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Key research themes
1. How is podcasting transforming traditional radio into on-demand digital audio for younger audiences?
This research area focuses on the evolution of traditional speech-based radio stations integrating podcasting and on-demand audio to attract typically elusive younger audiences, particularly Generation Z. It matters because it addresses radio’s adaptation to digital consumption habits by blending live broadcast with on-demand formats, impacting audience engagement, retention, and strategic distribution in the Internet era.
Key finding: Through a mixed quantitative and qualitative content and interview analysis, this study found that major Spanish speech-based radio broadcasters (e.g., Cadena SER, COPE) strategically use podcasts to repurpose live content... Read more
Key finding: Utilizing quantitative audience data and digital consumption surveys, this work shows that conventional synchronous radio’s unidirectional nature causes youth disengagement, with only 10.4% of 14-24 age group consuming radio... Read more
Key finding: Applying a qualitative methodology including community interviews and document analysis, this case illustrates how community radio—in a rural educational environment—leverages participative broadcast strategies to foster... Read more
2. In what ways does Internet technology facilitate hybrid and multimedia radio models enhancing content accessibility and interactivity?
This theme investigates the technological convergence underpinning hybrid radio—integrating traditional FM/DAB transmission with Internet-based streaming and on-demand services—and the resulting expansion of radio content accessibility, personalization, interactivity, and multimedia enrichment. It is significant for its implications on radio’s economic sustainability, audience reach, and content delivery innovation in the digital media ecosystem.
Key finding: Through theoretical framing of digital convergence and empirical analysis of hybrid radio’s technological landscape, the study documents how integration of analog and digital signals with internet connectivity enables... Read more
Key finding: Employing a triangulated methodological approach combining documentary analysis and audience usage data, the research reveals that despite low current penetration for advanced web radio services, users highly value and... Read more
Key finding: Through a comparative content and web communication strategy analysis of leading Spanish talk and music radio networks’ websites over multiple seasons, this study identifies distinct multimedia content expansion, promotional... Read more
3. What roles do community and alternative internet-based radios play in promoting local participation, identity, and democratization in the digital era?
Research under this theme explores community radios which operate primarily or exclusively online, emphasizing their function as platforms for local civic engagement, cultural identity reinforcement, and alternative media democratization. Their digital nature confronts regulatory and sustainability challenges but offers unique opportunities for community involvement and diverse content production, relevant for measuring radio’s social impact beyond commercial mainstream broadcasting.
Key finding: This empirical study maps 21 Portuguese community radio projects exclusively on the Internet, showing that such stations rely heavily on volunteer participation to produce diverse, locally relevant content unavailable on... Read more
Key finding: Drawing on extensive bibliographical research and interviews, this investigation defines and categorizes Portuguese community radios, evidencing their recent emergence despite legal invisibility and predominantly digital... Read more
Key finding: Qualitative analysis including community interviews reveals that this educational community radio fosters social participation and strengthens rural youth’s cultural identity, demonstrating radio’s function not only as an... Read more