In 1979, the Buggles version of “Video Killed the Radio Star” topped 16 international record sales charts and sold around five million copies worldwide. The song was later used to launch MTV in 1981 and despite the lyrical sentiment, MTV ceased all of its broadcast activity on 31 December 2025. Radio however, continues to thrive and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has as much a chance of killing it as video or television, says Algoa FM managing director Alfie Jay.
“AI is as much a threat to Radio as the Walkman, the 5 CD carousel, WinAmp, and more recently, the smartphone, which offers people access to recorded or downloaded music, streaming services, and podcasts.
“AI is just another tool in radio’s box,” says Jay, who has intimately been involved in the evolution of radio from its analogue era to the continued convergence of digital technology on the medium over close-on four decades.
“Radio has literally outlived all major technological advances since the medium’s first-ever broadcast on Christmas Eve, 1906.
“We (Radio), are in the process of outliving traditional newspapers and magazine print, and have continued to thrive through the television era.
“As radio broadcasters, we seem to have a knack for finding interesting ways to use and incorporate new technology into what we do to the advantage of the medium itself, our listeners, and our advertisers.
“People who write about the demise of radio due to new technology are confusing tech with relationships.
“We use the strengths and benefits of new technology to build on the unique relationship radio has with its audience.
“Radio builds relationships. Technology facilitates that, be it on air, online, or on the ground, as is the case with Algoa FM.”
He uses the example of the mobile phone, which in many cases can serve as a transistor radio by tuning in to the owner’s favourite radio station, wherever they are in the world. “But we also adopted as well as adapted the technology that drives mobile phones to facilitate our remote outside broadcasts.”
“Not only does Algoa FM have regular listeners on every continent, thanks to streaming @alogafm/listen-live via the Internet, but we also use the streaming capabilities built-in to mobile phone technology, to share experiences with our audience, as was the case when we recently broadcast LIVE from the KKNK.
“Throughout South Africa, we also stream our signal via Channel 837 on DStv, and Channel 637 on Openview, both of which broadcast using Satellite technology.
“We’ve been using AI to our advantage for roughly ten years already as we’ve been accessible by asking Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa to ‘Play Algoa FM’ … further demonstrating our “tech-agnostic” approach.
“Our presenters connect with all our listeners via social media, another technological development over International networks dating back about 20 years.
“Whether it’s a quick search via Claude or Gemini, a rephrase of a paragraph on Chat GPT, a fun social media image or video derived through Envato or Artlist’s AI video/image generator – or an ElevenLabs voice-cloning funny bit – we use AI to our advantage and build on our relationships all the time.
Boilerplate and Editor’s Notes.
More Info on Will AI kill the radio star? here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Siyathetha
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SiyathethaCommunications/
CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za.
Track Your Press Release HERE:
Check Online Visibility
Verify where this release is currently indexed:
Otter Public Relations: Otter Public Relations offers comprehensive PR services, including media placements, article writing,
and SEO enhancement, aimed at boosting brand visibility and credibility. Reviews indicate strong performance in media relations and communications, with clients praising their professional
project management and timely delivery. However, some suggest improvements in communication frequency and responsiveness, although overall feedback highlights their reliability and
effective service at a good value.
Dr. Cocktail
“Understanding that customer service is the cornerstone of your customer experience helps you leverage it as an opportunity to delight customers and engage them in new, exciting ways.” ~ Oscar
Napoleonic Haze
There is an enormous pressure placed on gay novelists because they are the only spokespeople. The novelist\’s first obligation is to be true to his own vision, not to be some sort of common denominator or Public Relations man to all gay people. – Edmund White
Nightdream
“Always act like you have something to lose because you always do.” – Kelli Grant