Tripta Chandola
Research Manager, Radio Today

An in-house research initiative undertaken by Meow Research (an on-going initiative of the India Today Group to find out ‘what women want’) across Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai reveal that radio plays a significant role strongly embedded in the social, cultural, economic, political, and moral cultures of these contexts. The manner in which homemakers and professional women associate with and consume radio as a technology and a medium are distinct.

Engaged listening: Women and Radio

‘My most stable and fulfilling relationship at the moment is with the radio. I can switch it off when I want, surf channels without feeling guilty, and don’t have to pay undivided attention to it’, a 30, single, working woman based in Delhi remarked when asked about the importance of radio in her everyday life. Her association with the radio, though not representing a generic trend, significantly highlights the increasing importance of radio as a technology and medium in the lives of urban women, homemakers and professionals.

As part of the in-house research initiative, a brief yet intensive research was undertaken by Meow Research (an on-going initiative of the India Today Group to find out ‘what women want’) across the three cities of Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai to understand the consumption, association, and articulation of media (Radio), messages and products amongst women.

The research revealed that radio is not just a neutral technology in the lives of women. The consumption patterns reveal that radio plays a significant role strongly embedded in the social, cultural, economic, political, and moral cultures of these contexts. The manner in which homemakers and professional women associate with and consume radio as a technology and a medium are distinct, bringing to forefront the contexts, constraints, and circumstances they operate within.

For homemakers, radio is a constant companion which allows them to pay heed to the domestic chores. As compared to professional women, homemakers, though not as discerning an audience, are very loyal. The homemakers’ consumption of radio follows a distinct pattern through the day based on preference of specific shows, stations, and hosts during those hours. Until and unless the routine is interrupted by unprecedented incidents, homemakers diligently follow the routine.

The pattern of radio consumption amongst professional women is determined by the demands of their jobs. Most working women listen to the radio on their mobile phone when they are driving to or back from work. For those professionals who have a pre-determined routine, they reflect a tendency to follow identified ‘favourite’ shows akin to the loyal listenership of homemakers. However, most of the professional women who have erratic work schedules emerge as the ‘voyeurs’ of radioscape. They unapologetically shift between stations, shows, and hosts until they find an anchor which satiates their interest need in that moment. Unlike the homemakers who prefer familiarity, professional women expressed a desire for instant titillation through the radio content.

The proliferation of mobile radio technologies has dramatically altered the manner in which women engage with the medium. The research revealed that in domestic space vis-à-vis other technologies/ medium like television and the Internet, women – homemakers and professionals – have to concede to the demands/ interests of their spouses, children, or other family members. Amongst homemakers, at least 70 per cent of the total women interviewed mentioned that during Sundays and holidays, it is their husbands, children, or the increased burden of household chores that influences their listening pattern, more often than not, disrupting it.

In comparison, working women exhibit a stronger influencing power over the aforementioned technologies within domestic space. However, experiences of women across these two groups in domestic spaces reveal that the influence exercised by them over technologies dramatically decrease with the presence of their spouses, children, or other family members. Radio, in this context, emerged as a technology and medium, which not only allows them to exercise their own choice but engage with it, uninterrupted, irrespective of the presence of other family members. At least 85 per cent of the women across the three cities stated that they tuned in to the radio when other family members were present on their mobiles or portable sets.

For most women, one of the most important anchors to engage with a station and a show is the radio jockey or radio host. Unlike film and television stars, who though desired are inaccessible, RJs have a humane, accessible persona. The opportunities available to interact with the hosts contribute to deconstructing the larger-than-life personas of the jockeys/hosts, allowing the listeners to articulate the hosts as an important member of their everyday lives.

The radio experience can be availed cheaply, anonymously, and readily. One of the most significant aspects of this medium and technology vis-à-vis other technologies is that the engagement with radio is not restricted by physical proximity. The research highlighted the manner in which radio’s potential can be explored to offer women an enhanced and unrestricted experience of the medium, which offers then the opportunity to exhibit their own individuality with panache.

Source: Meow Research (an initiative of Radio Today, a India Today Group company)

(The writer is Head, Meow Research. She is also a Doctorate candidate, Media and Cultural studies.)