The Development of Radio and Radio Research Perspectives Towards a New Order PENTTI KEMPPAINEN In the past, broadcasting was controlled late an analytic model of what is happen- and regulated by the state and most radio ing today, they end up examining the com- channels were reserved for public service merce driven change. They choose a per- broadcasting. Today, all European count- spective which highlights two main featu- ries allow private radio and tv. Within this res of current change: firstly the degree to change public service broadcasting has which it is externally driven; second, the ele- been going through a crisis. Radio research ment of conflict between old and new play- methods relevant in the times of mono- ers over the establishment of the New poly radio are less effective in understand- Order. The authors state that ing this rapid development. When choos- ing the perspective for studying present The new politics is clearly very much concerned and future development of radio becomes with industrial and commercial matters, just as necessary to put greater attention on the the old politics was primarily cultural and ideo- industrial-commercial aspect. logical. The new is supranationally oriented, The new situation has become familiar while the old was almost exclusively national. with media researchers. For instance Den- The new is less dominated by established politi- nis McQuail and the Euromedia Research cal parties and a broadcasting elite. Group have described the shift from the Old Order to the New Order. While Later a third feature of change is added: trying to look at the evidently new media fragmentation (McQuail, de Rosario, Tapper possibilities It only gradually became ap- 1992, 15) to the toolbag of the New Or- parent that something different and per- der radio research. haps more fundamental was at stake a In this new order there is a change of degree and kind of change which could perspective. Traditional radio had a tenden- not be easily fitted into established models cy of seeing things from the senders point and frameworks of research into mass me- of view; in the modern radio, the role of dia communication and media structures the listener has become more important. (McQuail et. Al. 1990, 313) The listener is seen more and more as a By the Old Order the writers descri- consumer, whose needs radio tries to sat- be the time when public service monopo- isfy. If this principle is taken as a postulate, lies were national, political and non-com- it follows that ...broadcast markets, like mercial in nature. When the writers formu- other markets, are likely to do better job of 229 satisfying consumer demand efficiently if nen emphasizes that although the indica- they are competitive (OECD 1993,12). tions local radio operating licences towards But there is also the opposite point of the democratisation of communications view. For instance, Gustafsson (1992, 73) have remained a dead letter, they have had referring to Icelandic experience states that an important significance in the produc- generally speaking, it seems that the likeli- tion of the political legitimacy, without hood for diversity in media output is great- which the breaking down of the public ser- est where advertising is not the dominant vice radio monopoly in the Finnish radio source of revenues system would not have been possible. There are different angles to choose When the political choice has not had to from when analysing the process of de- be made between open economic libera- regulation, whether it is a cultural or an lism and public service public radio opera- economical process. In many countries the tion, but between the democratisation of forces of change correspond to democra- communications and the old public radio tic and cultural values. In Finland commu- concept it has been easier for politicians to nications policy was liberalised in the name hide their heads in the sand. (ibid., 43) of implementing free speech. As interna- Quite soon it was noticed that the libe- tional communications expanded there was ral principles did not hold. In a study by a desire to steer the main focus of mass the Ministry of Transport and Communi- communications towards national and par- cations (LkM 30/1990) which supervises ticularly local communications. Expecta- radio operations, it was stated after five tions toward democracy now focused on years of local radio activity that it was ap- the spontaneous organisation of citizens parent that some of the expectations societies and on the democratic potential which relate particularly to extending the offered by new communications techno- implementation of free speech or promot- logy. Hujanen describes the phenomenon ing national culture have not yet been real- as an unholy alliance for which the motiva- ised. In the same study it was already ob- ting force was on the one hand spontane- served that Finland should be prepared for ous citizens movements and on the other the arrival on the home market of foreign the developers of new communications media companies. technology, its producers and sellers and also communications researchers and ad- The Choice of the Public Broad- vertisers (Hujanen 1991, 35). According to Hujanen, it was the utopia of participation casters: Adapt, Adopt or Perish? and public access that made the concept When radio operation became a market in democratising communications so useful Europe public radio also had to transform. in the deregulation of PSB half way The pressure from commercial entrepre- through the 1970s. The democracy of neurs and some regulators forced the pub- communications changed from a positive lic service broadcasters to start thinking utopia to an ideology. The concept that about different strategies. The business originally organised emancipation of sub- approach towards radio emphasizes the cultures and marginal groups became a role of listener. This is new to the public tool in the organisation of consumption. service companies. What is the fate of the In the new context the concept lost its old public service broadcasting, or as it is spontaneity and became ideologised. Huja- posed by Brants and Siune (1992) will PSB 230 adapt, adopt or perish? What is its position Adopt? No; the tasks and status of the in the New Order? In this new context public service do not permit the copying the PSB has to define its tasks and its of the commercial concept as it stands. At place. The tasks can be seen as two con- least not yet. Some better functioning fea- trasting options for the Public Service tures of commercial radio may be accep- Broadcasters (PSB): (1) a core service ted, but not the concept of commercial ra- option, in which public broadcasters con- dio as a whole. That leaves us adapt. This centrate on filling the gaps left by the pri- is precisely what has occurred in the bulk vate sector or (2) a wider service option, of European PSB radios, but without ad- in which public broadcasters provide much hering to the core service option referred broader programming services in direct to by Foster. competition with private operators (Foster The PSB is still going strong. Without 1992, 49). The dominant strategy of PSB losing their traditional public core service is, according to Hultén and Brants (1992, tasks the companies have offered new 128) not to adopt the same strategies as wider service programming in which chan- commercial competitors, but rather to try nels are profiled and the mode of expres- to do what public broadcasters define as sion is renewed. In encountering competi- the essence of their tasks: to offer a full tion the established radios have increased range of programmes and the best of their the amount of programmes they provide kind. In order to reach and hold the audi- and some have taken up advertising. Pro- ence it wants it must re-evaluate its pro- grammes have become less patronising and gramming and develop it into types of increasing consideration is being given to programme product that interest the lis- public taste. It has been necessary in a tener. The traditional structures of mass number of companies to cut production media will be changed, but Dries and costs, but this has not decreased the Woldt (1996, 25) see that Public service amount of output even though for instan- broadcasting will have to adapt to these ce Gronow, Lannegren and Maren (1992) changes. Competition will grow, but the perceive some indicators that companies new technologies will offer new possibili- are cautiously cutting down some of their ties for it to fullfil its public mandate. most expensive programme types, such as There is also an idea of polarisation of live music, radio plays and documentaries. radio to international and local levels The Act on Yleisradio (1993) consoli- which leaves the role of PSB unclear. For dated and strengthened the position and fi- instance, Wallis (1995,14) sees that national nancing of public service Yleisradio (YLE) radio channels have, with a few exceptions, as well as its autonomous programme po- no raison dêtre in the future. For a radio licy of a full service based on statute in operating within the framework of a small Finland. The law states that the company national language this type of threatening shall be responsible for the provision of scenario does not seem as realistic as in the comprehensive broadcasting services for countries of Central Europe. In countries all citizens under equal conditions. One like Finland with a relatively small lan- can therefore say that in Finland the wider guage area the task of national radio is dif- service option for PSB was chosen. ferent. There is increasing need for na- At stake are not only programming, for- tional services in native languages.