Premium
Radio Studies: The Sound and Vision of an Established Medium in the Digital Age
Author(s) -
Starkey Guy
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
sociology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1751-9020
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2012.00499.x
Subject(s) - new media , situated , technological convergence , sociology , convergence (economics) , vocational education , digital media , electronic media , telecommunications , multimedia , media studies , computer science , world wide web , pedagogy , artificial intelligence , economics , economic growth
Radio has been variously described as the ‘forgotten’, ‘invisible’, ‘secondary’, ‘blind’ and even ‘Cinderella’ medium, and it has been relatively under‐theorised in media studies since the subject first appeared in the classroom in the 1930s. Media educators may have been slow to realise its potential, and radio’s survival may have been threatened by the emergence of new media, but this established , rather than old medium has reinvented itself before now and is doing so again in the age of media convergence. Digital migration may be slow because the benefits of new technology over the existing analogue transmission platforms may not be apparent to consumers, but now radio provides given pictures online and on mobile platforms through parallel broadcaster and user‐generated web content. Teaching radio studies can be both enjoyable and cost‐effective, with both academic and vocational outcomes, and radio’s place in media education seems assured by its longevity and durability. This article explores essential synergies between the development of radio as an industry that is now situated in a convergent, digital landscape, the state of the art of academic radio studies, and the practice of radio within media education.