Bhubaneswar: Radio broadcasts in Odisha continue to reach the audience even though the production process at the radio stations across Odisha has been badly hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With restricted movements due to lockdowns, the radio stations across the state have devised alternate strategies to ensure content production and broadcasting.
The All India Radio (AIR), Cuttack has been badly hit by the health crisis, but the undeterred broadcaster continues the broadcasting.
“Most of us chipped in to run the show. The announcers recorded their voices and contents from their home while the producers produced the content through their computers at home. Our well-coordinated approach helped us to continue radio broadcasting,” a senior official from AIR, Cuttack told Orissa POST requesting anonymity.
He said that radio has always been a powerful means to reach out to people during disasters. “We started broadcasting programmes on Covid prevention and awareness since February. We have aired more than 100 interviews of ‘Corona Warriors’ from Odisha and from across the country to inform the audience correctly to ward off the disease,” he said.
The official said that at a time when several FM channels and community radio stations have forayed into the sector, AIR has carved its own niche through its global presence.
The AIR stations are now available through mobile apps-AIR Live and AIR News- which enable the audience to listen to it from anywhere in the globe. While FM Gold is serving the metropolitan cities, FM Rainbow has been trying to cater to the recreational needs of the radio lovers in states like Odisha. The availability of AIR programmes through Medium Waves also increases its penetration in remote areas.
The private FM channels, on the other hand, also had been working hard to target their audience and design their contents to cater to the needs of Covid awareness. “We used our RJs to talk more on disease management and tried interviews of celebrities and popular figures to spread awareness. We also designed several digital contents to bridge the gap,” said Saubhagya Behera, Station Head, Big FM, Bhubaneswar.
He also admitted that revenue of private FM channels across the state has dipped owing to the lockdowns. “It was heavily hit during March and April but improved a bit since then. However, we continued broadcasting. Most of us worked from home and continued productions to serve the masses,” he added.
While the public broadcasters are benefited from government advertisements more, reduced advertisement flow from private players has hit the revenue of private FM channels, it was learnt.
People working in the sector also claimed that joblessness and salary cuts have marred radio broadcasting. “A number of radio broadcasters of Odisha working in other states have now returned to their own state after losing jobs while in Odisha several private FM channels have deducted salaries of the broadcasters,” said Subrat Kumar Pati, an independent announcer of an FM channel and founder of Radio Bhubaneswar (online radio) said.
He said that the government has failed to fully understand the potential of radio broadcasting during such a health crisis. “Radio broadcasting during natural and health disasters has been properly harnessed in foreign countries but here we are yet to use its full potential. For example, several education and training related programmes could be aired at this juncture,” he added. An official from state I&PR department, however, said the radio stations are aided through government advertisements especially in the form of jingles related to awareness against the global pandemic.
Manish Kumar, OP