I used to listen to the Steve Harvey Morning Show every morning on my way to school when I was younger. I’d always have to get out of the car when the Strawberry Letter segment came on: an advice segment where people anonymously wrote in about all their life issues. For obvious reasons, 10-year-old me really wanted to hear these.
Anyway, that brings me to my main point. I LOVE RADIO. And it doesn’t get much appreciation nowadays. I want to tell you about a conversation I had with my friend Darryl a couple of years ago. Our conversation stuck in my brain, and I think back to it a lot, especially now, when I’m on a job hunt.
We were at Towson University’s West Village Commons, a dining hall near my dorm on campus. I was eating alone, when Darryl spotted me and sat next to me. We talked for a while, just catching up, because I hadn’t seen him in quite some time. He told me his major was Mass Communications, which is also my major. Our conversation shifted to career goals. I told him I was really interested in broadcast journalism and storytelling, and that radio was starting to pique my interest. What he said next inspired this post.
Don’t do radio. Radio’s dying.
I had an instant rebuttal. I shocked myself with how quickly I countered him.
No. It’s evolving.
I wasn’t just being snappy to Darryl. That’s true, in my opinion. Sure, I’ll concede that the same amount of people who had Sirius XM subscriptions in 2008 is leagues above their current subscription numbers, but that’s not the point. If you still aren’t convinced, let me ask you a question.
Do you think TV is dying?
It’s absolutely not. It’s evolving. Every network from here to Antarctica has a streaming service now. How else could they compete with Netflix and Hulu? Cable TV’s Nielsen ratings are still going strong by the way, so don’t let all these streaming services fool you.
Radio is evolving just like TV. I bet you’ve listened to a podcast before. Much like a Pokemon, radio has perhaps reached its final evolution. Podcasting is all the rage. The second someone takes off on social media, surprise surprise! They’ve started a podcast. It’s a great way to get engagement, and I think everyone likes the idea of someone enjoying their content. Whether or not everyone that tries it is good at it….that’s a different story. But my point remains.
Radio has become much more accessible nowadays, because with platforms like Anchor, anyone can start a podcast at any time. And who knows, it could get big! So, I encourage you to really think deeply the next time you conclude that a medium is dying.
This may not be its final form.
readreaming 