Interactivity beyond the Newsroom: a study of the interactive relationship in two BBC radio productions

Radio has a long history as an interactive medium but recent years have seen huge changes in the technology of interaction available to audiences globally. There have been numerous studies of the effect of interactive technologies on news production, but less attention has been paid to non-news programming. This study, conducted by members of the production teams on two BBC speech radio programmes, explores the power relationship between programme-makers and their audiences, finding that new technologies have certainly afforded more open interaction, communication between them has become more equal, but that other factors such as programme formats and production practices mean professional broadcasterscontinue to maintain distance and control