater to the distinct cultural and
agricultural needs of the listeners of the area. 111 some stations located in the states, such as
Assam or West Bengal, the principal language of broadcast of the sub-regional station is
different from the principal language of the state. For example, Silchar in Assam broadcasts
programmes primarily in Bengali, while Kurseong in West Bengal broadcasts programmes
mostly in Nepali. This is directly related to the communication imperatives of the areas
served by the station.

The organisational setup of a sub-regional station is similar to that of a regional station. In

some of the stations, there is no provision for Regional News Unit or Audience Research
Unit. There are Advisory Committees and Consultative Panels attached to these states.

Activities of other offices of AIR

News Services Division (NSD)

External Services Division (ESD)

Transcription & Programme Exchange Service

Research Department

Central Store Office

Staff Training Institute (Programme)

Staff Training Institute (Technical)

ACTIVITIES OF SUBORDINATE OFFICES OF AIR IN BRIEF

There are a number of subordinate offices of All India Radio performing the distinct
functions. The broad activities of these offices / divisions are summarised as under:

NEWS SERVICES DIVISION

The News Services Division works round-the-clock and it broadcasts over 607 news bulletins
both for Home and External Services. The bulletins are in Indian languages and various
foreign languages. The Division is headed by the Director General (News). There are 46
Regional News Units in AIR. The bulletins vary from region to region according to the news
worthiness of national, regional and local affairs.
EXTERNAL SERVICES DIVISION

The External Services Division of All India Radio broadcasts in 27 languages i.e., 15 foreign
and 12 Indian languages. These services are radiated for an aggregate duration of 72 hours
daily and are projected to over 100 countries.

TRANSCRIPTION & PROGRAMME EXCHANGE SERVICE

This service looks after the exchange of programmes among the stations, building up and
maintenance of sound archives and also the commercial release of prestigious recordings of
music maestros.

RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

The functions of the Research Department include Research and Development of equipment
required by AIR and Doordarshan, investigation and studies relating to AIR and Doordarshan,
development of prototype models of R&D equipment for limited use field trials in AIR and
Doordarshan network.

CENTRAL STORE OFFICE

AIR’s Central Store Office, located at New Delhi, performs the functions relating to
procurement, stocking and distribution of the engineering stores required for the maintenance
of technical equipment at All India Radio Stations.

COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE CENTRES & VIVIDH BHARATI

SERVICE (VBS)

There are 43 Vividh Bharati-cum-Commercial Broadcasting Service (CBS) Centres including

the exclusive VB Centres. The work relating to CBS is performed by two Wings i.e. Sales
Wing and Production Wing. An independent Central Sales Unit along with 15 main
Commercial Broadcasting Service Centres looks after the marketing of broadcast time in
AIR.

Three-tier Broadcasting System

AIR has a three-tier system of broadcasting. These three levels of programmes are the
National, Regional and Local each having distinct audiences.

National programmes are broadcast from Delhi for relay by the Capital, Regional and Local
Radio Stations. Some of these are the National Programme of Talks and Features in Hindi
and English, the National Programmes of Drama and Music.

The National Channel of All India Radio located in Delhi broadcasted programmes which
were heard on Medium Wave and also on Short Wave. Started on 18th May 1988, this
channel worked as a night service from 6.50 PM to 6.10 AM the next morning. Broadcasting
in Hindi, Urdu and English, the programme composition of the channel had been designed to
make it representative of the cultural mosaic and ethos of the country. It has been closed on
January, 2019

The Regional Stations in different States form the middle tier of broadcasting. They originate
programmes in the regional languages and dialects. Regional Channels are located in the
major linguistic-cultural region of every state. 133 Regional Channels are spread over 28
states & 8 Union Territories including the North-Eastern Service at Shillong that projects the
vibrant cultural heritage of the North-Eastern region of this country. The Regional Channels,
broadcast largely on the Medium Wave frequency, follow a composite programme pattern
comprising of music – classical, light, folk and film, News and Current Affairs, Radio plays,
features, Farm and Home programmes, programmes on Health & Family Welfare and
programmes for Woman, Children etc.

Local Radio is relatively a newer concept of broadcasting in India. Local radio stations serve
small communities, showcase local culture and broadcast area specific programmes for the
benefit of the community. The transmission is in the FM mode. The programming is flexible
and spontaneous and the stations function as the mouth piece of the local community. At
present there are 92 Local Stations spread across the country.

Growth & Development

Broadcasting in India actually began about 13 years before AIR came into existence. In June
1923 the Radio Club of Bombay made the first ever broadcast in the country. This was
followed by the setting up of the Calcutta Radio Club five months later. The Indian
Broadcasting Company (IBC) came into being on July 23, 1927, only to face liquidation in
less than three years.

In April 1930, the Indian Broadcasting Service, under the Department of Industries and
Labour, commenced its operations on an experimental basis. Lionel Fielden was appointed
the first Controller of Broadcasting in August 1935. In the following month Akashvani
Mysore, a private radio station was set up. On June 8, 1936, the Indian State Broadcasting
Service became All India Radio.

The Central News Organisation (CNO) came into existence in August, 1937. In the same
year, AIR came under the Department of Communications and four years later came under
the Department of Information and Broadcasting. When India attained independence, there
were six radio stations in India, at Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Tiruchirapalli and
Lucknow. There were three in Pakistan (Peshawar, Lahore and Dacca). AIR then had a
coverage of just 2.5 % of the area and 11% of the population. The following year, CNO was
split up into two divisions, the News Services Division (NSD) and the External Services
Division (ESD). In 1956 the name AKASHVANI was adopted for the National Broadcaster.
The Vividh Bharati Service was launched in 1957 with popular film music as its main
component.

