Spanish Radio Research Articles

Evading Censorship. Spanish Radio Disobedience During Late Francoism

Unlike in neighbouring countries, Spanish radio stations were subject to a severe censorship regime for most of the twentieth century. After the end of the civil war (1939), General Franco’s regime issued regulations to control the press and radio. In the case of newspapers, the Press Act (1966) eased this surveillance, but such relief did not apply to radio broadcasting. However, in the second half of Franco’s dictatorship, some local stations and, especially, a nation-wide radio station (Cadena SER) tried to bypass restrictions set by the authorities. This article covers different initiatives, paying special attention to those developed by Cadena SER, which played a decisive role in liberalising information. To this end, journalists who played a key role in this transition were interviewed. As a result of this research, it has been observed that, despite the threats, disobedience was a constant from the 1960s onwards. Such disobedience was not always aimed at fighting the regime during this time of social change, but also responded to the broadcasters’ commercial strategies. It has also been found that certain authorities facilitated these activities through their personal influence.

Less Partisan and Less Aggressive? The Impact of Covid-19 on the Media Discourse of “El Clásico” on Spanish Radio

The football rivalry between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona is one of the most popular at club level globally. In Spain, where it is known as El Clásico (the Classic), it has an unrivalled status in the sports media industry. Its significance relies in part to the historical tension between Catalonia, the region of which Barcelona is the main centre, and Madrid, the capital of Spain. The exaltation of confrontation and partisanship is the central feature of highly popular radio programmes devoted to El Clásico. This study aimed to observe how the media discourse articulated by these programmes was affected by the fact that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, matches were played in empty venues. Through the comparisons of broadcasts of two games, one from 2017 and from 2020, the paper shows that the sensationalistic style is toned down, and a less polarised and partisan sports journalism is possible.

La Pastorela

La Pastorela

Diversity and public television: analysis of subtitling as an accessibility service

The present article addresses media pluralism from a critical perspective, as a guarantor of attention to social and cultural diversity. The study focuses on deaf individuals, and an analysis is conducted of subtitles as one of the services that guarantees universal access to the contents offered by Spanish Radio and Television (Radiotelevisión Española, RTVE) for social and cultural diversity. Likewise, given the changes in audiovisual consumption in the form of streaming, and the rise of on-demand content, an analysis is not only performed of linear television, but also of live online and on-demand content. For this, a quantitative analysis was performed of a random sample of more than 5000 RTVE programs (2017-2018), to establish the number of subtitled programs for deaf individuals, their schedule, and the types of contents that included this service. Also, a qualitative analysis was performed on a sample of 72 programs distributed among the different channels belonging to this public corporation. Lastly, to evaluate the quality and suitability of the subtitles, an online survey was provided, which was completed by 183 deaf individuals who were users of the RTVE subtitles. Through this combination of methods, we were able to analyze and evaluate the cultural pluralism of RTVE through the subtitles provided for the deaf, associating it with the defense of the fundamental right of freedom of expression and social inclusion, values that must be guaranteed in democratic societies.

The Domain Mismatch Problem in the Broadcast Speaker Attribution Task

The demand of high-quality metadata for the available multimedia content requires the development of new techniques able to correctly identify more and more information, including the speaker information. The task known as speaker attribution aims at identifying all or part of the speakers in the audio under analysis. In this work, we carry out a study of the speaker attribution problem in the broadcast domain. Through our experiments, we illustrate the positive impact of diarization on the final performance. Additionally, we show the influence of the variability present in broadcast data, depicting the broadcast domain as a collection of subdomains with particular characteristics. Taking these two factors into account, we also propose alternative approximations robust against domain mismatch. These approximations include a semisupervised alternative as well as a totally unsupervised new hybrid solution fusing diarization and speaker assignment. Thanks to these two approximations, our performance is boosted around a relative 50%. The analysis has been carried out using the corpus for the Albayzín 2020 challenge, a diarization and speaker attribution evaluation working with broadcast data. These data, provided by Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), the Spanish public Radio and TV Corporation, include multiple shows and genres to analyze the impact of new speech technologies in real-world scenarios.

