WBUR: Public radio experimentation

Just because radio is doing well over the airwaves, doesn't mean that public radio and new media can't "make beautiful music together," as Ken George puts it.

Because people enjoy listening to the "high quality" broadcasts of radio stations like WBUR, I think they would be more inclined to listen online while at work, casting a sense of loyalty to their favorite news stations. If they listen online as well as in their car, then the experiments of new media presentation that WBUR and Robin Lubbock, news media director, are trying, in my opinion, would do very well and provide more outlets for listeners to explore.

I believe that using such resources as Twitter and multimedia is key to radio's success in adapting to a new age, in other words, its survival and growth. Just as newspapers are finally adding new media to their Web sites, so too should radio reap the benefits of this endless amount of resources at their fingertips. Mr. Lubbock gave a perfect example as to why these new media sources are already helping radio stations... in California when forest fires were running rampant and took out a radio station there, the station used Twitter as a way to broadcast what was going on and where the fires were headed. In this way, listeners could contribute their own experience and stay informed and up-to-date on a serious threat.

As Mr. Lubbock put it, "What we need in this totally saturated news market is uniqueness." I think this sums up what local radio stations need to make sure they are doing in order to stand out and make an impression.

But WBUR is not the only radio station that is blazing a trail toward technological advancement and listener enlightenment. Minnesota Public Radio has now added to it's Web site a page called Your Voice: a chance for listeners to essentially become part of the staff by submitting opinions in discussions groups, pictures, and being able to contribute to an article stub, according to the Minnewiki.

It seems to me that the whole point of using new media is to reach out to the listeners. In North Carolina, WUNC puts it this way, ""You [the audience] have knowledge that can help us cover the news in greater depth and uncover stories we might not otherwise find."

As it stands now, pushing forward in the fast-forwarded world of technology, seems to be the trick. I don't know much about radio, but I do know that I see iPods every couple of steps I take, and I see everyone using laptops these days, surfing the web. News organizations in general should view this as a resource, not an encumbrance, and they should embrace the new age of media, in one newby's opinion.