Slušanje radija nas neizbježno podsjeća na prošlost. U svijetu kojim dominiraju vizualni elementi, radio je uspomena na prethodni svijet u kojem zvuku nije potrebna pratnja. Iako mnogi ljudi i dalje slušaju radio, posebno oni koji voze automobile, dostupnost programa u digitalnom formatu potpuno je promijenila način na koji koristimo radio. Većinu radijskih programa sada možemo saslušati nakon emitiranja, jer su sačuvani u digitalnom formatu, tako da ovaj osjećaj kako se nešto događa baš u ovom trenutku koji je definirao radio tokom 20. stoljeća danas nestaje, posebno kada je riječ o mlađoj generaciji.

Teško se prisjetiti mog prvog kontakta s radiom, jer je radio bio prisutan u mom životu od samog djetinjstva. Moja mama je uvijek bila i dalje ostaje strastvenom slušateljicom radija. Da vam to dočaram, njezin jutarnji alarm je sat-radio koji, umjesto da zvoni, emitira vijesti  nacionalnog radija. Kao netko tko je odrastao u obitelji koja ima veliko zanjimanje za politiku, uvijek sam to doživljavao kao potrebu da budem u toku svega što se događa u zemlji.

Moglo bi se reći da moja usmjerenost prema radiju očito dolazi iz obitelji. Moj ujak i ujna upoznali su se dok su radili na lokalnoj radio stanici, istoj stanici na kojoj je i moj otac neko vrijeme vodio seriju intervjua s lokalnim umjetnicima i predstavnicima regionalne kulturne scene. Tako bismo u ponedjeljak navečer uključili radio i slušali njegov intervju s različitijim ljudima o glazbi, kulturi, politici, filozofiji. Kad bi se vratio kući još neko vrijeme bismo ćaskali o intervjuima. Na takav način sam upijao kulturu korištenja radija kao sredstva dobijanja informacija i obrazovanja koja a ona dalje utječe na moju svakodnevnicu.

Ima nečeg čudnog čak zagonetnog kad je riječ o radiju. Možda zbog toga što su glasovima koji se čuju iz prijemnika nedostaje lica, oni su u nekom smislu goli, odvojeni od naše vizualne prosudbe. Znao sam slušati radio i pitati se kako izgledaju ljudi koje slušam. Ponekad sam ih tražio na internetu. Najčešće se ne bih usudio, bojeći se da će se način na koji čujem ove glasove promijeniti ako vidim njihovo lice. Cijenio sam taj osjećaj vizualne anonimnosti koji radio pruža.

Razlog zbog kojeg govorim o svom osobnom iskustvu s radijem je pokušaj objašnjenja kako mediji, odnosno radio, igraju važnu ulogu u oblikovanju naših ideja, navika i ponašanja. To je naša osobna interakcija i emocionalna povezanost s društvenim mrežama i medijskim platformama, uključujući radio, koja postaje snažno političko oružje koje se može koristiti u svrhu društvene kontrole. Doista, glasovi koji čujemo na radiju postaju za nas idoli, ličnosti od autoriteta i izvori legitimiteta. To su glasovi na kojima se mogu graditi i širiti poruke koje ljudi doživljavaju kao svoje. Osobno jeste ili postaje političko.

Netko tko je bio savršeno svjestan svega toga bio je Joseph Goebbels, Hitlerov ministar propagande. Njegova uloga u širenju fašističkih ideja i mržnje putem radija za vrijeme vladavine nacista u Njemačkoj bila je presudan element u iskorjenjivanju svega “antinjemačkog“ i “nearijanskog“. Zahvaljujući propagandi, uspio je uvjeriti veliki dio njemačke javnosti da je iskorjenjivanje Židova opravdan, potreban čin. Svi dobro znamo grozne rezultate Goebbelsove propagande.

Danas još uvijek postoji interakcija između slušatelja i radio voditelja. Radijski programi koji ljudima nude priliku da ih nazovu i objasne situaciju s kojom se suočavaju svedoče o postojanju čvrste veze između medija i javnosti. Osim toga, takvi radijski programi ne samo da pružaju priliku za interakciju, već daju mogućnost govora onima koji su često zanemareni. U tu svrhu su Zapatisti stvorili Radio Insurgente: Glas bezglasnih, koji između ostalog nastoji vizualizirati brojne probleme autohtonih lokalnih zajednica u državi Chiapas u Meksiku. Sličan je bio razlog osnivanja Radio Nišave u Srbiji, prve romske radio stanice u Jugoslaviji, koja je imala za cilj unapređenje integracije i očuvanje romske kulture, jezika i tradicija kao i poboljšanje društvenog položaja i samosvijesti Roma.

