MUMBAI: In a quest to introduce something new on-air, MY FM has developed a format that is run across 17 of their stations; a radio documentary titled 'India Ke Dil Ki Baat'. It was conceptualised keeping in mind the need to create awareness about issues existing in society.

The weekly show will be aired every Wednesday at 10am across all 17 stations of the network. MY FM national programming head Viplove Gupte said, "We understood that there is a vaccum in terms of knowledge among our listeners. They are aware of various issues and topics that exist in society, but lack complete or in-depth knowledge about them. Through the series, we are trying to provide them information provided by experts in various fields." The very first episode, run on April fool's Day, revolved around racial slur targeted towards Indians living abroad and the reasons why a person from a different state within India is exposed to such treatment from his own fellow citizens. This issue on MY FM was discussed by famous psychologist Deepak Raheja, former Indian Ambassador to USA, Meera Shankar and people living in Australia.

The program will be approximately eight minutes long, and will air during the morning show. He also explained the reason behind calling it a radio documentary. Gupte stated, "When we developed the program and heard the final product, the team of MY FM realised that it sounded like a documentary with no visuals. The way the anchor connects various aspects on the show."

The anchoring of the show is done by one of the team members in the programming team. "We did not want it to sound as a typical radio show which is why we did not include an RJ in the show." It is a scripted and pre-recorded documentary which will deal with current and relevant issues pertaining to listeners.

In the upcoming episode, topics such Sec 66A Freedom on Internet, Land Acquisition Bill, the dark side of match fixing etc. will be taken up. The network has also created a bank of two episodes which are re-packaged as and when required.

The network ran a test pilot of the show on all its stations before actually launching it. Commenting on the listeners and their frame of mind that always turned to radio for infotainment, Gupte said, "There is a myth that listeners on a weekday and weekend vary, but I think those who listen to the radio enjoy the medium throughout the week. I also believe that listeners have always been mature, be it any content as we have always provided them with mature content unlike some of the other stations."

Gupte added that being part of the Dainik Bhaskar group, the radio network has to create responsible content. He cited the example of the group's campaign of not breaking bad news on Monday. He further went to add that MY FM's brand campaign is run across various platforms which is why the new radio show will only be promoted on-air and digitally, to avoid any form of clashes.

The network is working on a couple of new shows and new activities, which will only be made live after the pilot testing takes place.