City radio stations offer phone-in programs
City radio stations offer phone-in programs
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A caller said a man was walking aimlessly along the side of the
Jakarta-Merak toll road and that he could endanger himself and
the commuters.
The radio announcer said he would immediately contact the toll
road operator to take care of the problem. Minutes later, another
caller said the man had been picked up and order restored to the
toll road.
This sort of call-and-response program, along with
international and national news, has been aired around-the-clock
by Elshinta radio since early 1998.
There are a number of radio stations in the city offering
similar programs, such as Jakartanews FM, Sonora, 91.1 FM and
Radio 68H. Elshinta, however, is the one most familiar to
Jakartans.
On the first day of voter registration, a housewife from the
slum area of Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, said she knew
about the registration because of Elshinta, while many of her
neighbors were in the dark about the matter.
"I got the information from Elshinta because that is the only
radio station I tune in," she said.
Founded in 1966, Elshinta started out airing programs on
Indonesian culture. In 1978, the radio switched to an adult
contemporary format. Then in 1993, the management made the
decision to change the frequency to FM.
"This time we chose to put jazz on our playlist," Edi Purnomo,
deputy chief editor of the news division, told The Jakarta Post
on Thursday.
The station knew that to survive the competition it had to
reach out for a certain segment of the population. So in 1996 the
management began to concentrate on news.
"We saw the social and political turmoil in the country in
1998 as a blessing, because it was the first time the public
began to have the urgent need to remain up to date on current
affairs," Edi said.
Furthermore, there were no radio stations that could cater to
the public need for information at that time, he said.
Now, with 100 reporters in Jakarta and about the same number
spread across the country, Elshinta has claimed the title as the
country's only 24-hour news radio station.
"Over the years we have tried to deliver the message that if
people want the news, tune in to us. They can change the dial as
they please if they don't want to hear any news on their radio,"
he said.
Asked if Elshinta could turn a profits airing only news, Edi
said: "If you are successful at becoming a radio station the
public can count on for news, advertisers will come to you."
As proof that the 90.05 FM radio has gained wide acceptance,
Edi cited the results of the Survey and Research Indonesia (SRI),
which showed that in 2002 the station had about 1.2 million
listeners in Jakarta.
"That figure is a dramatic increase from about 800,000 in
2001," he said, adding that with these listener numbers the
station had seen an increase in advertising, which made the
station profitable.
With all these resources at its disposal, Edi said, the
management of Elshinta was preparing to offer services as a news
agency.
"We can provide up-to-date information for both the domestic
and foreign media," he said.