View source for Why Radio? by Helmut Kopetsky (Berlin, Germany)

A quote by [https://www.helmut-kopetzky.de/ Helmut Kopetsky] (Berlin, Germany)

Phonetic transcription BG > EN:<br>
  "Vto-rach-vam se 
                  v za-cher-ve-ni-te si ochi 
                                             v og-le-da-lo-to sre-shtu men, 

 sled kato sum pre-ka-ral 
                          osh-te den i po-lo-vin nosht 
                                                        pred kom-pyu-ta-ra 

 i si za-da-vam fun-da-men-tal-ny vap-ro-si: 

 Za-shto radio? 
               Za-shto do-ku-men-ta-lis-tika? 
 

 Ot-govor: 
          Nya-ma dru-ga media, 
                             ko-ya-to mo-zhe da mi pre-dos-ta-vi 
                                                                po-ve-che svo-bo-da 
                                                                                  v saz-da-va-ne-to i iz-sled-va-ne-to. 
 
 Ta-zi ot-go-va-riya na zhi-via mi in-te-res 
                                            kum real-nost-ta i zhe-la-nie-to mi 
                                                                               za "mu-zi-kal-no" iz-ra-ziya-va-ne. 

 Ma-te-ria-lat e zvu-kat. 

                         A zvu-kat vi-na-gi ni za-o-bi-ka-liya. 
 

 I sa-shto ta-ka: 
                 ne mi do-pa-dat tol-ko-va opi-sa-ni-yata 
                                                         na zas-ti-na-ly si-tu-a-tsee, 
                                                                                      kol-ko-to pred-sta-viya-ne-to im 
 ka-to pro-ces. 

 Na-sha-ta me-dia ne e pro-stran-st-vo, 
 

                                       a vre-me; 

 na-shi-te is-to-ree 
                     ne sa vko-re-ne-ny v ze-mi-ya-ta, 
                                                      ami i-mat dvi-zhe-nie, zhi-vot. 
                                                                                     
                                                                                                    Eto za-shto!"


BG to EN translation:<br>
I stare at my red eyes in the mirror in front of me, after I have spent another day and a half night in front of the computer screen, asking myself fundamental questions: Why Radio? Why documentaries? 
Answer: There is no other media that can provide more freedom in creation and examination. It aligns with my vivid interest in reality and my personal desire for a "sonic" / "musical" expression. The materiality is the sound. And sound always surrounds us. Moreover, I don't like that much the description of static(still) situations, instead, their description as a process. Our media is not a space, but time; our stories are not rooted in the ground, they possess movement, and life. That's why!"


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Found a this text below about [https://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan/journalismonline/rd.html "Radio Documentary: Slice Of Life Through Sound And Silence"] by Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee (The writer is Professor, Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Sanchar Marg, Dhenkanal 759 001, Orissa.)


What are Radio Documentary/Feature/Magazine?

A radio documentary is a documentary programme devoted to covering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentary and sound pictures. Some radio features, especially those including specially composed music or other pieces of audio art, resemble radio drama in many ways, though non-fictional in subject matter, while others consist principally of more straightforward, journalistic-type reporting – but at much greater length than found in an ordinary news report. [1] Radio Feature often is used as a synonym of radio documentary. However, there is a slight difference. Though radio feature resembles a documentary in the way it is made, but differs in its larger scope and subject/time variability. Radio magazine is an umbrella programme on a particular subject, which can have several programmes in it- documentary, features, interviews, music etc. There has to be a synergy in the content of the programmes.

Why Documentary?

Here is what Helmut Kopetzky, a German author answered to this question: 

 "Staring red-eyed at the mirror in front of me, having spent another day and half of the night with my computer, I ask myself fundamental questions: Why radio? Why documentary? Answer: No other medium can provide me with more freedom of creation and investigation. It meets my urgent interest in reality and the desire for a 'musical' expression. The material (der Werkstoff) is sound. And sound always surrounds us. And: I'm not so much interested in the description of stable situations, but in processes. Our medium is not space, but time; our stories are not glued to the ground, but have motion, life ... That's why!"

Radio Documentary / feature provides the listeners an impression of reality- that is midway between the experience of print, where the reader has to paint the picture all by himself; and television, where reality is visually recreated for his eyes- making him/her passive recipient of the reality. Radio documentary provides the audience the slice of reality through real sound-bites, dialogue, ambient sound and stops short of making the audience a passive one. The audience has to make an effort to recreate the scene in his mind. He has to paint the full picture with templates provided by radio.

A question that is often asked: is there a demand for radio documentary? In an age where entertainment especially music dominates the radio world over, is there any space for documentaries? Answer: Yes. There is a demand, and the demand is growing. When most of the entertainment-obsessed radio stations, mostly in private domain belch the same kind of music, in the same format- people look for something else. Something that provides them some food for thought, fodder for mind. There is a space for good documentaries and features.