Full moon over Oberhausen: A nighttime spectacle for everyone!

Full moon over Oberhausen: A nighttime spectacle for everyone!

Today is July 10, 2025, and the full moon lights up the night over Cologne. As succinctly as the moon itself, the media landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia is looking at changes that are definitely worth making headlines. The FUNKE media group has decided to reorganize the local radio stations in the region and is planning a radio station model that will come into force at the Essen headquarters from January 2024. This news caused quite a stir among radio producers.

At a time when local radio stations are increasingly struggling with declining reach and advertising revenue, the FUNKE media group wants to bring a breath of fresh air into the business with this step. The editorial teams of Radio Mülheim, Radio Oberhausen, Radio Emscher Lippe and Radio K.W. thus pull together to exploit synergies and strengthen cooperation in reporting. A joint lunchtime program is being planned, which will be broadcast on the channels from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The goal? A sustainable increase in reach and the creation of new jobs - three new editorial positions are being planned, supplemented by four new studios with state-of-the-art equipment in Essen. You can find out more about the specific implementation in the detailed statements from Funkemedien.

The crisis of local radio

But the local radio landscape is anything but rosy. Things are becoming increasingly difficult for the 44 private local radio stations in North Rhine-Westphalia, which were already struggling before the corona pandemic. According to an analysis by the State Media Authority (LfM), the future of local radio is being discussed under the umbrella of the major publishers, which include the FUNKE media group. Many stations, including Radio Emscher Lippe, are recording dramatic declines, not only in the number of listeners, but also in advertising revenue.

A town like Gelsenkirchen, which is considered to be economically weak, is particularly struggling with the consequences. The local WAZ only sells 17,400 copies a day, which corresponds to a loss of 10,000 readers since 2015. Such developments have serious consequences for reporting and communication within urban society. In the course of this change, the purpose of local radio, which was supposed to ensure journalistic diversity in regions, is also being questioned. The editor-in-chief of Radio Emscher Lippe clearly emphasized how important proximity to listeners and local reporting are, which must not be jeopardized by the new structure.

The role of the listeners

Listeners also seem to think about their favorite stations. Despite the challenges, the daily reach of local radio shows around six million listeners in North Rhine-Westphalia - which even exceeds the listenership of WDR. This makes it all the more important for broadcasters to be creative and offer fresh, entertaining formats that appeal to people. A circumstance that radio producers like those at Isso-online know only too well. The challenge is not only to maintain listener numbers, but also to secure them for the future.

The question is all the more exciting: How will reporting develop in the coming years? The new structures and synergies created by the broadcast house model could be the key to a stronger local voice, but concerns about the quality of reporting remain. The listeners can therefore expect some changes.