Radio as a means for democratization: the use by students 1

Cláudia Lago2
Gisele Sayeg Nunes Ferreira 3

Abstract
This paper is based on research carried out with students of a Radio and TV graduate
course in São Paulo, Brazil, about the use of new technologies. It analyzes radio‘s potential
as an instrument to democratize communications. The work tries to confront this specific
use and the migration to digital support to the reality of radio in Brazil. In this country,
radio can be an important tool in the process of democratization of information and
communications, due to the low costs of installation, transmission, and reception when
compared to other media. In a country where oral culture is privileged, radio also plays an
important role in the democratization of relationships, and can serve as foundation for the
development of social inclusion. This perspective has been broadly proven by projects
carried out by nongovernmental organizations and governments, which have relied on radio
broadcasting language to educate needy populations on how to exercise citizenship.
Additionally, traditionally voiceless groups in the media have started to use radio, as
evidenced by the rising number of legalized community radio stations that have surfaced in
recent years, by the thousands that wait for an authorization to operate, and by many others
that operate illegally. Still under the same theme, we recently observed a significant
increase in the number of graduate degrees in Audiovisual techniques, the so-called Radio
and TV courses, as well as the growing demand by students coming from several regions of
the country and social backgrounds. Therefore, it tries to clarify how future radio
professionals will position themselves to face the emancipating potential of the vehicle,
starting from the use they makes of it now.

Key Words: Radio, Information, Community, Democratization

1
Work presented in IAMCR Paris 2007, in the Participatory Communication Section
2
Journalist, Doctor in Sciences of Communication by the Communications and Arts School of the University
of Sao Paulo (ECA-USP), professor of the Radio and TV and Journalism Courses of the Anhembi Morumbi
University and the Laureate International Universities, São Paulo, Brazil. E-mail: claudia.lago07@gmail.com
3
Journalist, Master in Sciences of Communication by the Communications and Arts School of the University
of Sao Paulo (ECA-USP), doctorate student of Communications and Semiotics (PUC-SP), professor of the
Radio and TV and Journalism Courses of the Anhembi Morumbi University and the Laureate International
Universities, São Paulo, Brazil. E-mail: gisele.sayeg@gmail.com
1. Radio broadcasting in Brazil: context

Radio in Brazil has always been accompanied by with paradoxical situations, some
of which are still exist today, albeit presenting new aspects and nuances. The origins of
radio are associated with the elite, but it endured because of its popular appeal. It is a latent
weapon in the battle to democratize communications in Brazil, but a considerable number
of radio stations that operate under public licenses are linked, and we suppose, serve the
interests, of regional and national power groups. As a vehicle, it has shown the highest
rates of penetration in Brazilian homes, but it‘s one of the medium that have the smallest
shares of advertising budgets, money that would permit the stations to be kept in good
condition4. Radio‘s virtues are heralded by radialistas (professionals that are qualified to
work in radio stations), radio-journalists and announcers, but it pays the lowest salaries of
all other media, such as television and even newspapers and magazines. It is part of the
curriculum of Radio and TV college courses, but doesn‘t seem to draw much interest
among the students that attend these courses. And much less among students of
Journalism5.
These paradoxes (together with our personal involvement with Radio 6) were driving
forces that provoked this research. In spite of the encumbrances that we try to understand,
we continue to believe that radio is an important tool to democratize the power
relationships that are produced and reaffirmed by the media. Specially nowadays, when
radio transforms itself as due to the introduction of digital technologies. We also defend
that radio could be a valuable tool for education. It can be, and has been, included in
projects whose objective is to ―build citizenship‖ and to re-think the power relationships.

