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| Article Name : | | | The Impact of FM Channels in Rural Assam: A Case Study on Adjoining Areas of Guwahati | | Author Name : | | | Mayamani Talukdar and Jayanta Vishnu Das | | Publisher : | | | Ashok Yakkaldevi | | Article Series No. : | | | GRT-556 | | Article URL : | |  | Author Profile View PDF In browser | | Abstract : | | | The rise of broadcasting media in different parts of the country also helped in opening up radio station in Assam, the heartland of North-East India. It all started in Guwahati, in 1948, with the effort of first Chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi. Since then there were quite a few radio station that were established in various towns and cities. But the beginning of the FM revolution in the country was something path breaking. Easy access to cheap radio receivers saw a resurgence of the radio in the public domain. Instead of being swept away by the cable revolution radio made its own rules and survived well despite many apprehensions from government quarters about its ability to sway people. From rickshaws to mobiles to cars blaring out hits after hits the FM revolution changed the way the urban landscape redefined its media habits. FM was in the pockets of everybody. But in the mad rush of the city dwellers craze for FM there always existed the silent listeners in the blind spot. Rural audiences became the consumer of such an urban phenomenon although based in rural areas by their existence nearer to cities. FM waves reaching out to these rural masses were never intended but only fallout of the geographic proximity. Instead of community radios FM was what they got. The present study was conducted in the rural villages in the vicinity of Guwahati. The empirical data was collected on the impact of FM radio on the lives of people of these villages. Instead of receiving messages that were nearer to their social situation they were bombarded with messages mainly meant for a far more urban audience. Social reality of both the sets of audience differs widely. But radio seems to be a great leveler of sorts in their case as it makes messages without keeping this fact in mind in the present case. And the rural audiences do not seem to mind the dose of entertainment that blares from their radio sets, of course with a few exceptions. The study throws up some important findings on the evolving listening habits of such people and also finds potential means of passing socially relevant messages that could be useful for the targeted audience otherwise not accessible. | | Keywords : | | |
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