The Uncertain Future of Radio

Since the invention of the radio, we have clearly seen how it has been one of the most important and powerful communication tools that have ever existed. We have also seen how people have truly relied on it for updates in what was going on in, and around the world throughout and over time. However, as this thing we love to call time has passed and technology has boomed, radio doesn't have the same meaning or effect it once had on people. At one point in time, radio was the only medium people had, whereas today television and internet have taken over to the point that turning on the radio is a last resort out of desparity. Although the idea of radio coming to an end constantly goes in one ear and out the other, people like myself rarely stop to think what the end of radio really means. Because of the vast variety of competition radio faces such as; ipods, mp3s, and podcasts, radio analyst Michael Harrison believes that radio itself has less than 5 years left in it before the internet ultimately takes over, and revolutionizes the medium that has always been there through the good and the bad when we needed it. I chose this article because it never really crossed my mind that we could truly live in a world without radio, and it was quite an eye opener that this analyst believes that radio won't even exist in 5 years. It also makes me wonder what will replace radio and what the future holds for all of us. One real world example of this that I also found very interesting was the idea that as time goes by and new updated versions and inventions come out, people tend to get curious and greedy and forget about the gadgets they once had to have or loved so much in excitement for the new ones due to the fact being simply that things go out of style and the famous saying of "the grass is always greener on the other side. Although the internet imay be taking over the world, I find it really hard to believe that radio could really burn to ashes so soon and so quick. According to our Media Programming book, "Radio was slow to warm to the online world, and stations and listeners were constantly frustrated by the technological problems that made it difficult for the stations to deliver high quality content." (343). I don't really see radio going anywhere especially in the next 5 years, due to the fact that I still haven't warmed up to online radio and don't plan to in the near future. Because of this article, I will continue to tune-in anytime I can just so that I can say I wasn't an accomplice in the death of the trusty and once loved radio. http://seekingalpha.com/article/140094-the-uncertain-future-of-radio