4
According IbopeMídia, from 2004 to 2005, 96% of Brazilian homes had radio receivers. A study done in 2003 by
Marplan shows that radio‘s audience has been stable: about 90% among those who listen in at least once a week (Source:
GPRádio – XLV Estudos Marplan Consolidado 2003). Despite its significant penetration, radio retains less than 5 of the
advertising budget, while a clear majority is destined to television (57%). Source: Grupo Mídia.
5
In Brazil, to be a professional in Journalism, as well as in electro-electronic media (radio and TV) it is required to have
specific formation at the graduate level. In order to be a journalist, therefore, it is required to attend a course named Social
Communications, with Qualification in Journalism. In Radio and TV stations, in order to act as a producer, director and
other functions not directly connected to journalism, it is required to attend a course named Social Communications, with
Qualification in Radio and TV – which entitles the graduate to obtain the certificate as a Radio Professional by the Labor
Ministry.
6
Being both of us Journalists with college degrees, we have already worked professionally on the radio, in addition to
teaching about these vehicles in the Radio and TV course, and also in Journalism courses at Anhembi Morumbi
University. We are also part of the Media and Sonority Research Nucleous, connected to the organ that establishes the
rules applied to research ´´Nacional Council of Scientific REserach – CNPq.
 We are also concerned that the apparent feeble relationship between this potential
and what seems to be disseminated learned in Communications Schools, especially in the
courses of Radio and TV, which will prepare professionals that will work not only on the
existing radio stations, but very probably will be involved, in the near future, in the
reformulation of the languages and perspectives of radio.
To understand the complexity related to this issue, it is important to understand the
meaning and the difficulties to implement radio throughout the country, as well as the
current conjuncture.
The origins of Radio in Brazil are associated with an elite. The first broadcast, in
1922, happened during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Brazilian
independency, in Rio de Janeiro, the country‘s capital at the time. It happened due to
Westinghouse, who loaned the equipment and conducted the broadcast of the speech of
President Epitácio Pessoa, in addition to parts of the opera O Guarani, by the Brazilian
composer Carlos Gomes. According to Ferrareto (2001), while the attendees at the fair
listened to the broadcast through loudspeakers, it was heard in several other points of the
city on 80 radio receivers loaned to the authorities.
The first regular broadcasts were done by Rádio Sociedade do Rio de Janeiro, in
19237, founded by Edgard Roquette-Pinto, scientist and professor, member of the Brazilian
Academy of Sciences. With the help of members of the Academy, especially Henrique
Morize, president of the institution, Roquette-Pinto convinced the Brazilian government
that it should purchase the broadcasting equipment that had been installed at Praia
Vermelha for the celebration of the centennial.
Rádio Sociedade do Rio de Janeiro was born to disseminate culture, but a type of
culture considered adequate by men such as Roquette-Pinto. It was definitely culture, but
not of a popular nature. The new medium, for the man that is considered the ―father‖ of
Brazilian radio, was born with an educational purpose, and would serve to inform and
educate those who could not read, and were the majority of the population at the time.
In spite of precarious conditions, and no daily broadcasts, Rádio Sociedade do Rio
de Janeiro appeared at a time when the country yearned for modernization, no longer being

7
A detailed history of radio in Brazil can be found in Ferrareto (2001) and Federico (1982).
supported by an agricultural economy, recently egressed from slavery, moving towards an
urban and industrial economy. Radio was born at this time, tuned to this perspective.
And here we have the creation of the first paradox: the ―radio societies‖ that started
to proliferate in the most important state capitals between the 20‘s and 30‘s are kept, in
general, by young men of the upper class – the only ones with economic means to purchase
equipment or to set them up in their homes, and also to pay the membership fees to the
broadcasting societies. This is the context in which radio broadcasting develops in Brazil
during the 20‘s.
In the 30‘s, there is the consolidation of radio broadcasting in Brazil, mainly due to
the regulation, in 1932, of adverting on the medium. At this time, radio definitely starts to
be seems as a player with a role in the country‘s power relationships.
The government of Getúlio Vargas8 was extremely efficient in using radio to attain
political objectives, including the medium in its overall project of integration of the vast
national territory, and also to reach the widespread illiterate population. Similarly to the
American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt—his contemporary—Vargas had the ability
to build his image through the radio, while using it as a means of political-ideological
propaganda.9
Eduardo Vicente (2006), reminds us that the State under Vargas‘ had the objective
of forging a national culture, elevating the aesthetic levels of popular culture, while
simultaneously incorporating its ideological imprint on this type of culture (among which
we point out nationalism and developmentism).
These premises explain the investments made in what would become the major
driving force of the golden years of radio in Brazil, Rádio Nacional in Rio de Janeiro, taken
over by the Vargas dictatorship in 1940, and which became the hegemonic power in
broadcasting in the 40‘s and 50‘s, losing ground only with competition was definitely
established in the 60‘s by the consolidation of television in the country.

