Radio Back Then, Compared to Today...

Today’s society is very visual and believe in the saying, “Seeing is believing.” After listening to the “sitcoms” that played during the 40’s on people’s radios, I realized people back then had way better imaginations and really appreciated technology. Today’s radio consists of mainly of music, commercials, and weather updates. The only almost comparison to today’s radio and back then would be some morning show programs like Bob and Tom. They do impersonations and little skits; mainly they’re big on one liners and interviews with comedians. If there was a show on the radio today that consisted of reenactments of famous novels (like the Jungle Book example) I don’t think people would take the time to listen. We’re always in a rush now and have an attention span for like 5 seconds. Think about how many times you change the station on your radio when a commercial comes on, you know they’ll be back with more music but I guess we deserve only what we want. Plus, radio in today’s society is mainly heard by people when they’re driving, taking a shower, or some employment places allow for a radio to be played. It’s not in our living rooms and the center piece of our entertainment these days, nor do I think it ever will be. I work in the radio industry at the moment and I’m shocked on how many people listen to the radio and remember certain things I say, and for the most part radio is an advertisement for the internet because everything said on the radio can easily be found on the station’s web page and you can look at that at your own convenience. The internet plays a huge role in the radio business these days form promoting events, emailing requests, and keep people up dated on what music is being played. I brought up bringing back the “Fire Side Chat” these days because what if it actually continued on over the years after FDR left. I think a lot of people would actually listen to George W if he kept us updated on current events he’s trying to fix. A lot of people want to know his plans and feel like they’re being left out, much like why FDR started it in the first place, to reassure people that things were being taken care of. Plus, some people would tune in just to hear the next stupid thing he has to say or lie about, either way they could have something going there, at least in my eyes. Radio will never be like it used to, but as for right now it is still a huge form of media that I see standing the tests of time.