According to UNESCO World Radio Day (unesco.org): Radio is a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its diversity and constitutes a platform for democratic discourse. At the global level, radio remains the most widely consumed medium. This unique ability to reach out to the widest audience means radio can shape a society’s experience of diversity, stand as an arena for all voices to speak out, be represented, and be heard. Radio stations should serve diverse communities, offering a wide variety of programs, viewpoints, and content, and reflect the diversity of audiences in their organisations and operations.
February 13 was declared World Radio Day by UNESCO in 2011, The theme of the 2022 edition of World Radio Day is devoted to “Radio and Trust”. It celebrates trust accessibility and the long-term viability of radio.
All three elements are evident in the Middle East broadcast media scene and professionals in Radio around the region echo these sentiments.
QFM and Malayalam Radio, Doha subscribe strongly to the concept of trust in radio journalism and consider their channels to be ‘Infotainment’. Malayalam Radio was launched on October 31, 2017, in Qatar. It started with their popular ‘Good Morning’ show after a message from the Emir. The show is still popular and on-air. In 2020, in response to the pandemic, the broadcasters were invited by the government to launch a radio channel in Bangla, Tamil, and Sinhala to provide an information service to other South Asian communities, and QFM was launched. QFM still broadcasts educational and informative programmes along with music and entertainment.
CEO Anvar Hussain considers the reasons for the success of the Qatar radio stations to be their having a finger on the pulse of the audience and superior quality content. “We believe in quality and have used Sennheiser mics all along since audio quality is crucial for radio. We are in touch with the community. We’re on-air and online but also very much on the ground at community events so we know what entertainment and information our audiences are looking for,” he adds.
Gaurav Tandon and Kritika Rawat, the husband-and-wife team from KKompany have been associated with radio for more than 20 years. Both were high-profile RJs at popular radio stations in the UAE. Gaurav says, “Radio has been a major part of both our lives. We met at a Radio station in the UAE where she presented the morning show, and I had the evening drivetime slot. When we set up Kkompany in 2009, our first project was producing jingles for radio. We still do a lot of work for radio but have expanded to TV and cover the gamut of broadcast media.”
“UNESCO’s recognition of radio as a powerful medium by instituting World Radio Day in 2011 is commendable and this year’s theme ‘Radio and Trust’ is even more significant. We endorse it fully. As independent producers, we ensure our clients’ trust is maintained by providing quality content. We use Sennheiser microphones and headphones to ensure the best audio output of our content. I think we can all agree that along with what you say, it’s also the way you say it. “
The latest entrant to the radio scene in UAE is Fun Asia Network launched in January 2020, the fastest growing media group in the region. Four radio stations cover varied audiences of more than 2 million listeners daily. FAN caters to all demographics through its section of curated FM stations. Beat 97.8 and Luv 107.1 – English language stations target different age groups with Beat catering to younger audiences and Luv to a more mature demographic. Big 106.2 is the Hindi entertainment channel and Talk 100.3 covers news sports and conversation. A higher reach is achieved through streaming apps and an online presence.
“We’re here to make a difference to radio as a broadcast medium in the UAE, not to add to it. Trust and accessibility are innate elements of radio which we will build on. Our streaming services and online presence enhance accessibility and our growing popularity underscores the trust we have gained from audiences of varying ethnicities. We produce the highest quality of sound and use the world’s top brand of Neumann mics to ensure we achieve our objective,” says Network Programme Director, Digby Taylor.
“Mig Cardamone, Sales Director, Sennheiser Middle East, said, “We at Sennheiser Middle East are proud to be associated with the best radio stations in the region. Broadcast is a much more immediate way to reach the listeners than any other medium and broadcasters need to ensure their content is relevant, responsible, and unswerving. While the world relies on them, every day Broadcasters around the world rely on Sennheiser products to deliver the best audio quality. Sennheiser and Neumann mics, monitors, and headphones are recognised for superior audio quality all over the world as they are in the Middle East. We join our customers across the region in celebrating World Radio Day 2022 highlighting the important features of trust accessibility and long-term viability.”
