Q. Radio as a marginalised cultural product? What are the benefits of radio features- coming from this undervalued media

There is a great deal of intimacy, liveness and co-presence. These elements are things that I never really considered, and it really opened my eyes…and ears, and made me think deeper about radio as a cultural product.

In the studio, the group task at hand was the discuss the overlying title of “radio”, and what it was made of, what it allowed us to do, what it is able to envoke in each person.
Listening to radio has been something I have done since I was a little girl, and brings back a mantra of memories.

ABC and 3AW are the earliest memories I have. It reminds me of when I was much younger, maybe 7 or 8, and my mum would have it playing each morning. I knew it was time to get up when she would raise the volume significantly, and the infamous ABC news “jingle” intro song would play. As I grew older, I remember how frustrated I would get at the fact that she continued to listen to this station, full of static. “Mum, why can’t we listen to FOX fm!” I would beg…”Because darling, I’m not listening to rubbish”.

The first memory I have of radio features, is on the weekends, this same tradition would occur, however different segments were played. For the life of me, I can’t remember who or what, but I remember stories would be told with the incorporation of sound effects, music and interviews. Now that I think about it, they were captivating.

Radio is a media that is constantly present in my life. It was always on during the mornings on the way to and from school. It still is always on, whenever I am driving in the car. It is how I find out about the latest news, weather, hot topics and music- old and new.

I was honestly surprised at the outcome of our brainstorm session, due largely to the fact, that I was unaware of the power of this medium.
The question Kyla posed is significant, as I think it is undervalued, however it is growing in appreciation and popularity.

The main things I took away was that:

-It speaks to each person individually. I listen to a lot of talk back radio, and you really form a relationship with the presenter or the narrator. Going on from this, it is a different relationship to lets say a television presenter, as you are forced to create an image of them through judgement. Judgement of their voice- and like a character in a book, you invent an image of them. You begin to think, who is behind the voice, how old are they, where did they come from? People with an accent, a certain dialetic, do we have presumptions because of these things? Is it less or a vicious media in terms of tv which is visually judgemental from the get go??

I was so dissapointed when I saw Matt and Joe, who “took” me to school through primary and high school,  on a billboard. They did not look ANYTHING like the people I concocted in my mind. The idea of them as a “fictional” character was infinitely better than real life. Is this a good or a bad thing??

– It is more often than not, a secondary activity (multitasking)- how do we use this to build in space and capture the audience, need a flow, can’t always be intense, I NEED YOUR ATTENTION

– The importance of imagination

– Personal experience to dictate and guide how closely one connects with the subject

-The ‘Ambulance call’ piece Kyla played, emotionally I was gasping for more, I was eager to find out what happened, how it played out, and the rawness of it all made me really pay attention the whole way

Some ideas:

I would love to play with this emotional aspect I learnt of- and what I could do that would be able to be appropriate and relevant for a majority of people. This idea of eliciting an emotion through sound is something that has happened to me, and I think is almost more powerful if not right, than through visual means.