The phenomenal growth achieved by All India Radio has made it one of the largest media
organisations in the world. With a network of 591 radio stations, AIR today is accessible to
98 % population of the country and nearly 90% of the total area. A broadcasting giant, AIR
today broadcasts in 23 languages and 146 dialects catering to a vast spectrum of socio-
economically and culturally diverse populace.

Programmes of the External Services Division are broadcast in 11 Indian and 16 foreign
languages reaching out to more than 100 countries. These external broadcasts aim to keep the
overseas listeners informed about developments in the country and provide a rich fare of
entertainment as well.

The News Services Division, of All India Radio broadcasts 647 bulletins daily for a total
duration of nearly 56 hours in about 90 Languages/Dialects in Home, Regional, External and
DTH Services. 314 news headlines on hourly basis are also being mounted on FM mode from
43 AIR Stations. 46 Regional News Units originate 469 daily news bulletins in 75 languages.
In addition to the daily news bulletins, the News Services Division also mounts number of
news-based programmes on topical subjects from Delhi and its Regional News Units.

AIR operates at present 18 FM stereo channels, called AIR FM Rainbow, targeting the urban
audience in a refreshing style of presentation. Four more FM channels called, AIR FM Gold,
broadcast composite news and entertainment programmes from Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and
Mumbai. With the FM wave sweeping the country, AIR is augmenting its Medium Wave
transmission with additional FM transmitters at Regional stations.

In keeping with the Government decision for transition to the digital mode of transmission,
AIR is switching from analog to digital in a phased manner. The technology adopted is the
Digital Radio Mondiale or DRM. With the target of complete digitization by 2017, the
listeners can look forward to highly enhanced transmission quality in the near future.

https://prasarbharati.gov.in/all-india-radio-2/#1588508332867-217ff0f1-f4fe

Organizational Structure of a Private Radio Station

A private radio station comprises the Marketing, Production, Technical and Accounts/Admini
stration departments. The four departments are headed by the respective managers who report
to the General Manager or popularly referred to the Station Manager.

1. General/Station Manager: The station manager is responsible for maintaining the budget
of the station along. She/he also recruits and conducts training programmes for
the employees. The progress, growth and performance of the employees are also reviewed by
the general manager.

2. Sales Manager: The sales department is headed by the sales manager who leads a team of
sales executives. The executives are responsible for carrying cold calling with the objective
of generating and converting sales leads. The sales manager designates the team members to
even perform collections on past – due accounts. The sales manager reports to the station
manager.

3. Operations Manager: There are three key responsibilities of the operations manager,
coordinating, scheduling and promoting the on-air programming. The operations manager
works in close association with the anchors, hosts, radio jockeys in order to make sure that
the station’s branding is represented correctly. The operations manager also reports to
the station manager.

4. Program Director:- The program director is assigned the duty of creating and planning
the daily broadcast schedule which means that she /he is responsible for locating and
providing the news, music etc., which must be covered in order to disseminate the content
properly. For each individual broadcast, there is a program director who works with the same
team every day and has to report to the operations manager.

5. Production Personnel: The production department comprises the production staff,

operations team, anchors, hosts, co-hosts, radio jockeys. The department ensures that all the
program contents and advertisements are produced on time and queued for timely broadcast.

6. On-Air Personalities: The radio jockeys are responsible for playing music, disseminate
information and entertain the listeners. Anchors or hosts share information about weather,
traffic and also interview personalities. They also invite listeners to call in and participate in
the show. The anchors must adhere to the style sheet or guidelines of the station. All on-air
personalities have to report to their respective programme director.
7. Chief Engineer: The responsibility of the chief engineer is to manage a team which
handles all technical duties. The chief engineer, who reports to the operations manager, must
also inspect the equipment at the radio station, check for any damage which requires repair,
facilitate repair or even purchase new equipment as and when required. The chief engineer
must also adhere to the guidelines prescribed by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI). The team under the chief engineer is also responsible for smooth broadcast of
programmes and is many times involved in the process of editing tracks, handling sound
effects and checking the strength, quality and clarity of signal.

8. Marketing/Sales: Generating revenue is extremely important for any radio station for
survival. The marketing or sales department has the responsibility to generate direct revenue
by selling air time to the advertisers. The challenging role is shouldered by a team of several
people who are directed to perform different functions. The sales
department is headed by a Sales head who leads the entire department. The department is
responsible for meeting the targets set for a predetermined time period. The sales men in the
department approach the potential advertisers, convince them to buy the air
time, if required, and also negotiate the terms and conditions related to payment.

9. Accounts/Finance: The revenue and expenses of the radio station are handled by the
accounts or the finance department. The department is responsible for collecting dues from
the advertisers on time and also ensures that all payments like salaries of the employees, bills
of utility items are made in due time. The department also looks are all legal or financial
issues related to mobilizing funds from the market. The department is also responsible for
handling two other departments namely, auditing and taxation.

10. Administration: The administration department has to manage all the processes of the
radio station. The key roles and responsibilities of the department is to handle logistics,
housekeeping, security concerns at the station. The department is also responsible for
handling the office boys, deployment of security guards, transportation, travel arrangements
for officials and guests.