The radio university as a public service : programming models in Spain

Abstract

As media education emerges as a worldwide field of knowledge, more training and research is needed in media literacy in the fight for a more democratic, plural and participative media that is mindful of social and civic issues. The aim of media literacy is to educate the audience into becoming more critical and adept at deciphering the media message. In the current media context, university radios are now a consolidated reality. Internet and the new technologies have contributed to their expansion, transforming traditional radio into a new interactive concept. Although university radios have existed for years, it is only now, thanks to Internet and the commitment of universities, that they are endowed with new communicative, transformative capabilities without succumbing to commercial demands. This paperwork discusses the programming of seventeen Spanish college radio stations. For this, websites and blogs have been revised, highlighting programs and advertising that are dedicated to developing content with a social turns and civic participation. Today’s university radio provides a perfect framework for media education to show that an alternative medium that differs substantially from commercial radio is possible, with public service, citizenship training and focus on social development as its main goals, avoiding the tyranny of listener share and the business pressures imposed on commercial broadcasters. It also analyzes the social intervention in college radio charts, as an opportunity to present an alternative dialogue, in terms of the development of a bigger critical audience, all as a practical example of what media education can achieve.