Radio with pictures: Radio visualization in BBC national radio

It is popular to claim that radio has always had pictures – the ones listeners created in their own minds – and this is often seen as one of the medium’s greatest strengths. The process of visualization of radio in the digital age has most often focused on how producers can fill the screen of the various devices through which we receive radio today. This article focuses on the other ways in which radio is visualized online, in a process that deploys transmedia storytelling techniques. It looks at specific examples and explores the way in which these transmedia techniques build relationships with the audience, strengthen brands and create opportunities for broadcasters to tell stories in ways never before possible.