By The Pollack Group
By Diana Brown, The Pollack Group Summer Intern
Lately, it seems we are all caught up in the fast-paced, modern ways of entertainment. We stream music and TV, are able to video chat with our friends at the touch of a button, and scroll through social media to get our news. All these methods deliver the information we want and need at a rapid-fire pace, and it’s hard not to get addicted to the instant gratification that these platforms provide.
However, I was recently offered an opportunity to participate in a National Public Radio (NPR) segment. I went in expecting to complete the interview and cycle back immediately to my Spotify-listening ways. Unexpectedly, I left with a newfound appreciation for radio and for the community-enhancing quality it provides.
Speaking into the microphone at the NPR studio in LA, I was able to communicate with individuals simultaneously in both Atlanta and New York. The opportunity provided me with a moment to slow down, discuss and ponder. In an existence so packed with technology and media, it was a chance to appreciate one of the forms of communication and news delivery that many mediums that exist today were built off of.
Radio is modernizing in some ways, however. For example, many segments can be found online, since listeners might not be able to tune in at the exact air time of the show. In spite of this, many individuals still choose to listen to their favorite radio show at the exact time it plays on the airwaves, connecting to fellow fans of the segment over their shared investment in the show.
Listening to radio in real time isn’t something that a college student like me has the opportunity to do daily, but participating in the NPR show and getting the opportunity to see all of the time, effort and people that go into making a radio show happen certainly gave me a new appreciation for this media outlet that I did not previously have.
Listen to Diana’s segment on the July 23 episode of “The Takeaway.”