De Radio 80 a M80 Radio: 36 años de metamorfosis sonora (1982-2018)

El presente artículo tiene como objetivo recorrer la historia de Radio 80, una emisora generalista en sus orígenes, pero que, a lo largo de sus casi cuatro décadas de existencia, experimentó diferentes y muy notables transformaciones, convirtiéndose en una radio musical de gran popularidad como Radio 80 Serie Oro, primero; y como M80, más tarde, hasta dejar paso a LOS40 Classic. Aunque no es posible comprender los últimos cincuenta años de historia de la radio española sin hacer referencia a esta cadena, apenas ha sido estudiada. Con este objeto, se ha realizado una investigación cualitativa, recolectando información valiosa de fuentes primarias mediante entrevistas en profundidad a destacados directivos de la emisora en los momentos clave de su historia. Como resultado, se ha podido trazar con precisión su recorrido histórico, conocer las razones de su constante metamorfosis y analizar cómo cada transmutación fue influyendo en sus resultados de audiencia.

False and misleading health-related claims in food supplements on Spanish radio: an analysis from a European Regulatory Framework.

The excessive growth of the food supplements' industry highlights the need to focus attention on all aspects involved in their proper consumption; one that takes centre stage is advertising. The aim of this research is to analyse the presence of false and misleading claims in food supplements advertising. To this end, a relationship is established between the different types of health-related claims and the substances on which they are based, whether authorised or not by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This empirical work conducts a content analysis of all radio mentions broadcast throughout 2017 on news/talk radio stations. Spain. All radio mentions broadcast on news/talk commercial radio stations in Spain with the highest audience levels. The corpus is composed of 437 advertisements. Results indicate that 80·3 % of function claims included in the analysed advertisements are not authorised by EFSA, while 20·4 % of disease claims are not allowed by EU regulation. Likewise, almost half of the substances referred to (43·7 %) are illicit: 54·1 % in function claims, 57·3 % in disease claims and 73·7 % in the case of reduction of disease risk claims. This work reveals consistent failures to comply with European regulation on food supplements advertising. The widespread use of unauthorised health claims and substances is aggravated by the indirect recourse of illness as a persuasive argument, descriptions of alleged benefits as product attributes and the omission of essential information. This leads to dangerous misinformation and can pose serious health risks. Stronger legal mechanisms are needed for effective consumer protection.

Feminist Stereotypes and Women’s Roles in Spanish Radio Ads

This article takes a quantitative approach to Spanish radio advertising and the stereotypes and female roles that it broadcasts in a medium that has traditionally had high female audience rates in our country. From content analysis of 679 radio ads extracted from the 3 main general Spanish radio stations and collected 10 years apart, the study attempts to show the evolution (or regression) of how radio advertising portrays women. The radio in Spain has always been a medium anchored in the real world that has also provided some degree of space to broadcast social movement. #MeToo, as a phenomenon promoting female empowerment, was no exception. Therefore, this longitudinal study aims to demonstrate whether the social movements that led to increased female activism have been reflected in a change of roles and stereotypes projected by radio advertising messages. The work presented here looks at the concept of role from a dual perspective: firstly, it focuses on the role played by female voices in radio advertising items. Secondly, it works on the concept of role by assimilating it into the female image projected in radio advertising items. The results obtained between the two samples are remarkably similar, demonstrating a clear tendency to polarise the female image and confirming that women are still being portrayed in significantly traditional roles.