8
The controversial figure of Getúlio Vargas is associated to crucial moments of Brazilian history. He is one of the main
architects of the developmentist model that was perpetuated – although with distinct ideological forms – by the military
government that established a dictatorship in the country from 1964 to the mid-80‘s. The first Vargas government lasted
from 1930 to 1945 and was characterized by nationalism and populism. He established a dictatorship known as the New
State, starting in 1937, and invested heavily in infrastructure, with the intention of guaranteeing the country‘s industrial
development. Brought down by the military, Vargas returned to power in 1950, in democratic elections, and continued his
nationalist policies centered on the development of infrastructure. He committed suicide in 1954, due to, it is presumed,
the intense political pressures exerted by adversaries.
9
Nunes Ferreira, G.S.
 Radio Nacional, although strategic for the Vargas‘ State, enjoyed relative autonomy
and was able to re-invest advertising revenues in the production of its own programs. It was
headed from 1940 to 1946 by Gilberto de Andrade, Vargas‘ henchman, but one who had
great appreciation for radio. Andrade helped to transform Rádio Nacional10 into a great
power, linking the four corners of the country under its influence.
This was possible only due to the internal policies of Rádio Nacional, which
produced programs with the highest audience levels ever seen in Brazilian radio, in what
Ferraretto (2001) identified as the Radio Spectacle model, such as soap operas, the news
program Repórter Esso, the comedy program PRK-30 and the famous live shows. At
Radio Nacional there will be the consolidation of the live audience programs, and an
attempt at an ―aesthetic improvement‖ (Vicente, 2006) of popular culture; in the case of
music, by introducing large orchestras and blending them with samba.
The dissemination of broadcasting equipment, in addition to programs more and
more oriented towards the popular taste, transformed radio, starting in the 30‘s, in the mass
media vehicle par excellence. This hegemony will be seriously affected at the end of the
50‘s with the definite arrival of television in Brazil, resulting in what Ferraretto (2001)
denominates the ―decadence period.‖
―Restructuring‖ occurs during the 70‘s, mainly due to the transistor, which imparted
mobility to radio, and altered the listening experience, which moved from a family-oriented
activity, as during the Radio Spectacle era, to an individual one. Additionally, in the 70‘s
the radio stations started to operate with frequency modulation (FM) in Brazil, resulting in
a better quality broadcast and pureness of sound. Brazilian radio then becomes fragmented,
keeping news, sports and more popular appeal programs in broadcasts with Amplitude
Modulation (AM), and reserving FM for musical programs, usually listened by the younger
and more affluent portion of the population. Public services also start at this time, and is
later consolidated.
With time, this fragmentation was redefined, with a few FM radio stations, starting
in the 90‘s, transmitting in the all-news system (also oriented towards the upper classes)
and many radio stations carrying musical programming for a younger audience. Comedy

10
The history of Radio Nacional can be found in Saroldi and Moreira (2005).
shows, which were extremely important during the Radio Spectacle era returned to radio
stations catering to younger audiences, with distinct characteristics and type of humor.
However, radio will never be the same when compared to the golden era. A large
part of the schedule is musical, but without the presence of live orchestras or even singers:
Most of the programs have an announcer whose work is to introduce songs and play a pre-
established playlist. The so-called interactivity with the listener is done with phone calls to
the radio station or letters (less and less frequently) and e-mails requesting songs selected
from a list previously provided by the station. As pointed out by Ortriwano (1998), the new
technologies did not change radio‘s profile, as it continues to have interactivity limited to
reduced spaces.
At the same time, starting in the 80‘s, the situation of radio stations in Brazil
changed, due to the pressure exerted by popular groups and other sectors that started to
demand the right to broadcast, moving part of the discussion to the issues of ―community‖,
―free‖, or ―pirate‖ radio stations.
Around this time, as pointed out by Nunes Ferreira (2005), ―Brazil experiences a
surge of non-official radio stations, also known as pirate radio stations,‖ similar to what
occurred in Europe decades earlier. At the same time that several non-official radio stations
are opened by popular groups and others, a number of them is also systematically closed
down.
When discussing the alternative radical media, Downing points out the role of
radio, due to the fact that it is a vehicle with a relatively simple technology, transportable,
inexpensive, with good range, easy to be produced, even under adverse conditions (as in
clandestine broadcasts, for example). Radio, seen under this light, would be a facilitator for
Downing: ―Countries with high illiteracy rates, including extensive countries such as India
or Brazil, radio has played, as expected, as more important role than that of the printed
media.‖ (2002: 243).11
A significant part of the non-official radio broadcasting experiences that have
proliferated during the 80‘s—according to the author about the radical media—―expresses
an alternative point of view, to hegemonic policies, priorities and perspectives‖, as a means
of expression of popular and opposition cultures. (Id. Ibid.: 24-30).

