With the recent merger of the two main pay satellite radio services Sirius and XM Radio many people are starting to wonder how radio can survive in a world dominated by video. People enjoy the occasional audio stimulus but there is always that eternal search for the video that goes with the audio, as people seem to find it easier to associate images with events rather than just audio. As video and photographic images become more popular and become the norm for any multimedia presentation found on the internet the question becomes whether or not people still have the imagination necessary to make radio popular or whether radio will just fade away and good audio will become a permanent slave to video.

Ever since the launch of Music Television, known more widely as MTV, people have come to expect a video presentation along with their music and in some cases the video presentation has become as important, or more important, than the audio itself. While radio cannot compete with the popularity of video images there is a convenience to radio that will always assure that music has a home on your radio dial. You cannot watch a video while driving your car, going for a jog, or shopping for groceries. Even with the introduction of the small screen video devices you still need to focus your eyes on more important things when you are doing these activities and for that reason there will always be a need for quality audio. Musicians have to focus just as much on the visual presentation of their music as they do on the actual music itself and that has changed the entire music industry but in the end it is still about the audio. Audio will always have a home in music and regardless of how that audio is presented there will always be people that will create a demand for quality audio.

But what about radio? How will radio as a medium survive these video times? It seems that one of the most basic of human activities has found a permanent and popular home on our radio airwaves and that basic human activity has not only helped radio survive but it has also helped radio expand. That basic human activity is talking. It costs a great deal more money to put on a television program that is interactive to people all over the country but radio has the ability to create conversation with people anywhere in the world for a relatively low cost and it seems that people love talking to talk show hosts on the radio.

The radio is becoming a pulpit for political pundits, a vehicle for sports figured to plead their case to the masses, and a way for civic leaders to gauge the opinion of their constituents. As long as people love to talk, and love to express their opinions, it appears as though there will always be a future for radio. Radio talk show hosts can sometimes cross lines like any television host can but it is up to the imagination of the listener to fill in the blanks left behind by this audio only medium.