Although today it coexists with many
\nother means of mass communication, radio continues to be regarded as one of the
\ngreatest inventions of all times. Transmitting signals via electromagnetic
\nwaves was a fascinating thing from the very beginning. Although less known than
\nthe industrial revolution, the international revolution sparkled by the
\ninvention of Guglielmo Marconi and Nikola Tesla has played a major role, both
\nin times of peace and of conflict. Mihai Coman is a professor with the
\nJournalism and Communication Faculty of the Bucharest University and he told us
\nabout the role of radio:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Even if other means of
\ncommunication have emerged, radio has the quality of proximity and, in this
\nway, people find it easier to connect to content that reaches them via the
\nradio. From here, we get into the realm of content, and content varies
\ndepending on the station. Basically, the public radio should ensure fair information
\nand help defuse tense situations when conflicts have emerged or are likely to
\nemerge, and thus create an atmosphere of tolerance. Obviously, it very much
\ndepends on the situation and the policy pursued by each individual radio
\nstation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Just like every year, for this
\nyear’s edition of World Radio Day UNESCO has proposed a theme. At a time when
\nsociety seems to be increasingly dominated by nationalist and populist
\ndiscourses, dialogue, tolerance and peace are values promoted by World Radio
\nDay. Here is Mihai Coman again:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The theme is in the spirit of
\nUNESCO’s values and is based on the assumption that where there is dialogue,
\ntherefore communication, there is a greater chance of creating an atmosphere of
\ntolerance, and hence less room for conflict, which in turn leads to the
\nestablishment of peace. This would be the rationale behind this theme. Recent
\nhistory has shown us that there have been many situations in which
\ncommunication tools have existed, but no efforts have been made to pursue tolerance
\nas well. This is not an accusation against the radio, but it’s a fact that
\nmedia has this tendency of focusing on the emotional, thus favouring discourses
\nthat trigger such reactions. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We have asked Iris Constantin, a
\ncommunication expert with the National Commission of Romania for UNESCO, what
\nevents have been planned for World Radio Day this year:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Two radio stations will broadcast
\nlive: radio UNESCO, a temporary station devoted to World Radio Day, and Radio
\nFrance Internationale. A public event will be held at the UNESCO headquarters
\nin Paris. Ten workshops will help participants gain practical experience in
\nradio production. Registration is compulsory and it can be done on UNESCO’s
\nwebsite. The workshops will focus on topics such as writing for the radio,
\nsound recording, recording a jingle, how to make a podcast, hosting a talkshow,
\nradio and the Internet and promoting radio on social media.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The best radio productions devoted
\nto World Radio Day are also awarded on February 13th. Therefore, radio
\nbroadcasters across the world are encouraged to debate this year’s theme. Here
\nis Iris Constantin with more:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
A world
\nradio contest is also organised. It is a prize-winning contest. Radio stations were
\ninvited to produce a feature devoted to World Radio Day or a feature included
\nin one of their recurrent programs on the theme of dialogue, tolerance and peace.
\nMoreover, UNESCO has made available certain free-of-charge resources to radio
\nbroadcasters, such as promotional jingles in the six official languages of the
\nUnited Nations and other types of content that can be used to promote World
\nRadio Day on air and on social networks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
World
\nRadio Day celebrates, at UNESCO’s initiative, a mass information instrument,
\nthe radio, which is accessible to everyone and which seems to be permanently
\nreinvented. It is an instrument that provides information, education, culture,
\nfreedom of expression and public debate. Here is Mihai Coman with more on the
\nfuture of radio: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
To look
\nto the future, we must first look back at the past. In the past, when the new
\nmedia emerged, everyone thought that the old media would disappear or would be
\nreplaced. Actually the old and new media have coexisted, and the old,
\ntraditional media – the print media became old when the radio appeared, and the
\nprint press and the radio became old when the television emerged – have adapted,
\nborrowing from the way in which the new media work. I believe that today, radio
\nbroadcasting, which is complemented by a website and a Facebook page, is
\nadapting to the new media and thus ensuring a future for itself.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Radio
\nRomania is a radio broadcaster of world importance, comprises three main
\nnational stations, namely Radio Romania News and Current Affairs, Radio Romania
\nCulture and the Village Antenna; as well as Radio Romania International, which broadcasts
\nin Romanian, the Aromanian dialect and 11 foreign languages; the regional
\nstations; Radio Romania Chisinau; Radio Romania Music devoted exclusively to
\nclassical music; the Florian Pitis Radi3Net, which is an exclusively online
\nstation; the RADOR news agency; the Casa Radio publishing house; orchestras,
\nchoirs and soloists; and the National Radio Drama station. Radio Romania also organises
\nthe annual GAUDEAMUS book fair, the RadiRo Festival for Radio Orchestras and
\nthe Grand Prix Nova Radio Drama International Festival.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
World Radio Day, organised every year by UNESCO to celebrate radio as a medium, has reached its 8th edition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"featured_media":143036,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42997],"tags":[31180],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-50640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society-today","tag-radio"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n