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Radio Documentaries As A FORMAT - Would It Work In America??

JeeperOne

JeeperOne

Banned
I'm listening to "The Assassination Of John F. Kennedy Minute By Minute" by BBC Radio Documentaries on YouTube as aired on BBC Radio 2 on November 22nd, 2013 (The 50th Anniversary of the JFK Assassination) & a thought occurred to me

Could a Radio Documentaries format succeed on OTA stations in America??

Now, I'm not suggesting it be inundated with music interludes (Though a version of the format WITH music could be considered as well) but instead, it would be more narrarative with SOME drama, general reading of transcripts & other things to substitute for the lack of video (Which of course radio in incapable of broadcasting) in addition to interviews just like TV documentaries have done for years

With audio podcasts already being done like this, I don't see why Audacy, Cumulus, iHeartRadio or others with "Problem Child" stations can't consider converting the genre as a format & using them to experiment with it

Thoughts?
 
JeeperOne said:
I'm listening to "The Assassination Of John F. Kennedy Minute By Minute" by BBC Radio Documentaries on YouTube as aired on BBC Radio 2 on November 22nd, 2013 (The 50th Anniversary of the JFK Assassination) & a thought occurred to me

Could a Radio Documentaries format succeed on OTA stations in America??

Now, I'm not suggesting it be inundated with music interludes (Though a version of the format WITH music could be considered as well) but instead, it would be more narrarative with SOME drama, general reading of transcripts & other things to substitute for the lack of video (Which of course radio in incapable of broadcasting) in addition to interviews just like TV documentaries have done for years

With audio podcasts already being done like this, I don't see why Audacy, Cumulus, iHeartRadio or others with "Problem Child" stations can't consider converting the genre as a format & using them to experiment with it

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Radio Documentaries already work for NPR News/talk affiliates like KQED, KPCC, KXJZ.

The Other Front Lines - This American Life



This American Life on NPR News/talk affiliates do something like this it's a radio documentary and in some places there's even a local edition of "This American Life".
 
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I don't think this has much potential as a format. Just because someone might spend 30 minutes listening to a program about JFK does not mean they would stick around for the next scheduled documentary about Desmond Tutu or Elizabeth Taylor.

Keep in mind that iHeart tried something notionally similar with the iHeartPodcast format on a handful of basket case AM stations. AFAIK, it has been discontinued. Of course, those weren't all "documentaries" per se.
 
The drawback I see is length. If listening patterns indicate 20 minutes or less per listening session, it would be tough. In some instances that listening session cannot be expanded (ie: drive time to work, etc.). If broken in to segments, would listener listen a few to several days in a row to hear the entire documentary? Nights and weekends would be potentially better placement,
 
Personally I don't see Iheart, Cumulus and Audacy doing Radio Documentaries on the OTA side. Most likely they will do this on the podcast apps side as a ploy to go after Spotify. However Radio Documentaries have been a part of NPR News/talk affiliates for some time. On the national level there's "This American Life" in some cases there is a local edition of "This American Life" but meant for a specific market.


www.kqed.org

KQED Podcasts

Always free, always amazing.
www.kqed.org www.kqed.org

In one case KQED had done radio documentaries for the local level (Bay Area Only) and Nationwide for NPR.
 
Kelly A said:
Exactly. Or, more recently, podcasts.
Click to expand...
And podcasts are the perfect medium for documentaries. You can start the program on your way to work, and if you don't finish, listen to the rest on your way home.

I often use podcasts while scanning for my website. Since I don't have a work schedule for that, I can pick a podcast, start it when I begin work, and even hear a series of them in a multi-hour session. I adjust my selections to fit my work schedule, not the other way around which would be the case with a radio station broadcasting documentaries on a schedule which I would not listen to.
 
DavidEduardo said:
And podcasts are the perfect medium for documentaries. You can start the program on your way to work, and if you don't finish, listen to the rest on your way home.

I often use podcasts while scanning for my website. Since I don't have a work schedule for that, I can pick a podcast, start it when I begin work, and even hear a series of them in a multi-hour session. I adjust my selections to fit my work schedule, not the other way around which would be the case with a radio station broadcasting documentaries on a schedule which I would not listen to.
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And I know this is a radio discussion forum, but probably since the late 60's, radio has moved away from being a 'destination' for people wanting to hear now-considered long-form programs. Trying to hold listeners for fifteen minute blocks of time is already a challenge, especially when you consider how many listen while in their vehicles. Long form documentaries are better suited for podcasts, because as you point out, one can stop and rejoin in progress.
 
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I've heard a similar style program to This American Life, called Our American Stories, which has a radio-documentary style delivery. I'm sure I heard it on conservative talk stations in the past, usually during a weekend, be it Saturday or Sunday night some time. Last time I heard it was on the new conservative talker in Seattle, KPTR 1090.

ESPN radio used to have radio documentaries from time to time on weekends about certain sports figures.
 
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I'll bet no more than a handful of stations carried those docs, BigA. CBS has trouble finding affiliates to clear all 10 minutes of the World News Roundup in the morning and evening. And both used to be 15, the latter as The World Tonight.

In North America, the best two networks for documentaries are NPR and CBC.
 
boombox4 said:
I'm sure I heard it on conservative talk stations in the past, usually during a weekend, be it Saturday or Sunday night some time. Last time I heard it was on the new conservative talker in Seattle, KPTR 1090.
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'Conservative' stations probably run those shows at nights and weekends, mainly because their day audiences likely wouldn't stick around for a longer show. Also, too many words with more than three syllables could be used.
 
JeeperOne said:
I'm listening to "The Assassination Of John F. Kennedy Minute By Minute" by BBC Radio Documentaries on YouTube as aired on BBC Radio 2 on November 22nd, 2013 (The 50th Anniversary of the JFK Assassination) & a thought occurred to me

Could a Radio Documentaries format succeed on OTA stations in America??

Now, I'm not suggesting it be inundated with music interludes (Though a version of the format WITH music could be considered as well) but instead, it would be more narrarative with SOME drama, general reading of transcripts & other things to substitute for the lack of video (Which of course radio in incapable of broadcasting) in addition to interviews just like TV documentaries have done for years

With audio podcasts already being done like this, I don't see why Audacy, Cumulus, iHeartRadio or others with "Problem Child" stations can't consider converting the genre as a format & using them to experiment with it

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Music including jingles?
 
SiriusXM runs the PRX (Public Radio Exchange) channel as a "radio station" with nothing but 20 to 60 minute mini-documentaries. It is an interesting format, but I cannot see it really working OTA.
 
From March 2019 to December 2021, 1470 WSAN in Allentown, PA had an all-podcast format, sourced from iHeartRadio content. Now it's a "Real Oldies" station.
 
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