A message from Radio Ink Publisher Deborah Parenti
Time and again, radio stations, and in particular local programming, have demonstrated a unique relationship with listeners that brings people together in times of natural disasters, or horrific manmade tragedies. Radio enjoys a special link with the communities it serves that allows the people of those communities to connect with one another on a personal level in a powerful way. The very humanness in the sound of a voice and how that defines a message are something unmatched by social media.
And although often associated with the high-decibel and divisive rant that spills over the airwaves on some talk programs, radio does, too, have the ability to lower the volume on the rhetoric and be a calming, rational influence on its audience. It can provide an outlet for discourse and serve as a moderator for reasonable discussion that enlightens, informs, and encourages positive ideas. It does not have to stir the pot.
Rather, radio can be a pipeline to civility over the coming days and weeks ahead as political yard signs come down, dinner conversations turn to holiday planning, and the next four years of government begin to take shape.
No matter who wins the federal, state, and local races across this wonderful country we call ours, radio can help its citizens, irrespective of politics, feel more confident that they still have a voice and that someone will be listening … on the radio.
Deborah Parenti
Publisher
Radio Ink
PS: If you are a radio executive or group owner, I strongly encourage you to attend Forecast next Wednesday, November 16, at the Harvard Club in New York City. I thought it especially worth mentioning here because in addition to an extraordinary agenda, Gordon Smith, president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, has agreed to sit down with Washington, DC attorney Frank Montero for a one-on-one conversation. Smith’s background as a senator gives him a distinct perspective on the ramifications of a new administration and new Congress, and what that means to broadcasters. He’s promised to be frank and honest in his assessments, on one condition. The conversation has to be off the record — and it will be. If you want to hear it and more, there are still a few seats left.
You can register here now.
View the complete Forecast agenda here.
