Radio’s Future Online

The online station Reprezent Radio has been awarded an FM licence by OFCOM and in the past fortnight they’ve started broadcasting on 107.3.

It’s a community station for young people, which runs from studios in Peckham.  A team at the station have been training 13 – 25 year olds in radio production, journalism and presenting for free since 2008. These young volunteers then showcase these skills on air.

Marie Horner, a radio journalist, producer and former media lecturer, is a Youth Training Coordinator at Reprezent. From her observations, she says the development at this station is different to the norm but shows something progressive about the industry.

Most stations, she says, use online audio to support what they do on FM (see interviews with Andover Sound, Radio Jackie and Eagle Radio). But at Reprezent, FM is now supporting what they do online, which, in her opinion, is how the future of radio is looking. She says it’s because a younger generation of producers and listeners use the internet in a different way to traditional radio audiences. The internet for them is the first place they go when they want information.  They always seem to be connected to the internet, whether on a computer or on a phone.

So Reprezent’s website is not only used to broadcast live and podcast their shows and features, but also to build a community of young people through social media such as twitter and facebook:

“We’re an intermediary between the community and mass media, and I think that’s really exciting and the internet has got a lot to do with that, which I think is great.”

With a shift to online, she predicts radio stations centred on a theme or interest, rather than a local area, will become more prevalent (see interview with Andy Duckworth from the Guardian). This is because the internet transcends geographical boundaries, so you can listen to stations across the world. Therefore, in the age of online audio, she thinks we’ll need to reconsider our community of listeners. They’re more selective, able to search for what they’re interested in, rather than coming across something accidentally on the airwaves.

Another consideration is competition. With the “know how” and a bit of cash, anyone can set up an online station, whereas OFCOM licences for broadcasting on a frequency are much harder to get.  She says it can only be a good thing to have more on offer, not only for consumers, but also for producers to be kept on their creative toes. But does this “ease” mean radio journalists could end up out of a job? She reckons citizen journalism shouldn’t be seen as a threat but as a source.

But she does lament. Focusing on online audio to broaden your web presence can lose the immediacy she loves about radio. When Reprezent put shows and features up as podcasts she says they have to edit out time references, or alert listeners that the content may be out of date by the time they download it. Radio, in her opinion remains the best medium to react, especially for news.

What decides your listening habits: region or theme? Why not answer our poll here on VisVox.

Do you think online radio is the future? Is there a place for the local in a globalised internet world? Voice your thoughts below.

We’ve spoken to a number of thriving local radio stations that stream online to compliment what they do on air. See what they have to say by visiting our Take it from the Experts page.

Listen to more from Marie Horner here: