Convergence Culture and ABC Radio National

Have been reading Henry Jenkin's Convergence Culture and having various conversations about convergence culture and Radio National with my RN colleagues.  Made a couple of notes:

Perhaps it’s time to rethink the ‘radio’ in ABC Radio National. The RN website was initially thought of as a secondary transmission path supplementing the broadcast with little more than an electronic program guide. Statistics challenge this secondary status – last year ABC RN had 20-million downloads from the website. These numbers are set to increase as the RN website attracts a younger audience - the average audience age of the radio broadcast is 50 plus, while the online audience is under 40. Along with a shift in local audiences, international audiences are also swelling in an environment that privileges niche programming.

Perhaps it’s time to rethink the way ABC RN connects with local and international audiences and build the brand’s reach in innovative ways. The ABC brand already oozes lovemarks like sticky footprints left in the hall – but unlike Coke (aka the black waters of imperialism) it’s not about the money – the ABC sells Australian culture with its mission to “contribute to and reflect our national identity, foster creativity and the arts and encourage cultural diversity” [ABC Charter]. But with lovemarks comes reciprocal influence and audiences wanting to put their oar in and stir things up… 

Perhaps it’s time to rethink the skills RN broadcasters require. With a visual medium driving change the pressure is on to create cross-platform material and craft meaningful transmedia narratives that enrich the audience’s experience and create multiple entry points to the brand. It’s not enough to be able to make great audio - we now need to be able to write and edit with still and moving images as well as written text for the net. The danger is, obviously, that without extra funding/training and ‘fresh blood’ we will muddy our high quality product with ill-made crap-TV (just as other companies fumble and experiment with online audio resulting in really bad and embarrassingly naïve ‘radio’)