How to Write a Radio Serial Drama for Social Development- PDF

Chapter One: Introduction to the Use of Radio Drama for Social Development 7
The Strengths and Limitations of Radio
Radio, like every other communication medium, has its own characteristics, strengths, and limitations.
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Strengths of Radio
Limitations of Radio
1. Radio is based in oral tradition. Every culture
has traditions of story telling, and the
fascination of listening to a good tale well told
has never been lost. Even today, when
television is so widespread, people in many
cultures experience much of their
entertainment through listening. A successful
radio serial writer knows how to use this
tradition to create an intriguing story that
attracts and holds a listening audience.
2. Radio appeals to and relies upon the
imagination of the listeners. The radio writer
is not limited by what the audience can see, so
there is ample opportunity to invite listeners
to imagine a wide range of people, places, and
events. A good radio writer knows how to tap
into the imaginations of the listeners by
creating strong word pictures, engaging
characters, and action-filled events.
3. Radio can cross time and space without limit.
The radio writer can move through time
freely and create environments without
restriction, as long as they seem appropriate
to the audience. For example, listeners in a
remote rural village can “visit” and understand
the inside of a large city airport if word
pictures and sound effects are used effectively.
4. Radio can go places and evoke images that are
impossible in real life, or even on stage and
television. For example, a radio writer can
transport listeners to the inside of a whale, to
the surface of the moon, or to the world of a
microbe.
5. Radio is a personal medium. Although it can
reach millions of listeners at the same time,
radio nevertheless has the power to speak to
each listener individually. The good radio
writer recognizes that radio’s message can be
heard by people en masse and, at the same
time, can be interpreted personally by each
individual listener.
1. The total experience of radio is received by
the ear alone. This is in contrast to the
multisensory perception of everyday life. The
writer therefore must remember to fill in
details that, in real life, would be provided by
the listeners’ other senses, such as vision or
smell. The writer must create scripts that
allow listeners to imagine what they are
hearing.
2. Listeners are accustomed to using radio as a
background to their lives, without paying full
attention to what is being broadcast. When
radio is used to motivate positive social
change, the writer must be sure to attract and
hold the listeners’ full attention, and to
encourage listening literacy (discussed later in
this chapter).
3. Radio offers great opportunities for the use of
sound effects and music. The good radio
writer, however, uses these aids judiciously,
recognizing that overuse of sound can be
more destructive than constructive on radio.
Successful radio drama depends more on
powerful dialogue and strong emotional
attraction than on added noise.
4 Radio can be used to teach many things, but
there are some areas where it falls short. For
example, it would be difficult for a doctor to
learn how to remove an appendix just by
listening to a radio program. To overcome
such difficulties, the writer should
recommend support materials in other media
(such as print) if the subject cannot be dealt
with adequately through radio alone.
5. A radio story or message is heard only once.
The radio cannot be rewound like an audio
cassette or turned back like the pages of a
book. The radio writer, therefore, must ensure
clarity, simplicity, and repetition in the
delivery of important messages or educational
information.