What’s On Air?

It’s a bittersweet frequency you hear these days. But on a more personal note, it’s anything but sweet. With more than three years in the business, radio now seems to be more of an empty box of chaotic modulation.

This chaos was once a sonic pleasure that served only to truly entertain its audience. Radio Pakistan’s broadcasting ethics reflected through its entire programming. Families woke up early on Sundays to visit ‘Hamid Mian Ke Haan’ and music; well it just made more sense on a gramophone with ‘Tasveer Ka Doosra Rukh’. It wasn’t until 1995, AM took a back seat with the coming of FM 100 as the nation’s latest sound.

‘Assalam o Alaikum’ was replaced by the customized ‘Assalam o Alaikum Pakistan’ as FM 100’s fresh showcasing brought back radio friendly days. Days that Radio Pakistan lived till the late 70’s. Soon FM 101 arrived as a counter-part of FM 100 but with a government tag attached to it. It was and still is PEMRA’s very own answer to semi-private and private frequencies. As time passed by, both FM 100 and FM 101 became stagnant as their dry programs included (and sadly still do) home oriented shows; letters from the listening end and of course the ever irritating ‘On-demand’ marathons. As constant monotony prevailed, FM 100 and FM 101 managed to kill the once reincarnated glory of radio.

As the 21st century dawned, FM 107 landed the radio scene. The station compelled the audience to lock onto its dial as it brought more lingual variety with ‘Kem Chho Karachi’. FM 107 soon became the ‘in’ airwave as it called itself ‘Apna Karachi Ek Sau Saath’. The only program that is worth mentioning was aired every night at 10 featuring Ali Raza. It was a two-hour western music based show that only aired the best compilation of songs compared to FM 100 and FM 101. Of course, it was an entirely updated queue sheet. FM 107 sort of tried to regenerate the trend of ‘radio skits’. But their attempt failed to gather any moss for the scripts were not engaging enough to compel one to sit through the entire episodes. While FM 107 was trying hard to revamp the local radio-psyche, City FM 89 launched itself in December of 2003 at the Dawn Lifestyles Exhibition.

With a promise to post a redefined and a refined image to the airwaves, people simply tuned into the station thinking it would be same as every other radio station around. Later on, the city-walas realized it was not a frequency for the ‘entire’ city but a mere fraction of it. Hence, City FM 89 was blamed to deepen the social disparities the Karachiites already suffer from. But from a business point of view, it is a smart move to know whom you are catering to and what you are catering. Being the modulated voice of the daily English newspaper, Dawn, many were entertained by the Red Barren’s wit and wisdom. Moreover, a number of middle-aged women found their vocal fantasy – Sohail Hashmi. It was sarcastically hilarious to hear someone state City FM 89 to be, “painfully burger”. However, keeping all the pain and the burgers aside, City FM 89 by far is a station that knows what it’s supposed to do. Joining the intelligent City FM 89, Radioactive 96 landed with a more ‘defined’ and a more ‘narrowed down’ target audience – the youth.

Calling it the ‘youth channel’, Radioactive 96 nailed the pulse of its target audience and it soon became the ‘station to tune into’. The arrival of Radioactive 96, originated the ‘Clash of Broadcasting Ethics’. The conservative school of thought comprising of only FM 101 came face to face with the more liberal school of thought including, well just about every other station. But to be very blunt, FM 96’s late night show with Mani and Azfar really dented the lingual sanctity of broadcasting. Fine, there are times when you want a break from the daily ‘Ji Sir, Aaiye and Jaaiye’; but it does not suggest the idea of listening to a 17 year old girl calling a radio presenter ‘gali ka pagal kutta’ to be quite appealing. The only thing it all led to was the administration banning Mani and Azfar from the frequency. Despite all the limitations imposed on the nerve-cracking duo, listeners were once again acquainted with their street smartness on Mast FM 103.

Mast FM 103 is by far the most annoying and the most heard station nowadays. Mani and Azfar made a come back with a more aggressive approach towards their colloquial extempore performance. This time they targeted not only Radioactive 96 for banning them but also spoke openly about politics. Now, this indeed was something refreshing. Coming back to the ‘clash of broadcasting ethics’ FM 103 didn’t lag behind. It simply bombarded more annoying voices and play lists. By now, HUM FM 106.2 broke into the scene with a 24 hour, non-stop songs philosophy.

Being completely private HUM FM 106.2 played Indian songs to a larger extent. Along with that, all the other stations gladly followed its lead. Except for FM 101 of course. But only FM 107 paid its dues by being the only station to play more than 200 songs in a day’s transmission. Eventually, FM 107 and FM 106.2 are truly following the universal law of radio broadcasting – less talk, more music!

So, what exactly is on air? Absolutely nothing. As I mentioned earlier, it’s more bitter than sweet. There’s an eruption of quantity whereas quality is nowhere to be heard. There are certain issues that need to be considered by PEMRA. Firstly, it needs to be clear of what is ‘allowed’ on air. Having Indian songs banned on FM 101 is practically of no use. I myself have played Indian songs stating them as creations of NRI artists. The 101 broadcasting laws were and luckily still are equally illogical to mess with like the Government policies. Other channels have a whole different deal working for them. FM 89, 96, 103, 107 are all playing the same thing in a different order.

