ASSIGNMENT DRIVE FALL 2014

PROGRAM BAJM
SEMESTER 3
SUBJECT CODE & NAME BJ0041 RADIO BROADCASTING
BK ID B1174 CREDIT 2 MARKS 30

Q.No 1 Discuss the legacy of radio 10 marks

Answer:
It was way back in 1895 that Guglielmo Marconi invented an antenna to send and receive radio
signals. It took quite a while before Reginald Fessenden developed the first radio receiver in
1913. At this stage sermons were thought to be the only programming that would be of interest
or value to listeners. However, experts give a lot of credit to David Samoff who actually
conceived what is called as the radio music box. It was Samoff who suggested that radio should
be mass-produced for public consumption. His persistence paid off in 1919 when such sets were
available for general purchase. This saw the beginning of what was later looked on as the
Golden Age of Radio.
Early 1920s saw the launch of commercial radio. People in households would gather around the
radio to listen to their favorite programmes, much as they with TV. Radio became the first
medium delivering entertainment to the masses in their homes. The first paid announcement on
radio was a 10-minute capsule from Howthorne Court, a Queens-based real estate company.
This era of radio (1920 1948) was characterized with block programming wherein radio
offered something to everyone. News, drama, sports, live musical recordings (almost exclusively
till the 1940s) would be presented in 30 or 60-minute programmes. A network soap opera could
be followed by a 15-minute newscast followed by one hour of a concert. Listeners would decide
which programmes to listen to, and plan their day accordingly. There were standard repeat
patterns for popular shows. Radio stations sold sponsorships of programmes as we do for TV
programmes these days.

Radio stations started creating networks wherein two or more stations in different cities could
broadcast the same programs. Soon a whole spectrum of network programmes emerged
featuring presenters who, through national radio networks, became a part of everyday life.
Then, in the 1950s, TV began to catch the publics attention. Audiences were charmed by the
audiovisual experience of TV. They were increasingly choosing TV as the active source of
entertainment. A large number of popular shows moved from radio to TV. That was not all; the
radio industry was also losing a large number of talented staff to TV. People in households now
would gather around the TV sets to get their ration of entertainment. Radio had to begin to
compete in its own way in order to survive.
At this point in time, radio experts discovered an opportunity that only radio could provide.
They realized that radio was the only medium that could be used while doing other things, like
getting dressed for work, cooking a meal, traveling to office, studying and more. In fact, it was
the only medium that could be used while using other media like reading a magazine or a
newspaper or even surfing the net.
Radio is the only medium that allows you to enjoy entertainment without making itself the
entire focus of your attention. It also has the flexibility to be with you throughout the day
whether you are at home or outside.
Radio turned local and moved to what is known in the industry as Format programming.
This era also spawned two of radios greatest strengths: immediacy and local service. Format
radio strategy was based on providing the same kind of entertainment to a selected audience,
throughout the day, seven days a week. It was meant to help people get the freedom to switch
the radio on at any time during the day and get exactly the kind of programmes they sought. So
in case the audience you were targeting listened to only popular music, the station would only
play the chart hits throughout the day.
Irrespective of the form it came in, format radio definitely made radio not just survive the
onslaught of TV but also made it grow tremendously. Being the only medium that could be
carried and used wherever you are, it could update you about your world throughout the day
while providing you with the entertainment you like all the time. Radio became the constant
companion, a medium that could be used for longer durations than other media, therefore
providing an opportunity to a potential advertiser to be able to drive his advertising message
home more frequently.

2 Discuss the use of radio waves. 10 marks

Answer:
The prime purpose of radio is to convey information from one place to another through the
intervening media (i.e. air, space, non-conducting materials) without wires. Besides being used
for transmitting sound and television signals, radio is used for the transmission of data in coded
form. In the form of radar it is used for sending out signals and picking up their reflections from
objects in their path.
For navigation of ships and aircraft, the radio range, radio compass (or direction finder), and
radio time signals are widely used. Airplane pilots get directions for take-off and landing
through radio. Radio is also used during rescue missions, be it on air or at sea.
The development of the transistor and other microelectronic devices led to the development of
portable transmitters and receivers. Cellular and cordless telephones are actually radio
transceivers. Many telephone calls routinely are relayed by radio rather than by wires; some are
sent via radio to relay satellites.
Radio signals sent from global positioning satellites can be used by special receivers for a precise
indication of position. Various remote-control devices, including rocket and artificial satellite
operation systems and automatic valves in pipelines, are activated by radio signals.
With regard to public safety, police officials use radio to communicate; thereby prevent crime,
and catch the culprit sooner. Radio is also used for communication between fire fighters.
Ambulances use radio to convey a patients condition to a doctor. In certain industrial sectors,
taxi-cab drivers get communication as regards the customers pick-up points through radio.
Trains, trucks and ships have radio communication to receive any messages. Large industrial
remote-controlled equipment such as cranes and switching locomotives now usually use digital
radio techniques to ensure safety and reliability.
Spies use devices called bugs to overhear conversations of enemies. Doctors use radio for
diagnosis, where a radio pill is swallowed by the patient with stomach illness, and on injection,
the doctor gets the required information. Microwave ovens use radio waves to cook food.
We see the world around us because our eyes detect visible light, a type of electromagnetic
radiation. Objects on earth and in space also emit other types of electromagnetic radiation that
cannot be seen by the human eye, such as radio waves. Some celestial bodies and interstellar

