Italian university radio: An explorative study

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to describe the medium of university radio, specifically web radio, in an Italian context through analysis of international and Italian literature on the topic. Additionally, the results of a survey submitted to Italian university radio station managers will be analysed in detail. The outcomes of the survey are used to underline specific features of Italian projects, especially the features involving the main creators, costs and reasons for creation of the stations, as well as their objectives, contents and critical aspects. The survey also helps to alleviate a lack of specific studies on this topic in the Italian scenario. Experiences that come under the term university media experiment with language and form, express a desire to communicate values, patterns and reflections and represent a new generation, a community, of young consumers and journalists. The sense of community is a strategic concept and university radio can be included in the category of community media. However, there are some particular aspects that make university radio a unique form of media. One of these aspects is education, a facet of university radio that is strongly linked to digital environments such as the Internet.