The second matter at hand is of course of the language usage. With a dead 3-4 pm English time slot at 101, the excommunicated ‘101 ke Angrezi DJs’ would most of the times get away with a lot of things. Coming on to the ‘Urdu’ time slots, the situation was more severe as it is now. To begin with, the ‘Urdu’ oriented DJs hardly know any Urdu. Secondly, they try too hard to incorporate inappropriate English vocabulary ending up sounding irritatingly absurd. FM 89 is seriously keeping its word for broadcasting to a certain section of the demography – more English sound. Where there is a conflict between the two languages, there’s also a collision of formal and colloquial nature of the mediums. FM 96 pioneered a more relaxed, easy-going and casual broadcasting. Mani and Azfar proudly take the credit of introducing this informality into the conservative Pakistani radio. Their show faced a lot of criticism and the station that condemned them the most was without any doubt, FM 101. Largely, this criticism by FM 101 backfired the frequency and that too by its own in house DJs. The government owned FM channel sadly, still practices its staunch broadcasting norms and the changes brought in its showcasing is only for the worse as it clearly depicts how ‘hard’ FM 101 is ‘trying’ to be a part of the ‘hip station parade’. Other stations having a more English orientation, are stations administered and heard by ‘wannabes’. There is no denying that we all need some of that ‘western’ element to everything we do. But a little less superficiality won’t kill us. Now, now, how many of us really want ‘less superficiality’? Let’s face it, these days less is not more! Coming back to the ailing radio scene, we all know we can never be what we try to be; then all this language confusion is something we really don’t need that too coming from a mechanical box. Therefore, PEMRA should narrow it down to how many stations can be ‘wannabes’ and how many can die trying.

Thirdly, all the radio voices should be identified as either a Disc Jockey or a Radio Jockey. But first, let’s define the terms. A disc jockey is a master of mixing songs live on a modern-day musical instrument called the ‘Turn-table’. Whereas, a radio jockey simply plays songs live on the radio. It is now proved that the people whose voices are featured on radio are technically RJs and not DJs. Then how come FM 101 still has DJs on board? Simple, the Government is stubborn whereas all the other ‘RJs’ are having a roller coaster ride with being the westerns of the East.

Serious social and psychological blocks are being concreted, all thanks to radio channels like FM 89 and FM 96. To have a targeted audience is a smart move. But to go over board with the idea only closes doors of sanity. We are people who belong to a melting pot of culture. Some of us are liberal and some of us are conservative to the core. Some of us believe in entertainment while some of us can’t digest this massive influx of noises. To the latter, it is simply noise pollution. In a city like Karachi, there are people from all walks of life that tune in to the local airwaves. It took quite some time for City FM 89 to convince the listeners that it was a frequency not to be tuned in from Korangi, Orangi, Laalukhet, Liaquatabad, Malir and other suburbs of Karachi. Radioactive 96 promotes the youth of the country. By being ‘loud and all like that’ the station and its RJs end up sounding unbelievably phony. To them this accent, this attitude and this ignorance towards reality is being ‘modern’. Modernization is a term that has been bent and folded in accordance to the preferences of politicians and officials every now and then. These days, to have minimum attire adorned with a fake dialect is considered as modern. Then westernization must definitely mean to be mentally liberal. Pakistan is not a country to have pseudo-social issues induced as talk shows on the radio where more than 98 percent of the population can hardly conceive a simple concept of ‘socializing’. Dating, breaking up, hang-overs and a few more non-Pakistani societal trends have surfaced as recent social phenomena but only for the ‘pul ke us paar’ people. And so these latest developments have been featured on the radio as ‘peer pressure’ has suddenly become so obvious. It is only devaluing social ethics and confusing the ‘pul ke is paar’ young aged men and women who can not go out and date, drink, smoke or even go through the trauma of being dumped. By large, radio stations like FM 89 and 96 are nauseatingly westernized rather than broadcasting a more ‘modern’ showcasing. It has to be understood that being updated is also an integral part of broadcasting or any medium of information for that matter. Radio Pakistan still, in the year 2006 does not appeal to many who tune into modulated frequencies. It seems FM has killed AM. It is a false notion that news is a content to be broadcast only on AM radio channels. Being updated only in news is not enough. Since Radio Pakistan is purely what the country is supposed to sound like, it has to be taken under account to provide the very best and latest in all aspects of radio broadcasting such as infotainment, politics, entertainment, social science and religious affairs. Repeating the same material over and over again in a different regional language makes no difference.

