Changes in News Radio Editors Work in the Context of Digitalization
The aim of this research is to study the impact ща the new technologies on the contemporary news radiobroadcasting. The research methods include a half-structured interview with top managers of Russian news radio stations. The interview showed that digitalization has had a significant influence on almost all aspects of work of the news radio, from searching for information to professional requirements for the staff and the organization structure of the radio’s editorial board. Having analyzed the results of the interview, the authors have made the following inferences. The number of the competences the personnel of a news radio station is to possess has increased. The technological development has led to multitasking in the work of the personnel of a news radio: via the computer and mobile devices, they have to combine searching for information and working on the text with looking through and texting messages, and promoting their content in social networks. Due to its usability and operational efficiency, communication via messengers has almost replaced personal communication, telephone conversations and e-mail writing. As for the effect of digitalization on the economic aspect of radio stations’ activity, it has been ambivalent. On the one hand, it has helped radio stations to minimize expenses on data storage, thanks to the cloud services. On the other hand, the work on the new formats, launch of new applications and hiring content managers have required other expenses. The most common change in the structure of a typical radio editorial board is the emergence of IT departments. However, some aspects of work of news radio stations have remained unchanged despite digitalization. For instance, the use of FM-band is still popular with the market participants, who are not ready for expenses on transition to a new format.