11
Translated into English from the Brazilian translation.
 The fight for the right to broadcast intensifies in the 90‘s, resulting in the 1998 bill
that regulates what becomes known as ―community communications service.‖12
In spite of the regulation, the issue continues to be controversial in Brazil.
Unofficial estimates indicate that more than 15,000 clandestine radio stations, which refuse
to abide to the regulatory limitations. In spite of the fact that a significant number of these
stations only mimic the programming schedule of corporate radio, a good part of this
contingent resists and looks for new forms, ranging from content to management,
configuring what Downing (2004) characterized as ―radical media‖.
Some time later, during the consolidation of the internet in the country, the
relationship between radio and the web started to take place. This relationship ranges from
offering in portals belonging to the radio station the content that is currently being
broadcast, to the creation of radio stations on the internet (web radios) or even other
experiences, such as Podcasts13.
Currently, the paradoxes of radio in Brazil persist and have become deeper. On one
hand, we note a number of initiatives that strengthen the possibility of uniting radio
broadcasting language and the heralded plurality of opinions, a sine qua non condition to
strengthen democracy and citizenship. This possibility is corroborated by the growing
number of radio stations that try to qualify as community radio stations, added to the
initiatives on the web.
On the other hand, the public concession system, which has gone through several
modifications, continues to be associated with political favors.
In reality, Lima (2001) reminds us that in Brazil, starting in the 80‘s, there have
been reforms to adapt the radio broadcasting concession system to the new rules of the
international market. This market is characterized since the 70‘s by mergers, resulting in
enormous media conglomerates, and by the deregulation of markets traditionally less open,
such as the European market – increasing the international trend of concentration of
12
As pointed out by Nunes Ferreira (2005), although the legislation about community radio stations established clear
criteria for their identification as RadCom, these are not consensual, and this is evidenced by the proliferation of names:
pirate stations, free stations, community stations, etc. Additionally, researchers as well as activists of movements for the
democratization of communications, note that the RadCom legislation, which was created to regulate the area, may be, in
reality, a way to restrict the participation of these radio stations, by restricting power and limiting and geographical reach,
in addition to almost making their existence unfeasible by applying the criteria of institutional sponsorship (and
prohibiting commercial advertising) that is extremely restrictive from a financial point of view.
13
Lígia Maria Trigo-de-Souza researched, at the beginning of this decade, radio stations that had, in any way, connection
with the internet, and observed that ―there is no significant information with regards to form or language‖. In Trigo-de-
Souza, 2002-2003.
property. The researcher points to the fact that in the Brazilian system this adaptation does
not change the overall situation: the large communications vehicles are still kept by a few
family groups, who intermingle with the local and/or regional political elite 14. In the case
of public concessions of radio stations, the situation is even more worrying, as they serve as
exchange currency in congress. In spite of being prohibited, it is a well-known fact that a
large part of the radio stations are in the hands of politicians or their figureheads. Lima
(2001) alerts to the fact that, in addition to this traditional link, new ―national players‖ have
started to battle in the concessions arena: the churches. Once again, the case of radio
stations is emblematic. Traditional radio stations, directly controlled by the Catholic
Church, are now joined by others of evangelical orientation. 15