Iako gubi na popularnosti, radio i danas ostaje važan izvor informacija. U vezi s tim, trebamo dublje istražiti posljedice povijesne uporabe radija i njegov uticaj na suvremene medije. Trebali bismo se suprotstavljati onima koji koriste radio ili bilo koju drugu medijsku platformu kako bi promicali netrpeljivosti i mržnju i podržavati inicijative koje nastoje podići svijest, jednakost i obrazovanje.

 

 

''The radio can shape a society’s experience of diversity, stand as an arena for all voices to speak out, be represented and heard.''

UNESCO

Listening to the radio inevitably makes us think of the past. In a world dominated by visual elements, a sign of our postmodern reliance on images, the radio remains a strange call to a previous world where sound remained without company. Even if listening to the radio remains common for many people, particularly for those who drive, the availability of programmes in digital format has completely changed the way we interact with the radio. We can now access most radio programmes long after they are broadcasted as they are digitally stored, so the sense of immediacy and nowness that defined the radio over the 20th century is often missing today, especially for the younger generation.

My personal relationship with the radio is difficult to recall because it seems to have been present from a very early age. My mom always was – continues to be – an avid listener. To give you an idea, her morning alarm is a clock-radio device which instead of producing a melody, directly connects to the main national station and its daily news broadcast. As someone who has grown in a family with strong political affiliations, I have always seen this as a need to be constantly informed about whatever is happening in the country.

It could be said that this tendency to worship the radio runs in the family, apparently. My uncle and aunt met while working in a local radio station, the same station where my dad also ran a series of interviews with local artists and members of the regional cultural scene for a while. So on Tuesday night we would switch the channel and listen to him talk with a wide variety of people about music, culture, politics, philosophy. Then he would come home and we would chat about the interviews for a while. It was in this context where an internal culture of using the radio as a means for information and education permeated through and still affects my daily routine today.

Something seems strange, mystical even, about the radio. It is perhaps because the voices coming out of the transistor lack a face, they are in some sense naked, stripped away from our visual judgement. I used to listen and wonder how these radio broadcasters would look like. Occasionally I looked them up on the internet. Most times I would not dare, fearing that somehow the way I heard those voices would change if I put a face on them. I valued this sense of visual anonymity that the radio provides.

The reason I am bringing my personal experience with the radio here comes as an attempt to explain how media, the radio in this case, plays an important role in shaping our ideas, habits and behaviours. It is precisely our personal interaction and emotional connection with social networks and media platforms, including the radio, that become an enormous political weapon which can be used for social control. Indeed, some of the voices we hear on the radio become idols, figures of authority and sources of legitimacy, voices on which to build and spread a message that people can internalise as their own. The personal is (or becomes) political.

Someone who was perfectly aware of all this was Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda. His role in spreading fascist ideas and hatred through the radio during the rule of Nazis in Germany was a crucial element in normalising the effort to eradicate any trace of anti-German, non-Arian existence. It succeeded in convincing a big chunk of the German public that getting rid of Jews was a justifiable, needed action. The atrocious results are known by all.

Today, complex relationships are still built between listeners and broadcasters. Radio programmes that offer people an opportunity to call and explain a particular situation they are going through show once again the intricate bond that is built between the media and the public. Besides, it signals an opportunity not only for interaction, but also for those who are often ignored to take part in the conversation. This was the goal behind the Zapatistas’ creation of Radio Insurgente: The Voice of the Voiceless, aimed at (among other things) visibilizing the numerous issues of indigenous local communities in Chiapas, Mexico. Something similar must have inspired the birth of Radio Nisava in Serbia, the first Roma station in Yugoslavia, which aimed at integration and preservation of Roma culture, language and traditions, together with an emphasis on improving Roma social position and self-awareness.

The radio remains still today a very influential media channel. As such, we should make an effort to understand the implications of its use historically and its on-going transcendence today. As a political tool, we should remain wary of those who use the radio (or any media platform) to promote intolerance and hatred, and learn from initiatives which seek to make the radio a window open towards greater awareness, participation, equality, and education.