Modern “Radio”: Choices and Challenges of the Niche

Artman, N.
MEA 2020 Annual Convention
June 2021, New York (Shifted Virtual: COVID-19)

Once defined by its mass broadcasts, radio has undergone a shift of focus from the mass to the individual. Innovative mobile digital technology provides consumers with the tools of self-determination. Under these changes, audiences have increasingly abandoned the broad focus of conventional radio formats. Traditional block programming has given way to individualized control, as epitomized by the user-created playlist, tailored streaming channel, or niche podcast market. Taken together, podcasting and streaming services have allowed users to increasingly personalize and expand their options of radio and audio content. Podcast apps and music streaming services empower users to consume content based on long-held personal preference or passing whim. Users can create customized playlists, subscribe to shows of their choosing, or allow their content to be guided by increasingly predictive algorithmic recommendations. The media niche theory offers one potential explanation for the increased popularity of modern “radio” as it provides a useful way to examine a medium and how it satisfies the gratification and needs of its users (Dimmick, Kline, and Stafford, 2000). This presentation discusses how digital radio, knowingly or unknowingly, employs the media niche theory and the uses and gratifications theory to satisfy the needs of its listeners by increasing personalization and maximizing mobility of content.