Daniel Razon wants to bring back glory of radio

Remember the days when you woke up to the sound of the radio playing your grandparents’ favorite songs or checking the morning news with your parents?

That was before TV took over households by storm and became the medium of the moment.

Veteran broadcaster Daniel Razon has good news for those who miss the good old days. The chair/ CEO of Breakthrough and Milestones Productions Inc., which manages UNTV 37, is  formally launching Unradio La Verdad 1350, Tapat at Totoo, UNTV’s radio arm Monday,  Jan. 16, 2012.

His mission: “to bring back the glory of radio.”

Kuya Daniel, as he is fondly called, knows he is going against the tide in this age of TV mania.  He is shunning the teleradyo kind of programming. La Verdad will be pure audio, no video.

Announcers and anchors will again be heard, not seen.  Their looks will be a mystery listeners would like to unravel. Teenagers will again dream of meeting their favorite deejay face to face. Reports will again spark a thousand and one images in the listeners’ minds.

That’s why Razon is thinking big. For starters, he has put up 20 relay stations nationwide. He is eyeing 60 more.

No to teleradyo

Why is Razon ignoring the teleradyo bandwagon?

“Mas nabibigyan mo sila (radio listeners) ng mas malawak na imagination.  Nadadala mo sila sa isang dimension na ikaw ang lumikha,” he names the virtues of radio.

He cites a radio report on a road accident.

“Sinasabi mo, dito ang tama, ganito, ganyan ang nangyari. Hindi mo nakikita yon. Pero  na-imaging mo ang lahat through the description of the reporter.”

In contrast, TV’s visuals make certain words a waste of time.

“TV is supported by video. So hindi mo kailangan sabihin na ‘susuntukin na niya’ or ganito o ganyan,” Razon explains.

These clipped reports, he laments, make the quality of radio reporting suffer.  

“Sa radyo, sanay na walang script, outline lang. Pero sa TV, ultimo yung ‘babalik kami’, nakaprompter yan,” Razon observes. ”At walang putol sa ere.”

This is why radio reporters who shift to TV reporting have an easy time in the new job, he goes on. And TV reporters who try radio have a hard time.

“Yung nagra-radyo, pagdating sa TV, kakainin ka niyan.”

He admits bringing back radio’s old glory is not easy. 

But this battle-worn media man is not scared. He has been criticized for ideas others thought were far-fetched, only to be proven right in the end.

UNTV reporters themselves first balked at Razon’s idea of turning them into rescuers when disasters strike. They didn’t buy the idea of applying first aid before reporting the news.

Rescue first, report later

But Razon insisted: Rescue first, report later, or even not at all. UNTV reporters are certified rescuers. Today, UNTV reporters wear two hats: that of rescuer and media men.

Mr. Public Service, as he is also called, won again.

Public service is a calling Razon heeded since he was in school.

“Elementary pa lang, mahilig na kong manlibre,” he recalls.

It’s also a case of omission and commission.

“Yung opportunity na binigay sa ‘yo to do good to other people ang nagbibigay sa ‘yon ng pananagutan (commission).  Pero pag may alam kang mabuti na di mo ginawa, that’s omission.”

Razon would rather give than receive because “kaya naman may naibibigay ka dahil ipinagkaloob din yon sa ‘yo ng Nasa Itaas.”

Yes, he runs the risk of being overburdened, even fooled for his kindness.  But Razon thinks that’s no reason to quit his good deeds the same way that being in a car accident doesn’t mean the victim will give up driving.

“Dapat ipagpatuloy mo ang paggawa ng mabuti or else you will face the consequences.”

Razon’s public service show, for instance, “Munting Pangarap” aims to help the needy by providing capital for a small business, medical assistance, and others.

Paying it forward

There are no expectations. Just a request to pay it forward.

“May special episode kami na gagawin to be aired in January.  We will feature yung mga nakatulong sa iba,” Razon reveals.

Another program, “Bidang Pinoy” (Thursdays, 4:30 to 5 p.m.) features rags-to-riches business stories. Razon again asks the successful entrepreneurs in the show to share their experience with struggling small businessmen.

A scholarship program for mass communication and nursing students provides free tuition, uniforms, books, transportation and meals to needy but deserving youths.

Some of the graduates, reports Razon, are now working in UNTV and its free medical clinics.

“We’re looking forward to expanding the program and innovating apart from our tie-up with the Education Department,” Razon reveals.

Two UNTV buses give free rides to the public while 10 motorcycles with sidecars serve as classrooms on wheels in various barangays.

The reward?

“The only thing na gusto kong makuha kung meron man ay magawa ko ang gusto ng Nasa Itaas. I am not motivated sa kikitaain ko or sa papuri ng iba,” states Razon.

So let the trophies (the latest of which is for Outstanding Male News Presenter at Enpress’ Golden Screen TV Awards 2011) stand proudly on his table.  Razon will receive them gladly, but he will not let them get the better of him.

Public service, for him, comes from the heart, never from the drive to be above everyone else.