Amy May Shead

I have been getting increasingly frustrated with hearing assumptions and negative comments spoken about on the subject of radio.

It is not boring, it has not had its day and it certainly is not ‘undoubtedly better’ than television. The opinions that I hear on radio itself seem to come from that of little consideration about what the medium actually is.

It seems to be a somewhat stereotyped opinion from those who clearly lack any substantial knowledge about the media world that we are embedded in. What I cannot seem to understand is how so many seem oblivious to the fact that radio has the gift to affect an audience in such a way that no other media form can, especially when it comes the the genre of radio drama; which clearly is one of the most unappreciated literary forms of the last twenty five years.

CSR FM

Compared with that of television, one would assume that due to the obvious fact that radio lacks visual stimulus there is no way that it can be as ‘compelling’ and varied as what is broadcast on the television.With a never ending source of images that seek to shock, influence, entertain and teach constantly on our screens, to think that radio could do exactly the same is sure to be seen as plain stupidity by the majority.

My opinion however is quite the opposite. Radio offers a very different theatrical effect, an effect which I feel is one of the most interesting, as well as being one of the most influential. It most assuredly is not a blind medium.

Seeing with the eye… and seeing with the ear…

Thinking philosophically, what difference is there between seeing with the eye and seeing with the ear? Blind people can still see, they still have the ability to imagine what is going on around them, and create their own visual sense as it were. Other human senses allow them to interpret their surroundings. Sight is a minute part of the human experience.

Feeling and emotion are surely as important to true life fulfillment; without them what would we as human beings be?

This is where my theory comes in to play – radio (especially radio drama) has the ultimate ability to delve deeply into human feelings and emotions, so much more so than television or film. The entire imaginative spectacle can be influenced – there are no limitations; by which I am suggesting that taste, sound, smell and visual can all be created just from hearing even a simple sound.

What is so fantastic about radio is that because we are only using our ears to consume the source, each individuals interpretation will differ in a variety of ways.

The sound that we as an audience hear from our speakers is entering into the subliminal mind of the human being, creating an almost dream like experience, a visual show ground that goes on for eternity.

Therefore when considered further it would make sense to say that radio encourages us to have far more active involvement with the source being listened to deep within our ever so complicated minds, especially when comparing it to that of television, where an often passive trance appears to take over the viewer.

Experimenting on the airwaves

Sound experimenting

I do not want to bore you with lists of sounds that are used within radio and the ones that I particularly feel from experience have an incredible dramatic effect, especially again in the case of radio drama, but I do want to stress that the list really is never ending.

There is always the opportunity to experiment with sound to create a new emotional adventure.

All sounds that we hear have a hue, they have a spectrum of nature just as fine art does, therefore each individual encounters something that no other person will. How fantastic is that? We are allowed to let our minds run wild and create as insane or normal vision as we wish. We see no barrier as is experienced when watching a screen.

So there we have it, radio is extraordinarily far from being a blind medium. Instead of waking up in the morning and glueing your eyes to GMTV or BBC Breakfast, try switching to a radio station and think about what you have read in this blog – you may be surprised. Your imagination may even thank you for it.