[Commlist] CFP Quaderns del CAC issue 50 – Radio: memory, resilience and transformation

CFP Quaderns del CAC issue 50 – October 2024

Radio: memory, resilience and transformation

**Deadline: 27 May 2024**

You can send your texts via the OJS platform of Quaderns del CAC in RACO.

< https://raco.cat/index.php/QuadernsCAC/about/submissions>

Quaderns del CAC is a n electronic scientific journal on audiovisual 
communication published by the Catalan Audiovisual Council. It is an 
annual journal published every October entirely in Catalan, Spanish and 
English.

The journal undertakes the correction and translation of the texts in 
the three languages.

Quaderns del CAC is a diamond open access journals with free access to 
their content and no article submission or processing charges to the 
authors.

Besides the monographic theme, the journal has the miscellaneous section 
"Articles", which is always open to receive articles and in which you 
can participate with texts on ongoing research on communication and 
audiovisual culture.

----

Monographic section issue 50. Radio: memory, resilience and transformation

This year marks the centenary of radio in Catalonia, and Quaderns del 
CAC wants to join in the commemoration. Thus, in the monographic section 
of issue 50, we would like to bring together theoretical and empirical 
works that help us to understand the past, to study the present and to 
look ahead to the future and the potential of radio around the world.

Radio Barcelona began broadcasting on 14 November 1924, with the first 
radio licence -under the EAJ-1 callsign- granted in Spain. It was the 
starting point for radio broadcasting in Catalonia. It was a private 
business initiative and, as Armand Balsebre (2001) explains, doomed to 
failure from the start for two reasons. First, because the cultural 
elite it was aimed at was not willing to assume the economic cost and, 
second because part of the Associació Nacional de Radiodifusió (ANR) 
defended the model of "mass consumption".

The ANR succeeded in implementing its proposal. One hundred years later, 
it is clear that this change was very successful. Radio is deeply rooted 
in the popular memory of many generations, and its social, political, 
cultural and economic weight is still relevant today, despite all the 
changes the communication sector has undergone over the last hundred 
years, not only the technological ones.

Radio is in good health. According to the latest wave of the Estudi 
General de Mitjans (General Media Study), its consumption and 
penetration remain at good levels. The population listens to the radio 
mainly through FM, but streaming and the consumption of new formats such 
as podcasts are on the rise. In Catalonia, around 4 million people 
listen to the radio, and 15% of the audience listens online. Radio in 
Catalonia moved an advertising volume of 48 million euros in Catalonia 
in 2022, according to the Associació Catalana de Ràdio.

Given this scenario, we are launching this call for papers to provide a 
picture as complete as possible of current studies that analyse radio 
from any perspective (production, circulation and reception).

This list exemplifies thematic lines and questions of interest for the 
monographic section of issue 50 of Quaderns del CAC:

- The value of the public radio sector. : What is the role of public 
radio stations? Are there differences between public and private radio? 
Do audiences perceive differences between public and private radio 
stations? What are the determining factors in the functioning of public 
radio? Why is it necessary to maintain a quality public radio service?

- Proximity radio. In 1982, Antoni Esteve wrote the article "Emissores 
municipals: la ràdio que es pot tocar" (Municipal radio stations: the 
radio you can touch). This title, despite its poetic nuance, has gained 
a lot of currency in the present day as a result of the globalisation 
processes that mark the future of the communications industry. The need 
for local information is unquestionable, but how is this demand being 
met? What kind of problems does the sector face?

- Disinformation. It has always been possible to classify radio 
programmes according to their political positioning or the editorial 
line of their schedules and content. Given current phenomena such as 
polarisation, it is particularly interesting to reflect on the role of 
radio in the problem of disinformation.

- Credibility. The radio has always enjoyed a high level of trust among 
citizens. A well-deserved recognition, due to its responsible 
informative activity at crucial historic moments. We remember, for 
example, the fundamental role of radio as a news medium during the 
attempted coup d'état of 23 February 1981. But the question now is 
whether this high level of credibility is maintained.

- Entertainment. What formats and contents define the current radio 
entertainment offer? What is the weight of humour? Is there a concern 
for children's audiences?

- Inclusive content. Does the current radio offer reflect the plural and 
diverse society we are living in? Which groups are given visibility? Do 
stereotypes persist? Are sports programmes made with a gender perspective?

- Specialised thematic offer. Music dominates thematic radio. What 
weight does the music industry have in these programmes? Is it possible 
to find spaces dedicated to alternative music outside the commercial 
circuits? Are there other potentially interesting specialisations? For 
example, is it possible to speak of a resurgence of religious radio 
stations?

- Non-profit radio. Spanish legislation regulates non-profit radio 
stations. Therefore, any study that helps us to design or think about 
the future of the third sector is welcome. What is the role of community 
radio stations now? What are the objectives of school radio?

- Audiences. What is, and how has the profile of listeners evolved 
according to the type of radio station? What consumptions appear with 
the expansion of the systems of circulation and reception of sound 
content? Can we continue to speak of a loyal audience (to radio 
stations, to content, to professionals)? How are audience measurement 
systems adapting to the digital context?

- Advertising investment, economic sustainability and radio business 
models. The expansion of digital resources is generating new forms of 
advertising and, in this context, we are interested in both works that 
analyse the economic sustainability of the medium and those that delve 
into creative trends. Will radio continue to be an attractive medium for 
advertisers? What business models are being implemented to guarantee the 
economic viability of radio in all its formats?

- Linguistic standardisation. Thanks to the high level of radio 
broadcasting in Catalan, the percentage of radio consumption in this 
language will reach 74.5% of the total in 2021 (Niqui and Segarra, 
2023). Maria Corominas (2003) detected an important turning point 
between 1981 and 2002, a period in which the percentage of programming 
in Catalan rose from 19.3% to 50%. We are particularly interested in 
research that will help us to think about future language policies. What 
are the socio-demographic profiles that follow radio in Catalan? Do all 
radio genres have the same level of acceptance when they use Catalan?

- Creativity: new languages, formats and genres. What are the new radio 
formats? What topics are currently on offer in podcasts? What changes 
are taking place in radio language? Can we speak of a renaissance of 
radio fiction with new aesthetic sound resources?

- Do DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) broadcasts have a future? At the 
end of 2022, only 16 radio stations in Spain were operating from a 
single transmitter centre, the Collserola telecommunications tower in 
Barcelona (Niqui and Segarra, 2023). Against this background, what 
future is foreseen for the use of this technology, and how is this being 
resolved in Europe?

CFP References

- Associació Catalana de Ràdio (2023). Informe de la inversió 
publicitària de la ràdio a Catalunya 2007-2022.

- Balsebre, A. (2001). Historia de la radio en España. Volumen I 
(1874-1939). Ediciones Cátedra.

- Corominas, M. (2003). Llengua i comunicació radiofònica. In: J. M. 
Martí & B. Monclús (eds.). Actes del 2n. Congrés de la Ràdio a 
Catalunya. Barcelona, 24 i 25 de gener de 2003. Universitat Autònoma de 
Barcelona, p. 207-217.

- Esteve, A. (1982). Emissores municipals: la ràdio que es pot tocar. 
Anàlisi: quaderns de comunicació i cultura, 5, 121-128.

- Niqui Espinosa, C. & Segarra Moreno, L. (2023). La ràdio. In: B. 
López; A. Huertas Bailén, L. Peres-Neto (eds.). Informe de la 
comunicació a Catalunya 2021-2022. Generalitat de Catalunya and Institut 
de la Comunicació (InCom-UAB), p. 83-107.

---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ commlist.org)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------