3. The meaning of Radio for the country

Marked by trouble and paradox, Radio in Brazil still occupies a prominent position,
due to its specific characteristics, among which the emphasis on orality is probably the
most integrated trait to the national ethos16.
Brazil is a country marked by an oral culture, as pointed out by Costa (2004), who
believes that, in the country, ―since the most remote times, culture has been fundamentally
supported by memory and oral transmission‖, to the point that among us there was a
general language (a blend of African, indigenous and European dialects), that was spoken
by the majority of the population until de 18th century, when the Portuguese started to
work to make their language the official language of the country. Costa states that writing
could not become the ―regular and predominant means of expression‖, originating a mixed,
hybrid and oral culture‖. And even with the efforts of the educational system, we can
affirm that orality is still a fundamental trait of national culture.
Still today, there is a large number of illiterate Brazilians, and the number is larger
when we consider those functionally illiterates. A poll taken by the Pesquisa do Indicador
14
The Brazilian radio broadcasting system follows the American model, being in its majority associated with private
business. With the disadvantage of having a much less protective legislation, which does not have, for example, laws that
prohibit crossed-ownership of media. For a more ample discussion of this subject we recommend Lima (2001).
15
Nunes Ferreira (2006) shows in her research with Community Radio Stations in the northwest region of the state of São
Paulo that the distortions observed in the system of commercial concessions persist in this new standard.
16
A discussion about the uses of the ethos concept can be seen in Lago (2003).
Nacional de Analfabetismo Funcional (INF), by the Paulo Montenegro Institute, indicates
that, in 2003, the country had, in the age group ranging from 15- to 64-year-olds, 8% of
total illiterates. But only 25% of the literate population was considered fully literate, and
67% were in the basic and insufficient groups, i.e., more than half of the ―literate‖
population was not capable of using writing (and also mathematical calculations) for their
professional development.17.
Thus, it is easy to explain why governments, since the beginnings of radio, saw in it
an opportunity to reach the population, be it to meet educational, political-ideological or
social objectives. Currently, TV seems to have taken this role in the imagination and
concern of government and pressure groups.
However, there are several areas who see radio as an immeasurable possibility for
education – be it strictu sensu, i.e., as an aid to formal education, or lato sensu, of radio as a
tool to reflect about citizenship.
As an example, we can mention projects developed by Non Governmental
Organizations (NGOs), and by government in association with them. That‘s the case of the
Educom.rádio Project– educommunication by radio waves, result of a partnership between
the Nucleus of Communication and Education of the School of Communications and Arts
of the São Paulo University (NCE-ECA/USP) and Education Secretariat of the São Paulo
Municipal Government.
The main objective of the project, which took place between 2001 and 2004, was to
reduce the violence problem in public schools run the municipal administration (EMEFs),
and also to allow teachers, students and members of the community to create and direct the
production of a School Radio Station, playing the role of information producers. To meet
this objective the proposal was to qualitatively and quantitatively improve communication
between students, teachers and employees.
The project‘s structure consisted of stages of discussion and analysis, as well as the
production of radio broadcasts. At the onset, the intent was to discuss communications,
broadcasting language, public policies and to guarantee access of educational communities
to the medium. The difference with other similar projects was that the discussion of the
medium was done under the perspective of the democratization of the school environment,

17
In: http://www1.ideavalley.com.br/ibope/folheto/flip/flip.php?ID=2#
questioning the everyday relationships established by usual pedagogical practices, normally
hierarchical and vertical.
The objective of the partners involved in the project was to have a radio station
created in each of the 455 participating schools, with teachers, parents, students and
employees under a participative management and work practice i.e., an equalitarian
participation among all components of the group, with no hierarchy established, be it
regarding power or knowledge.
The practical results of this project were numerous and also conflicting, as already
discussed by Lago and Alves (2004) and Salvatierra, Lago and Leão (2005). It is important
to present the project as an effort that simultaneously involved a large number of school,
reaching the stage of a public policy whose objective was to discuss democratization
through the appropriation of the radio broadcasting language by all involved, students,
teachers and the community that surrounds the school.
Two other aspects should be noted. In the first place, one of the unforeseen positive
effects of the project: when using radio broadcasting language, which, as we already have
mentioned, perfectly suits the intrinsic orality of Brazilian culture, the project directly
increased the self-esteem of the students. These students were traditionally evaluated as
―presenting difficulty to write‖, and started to see themselves as capable of communicating
and developing new abilities. As a result, many felt stimulated to improve their formal
development, as the control of the written language also was necessary when preparing
radio programs, for example.
The other aspect refers to the contribution of the students of courses in the
Communications are, mainly Radio and TV, who acted in the project as mediators, being
responsible for the development of all activities related to the groups of students and the
community.

