RADIO: SOUTH AFRICA
Radio isn’t on mute, so turn it up! While last year was a trying one for the radio industry, it also once again proved its value and agility, writes TIM ZUNCKEL.
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f there was a year to prove that radio is tenacious, agile, tactile and versatile, 2020 was it. Add elements of care, compassion, fun and understanding alongside information, entertainment and news, and you really do seem to have the perfect media ‘friend’. While the country was changing gears between lockdown levels, making sense of the new normal and telling the person on the other side of their buffering screens, “You’re on mute, we can’t hear you,” radio was turning up the volume and delivering a message that was loud and clear to audiences and advertisers: “You can depend on me.”
The 2020 radio landscape changed daily as stations and practitioners set their best-laid plans and strategies aside, and recalibrated their programming plans to serve audiences and communities much-needed information at the peak of the pandemic. The year put focus on the value of well-planned broadcast systems, solid technical staff and in-tune programming teams. Empty studios, remote connections and rejigged programming plans saw the radio industry embrace the collective psyche of their communities. Working at home, being removed from loved ones, sharing moments, laughing, themediaonline.co.za
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thinking, being lonely and getting sick – radio did it all. The true agility of the medium was highlighted by the fact that there weren’t huge recalibration shifts, but rather constant change and calibration as the daily needs changed. Besides the obvious, there were other challenges too. We saw many broadcast groups undergo organisational change, with retrenchments sweeping the industry. A shift in needs and required skills, a changing consumption landscape and commercial pressure have seen many experienced practitioners within organisations unemployed. T H E M E D I A Y E A R B O O K 2 0 2 1 I 31
08.04.21 11:31
