Elucidating the Information Literacy Activities of FM Radio: a comparative study

Purpose: The main concern of this study is to compare how the government and private FM radio channels cater to information literacy to the general people through their programmes. Design/methodology/approach: The study encompasses 1 Government FM channel namely FM Rainbow run by All India Radio from the Akashvani Bhavan, Kolkata and 1 Private FM channel namely Radio Mirchi Kolkata run by the Times Group. The radio personnel associated with both the channels were interviewed in order to accomplish the study. A web survey was carried out to depict the effect of the information literacy programmes of the channels on the audiences. The observation method was also implemented for detailed focus. Findings: It was found that there is no declared “Information Literacy” programme conducted by both the concerned FM channels but they cater to information literacy informally through various programmes. Though FM Rainbow Kolkata had many kinds of information literacy initiatives than Radio Mirchi Kolkata, FM Rainbow Kolkata remained far behind than Radio Mirchi Kolkata in terms of the preference of the respondents. Originality: Through the review of related literature, it was found that no such study of its kind has been conducted so far. Keywords: Information Literacy, All India Radio, FM Rainbow Kolkata, Radio Mirchi Kolkata, Radio programmes, infotainment