IsraelNationalRadio.com’s Virtual Studio enables listeners to, with the click of a button, get in line to talk live on the broadcast they are listening to. When a listener clicks on the microphone icon in the Virtual Studio, they receive a number indicating where they stand on line and the show host can then bring him or her on the air to respond to the words of a Knesset member or share their opinion on an assertion made by a host.
The interaction is made possible by the “Virtual Studio” plug-in, which displays internet web pages directed by the broadcasters on half of its interface page, while enabling listeners to chat with one another and with the talk-show hosts as well, on the other half.
Though use of the Virtual Studio, which is free, began less than a month ago, dozens of listeners fill the chat room for hours each day, participating actively in the broadcasts.
“We treat it as though people have actually entered our studio here in Beit El,” said host Eli Stutz of the Stutz & Fleisher Show. “The page allows listeners to enter the room whenever there is a live broadcast, usually around four hours a day, and allows them to chat with one another, to share their thoughts and opinions, and to request to be put directly on the air to respond or add to the conversation on the live broadcast. All they need is a microphone hooked up to their computer – they can ask questions, say what’s on their mind, and everyone can hear them.”
The Virtual Studio technology has caught the attention of Israel’s media, with the Maariv daily writing a feature piece on the Virtual Studio. As of now, Israel National Radio is the only broadcasting company to possess the program. It was made possible through a listener who put Israel National Radio in touch with the creator of the program. “The program is still in its development stage, so we are the first to experiment with it,” Stutz said. “Right now we have received it free of charge, but eventually other companies will surely purchase it as well.”
The program still has bugs. As of now, the broadcaster and Virtual Studio guests may not speak at the same time, making dialogue between the chat room and the radio hosts difficult. “If I want to bring them on the air, I press a button directing the broadcast to their microphone and when they finish, it automatically returns to our studio.”
Broadcasters continue to discover new ways of using the Virtual Studio’s features. Two weeks ago, when Jerusalem’s Old City filled to capacity with worshippers praying to G-d at the Western Wall for the cancellation of the Disengagement, the upper half of the Virtual Studio displayed a live feed from the Western Wall via TheKotel.org.
Hosts are also considering using web cameras to allow listeners a peek inside the actual studio from time to time.
The Virtual Studio is not the only technological advance made in recent months by Israel National Radio. The Arutz Sheva toolbar is being offered free of charge and allows the thousands of internet users who have downloaded it quick access to all four of Arutz-7’s media (IsraelNationalTV.com, IsraelNationalNews.com, IsraelNationalRadio.com and the Daily Email subscription), along with a multi-search engine, through a small interface that docks to the top of one’s web browser. It can be downloaded by clicking here.
“Since Arutz-7 was taken off the air in Israel by the powers that be, Israel National Radio has invested much resources and talent toward developing technology to reach and touch people,” said Israel National Radio Director of Programming Yishai Fleisher. “While the government strives to shut the mouths of those offering an alternative narrative, we seek to give the microphone to people who believe that we can build a different future and have a grand destiny here in the Land of Israel.”