This is a classroom where A.R. Rahman and M.S. Subbulakshmi share a space on the same wall, bean bags and lazy couches chequered with coloured squares make up for benches and students, huddled in groups, refuse to leave. At the Academy of Radio Studies, there are no traditional classrooms or teachers. As Nelson Venkatesan and N. Dheenadayalan (RJ Dheena) put it, “This is where Radio teaches radio.”
The 2011 edition of the South Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report points out that radio has a greater role and potential in the South. “With the Phase III radio licensing due in a couple of months, the entire industry is about to change,” says Nelson, Director, Academy of Radio Studies, “the cabinet has approved 839 radio stations across 227 towns and cities in India. When this happens, FM penetration in the country will near 99 per cent. Every town with over a lakh people will have an FM station. But we still don't have a professional institution to teach radio. But we are in the initial stages of a radio boom and everyone's going to start looking for talent.”
“There will be international investors now since the FDI cap has increased and with multiple frequencies being allowed, niche stations (dedicated to one genre of music, perhaps) may come up,” says Nelson. “Networking is also permitted, wherein you can get a station in a town nearby and relay the same shows as in the city. And so, teaming up with RJ Dheena and Dinesh Punniamurthy, an academy came into existence. “We started about six months back and had an orientation session through which we selected our students for the first batch. We spent some time designing the course and started the first batch in November,” says Dheena. “Starting an academy has been my dream and after 10 years in this profession I was thinking about grooming the next generation of radio professionals. Whenever I go to a college to judge a competition what I see is that there is invariably a radio-based event, especially in those that already have community radio stations. Radio has penetrated that far and it is now the aspiration of many youngsters.”
The academy's faculty not just include its founders but a list of radio professionals who bring the classes alive with their experience. “Our faculty has hands-on experience in radio and come from all parts of the industry. We have talks by show producers, RJs and technicians, whereby we are not just teaching our students to become radio jockeys but also to understand the industry holistically. This academy helps anyone make a career out of radio. It has a lot of potential and while you can have a stronghold, there are parallel medias (such as voice-overs and commentary) to explore,” says Nelson.
Pradeep. P from Thirunalveli, who is a part of the first batch, says, “I completed my B. Tech and was looking for a way to get into the media industry. I saw an ad on Facebook inviting people to come for an orientation, and attended it. Now I'm very happy and comfortable here. I've learnt not just to talk but also the technical aspects of radio.” Bharathy Ganeshram and Rofina Subash share similar views. “We thought we could make a career in radio if we could talk non-stop. But that's the first shock we received when we joined class. There's a lot more to this industry than just talking. These three months have taught us every single nuance of radio and we're now equipped to handle any profile that we may get.”
For details, visit
>www.academyofradiostudies.com
