Will Conventional Radio Survive the Digital Age? Challenges and Strategies for Transformation

doi:10.36782/jcs.v15i2.2669

Will Conventional Radio Survive the Digital Age? Challenges and Strategies for Transformation

Muhammad Ilham, Ratna Indrayani

Abstract

The rise of digital platforms has profoundly disrupted the media industry, with conventional radio among the most affected. Once central to information, entertainment, and social interaction, radio now faces declining relevance as audiences migrate to streaming services, podcasts, and on-demand platforms. This study explores the challenges confronting conventional radio in the digital era and examines strategies to adapt and ensure its continued relevance. Drawing on a literature review, industry trend analysis, and case studies from Indonesia, the research examines shifts in audience behavior, competitive pressures, and regulatory disparities. Results highlight a steady decline in radio listenership among younger demographics, driven by the personalization and flexibility of digital audio. In addition, radio’s advertising revenue is eroded by data-driven digital platforms. Despite these challenges, opportunities exist through digital transformation, innovative content creation, audience data use, and cross-platform collaboration. The study underscores the need for radio broadcasters to embrace digital integration and strategic innovation. These findings contribute both theoretically to media and communication scholarship and practically to industry stakeholders navigating massive digital disruption.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36782/jcs.v15i2.2669

Keywords

Audience Behaviour; Innovation Trap; Media Disruption; Podcasting; Radio Digitalization

References

Andersen, K., Shehata, A., Skovsgaard, M., & Strömbäck, J. (2024). Selective news avoidance: Consistency and temporality. Communication Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231221689

Azari, M. N., & Setianto, Y. P. (2021). Gender, konsumsi berita COVID-19 dan news fatigue di Jakarta. Jurnal Kajian Jurnalisme, 5(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.24198/jkj.v5i1.31587

Brenner, M. E. (2006). Interviewing in education research. In J. L. Green, G. Camilli, & P. B. Elmore (Eds.), Handbook of complementary methods in education research (3rd ed., pp. 357–370). Routledge.

Broersma, M. (2019). Audience Engagement. In T. P. Vos & F. Hanusch (Eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies (pp. 1–6). Wiley.

de Bruin, K., de Haan, Y., Vliegenthart, R., Kruikemeier, S., & Boukes, M. (2021). News avoidance during the covid-19 crisis: Understanding information overload. Digital Journalism, 9(9), 1286–1302. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.1957967

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE Publications.

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Damstra, A., Vliegenthart, R., Boomgaarden, H., Glüer, K., Lindgren, E., Strömbäck, J., & Tsfati, Y. (2023). Knowledge and the news: An investigation of the relation between news use, news avoidance, and the presence of (mis)beliefs. Politics: The International Journal of Press, 28(1), 29–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612211031457

Edgerly, S. (2022). The head and heart of news avoidance: How attitudes about the news media relate to levels of news consumption. Journalism, 23(9), 1828–1845. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849211012922

Goyanes, M. (2014). An empirical study of factors that influence the willingness to pay for online news. Journalism Practice, 8(6), 742–757. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2014.882056

Haryanto, I. (2023, July 31). Jurnalisme bermutu dalam ”kegenitan” medsos. Harian Kompas. https://www.kompas.id/artikel/jurnalisme-bermutu-dalam-kegenitan-medsos

Heiss, R., Nanz, A., & Matthes, J. (2023). Social media information literacy: Conceptualization and associations with information overload, news avoidance and conspiracy mentality. Computers in Human Behavior, 148, 107908. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.107908

Hermida, A. (2012). Social journalism: Exploring how social media is shaping journalism. In E. Siapera & A. Veglis (Eds.), The Handbook of Global Online Journalism (pp. 309–328). Wiley-Blackwell.

Karlsen, R., Beyer, A., & Steen-Johnsen, K. (2020). Do high-choice media environments facilitate news avoidance? A longitudinal study 1997–2016. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 64(5), 794–814. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2020.1835428

Kasali, R. (2019). #MO: Sebuah dunia baru yang membuat banyak orang gagal paham. Mizan (Expose).

Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Eddy, K., Robinson, C. T., & Nielsen, R. K. (2023). Digital news report 2023. Reuters Institute. https://doi.org/10.60625/RISJ-P6ES-HB13

Ohme, J., de Bruin, K., de Haan, Y., Kruikemeier, S., van der Meer, T. G. L. A., & Vliegenthart, R. (2023). Avoiding the news to participate in society? The longitudinal relationship between news avoidance and civic engagement. Communications, 48(4), 551–562. https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2021-0099

Park, C. S. (2019). Does too much news on social media discourage news seeking? Mediating role of news efficacy between perceived news overload and news avoidance on social media. Social Media + Society, 5(3), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119872956

Picard, R. G. (2009, September 16). Blogs, tweets, social media, and the news business. Nieman Reports. https://niemanreports.org/blogs-tweets-social-media-and-the-news-business

Setianto, Y. P., & Praceka, P. A. (2023). One year later, why are people still avoiding COVID-19 news? Understanding predictors of news avoidance in Indonesia. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 39(3), 60–80. https://doi.org/10.17576/jkmjc-2023-3903-04

Sinaga, T. M. (2024, November 26). Bersama ibu membangun fondasi budaya literasi. Harian Kompas. https://www.kompas.id/artikel/bersama-ibu-membangun-fondasi-budaya-literasi

Skovsgaard, M., & Andersen, K. (2022). News Avoidance. In G. A. Borchard (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Journalism (Vol. 4, pp. 1099–1103). SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781544391199.n274

Stake, R. E. (1995). The Art of Case Study Research. SAGE Publications.

Tian, Q. (2022). Impact of social media news overload on social media news avoidance and filtering: Moderating effect of media literacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 862626. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.862626

Toff, B., & Kalogeropoulos, A. (2020). All the news that’s fit to ignore: How the information environment does and does not shape news avoidance. Public Opinion Quarterly, 84(S1), 366–390. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfaa016

Wahyuni, S. (2023). Riset kualitatif: Strategi dan contoh praktis. Kompas.

Yin, R. K. (2015). Qualitative research from start to finish (2nd ed.). Guilford Publications.

Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Zhang, X., Akhter, S., Nassani, A. A., & Haffar, M. (2022). Impact of news overload on social media news curation: Mediating role of news avoidance. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 865246. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.865246