Why radio still beats all forms of media for immediacy

Comment from Trevor Long



It’s long been said you can’t beat the immediacy of radio, and that the power of radio is that it’s live and local. Today on 2GB that was proven once again with a caller to the Ben Fordham Breakfast show.



Talk radio programming legend John Brennan would have been proud, it was a moment that would have generated smiles, amazement and tears of joy in many listening.



Ben took a call on his open line from a listener Brad.



Brad was reaching out to Ben as a last resort – he was trying to reach his mum Leanne -but she was not answering her phone.



Why? His sister, Leanne’s daughter, just had a baby 30 mins earlier.



Unable to reach her on the phone, Brad thought that, given Leanne would be driving to work, it was almost certain she would be listening to Ben.



And she was. She came on air, excited by the news, Brad was amazed his plan had worked and Ben had captured one of the great moments in Talk Radio.



I’ve worked in radio for 25 years. I’ve had websites for the same time. I’ve been podcasting for 14 years, and I work in Live TV. No platform has the ability to pull off this whole story in just a few minutes like radio.



Why? Firstly it’s live. Next it’s about loyalty – talk radio has loyal engaged listeners.



Next, it’s easy – pick up a phone, call 131 873 and you are one step away from being on the radio.



TV is live, but if your son was on the Today Show how would you get in touch with the on air team? Podcasts have a connection to audience, but stories take weeks to evolve.



And while social media has the ability to spread a message wide and far, it’s unlikely to get a result anywhere near as quickly as Ben Fordham did today.



Video killed the radio star? I think not. The power of radio is still strong, and it’s great to hear.








ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Trevor Long is a technology commentator on TV, radio and online – he has a long history in talk radio, worked as Assistant Program Director at 2GB for many years in the early 2000’s, now runs EFTM.com, records two weekly podcasts and appears regularly on The Today Show.

 
 

 
Main Photo: 2GB

 

   

 

 


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