“If the internet is like fast food restaurants then the radio is like homemade tiffin,” jokes K Satyanarayana Murty, Assistant Director - Programmes at All India Radio (AIR) Visakhapatnam. Despite the growth of private radio stations, cable TV and internet, AIR still caters to a large section of the society, he believes.
He gives the example of Cyclone Hudhud in 2014. “ All modern modes of communication broke down. It was only through hourly updates on the radio that the government was able to communicate with the masses,” he recalls. What has the impact of the radio been in Visakhapatnam?
Dash of sepia
Satyanarayana Murty joined AIR in 1993. At that time, interviews and radio plays were popular on radio. One of the popular shows was a 13-part series, Kathasaritsagara , a collection of 11th Century Indian legends, originally written in Paishachi. “The series was an instant hit. We got so many letters from fans, we even had a show dedicated to the letters, ” he says.
Human precision was a very vital thing in the 90s, he explains, “The film songs were on gramophone records while recordings happened on tapes. Whenever we needed to play film songs in a show, the production team had to follow a precise sequence of actions - stop, pause, record and play. As a beginner, two hands would often fall short!” Computers modernised AIR Visakhapatnam in 2005 and editing on the computer saved at least two hours per show.
As a result, the production team was down sized from about 22 to 10 people from 1999 onwards.
Currently, AIR Visakhapatnam has two announcers for medium wave and four radio jockeys (RJs) for FM Rainbow. The RJs are hired on demand. This has been the recruitment policy at AIR for over two decades.
- Prasar Bharti Radio Audience Survey 2019 says
- About 66% of Visakhapatnam listens to radio and 23.8% tune - in to AIR FM Rainbow
- Three lakh people listen to the radio daily. This rises over seven lakh listeners over the week
- Type of radio receivers - mobile 51.6%; radio set 29 %; radio in car 9 %; radio on DTH 0.7 %; on internet 0.4%
- All India Radio (AIR) Visakhapatnam
- Broadcasts in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and East Godavari districts
- The FM channel covers 40-50 kilometres radius around from Visakhapatnam station
- Monthly 120 to 140 letters / emails for songs request or feedback on programmes
- You can write at airpcvsp@gmail.com and airvisakhapatnam@rediffmail.com or 272 7200 (Medium wave);
- 272 7244 ( FM Rainbow )
- 2008 - Best maintained station in South Zone
- 2018 - Akashvani Annual Award for the play ‘Swacham, Sivam, Sundaram’
Silent listeners
When in the mid-2000s, the number of letters from listeners dropped drastically, AIR Visakhapatnam opened a telephone line in order to stay connected with its listeners. This led to the introduction of the phone-in segment where people could call in and request songs of their choice.
Every day from 10.30 am to 12 noon and 2.15 pm to 3 pm, song requests were taken. As for feedbacks, they were taken on Sunday mornings from 7.20 am to 7.45 am. AIR’s motto is Bahujanahitaya Bahujanasukhaya , is a Sanskrit phrase meaning ‘in the interest of all lies happiness of all.’ “Unlike other players, we have to ensure our content is relevant to the majority of listeners, ,” says Satyanarayana.
- In 2012, Pakistan-based Bilal Khan set the record for announcing weather forecast of 68 world cities in one minute at Radio Asia Live.
According to him, the reach of radio has reduced in general; on top of that the competition from the private channels has made it more challenging . But he is quick to add, “We might lack flashy content but archived interviews of eminent personalities on AIR since 1936 makes us stand out”
These personalities include journalist Mark Tully ; writer Khushwant Singh Carnatic vocalist Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, and former chief of the Indian Army K V Krishna Rao. There are also interviews with artist Jatin Das and the first woman member of the Communist Party India Politburo Brinda Karat.
(Living Vizag is a weekly column that profiles people who make the city special, and explore it through their eyes)
