The Internet Killed the Radio Show

The article, Only half the story: Radio drama, online audio and transmedia storytelling by Lance Dann analyzes the way radio drama is produced and discusses how the internet has the ability to change everything about audio drama. The author stresses that digital technologies and the internet have created a platform that is accessible (in theory) to everyone. This means that anyone could create and publish art that is not confined by typical constraints, as seen in radio drama produced by BBC (the dominant outlet for radio drama).

In the article the author explains the creative boundaries in which writers must work within in order to have their art forms published for an audience to listen to.

These boundaries include the target audience, the time of day that the story will air, and most importantly the amount of time that the writer has to fit the entire story line into, which is usually just one segment of time (or one stand alone episode). With these limitations, writers are forced to stay within very focused styles of writing and overall genres.

In order to avoid these limitations, Lance Dann chose to not have his work, The Flickerman be associated with any producing company or outlet such as BBC. He found that this decision allowed for complete creative freedom unlike anything he had experienced in any of his previous writings. He was able to use time how he wished.

This freedom lead him to create a multi-episodic series that entailed a transmedia story. Meaning that he was able to create a story told through more than just one type of media. He chose to make the audio drama to where the listener did not need to access the other forms of media in order to follow along with the story, rather he used the multiple forms of media in order to enhance the audience's experience if they felt compelled to dive further into the story. An example of the added forms of media includes the video below.

By sharing his drama with his listeners via the internet and free download, Lance Dann was able to receive immediate feedback from the listeners. This process of experimenting with his work and then hearing back from the audience was immensely valuable to Lance. He was able to see what worked and what did not, and then took what he learned and applied it to his future work.

With the BBC the act of creating and refining is unheard of and simply not possible. As stated earlier, radio dramas are traditionally a stand alone episode. With The Flickerman, Lance was able to create something new and refreshing. After finding success on the internet, The Flickerman and its multiple episodes were broadcasted on dominant radio stations.

Immediately, the audio drama was a hit among radio drama critiques. In the article Lance made it clear that in order for a new from of media to succeed, the old media must approve of it. Which is why I believe that everything is about to change for radio and audio dramas. Hence, similar to the hit 80's song: Video Killed the Radio Star, it has been predicted that the internet will kill (or significantly change) the radio show.