The Theatre of the Mind (Lecture 5)

"Radio is the theatre of the mind. Television is the theatre of the mindless." - Steve Allen

The fifth lecture, lasting exactly 31 minutes and 32 seconds if you don't count all the sporadic times I paused to type like crazy, focused on broadcast journalism. Specifically, we looked at factual storytelling over the radio. Certainly, radiojournalism is not as simple as mindless conversation. As a radio presenter is heard but not seen, the voice means absolutely everything. Your listeners are called listeners for a very obvious reason. As a result of this, silence is very powerful in the radio. This is less the case with television, primarily due to the fact that there is still a visual aid during silence on the screen. With radio, "silence" refers to a complete visual and audio blackout. You're left with nothing but thought, and that's a pretty powerful thing.

Television and radio, although both contained by the overarching category of "broadcast media", are very different mediums. Radio is a very intimate medium, and unlike in television, audiences want to be included, in a sense, to the conversation. Radio presenters are more facilitators than anything else; the conversation is more centrally between the interviewee and the radio audience. As a radio presenter, you keep the conversation rolling and keep the audience on the same track. In a way, a radio presenter is more an "avatar" of the audience; if the presenter is not keenly interested and engaging in the conversation, it is highly unlikely that the actual audience will be paying much attention, either. It must be noted that with radio, listeners are more than likely to be doing something else. They might be walking the dog or driving to work. Essentially, they are doing things that most people do not do when watching television. This makes it very easy for listeners to figure out when a presenter is being dishonest. There is no visual distraction.

This audio lecture really sunk in the importance of trust in a radio interview. The idea of a "magical moment" was brought up; a moment where an interviewee has developed enough trust for the interviewer that they almost seem to forget they're even in an interview. In this moment, people reveal very personal things about themselves. Good radio stories thrive on human experience, and so to me, this seems to be the ultimate tip of the hat to a radio presenter. If you've managed to gain someone's trust within only a few minutes of conversation, with knowing that other people are listening in, you must be a fantastic reporter.