How Social Media Has Changed Radio.

Before I write this blog, I want to make it very clear that I think Radio NEEDS social media to continue in the American lifestyle. Why do people listen to radio? Is it to listen to all their favorite songs? Perhaps, but there is this new invention called the iPod for that. I believe people listen to the radio for the people who play the music on the radio. I truly think people listen to the radio to hear the personalities between songs. In an odd way, and it has been this way for a while, listeners build a relationship with the voice they hear over the radio. Social media only enhances that.

I currently work at Backyard Broadcasting in Muncie, IN. I mostly work with the AM station, but I’ve been trained for the WLBC side of things and new media is very prevalent. There are so many ways that you can get a hold of your favorite personalities like Steve Lindell, Amanda Rollen and Kim Morris. This includes Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. Not only do the individual personalities have all of these, but WLBC as a whole also has pages and Twitter feeds that you we can use to reach the masses.

This does many good things for WLBC. Say there is a wreck on I-69 Northbound. A person who seen the wreck can tweet to Steve Lindell right away and this allows Steve to be one of the first to report it. This does have its drawbacks, because anyone can tweet false information and confuse us. It also allows radio personalities and the news directors to send out important information to people who may not be listening to the radio at that time. It gives radio folks another great outlet for news and fun facts!