The problem of imposing regional language based programs is also a significant matter to deal with. Like western being modern, the misconception of ‘national being regional’ has to be corrected as well. Lets face it, the people who listen to the radio want to feel the connection with the presenters. Language being the only bridge here, it is vital for the producers to produce programs that attract the masses. Indeed, even minorities need to be entertained but even they speak ‘Urdu’. The concept of nationalization has been sadly misinterpreted to be regionalization. If it’s the Government’s FM 101, then it has to have a sense of nationalism in it. Fine, point taken. But FM 101 has the largest radio network across the country giving each provincial station to air its programming in the respective regional language. FM 107 evoked the ‘sense of solidarity’ among the Karachiites by airing shows in Gujarati. The practice is the same but it is the execution that sets the two stations apart from one another. Nationalization should be delivered through a national medium – ‘Urdu’ and not regional vernaculars. The idea of having one or two hour shows in regional language is anything but entertaining. At one end the radio stations are talking about ‘mass appeal’ and on the other, they practice the ‘irony’ of their own principle. Yes, having regional based shows is less amusing, but if these stations want to promote nationalism, they better upgrade the national language, ‘Urdu’. Language is the most important component of being a people. Socially, a nation is mute if its national tongue is not patronized. Broadcasting is the most ready medium to relay one’s message and what’s being aired these days is everything but an uplifting image of what the masses communicate in.

Speaking of communication, very little of it exists between the Producers of programming and the Radio Jockeys of the radio stations. When I joined FM 101, there was an ample and competent team of officials leading the newly recruited batch of RJs. The bridging of two links, spontaneous word play and skillfully dodging of callers from the other end and many more of the broadcasting tactics were taught to us as we were trained to grow into our ‘radio personalities’. As more competition, informality and egos mounted with in the administrative set up of the radio stations, Producers ceased taking interest in teaching more. But this change makes the RJs no angels as they have stopped trying to get better at what they are appallingly worse. The modern age RJs take it personally against their stature to have their mistakes pointed out by the Producers who watch them make fools out of themselves just to satisfy their ill egos. It is a silent war that precedes between the two radio entities. It is a team effort and not some individual venture. Radio is a serious medium of information and is not to be taken lightly. Some how, there is no check of what goes on air, also if ‘bhunds’ of this nature continue there will be an eruption of social chaos within and out side the radio premises. All in all, it is the Producers who have it and should take it as their responsibility to undertake all that goes on air and not leave it to the disposal of RJs who take radio as their living rooms where anything goes. But this sort of attitude of the RJs is all thanks to the Producers. RJs are people with some naturally in born talent to talk the right way but talent has to be polished and nurtured. The Producers do all that, at least they used to.

Another disturbing trend that has been making its way into the radio scene is allowing VJs to do the talking on the radio. An artist who’s been in the radio business performs better on television but a television personality cannot and will never perform the way a true radio jockey does on the radio. A TV personality is used to express itself more physically whereas a radio jockey can improvise verbally. All this sonic nonsense prevails due to these VJs who use their fame from TV on the radio. Radio veterans should recruit and promote more Radio Jockeys and train them with sound broadcasting ethics and techniques. It should not be a preconceived notion that these rookies come trained from their mothers’ wombs. RJs should be considered as the soul of the station’s programming. The more they are fed, the better they perform. It would sound much sweeter if we had more radio-oriented, fine, academically qualified and intellectual personalities entertaining our airwaves. Yes, intellect can be entertaining if we’re up to the challenge of broadcasting our minds.

No matter what we broadcast, nothing will change the status quo if prompt transformation is not taken up. Pakistani radio has accomplished great achievements in the past. With the very first live radio concert on FM 101, with the launching of the first English-based radio station City FM 89, with the arrival of FM 92 solely entertaining the ears on the highway and with the quasi freedom of expression on live radio due to Radioactive FM96; the Pakistani airwaves witnessed and experienced a modern day modulated renaissance. Alas, it was short lived as it became just too much to digest. With the present scenario of radio in Pakistan, we now stand on the tip of the corruption plank of all natures. May it be administration, production, content quality or the radio personalities; just about everything and everyone in the radio, business is being exploited and toyed with. There is just too much of entertainment. It is audibly impossible to constantly tune in to ‘Telefun Medleys’ every day of the week. Our intellect deserves better. At least, mine does. To have a less unfortunate situation, PEMRA should be the first to amend its terms and conditions when it comes to granting licenses to radio channels. The second in line is of course the Radio Station controllers and the Producers who need to step up their game. And of course, the last but never the least, the darling Radio Jockeys. They better stop behaving, as everything is okay as long as they have the microphone in front of their oral cavities. It is understandable to be unfamiliar with radio policies but it is dim-wittiness to think you own the airtime. Again, radio is serious business and it should be executed professionally. Radio should be able to make a living out of and not just satisfy one’s hobby. The Government officials should not practice partiality in the radio business. Radio Pakistan has to rise to the occasion. It is a pioneer of radio in Pakistan and so it must showcase a more unique, innovative and current style in its programming. As for FM 101, it needs to be more FM and not AM. FM 89 and FM 96 should now consider stepping out of their denial of not being Pakistani. FM 103 has to stop being a local version of FM 96 and FM 107 has to snap out of its ‘Chhakkaas-ness’ and smell the air. The only station I do have something positive to say about is none other than Radio one FM 91. With smart showcasing, FM 91 by large caters to just about everyone. As I near the conclusion of my argument, I have realized that radio will never be the same. This institution will decay if the current and shallow practices of broadcasting are not abandoned. Radio is no longer ‘radio’. It’s an empty box of chaotic modulation since there’s ‘nothing’ on air any more!