Entertainment
Enjoyment and Relaxation
Along with news and information, entertainment is the most obvious and popular role of radio.
Programs with music, humour, human interest, drama and other forms bring entertainment into the kitchen, bedroom, office, department store, car - even the paddy field -- inexpensively.
Some might immediately doubt whether Christians should be thinking about entertainment. But consider this: communications practitioners in health promotion and community development know that if their key message is wrapped with a layer of entertainment, listeners pay greater attention to it, remember it, and are more likely to act upon it. Development communicators use edutainment or infotainment communication techniques, where entertainment and education or information is blended in a radio program.
Every program should have entertainment value if the listener is to stay tuned. At a minimum, this means the program is well-produced. More than that, it should provide something to raise the listener's spirit and satisfy his more aesthetic needs. Isn't it interesting to note that when God created trees he not only made them functional (providing fruit, materials for building, etc.) but also pleasing to the eye so that we might enjoy them?
Let's take a brief look at the main areas of entertainment: music, popular culture, human interest and humour.
Music
Music has the ability to raise the spirit and minister to the human soul at a level which words alone cannot do. It creates an effect or atmosphere to support a few carefully selected words which will have a greater impact than a lengthy monologue. Certain kinds of music are especially valuable in raising the human spirit, warming the heart, softening the emotions and calming fears. All these need to be seen as accomplishing a part of what we are seeking to do as Christian broadcasters. A simple presentation of aspects of the Gospel should follow naturally on from many kinds of music.
Having said that, however, we recognise that we embark into a minefield of controversy because tastes in music, not least Christian music, differ so widely. What constitutes good music for one may be the devil's music for another. Apart from certain theological issues no other area of Christian interest causes more controversy or division. FEBC has therefore drawn up guidelines (rather than rules) which help describe what factors need to be considered in selecting music for our programs.
The key to successful music programs largely depends on two broad factors: (1) a clear understanding of the intended audience and their musical tastes, and (2) the program producer/presenter having both a broad working knowledge/appreciation of music and a commitment to Christian values. Station management needs to provide strong support for the music program producer since music selections will no doubt come under fire from segments of the Christian community who may not approve and may feel that their financial support appears to be going to waste.
Popular Culture
The term popular culture refers to those creative, artistic, activities that people engage in for relaxation and entertainment. These include, for example, books and magazines, travel, sport, music, movies/videos, visual art such as drama, paintings and fashion (e.g. clothing).
Radio can address these and cover them through book or movie reviews and discussion or interviews with the creative talent associated with them. If the facilities are available, outside (remote) recordings or live broadcasts can be made of productions taking place in the community. FEBC's classical music FM station, DZFE in Manila, occasionally broadcasts live concerts and is seen as a champion of this type of music.
Productions promoting values that contradict the Gospel and values should only be used for illustrative purposes, and only after careful thought as to the implications for local believers, and the likely response from listeners and authorities. FEBC's music guidelines might also be used to provide direction for programs addressing popular culture issues.
Human interest
Real people with real stories from real life are a winner. Our experience is that, too often, they are overlooked by the Christian broadcaster who stays inside his studio. FEBC's Vietnamese service kicks off its broadcast every day with a 5-minute human interest story which listeners can warm to.
All over the world, the most effective radio programs, apart from music and news, are those that give insights into people, their lives, the things that make them laugh or cry, their hopes and despairs, their failures and their victories. Often they can be used without comment and do not need to have any Christian content at all, although they may illustrate Christian values.
Different formats such as interviews, discussion, stories, biographical books or sketches can bring people into programs. A major format is drama which recreates daily life and projects the listener into a participatory experience. The listener interacts with drama rather than remaining a recipient of information. He identifies with characters and situations, experiencing them without feeling threatened. Christian values such as love and forgiveness are much more effectively modelled through drama than verbally talked about or explained. Traditional dramatic forms can often be easily adapted into the radio medium.
Humour
The light-hearted side to radio can do more than demonstrate that Christians can have fun and enjoy life. Truth can be communicated by those who know how to use humour skilfully and appropriately. Humour is culture-bound, so we need to appreciate that humour is, in most circumstances, best performed by those who know their own culture.