gases emit relatively strong radio waves that are observed with radio telescopes composed of
very sensitive receivers and large directional antennas. Radio astronomy is thereby the study of
celestial objects that emit radio waves. With radio astronomy, scientists can study astronomical
phenomena that are often invisible in other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. (The full
range of radiation emitted by an object is called its electromagnetic spectrum.) Long-range
radio signals enable astronauts to communicate with the earth from the moon and carry
information from space probes as they travel to distant planets. Using advanced techniques,
astronomers can observe the cosmic microwave background radiation, which is the remnant
signal of the birth of our Universe in the Big Bang. They can also probe the Dark Ages before
the onset of the first stars, and study the earliest generation of galaxies. Radio astronomers
analyze and explore the black holes that live at the hearts of most galaxies. Since radio waves
penetrate dust, it is easy to study regions that cannot be seen in visible light, such as dustshrouded environments where stars and planets are born, and the centre of our Galaxy, the
Milky Way. Radio waves also allow astronomers to trace the location, density, and motion of the
hydrogen gas that constitutes three-fourths of the ordinary matter in the Universe.

3 Explain the various types of interviews in detail. 10 marks

Answer:
For the sake of simplicity, three types of interviews can be identified, although any one situation
may involve all three categories to a greater or lesser extent. These are the informational,
interpretive and emotional interviews.
Obviously, the purpose of the informational interview is to impart information to the
listener. The sequence in which this is done becomes important if the details are to be clear.
There may be considerable discussion beforehand to clarify what information is required and to
allow time for the interviewee to recall or check any statistics. Topics for this kind of interview
include the action surrounding a military operation, the events and decisions made at a union
meeting, or the proposals contained in the newly announced development plan of the city.
The interpretive interview has the interviewer supplying the facts and asking the
interviewee either to comment on them or to explain them. The aim is to expose the reasoning
behind decisions and allow the listener to make a judgment on the implicit sense of values or

priorities. Replies to questions will almost certainly contain statements in justification of a

particular course of action, which should themselves also be questioned. The interviewer must
be well briefed, alert and attentive to pick up and challenge the opinions expressed. Examples in
this category would be a government minister on the reasons for an already published economic
policy, why the local council has decided on a particular route for a new road, or views of the
clergy on proposals to amend the divorce laws. The essential point is that the interviewer is not
asking for the facts of the matter, since these will be generally known; rather he or she is
investigating the interviewees reaction to the facts. The discussion beforehand may be quite
brief, the interviewer outlining the purpose of the interview and the limits of the subject to be
pursued. Since the content is reactive, it should on no account be rehearsed in its detail.
The aim of the emotional interview is to provide an insight into the interviewees state of
mind so that the listener may understand better what is involved in human terms. Specific
examples would be the feelings of relatives of people trapped in the debris of an earthquake, the
euphoria surrounding the moment of supreme achievement for an athlete or successful
entertainer, or the anger felt by people involved in an industrial dispute. It is the strength of
feeling present rather than its rationality, which is important and clearly the interviewer needs
to be very sensitive in handling such situations. There is praise and acclaim for asking the right
question at the right time in order to illuminate a matter of public interest, even when the event
itself is tragic. But quick criticism follows for being too intrusive into private grief. It is in this
respect that the manner of asking a question is as important as its content, possibly more so.
Another difficulty that faces the interviewer here is to reconcile the need to remain an impartial
observer while not appearing indifferent to the suffering in the situation. The amount of time
taken in preliminary conversation will vary considerably depending on the circumstances.
Establishing the necessary relationship may be a lengthy process but there is a right moment
to begin recording and it is important for the interviewer to remain sensitive to this judgment.
Such a situation allows little opportunity for retakes.