One of the earliest forms of mass entertainment was the invention of the cinema which is traced back to the late 1800's with the advances of Edison and the Lumiere brothers. Cinema has evolved over the decades in cinemas and studios, through the decades. The list includes, the silent era, the use of sound, cinemascope, 3D, animation, the different genres from slapslick to sci-fi and the evolutionary advances in CGI has changed how we consume the movies. Each development being heralded as a 'game changer'. Each new theme is an attempt to keep the audience captive, evolving as the audience evolves and matures. Each development becomes an attempt to suspend our belief in reality or to create a new reality. The cinema, like other mediums. lures us in and then through mystery, comedy, horror or action alters our perception of the world. Cinema has changed with the times, reflected the times we live in and changed how we consume the medium with the arrival of talkies, the blockbuster or propaganda films.
Cinema's cousin is television and from the time of Baird in the 1920's, television too has changed in both delivery and consumption. The early television was mechanical, then electrical became the norm and the medium evolved from 405 lines to 625 lines to HD, black and white became colour, sets originally were bulky are now flat screen and slimline, cable television, satellite TV and digital. What we consume has expanded, as has delivery systems from single channel, to multi channel, video recorders, on demand, subscription TV and online.
The internet in the past two decades has developed at a tremendous speed and its entertainment provision has expanded, sometimes unchecked. From YouTube to Tik Tok, from online gaming to social media and from porn to online movies and sports, the internet continues to evolve and to entertain. The method of consumption has also changed exponentially. Originally a hard drive and a monitor were the delivery system, today it is on lap tops, tablets and mobile phones.
One entertainment that has changed the least is the delivery of audio entertainment via the radio. The radio had been with us since the 1920's and while the method of delivery whether it is via AM/FM/SW/LW, digital or online apps the content has changed little, speech and music with no special effects or gimmicks ( not withstanding the brief relationship with AM stereo). The wireless box in the corner of the living room has morphed into a portable transistor radio, the car radio, through your mobile phone and online, often changing the definition of radio.
The radio station, like the movie studio or the television channel may have different outlooks and editorial bias, they may be state run, independent and commercial, local and community, pirate or institutional outlets but their content changes little. That editorial direction, like a movie or TV show are often tailored for their particular audience but at the end of the broadcast it is speech delivery or music. If you tune up and down the radio bands or listen to online audio content including podcasts, speech and/or music is what you will here and unlike a cinema where having paid in and you don't like the film and rarely walk out, on radio you can easily change what you listen to.
With reflection on current events (the Covid19 pandemic 2020), the cinemas are closed and fake news confuses the consumer online and in social media, yet radio has found a new lease of life as it continues to deliver speech in the form of information and news and allows quiet reflection with music of every genre. Radio has surprised and surpassed expectations in these troubled times and we as a race of people should be thankful for the fact that radio is there, the constant companion whether you are in the kitchen, the bedroom, the car or exercising and we should show our appreciation to those who have stayed on the air whether it is from the quieter studios or home studios, they have been essential.
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