Abstract

This article investigates how contemporary radio can sustain audiences by balancing continual renewal with fidelity to core formats that cultivate long-term listeners. Drawing on early-1990s Georgian broadcasting experience and comparative examples from the UK, the United States, and Germany, the author examines the strengths of conversational radio and the talk-show model with music-and-news-only programming. It argues that editorial freedom, interactive formats and timely modernisation preserve radio’s immediacy and communal role despite the rise of podcasts. Practical programming principles are proposed to align content with diverse demographics while retaining radio’s identity as a platform for public discourse, community and connection.