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Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0003-3477-1156

Abstract

As we reflect on one hundred years of broadcast radio in Ireland, we are reminded of the resilience required to remain a prominent fixture in what has become a highly congested digital mediascape. The Irish radio industry’s survival and continued success has been made possible, paradoxically, by remaining true to its origins as a linear, aural medium - while at the same time adapting to become a modern, digitally convergent one. Over the last twenty-five years, Irish radio has continued to serve as a live, spontaneous and trustworthy medium, providing an ever-present voice in Irish people’s lives at home and abroad. However, it has maintained its presence only by adapting to change, and by adopting new digital media technologies. Central to this is the integration of social media platforms as extensions of radio stations, which allow producers to engage and coalesce their target audience with curated multimedia content. With specific focus on the public service and independent commercial sectors of the Irish radio industry, this paper offers a critical review of the final quarter of a century of broadcast radio’s existence in Ireland. The article is informed by extensive primary research during the peak years of radio’s digitalisation, 2010-20, involving a multimethod approach including audience surveys, in-depth interviews, observations and textual analysis of online content. The article argues the reasons for the Irish radio industry’s success as lying in its ability to adapt in the face of economic forces and turn technological threats into new opportunities and to capitalise on the increased reach and ability to engage audiences online.

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