SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH: THE INFLUENCE OF RADIO ON PUBLIC OPINION

The article discusses the current issues of the formation of such a social phenomenon as public opinion. The authors present the results of a sociological study on the impact of radio on listeners. As the study showed, despite the development of digital technologies in obtaining information, radio does not lose its position in conveying to the audience information about events taking place in the world, about cultural events, about innovations in the fields of science, culture, sports, society and politics. The respondents expressed the opinion that trust in radio as a source of important information for radio listeners has not been lost, that this means of mass communication influences the formation of public opinion, and the degree of influence depends on certain qualities of the respondents (for example, demographic, such as age). In the course of a sociological study, the authors found out that radio content is promoted on digital platforms such as applications, podcasts, social networks, and is listened to on smartphones and tablets. The conclusions of the article indicate the importance of such a media as radio in shaping public opinion, therefore, recommendations developed by the authors on improving the effectiveness of radio broadcasting are given