We have radio stations like NPR (National Public Radio) in the USA that produces and distributes thought-provoking programs related to current affairs. It engages in meaningful debates on all current topics. I always found that station to be most used by folks driving to work (Average of 40 minutes of drive time for any commuter). It provides intellectually-stimulating discussions for the civilized world.
I have been wondering why we do not have such channels in the cities of India. Is there a cost barrier to this? Are there any infrastructural limitations? I can see a burgeoning mid-class market for such a program. A typical car-owner in the country today spends a lot of time in traffic. This will be such a meaningful use of the time. While music and other chirpy FM talk-shows provide some entertainment, I think a channel like NPR will go along way in serving the market needs of the current advanced Indian.
I would certainly like to hear your thoughts on this. I am sure there would be some hurdles (if not, we should have had this type of channel on the air long ago)
- Though-Provoking Radio programs - October 21, 2007
the escapist tendency? i guess when you are stuck in a traffic jam, the last thing you want to hear is how the politicians are screwing up the country!
Simple, there’s a regulatory stranglehold that explains it;
1) High license fees that drag every radio station to the lowest common denominator (filmy pop + ‘masala’ gossip)
2) Curbs on news and current affairs discussions (for private broadcasters)
question: why was npr unable to prevent iraq? Is it because the mass audience is in reality a tabloid audience all over the world?
I am big fan of NPR as well. I have only spent less than 3 months so far in India – but here’s my hypotheses –
– Newspapers in the US are history (almost). A huge majority of news in US is consumed through radio and web. Thats not the case with India yet
– In absolute terms the automobile population in India is still a very small number
– The entire country seems maniacally focussed on news from politics and stock market- of which the print and broadcast TV provide aplenty.
– NPR is non-commercial and despite such a huge target audience and deep penetration in US, it barely makes up for its expenses – or so i have heard, not sure though!
In India the closest equivalent would be AIR FM. The reality is (at least AFAIK), AIR FM happens to be at the bottom of the list of FM stations that current generation listens to. This statement itself would be debatable, and the reasons are more so, however, very rearely have I heard of people talking about some “debate” or “news item” on AIR FM. While I’m not too familiar with NPR, but all PBS type programming is generally state-owned or state-sponsored (to a large extent), so is AIR FM. Many years back, I used to follow AIR FM, possibly for want to enough better options. These were the days that private FM channels didn’t have their own infrastructure (or very had), and would work on air-time sharing basis.