The Key to Survival For Terrestrial Radio
The onslaught continues. Every day we hear about the end of an empire once flourishing under the guise of traditional media. A very important part of traditional media has been radio, under siege for the last few years. Yes the internet has changed the landscape of much we once revered, but does that mean that everything must go?
A major part of the problem has been this siege mentality. Rightly or wrongly when terrestrial radio found themselves in the predicament of defending their turf, they folded like wilted and soiled deck of cards. Their response to XM and Sirius radio was to have no response at all. The just laid down like an old, worn doormat and allowed themselves to be trampled almost into extinction.
Part of the problem was the Kings of Radio (more apropos a title would have been the Kings of Idi-ocracy. You know them, those multi-figure earning purveyors of more bullshit than you can shake a stick at. Now, if my tone sounds a bit acrid, let me give you a bit of a scoop why.
Popular Haitian Radio Station
Radio Haiti-Inter was the first independent radio station in Haiti. The station was notable for its use of the Kreyòl language, spoken by most Hatians, while most other media broadcast in French, and also for its broadcasting of international and local news.
History
The station was founded as Radio Haiti and was broadcast on both AM and FM and later renamed to Radio Haiti-Inter. Jean Dominique, who started working at the station as a reporter, bought the lease to the station in 1968. The station was the target of various attacks by oppressive government regimes throughout its history, due to the democratic and anti-corruption stance of Dominique.
In 1980 the Haitian regime closed the station and arrested some station journalists, and Dominique was forced into exile. The station resumed its activity in 1986 after the fall of Jean-Claude Duvalier, but closed again in 1991 after the coup d’état against Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The station reopened in 1994 after Aristide’s return.
Why UK Radio Stations are Choosing 03 Numbers
Non-geographic telephone numbers (e.g. 0845 numbers) have long been popular with UK radio stations that use them for travel hotlines, on-air auctions and as their main studio numbers. There are many reasons as to why they are so commonly used (discussed below) and now it seems that a brand new non-geographic number range is making them an even more attractive proposition.
03 numbers (http://www.windsor-telecom.co.uk/03-numbers.php) offer exactly the same benefits as 08 numbers, but with one crucial difference – the cost for people to call them. 03 numbers cost the same to dial as regular landline (01/02) numbers, even from a mobile phone. Furthermore, 03 numbers are included in the free minutes allocations offered by all landline and mobile network providers. This is important when 40% of all UK calls are now from mobiles (Source: Ofcom). In fact, this percentage is likely to be even higher for calls to travel lines where listeners are inevitably stuck in traffic or on the road. Popular south coast station, Wave 105 in Hampshire found that 89% of the callers to their 03 travel line (0345 230 1050) in May 2009 were from mobile phones.
Up-to-date travel reports are a USP for many local radio stations and therefore encouraging people to call is an integral part of the broadcaster’s role. With a ‘caller-friendly’ 03 number this makes a radio presenter’s job easier as the call costs are not a barrier to stop people getting in touch. It’s perhaps for this reason that the BBC has recently replaced all of its 0870 numbers with 03 numbers (e.g. Radio 1’s main studio phone number: 03700 100 100)