Abstract
Local radio has remained relevant and ever-present in Ireland owing to the relationship stations have built with their audiences over time. These strong connections combined with adherence to public service duties and supplying locally relevant content – which the national stations cannot offer – helped local stations repel the double threat of a global recession and the influx of new media. This paper argues that by building on its core strengths while embracing change and adopting the potential offered by digital and social media, local Irish commercial radio stations have managed to survive and remain relevant. Using case studies of two prominent stations Radio Kerry and Beat, and one public service station RTÉ 2fm, this paper will illustrate that by being in tune with the audience’s unique social, cultural and political interests, radio stations have been able to endear their audiences to the brand and compete for their attention in an increasingly competitive mediascape. These stations were able to achieve this partly through the formation of online communities on Facebook, by having a presence in the local community and by actively engaging with the audience. This paper posits that local radio holds an important place in the lives of the people it serves and therefore must be preserved as not only an invaluable public service but as a beacon of culture and heritage.
Highlights
Radio has a special and important place in the hearts and minds of the Irish people as their constant companion
Using Irish radio stations Radio Kerry and Beat 102103 (Beat) as case studies, this paper will show how these stations have maintained their independence in the face of severe economic and technological pressure, while making positive contributions to their respective broadcast regions in the process
There were three radio stations included in this study, two commercial and one public service broadcaster (PSB)
Summary
Radio has a special and important place in the hearts and minds of the Irish people as their constant companion. Using Irish radio stations Radio Kerry and Beat 102103 (Beat) as case studies, this paper will show how these stations have maintained their independence in the face of severe economic and technological pressure, while making positive contributions to their respective broadcast regions in the process The paper uses these examples to illustrate how the independent radio sector in Ireland more broadly survived the economic recession of 2008-2016, and is resisting the ever-present threat of media conglomeration, while remaining committed to its public service remit and reinforcing a communal ethos both on-air and online. The Irish Radio Industry has largely avoided the move towards a conglomerated industry where radio stations are folded into larger, regional, music-format entities as has been the case in the neighbouring UK (Waterson, 2020) In such a market the number of stations, and costs, notably news gathering and distribution, shrink while combined audience reach and profitability increase due to the wider attraction to advertisers (Starkey & Crisell, 2009). The modern radio audience has developed from a listener to an online media user which has had profound implications for stations and audiences alike and has shaped the course of the relationship between the two
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