Fact-Checking, a Public Service Value in the Face of the Hoaxes of the Healthcare Crisis

The dissemination of fake news is an increasing issue in the media ecosys­tem, which has worsened with the current healthcare crisis. Pandemic-re­lated hoaxes challenge media, which have not hesitated to implement dif­ferent plans to combat these contents. The objective of this research is to ana­lyse the structure, make-up and proce­dures of fact-checking units that have been created in the newsrooms of the public service media (PSM) in Spain to refute false and unreliable information related to coronavirus. Two initiatives were studied: RTVE Verifica, belonging to the Spanish Radio and Television Corporation, and Coronabulos, from the public entity of the Basque govern­ment, EiTB. The method used is based on case studies, web content analysis and in-depth semi-structured inter­views with those responsible for these departments. Such a triangulation of techniques has allowed us to draw conclusions and provide interesting ex­amples to the research. The results re­veal that these sections use traditional techniques and technological applica­tions to verify content related mainly to healthcare and pseudoscientific infor­mation, which are published on corpo­rate websites and social media. Keywords: hoaxes, coronavirus, healthcare crisis, fact-checking, public service media.

Spanish phraseology in formal and informal spontaneous oral language production

Abstract The study presented in this paper aims to perform a comprehensive analysis of the use of phraseological units (PUs) in contemporary Spanish according to two different levels of oral language production: (a) spontaneous informal (on the basis of conversations uttered among the contestants of the Spanish version of the reality show Big Brother), (b) spontaneous formal (on the basis of interviews performed on Spanish radio and TV programmes). The configuration of Spanish phraseology as it is used in formal and informal spontaneous oral language production will be investigated according to four variables: frequency distribution, typological distribution, stylistic distribution, and individual distribution. It will be shown that a) the more informal the discourse context, the higher the frequency of use of PUs, b) that idioms (and not routine formulae or proverbs) are clearly dominant in both formal and informal oral contexts, c) that there are speakers in formal discourse contexts who often utter informal PUs, d) that vulgar vs. non-vulgar PUs – and not so much informal vs. non-informal PUs – is the main disagreement between formal and informal spontaneous oral contexts, and e) that using vulgar PUs more or less frequently would be a highly individual issue.

La cobertura de la Cumbre del Clima Chile Madrid COP25 en los informativos de la radio española

En pleno debate sobre la gravedad de la crisis climática y en un contexto geopolítico global convulso, Madrid albergó en diciembre de 2019 la Cumbre del Clima. Esta investigación analiza la cobertura que realizaron de la COP25 las cuatro cadenas radiofónicas españolas de mayor audiencia: Cadena SER, COPE, Onda Cero y Radio Nacional de España. Para ello, se ha realizado un análisis de contenido de los informativos de ámbito nacional que las cuatro cadenas emitieron desde el inicio hasta la finalización de la Cumbre. Los principales objetivos son, describir los aspectos formales de la cobertura, establecer los temas que prevalecen y determinar el protagonismo que tuvo la Cumbre en la radio española en los informativos. La investigación revela que la radio, contrariamente a lo que concluyen otros estudios centrados en la prensa, la televisión y los medios digitales, concedió una gran importancia a la Cumbre de Madrid tanto en tiempo –en minutos de emisión– como en la posición en parrilla de las informaciones sobre el foro. Además, los resultados del estudio revelan un mayor protagonismo de los temas políticos, especialmente en lo relativo a la negociación entre los países participantes, frente a los asuntos vinculados con lo científico y lo social.

Endorsers’ presence in regulation and endorsements in dietary supplements’ advertising on Spanish radio

Healthy lifestyles provide a market niche for products offering health benefits in a context where consumers have a misconception of the characteristics and functions of dietary supplements (DS). Due to an increase of endorsers’ advertising persuasion, their presence is limited and, in some cases, forbidden. The main objective of this work is to analyse the presence of endorsers in DS advertising on Spanish radio in order to verify its compliance with current legislation and determine the endorsements’ characteristics. Specifically, this paper analyses the quantity, frequency, placement and endorsement type of DS spots on full-service radio stations. Content analysis of the totality of radio spots broadcast throughout the year 2017 is conducted, deriving a corpus of 165 different radio spots belonging to the product category of dietary supplements, broadcast a total of 10,566 times. The results show that 40% of radio spots use endorsers not allowed by law, such as health care professionals, typical consumers and celebrities. The latter have an unusually high presence in DS radio advertising, with one out of four spots featuring celebrities or opinion leaders, including journalists and radio hosts as well as a frequent use of testimonial endorsements. Implications for health and public policy are made.

