Almost five months after a programming shakeup, International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) is making headway towards winning back listeners and ending a run of annual losses.
As the Taiwanese battled SARS, ICRT -- once one of the leading radio broadcasters in the country -- battled to bring back audiences it had marginalized due to stale programming and a predominance of Chinese-language despite the fact it promotes itself as an English-language station.
According to some industry observers ICRT had lost both is foreign and local base by becoming what was perceived to be a poor quality Chinese-language radio station, unable to compete with the dominant local broadcasters like UFO radio ((飛碟電台) and Public Radio System (PBS, 警廣).
Nelson Chang, (
At the end of last year he decided to do something about it and ordered a shakeup of management and programming. In March this year the station re-launched itself adding some new DJs and returning to its core values: providing English-language programming and servicing the community.
With the new line up of young energetic DJs such as television personality Jeff Locker, newcomer Emily David and industry veteran Rick Monday, Chang hoped to bring some of that glory back.
"We want to engage with society and build a bridge through English between the foreign and local communities," he said.
It appears the shakeup is paying off, literally. Chang says that the station, which is a non-profit organization, broke even for the first time in two years. In addition to this, ICRT just over a week ago netted a NT$4 million endorsement from the government to run daily English-learning programs.
While the new programming is yet to have an effect on its ratings, which according to Nielsen Media Research remained stable over the last six months, it has appeared to have halted a slide in its popular rankings. It is now ranked at between seventh and eighth, where it had fallen from sixth position in the last quarter of last year, according to Nielsen.
The ratings may take time to rise. But business and community groups are already lauding the new format.
One segment garnering significant praise is Morning Call from 8am to 11am every weekday and hosted by Monday. The show offers listeners interviews with business people, local bands, restaurant owners and community group leaders.
"When we spot a local business or organization that is launching a new product or is hosting an event, we have them on the program and let them explain it to our listeners," said Monday, who worked at the station throughout the 1980s.
The feedback from guests who have been on the show has so far been positive.
"At first, there was very little response-but after a few weeks it really snowballed," said Mark Griffin, an American chiropractor who now regularly appears on the show to offer advice on health and fitness to listeners.
It's the cost effectiveness combined with exposure that counts. With few other affordable channels to reach a wider audience, non-profit community and business organizations are embracing the chance to get on the air.
"Cost is one of our main concerns for a promotional program because of the limited budget our office has," said Eddie Yen, director of the Idaho-Asia Trade Office.
"The program helped some of our Idaho clients in Taiwan expose their products and services to more new customers," he said.
The station's large foreign audience is also a major draw for organizations that hope to service this group of people who live around the country and may be difficult to reach.
"As our business is all about the organization of events," said Lee Ting (丁勵), executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Taipei.
"The ICRT morning show has been very helpful in helping to spread the word to a larger audience of people," Lee said.
The Community Services Center, a Taipei-based organization that offers counseling, newcomer orientation seminars, cross-cultural adjustment programs and continuing-education classes for foreign residents, is now reaching out to people around Taiwan thanks to ICRT.
"This exposure can be attributed to the morning show as well as the generosity of ICRT to provide radio promos throughout the week to profile our counseling services," said Mary Chua, the center's director.
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