Is radio as a medium of mass communication dying out? Discuss the potential that FM stations have in post-liberalisation India?

1) Under British rule newspapers, magazines, films, and radio comprised the range of mass media.

2) At the time of independence there were only 6 radio stations located in major cities of India which increased to 5,46,200 by 1950.

3) The major constraint for popularization of radio initially was the cost of radio set which was soon overcome by the transistor revolution.

4) Introduction of television majorly brought downfall in the radio listening but the introduction of FM radio stations in 2002 gave a boost to the entertainment programs over radio.

5) The privately-run FM channels are not permitted to broadcast any political news bulletin but these channels specialise in particular kind of popular music to retain their audience.

6) Most of the FM channels belong to media conglomerate, like Radio Mirchi belongs to Times of India Group, Red FM is owned by Living Media, Radio City by Star Network and so on.

7) The potential for using FM channels is enormous.

8) FM channels provide information regarding local news, traffic congestion, new releases, etc which has increased the audience.

In post liberalisation India FM channels have a great potential. The privatisation of radio can bring revolution in entertainment media.