Invisible Communities: Amplifying Minority Voices in Professional Journalism Through Community Radio
Grounded in studies on newsworthiness criteria in traditional media and the invisibility of themes and social groups (Hall, 1997; Traquina, 2000), this study is framed within the discussion of the media’s role in constructing social reality and marginalising and non-representing certain social group...
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| I publikationen: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cs, |
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| Huvudupphovsman: | |
| Materialtyp: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Språk: | Anglais |
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Comunicação e sociedade
2026
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| Länkar: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Sammanfattning: | Grounded in studies on newsworthiness criteria in traditional media and the invisibility of themes and social groups (Hall, 1997; Traquina, 2000), this study is framed within the discussion of the media’s role in constructing social reality and marginalising and non-representing certain social groups.With the rise of the internet and social media, although new forms of media exclusion have been created through the personalisation of content by algorithms (Noble, 2018; Pariser, 2011; Roberts, 2019), community media have emerged as an alternative to give voice to these marginalised groups through citizen, community, and independent journalism, promoting the long-desired — and promised — greater civic and democratic participation (Atton & Hamilton, 2008; Forde, 2011; Radsch, 2016). This exploratory study focuses on a qualitative analysis of four Portuguese community radio stations: Rádio Sintoniza-T, Rádio Ophelia, Rádio Freguesia de Belém, and Rádio Antecâmara. These are exclusively online, non-profit, and volunteer-run.The research shows that, despite the efforts of these community broadcasters to fill the gaps left by mainstream journalism, the journalism practised by these radios and their volunteers is still in development. Community engagement remains a challenge, and the stations are more oriented towards cultural and entertainment programmes than towards regular newscasts and news production — a situation justified by their relatively short existence. Nevertheless, the potential of these initiatives is significant, as they may evolve into more structured models of alternative, citizen, and community journalism that meet the informational needs of their communities. |
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