Ficción radiofónica en tiempos de crisis: Ficción Sonora de RNE (2009-2015)

En la presente aportación se ofrecen los datos obtenidos tras una investigación[1] en la se han recopilado y analizando las ficciones radiofónicas incluidas dentro del espacio Ficción Sonora de RNE entre los años 2009 y 2015. Mediante el análisis de contenido establecemos las principales características de la ficción emitida en esos años ya que la consideramos responsable del mantenimiento del género en la radio española en la actualidad. El medio se adaptaba a los nuevos públicos y demandas del mercado.
 
 [1] Investigación realizada en el seno del Doctorado en Español. Lingüística, Literatura y Comunicación. Tesis Doctoral Ficción Sonora. Análisis de contenido de las emisiones en Radio Nacional de España (2009-2015) (inédita), defendida en la Universidad de Valladolid en octubre de 2017.

Dietary supplements’ endorsements. A content analysis of claims and appeals on Spanish radio

The aims of this study are to analyze the presence of endorsers in DS advertising on Spanish radio and the health-related product information of endorsements on full service Spanish radio. To this end, the content analysis of all radio spots broadcast throughout the year 2017 is conducted, deriving a corpus of 165 different radio spots belonging to the product category of dietary supplements, broadcast a total of 10,566 times. According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, endorsers are a peripheral cue and increase advertising persuasion. The main results show that the most prevalent type of endorser in DS radio spots is the anonymous spokesperson, followed by celebrities, and that endorsers use explicit claims more frequently than implicit claims. Additionally, experts and celebrities use rational appeals more frequently while emotional appeals predominate in endorsements by typical consumers. Thus, rational appeals are prevalent in endorsements voiced by the most credible endorsers: experts and celebrities. That is, the higher the social recognition and credibility of the endorser, the greater the weight of direct, explicit and rational arguments in the message, while less attention is given to emotional appeals.

La cobertura de la Cumbre del Clima Chile Madrid COP25 en los informativos de la radio española

Under discussion about the severity of the climate crisis and in a turbulent global geopolitical context, Madrid hosted the Climate Summit in December 2019. This research assess the coverage of the COP25 of the four Spanish radio stations with the highest audience: Cadena SER, COPE, Onda Cero and Radio Nacional de Espana. For this, a content analysis of the national news programs that the four channels issued from the beginning to the end of the Summit has been carried out. The main objectives are to describe the formal aspects of the coverage, establish the prevailing themes and determine the prominence of the Summit in Spanish radio in the radio news. The investigation reveals that radio, contrary to what other studies focusing on the press, television and digital media conclude, attaches great importance to the Madrid Summit both in time and in the position on the grid of information on the forum. In addition, the study reveals a greater prominence of political issues, especially in relation to the negotiation between the participating countries, compared to issues related to the scientific and social.

Profession, radio speaker. The female voices of the Spanish radio before Franco

El propósito de este trabajo es dar visibilidad a las primeras locutoras de radio de España ofreciendo una descripción de su labor en la radio para evidenciar, a partir de una metodología cualitativa, cómo su trabajo era el mismo que realizaban sus compañeros varones. Así, aparte de glosar algunas célebres locutoras que trabajaron durante los años 20 en Catalunya y de rendir tributo a la que fue primera locutora de España, se reconocerá la profesionalidad de otras muchas mujeres que ejercieron el oficio en la década de los 30 en distintas emisoras españolas.

