Anger and Airwaves: Radios Ruined by Audience Impatience

Way back in the early '80s, VH1 played the very first music video for the song "Video Killed the Radio Star," a fitting debut for music television. Maybe video did kill the radio star in the '80s. I mean, how could you take anyone seriously with those haircuts and clothes? If you don't believe me, go on YouTube and watch the music video for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler. Actually, even if you do believe me, go watch it anyway. It's probably the most hilarious music video I've ever seen in my life. Once you finish, you'll know what I mean. In any case, video did kill a lot of radio stars. Where is the radio drama? No longer do we get to hear after dinner "And now….The Adventures of Superman! Brought to you by Crunchy Oats Cereal" or something like that. The American attention span can't focus long enough to simply listen to a story read aloud. The television destroyed the human imagination, so that when listening to a radio drama, something seems to be missing. What is missing is the image ADD, the flickering from action-packed shot to action-packed shot in such a way as to overload the senses and give an impression of actual content. We could never again have a radio-induced scare like the broadcast of War of the Worlds (a novel that video eventually mutilated, by the way). The modern equivalent would be if CNN reported the plot of the movie Men In Black as if it were actually happening, or something equally as ludicrous. In any case, as a college student, I've found that many of my peers don't even own a radio. Alarm clocks have been replaced by cell phones, and radios by iPods or other MP3 players. And yet, radio stations still exist, broadcasting the news, weather, traffic reports, and music to targeted audiences…but they've changed drastically. No longer is radio the primary form of media entertainment, and the radio stations know it. The radio drama has gone away in favor of more fast-paced entertainment catering to the lowered intelligence and attention span of an entire nation. Short songs with absolutely no time to breathe between computerized beats and electronically altered vocals have taken over for the imaginative narratives of past radio glory. Radio appeals to the sense of sound, while television appeals to multiple senses at once. The only sense to which television does not appeal these days is common sense. So video didn't kill the radio star, just transformed him. No longer does the family gather around the radio after dinner for some family bonding, they flip on the TV and see what mundane reality show is on that night. But radio stars refuse to die. They're out there, riding the airwaves, looking for someone to entertain, whether it is by air or the internet through podcasts. Maybe they're fossils who refuse to die, or maybe they're heroes to be lauded for their valor. It's really up to you to decide, but whatever the outcome, remember the radio star.