Is Radio Dead?

Personally, I don’t listen to music on the radio. Maybe it’s because I feel that the same five songs get played over and over again or maybe it’s because I don’t know most pop songs. It’s tough to choose music that you don’t know on the radio over the playlists of songs you made on your music app. But regardless of the songs on the radio, it’s the morning radio shows that I really want to discuss today. With all the podcasts, tv shows, and social media platforms these days has radio been left behind?

Picture this: It’s a Monday, you are driving to work. You switch on the radio to distract yourself from the impending gloom of Monday morning and there it is, your go to morning show. They entertain you with the latest gossip about celebrities, they play trivia games with listeners and they tell you the latest news.

But when you really think about it, these hosts become more than just a morning show. It’s more than just people reiterating the news to you. If you listen to these radio shows five days a week, you start to feel like you know them. They make you feel less alone on your car ride to work. They make you feel like you are not the only one going through rough times in life. They are essentially a part of your everyday routine. 

I want to use one particular morning show as an example, Elvis Duran and the Morning Show. Since I’m from New Jersey, this would always be on the station Q-102 when I was headed to my first full time job many years ago. Up until that point, I had never been a morning show listener at all. But they reeled me in and I started listening. Listening to this show helped cease my anxieties on the way to work. They made me laugh and sometimes cry. But listening to them got my brain ready to go for my work day. They became a part of my routine.

I of course went through periods where my schedule changed and I couldn’t listen consistently. But whenever I was ready to go back to it,  it was always there waiting for me. Nowadays, you can even listen to their episodes online which helps a lot with schedule changes. I can listen anytime and not miss the latest. 

So to me personally, radio is not dead. I may not listen to the music on there as much as I used to, but the morning radio shows really have my heart. If you find the morning show that suits you, it really becomes part of your everyday routine. It becomes something you look forward to. 

When you hear listeners call in with struggles they are having or milestones that they have hit, you feel a sense of community. It makes you feel less alone to know that people are also going through struggles or are celebrating the same milestones that you are. 

What these shows create is a community of people. It’s everyday people calling in about their struggles with depression or their excitement of having their first baby. It’s listeners talking about their health scares, going through a divorce, relationship struggles, or dealing with loss (and so much more). 

So no, radio is certainly not dead and that is thanks to the morning radio show hosts, producers, and staff out there that wake up early every day because their listeners count on them. But you know who else it is thanks to? The listeners. 
Huge shoutout to Elvis Duran and the Morning Show for being part of my and millions of others’ daily routines. What are your thoughts on radio? Do you have a favorite morning show or station that you listen to in your area? Shoutout your favorite morning radio show or station in the comments below!