The Use of Radio Advertorials in Spanish Radio Stations

Radio advertorials (RA) are long advertisements broadcasted within the programming and executed by journalists to imitate editorial content. An analysis of their presence, use and characteristics confirms that journalists and radio owners are not rigorous in the application of the codes of conduct that regulate this advertising feature in Spain. This work focuses on these rules and propose a matrix of variables, such as time slot, product category, type of endorser, advertiser identification, format and copy text style, which identifies these inappropriate practices in the sample under study. The results show that RAs are more prevalent during time slots with higher audience ratings and in programmes hosted by well-known radio personalities. Also, most RAs are embedded within the editorial content of programmes and are formatted as interviews, and their copy style is informative.

The Image of Edgar Allan Poe and Its Treatment in the Context of Spanish Television and Radio

11 Ricardo Marin Ruiz, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.Nowadays, Edgar Allan Poe’s status as an icon of popular culture is an incontrovertible fact. The image of the American writer inspir...

WhatsApp as a Tool for Participation on Spanish Radio: A Preliminary Study of the Program Las Mañanas on RNE

This study was conducted in an environment of widespread use of social media and mobile applications in the mass media. The general goal of the study was to analyze the use of WhatsApp in cybermedia, specifically in radio. A case study was proposed to examine the use of WhatsApp on the program Las mañanas de RNE, broadcast by Spanish National Radio. It was found that the public was very accepting of the program’s initiative to solicit WhatsApp voice messages, beginning in November 2015. The case study used audio files of a direct broadcast that included specific times for audience participation. The use of WhatsApp was accepted by the audience, in addition to the use of the conventional telephone, as a tool well-suited to listener participation in radio programming. Finally, the study highlights the importance of interactive, participatory spaces in broadcasts through the creation of synergies with new forms of online participation.

Realización, lenguaje y elecciones narrativas de radioteatro: tres aproximaciones a la creación de espacios sonoros en el tiempo

Crear en el ámbito del tiempo un espacio que no existe en ningún otro lugar y hacer que en ese espacio actúen los personajes es lo que denominamos radioteatro. El radioteatro es un género de ficción que tuvo destacada presencia en las principales cadenas de radio españolas hasta finales de la década de los ochenta. Desde entonces, salvo excepciones como, entre 1994 y 2003, las celebradas Sobrenatural e Historias de Juan José Plans en Radio 1 y la apuesta de Radio 3 entre los años 1999 y 2003, con la emisión del serial de Carlos Faraco Cuando Juan y Tula fueron a Siritinga y otras muchas ficciones dramatizadas para radio, el formato ha tenido escaso protagonismo en la radio española. Sin embargo, a partir de la segunda década de este siglo, que ha asistido incluso a la convocatoria del Congreso Internacional de Radioteatro impulsado por la Escuela TEA FM de Zaragoza, ya por su IV edición, crece el interés entre profesionales y estudiantes por el radioteatro. Igualmente, las grandes cadenas empiezan a recuperar, aun tímidamente, este tipo de programas. Dos ejemplos: en la radio pública estatal espacios como su producción estelar serializada El Quijote del siglo XXI, además de otros contenidos de ficción con periodicidad semestral; y, desde la radio privada, en la Cadena SER, la serie de Mónica León Negra y Criminal o el Cuento de Navidad, con el que ha venido felicitando a los oyentes las tres últimas temporadas. En este artículo se aborda el concepto de radioteatro, otras expresiones de ficción radiofónica y el devenir de este género de programación por las parrillas de las principales cadenas de radio a lo largo de su historia. Finalmente, se ofrecen los resultados de tres aproximaciones a la ficción dramatizada para la radio, a través de diferentes maneras de abordar la narración, la acción y el lenguaje radiofónico en tres obras producidas por Radio Nacional de España: Cabeza de Vaca: Las vidas de Alvar Núñez, Herederos del tiempo y El corazón de las tinieblas