The Internet has caused stations and radiophiles alike to rethink the possibilities of radio. In addition to creating new web-only radio stations, the Internet provided radio stations another means to broadcast their signal. Stations with existing broadcasting capabilities prior to the Internet were able to use the web to enhance their programming and grow their fan base. More means to publish and consume audio content reinvigorated the radio community in ways unmatched since the first commercial radio broadcast.
What was really revolutionary about Internet radio was podcasting technology,
which allowed users to hear a piece of audio whenever they wanted instead of
waiting for the program to be played according to the station's schedules. Listeners
didn't have to be tied to their computer to listen to radio programs either;
podcasts could be downloaded to personal mp3 players and be listened to wherever.
This freedom gave podcasting an advantage over terrestrial radio.
Podcasts changed the radio landscape in many ways besides giving listeners the
option to listen when and where they wanted. Anybody could create podcasts since
all it took was a recording device and an Internet connection (editing software
optional). Many amateurs took advantage of this and were competitive with real
radio stations by putting out free audio programs. Podcasts also led to a resurgence
in talk programming- podcasting music programs involved copyright issues that
many would rather not have to worry about. With so many amateurs producing and
consuming these podcasts, a new kind of national dialogue was taking place that
could “eventually bring the era of simple one-way broadcasting to an end.”1
This was a dialogue that hadn't been seen since the time of ham radio and amateur
broadcasts during the beginning of radio.
The Internet still has a way to go before it supplants radio as the most egalitarian
medium. One aspect of the Internet that many critics take for granted is the
issue of accessibility. In 2005, studies reported that 67 percent of Americans
were using the Internet, but the percentage for 18 to 29 year-olds was closer
to 84%.2 While those numbers are still rising, high speed Internet
is by no means cheap in the U.S. That leaves Internet radio's terrestrial cousin
as still the most democratic form of mass media in the country for now.
1Michael P. McCauley, “Radio's Digital Future,” Radio Reader: Essays In The Cultural History of Radio, eds. Michelle Hilmes and Jason Loviglio (New York: Routledge, 2002) 521.
2Larry Williams, “Internet Revolution Is Gaining Momentum,” The Reference Shelf: New Media, ed. Albert Rolls (New York: H.W. Wilson, 2006) 6.