When controversial news is delivered to you via TV or Radio broadcaster, how well do you usually walk away truly knowing and empathizing for all sides of the topic? Quickfire portions of highly complicated news stories are delivered to the public on a daily basis We know that in highly politicized countries like America, the media landscape has fragmented around party affiliation (Fox vs. CNBC) and thus news is delivered through a prism of left vs. right, liberal versus conservative. But, even in a non-political media entity, how well can one truly feel and understand the nuances of a debate from a single radio or tv host? Perhaps it is time to reconsider the merits of one form of media that allows for such a plateau of two-way communication; the call-in radio show. On call in shows, debates allow a healthy clash of ideologies and opinions, albeit many a time they are indeed misguided and unnecessarily heated. In a world where “engagement” is the hot topic, there are not enough controlled mediums where opinions can be mediated and weighed up against each other. Indeed a lot has changed since the airwaves “told you” what was going on the world. These days, the tables have turned and listeners can tell the world how they feel. “Talk radio” as it is more commonly referred to, engages directly with listeners and asks for their shared participation on relevant matters. This prompts a wide range of debatable ideologies, rivaled between representatives of opinion. Now, by no means does this stem any form of passionate voicing as situations will always call for people to group together - weather they like it or not - and subconsciously form the foundation of opposing sides. There will always be a separation of mindsets and there will almost undoubtedly be niche groupings who don’t agree with everything that their side upholds to - it’s the nature of segmentation. There is always going to be a point in every radio host’s life when the facilitation of two opposing opinions will become so intense that silence on the receiving end might be their best tool in gaining heartfelt insights. Two-way communication brought to life by broadcast communication technologies is in fact a perfect example of effective crowdsourcing. Providing a platform to voice the ideas anyone willing to participate is reflective of collecting invaluable quantitative and qualitative data. The end result is to offer the listeners an all-encompassing, multi perspective view on an issue. A shift in the understanding towards the ideas of others carries with it the potential to bring forth sustainable resolutions to settle conflicts, find more constructive solutions, and avoid unforeseeable risks. This observation is white gold for industry leaders, as this simple method can be utilised and adapted to formulate a crystal clear feedback strategy within any organization, business, creative department or ad agency. Curated conversations, sparked by opinionated preferences, unique perspectives, and fresh ideas reveal deeper truths and a measurable foresight into the “hot button” of market differentiation. This method could prove innovative to the financial and labour efficiency of research practice - allowing unfiltered and raw feedback without interference will certainly warrant invaluable information to be recorded. The best outcome from a radio calamity is two opposing sides agreeing to disagree. Many shifts of reasoning have been adhered to and radio has worked its magic in enabling, to this day, the most neutral landscape of opinions. This remarkable crowdsourcing tool is not limited to its uses in the field of marketing as the aspect of facilitating committees of external debate can better address the challenges of management, PR and even political reform. Contributed by Cameron Smith