In the harsh world of visual entertainment and news industry, losing out on your looks or youth can have brutal implications and can even cost you your job at times. Now, this reality is all poised to shake up the radio industry too, with Prasar Bharati directing its radio FM Gold and Rainbow channels to get rid of contract workers above the age of 35 years.
“It is impossible to judge the age of a radio presenter by his/her voice. And in some instances depending upon the character of a programme or channel, listeners may indeed prefer a more mature presenter to a teeny-bopper. It will be difficult to imagine a voice of a teenager presenting FM Gold shows on ghazals, classical and folk songs. In the FM Rainbow shows, we play old Hindi/English songs,” said Sunil Varma, a presenter who stands to lose his job.
He said the same can be said for shows that are interview-based, and also a young presenter may not even be familiar or have heard of music legends of yesteryears.
The directive also implies that about 200 employees, many of whom have served All India Radio for 10 to 25 years or more, will find themselves without a job in the Delhi station of AIR alone and the number will be significantly higher on an all-India basis.
Another employee, who stands to lose out, Jayati Ojha said: “Most RJs in private channels are well past the age of 40. This fact cannot be apparent from the voice...what is important is the ability of the presenter to connect with the listeners, and that is based on the talent of the presenter rather than his/her age. In international broadcasting too there are enough examples of presenters anchoring shows over decades and garnering a cult following.”
The presenters have been meeting many officials over the past several months, including the Station Director, D-G and ADG of All India Radio, and given them representations. “Our demand has been the immediate withdrawal of this order to prevent almost 200 presenters from coming on the road. After all, in the current mood of the nation, “acchaey din”, should apply equally to all,” added Mr. Varma.
