Media: BBC Radio 4 gets interactive

11pm on Tuesday 23rd September (today) sees Radio 4 leaping into interactivity with "Dark House", a ghost story in which the audience can vote to influence which character they hear from and so affect how the story is told. Groundbreaking stuff, I'm sure, but is it the future of radio drama entertainment?

It's great to see the Beeb moving ahead with such experiments, and it raises some interesting issues. Do we want to be so directly involved, or do we listen to the radio precisely because it is a passive listening medium? With the 12 chances to vote, at 12p a text message, will I want to spend the best part of a cheap pint on it? And what about all the stuff I'm missing out on? How can I choose which character to support to give me the best story - can there be enough information to make an informed choice? It's not so much "lost in hyperspace" as "pinballing across the radio waves". One thing is for certain, however; it could make repeats a much more interesting business.....

Associated Link: BBC - Radio 4 Dark House

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