4. Research

The sample used in the research presented in this article consisted of students of the
Radio and TV course at Anhembi Morumbi University, in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, and
considered one of the largest such courses 18 in the country. With a little more than 1,000
students, 400 hours per semesters, distributed along four years, with theoretical, practical
and theoretical-practical disciplines. The Radio and TV course at Anhembi was created in
199919, at a time when the reduction of the price of equipment, together with the arrival in
the country of cable TV companies, allowed the formation of these courses, and stimulated
it.
The objective of the research was to observe how Radio and TV students use the
media, and their specific relationship with the issue of democratization of access to the
media vis-à-vis the advent of new technologies. A questionnaire was prepared with open
and closed questions about the use of radio, TV, the web and printed media by the students,
and also included questions on socio-economical data. The questionnaire was given to a
sample consisting of students of the first, fifth and seventh semesters of the morning and
nighttime classes – consisting of a total of 313 students from the morning course and 262 of
the evening course. In total, 195 questionnaires were given and tabulated 20: Additionally,
98 students of the morning course were interviewed (48 women and 50 men), as well as 97
of the evening course (47 women and 52 men) .
The option of polling students from only these three semesters was made for three
reasons: 1) during the first semester, the students have just arrived at the university and are
having the first contact with the course and its program; 2) during the fifth semester, Radio
and TV students have already completed half of the credits, which are heavily centered, at
the start of the course, on issues related to sound, such as audio capture and edition,
audiovisual language, musical and sound language. Also during the 5 th semester, the
student has already obtained his sequential diploma, i.e., a special college degree on the
Script Creation for Radio and TV, obtained by the students when finishing the 4th semester,
with the presentation of a monograph; 3) the 7th semester students were selected because
they were at the final stretch of the course, on the verge of presenting their conclusion
18
In an interview with the authors, the course coordinator, Valdir Baptista, estimated that the University has
approximately 40% more students than the second highest attended Radio and TV course in the state of São Paulo.
According to him, the growth in the number of students has been constant since 2002. On average, the University receives
from 200 to 250 Radio and TV students in the first semester of each year, and around 100 to 120 students in the second
semester. Baptista, Valdir. Interview with Cláudia Lago and Gisele Sayeg Nunes Ferreira, São Paulo, June 2007.
19
The oldest Radio and TV course seems to be the one at the School of Communications and Arts, ECA/USP, created in
the ‗70s. However, a few years ago it was incorporated into de Cinema course in the same institution, being transformed
in an audiovisual course.
20
The questionnaire was prepared by the authors and the statistical analysis was formatted by Paulo Henrique de Oliveira
Lopes.
monograph (TCC) and obtain the degree in Social Communication – Radio and TV, and the
DRT – a professional certification provided by the Brazilian Labor Ministry, which allows
them to work in all technical areas of TV or radio stations in the country, and in audio and
video production companies. Students of the 8th semester (last semester) were not included
due to the difficulty in gathering the group in one place. As the 8 th semester is devoted
exclusively to the preparation of the TCC, the students only go to the University in
previously scheduled days to meet their supervisors, dates that vary according the
availability of those involved.
The questionnaire consisted of 59 questions. In this paper we will discuss only the
results that refer to personal data (age, sex, fundamental and middle school, if the student
works in a related area, etc.) and to questions 1 to 8, 32 to 44 and 51 to 59, which refer
specifically to the relationship of the students with radio and new technologies, notably the
Internet.
With regards to the social-economical data, it was observed that the majority of
students (80%) are between 17 and 22 years old, but there is not much difference between
the number of male (52%) and female students (48%)21. Most (64%) had their fundamental
studies in private schools, a number that goes up to 65% when middle studies are
concerned.
More than half of the students (53%) work, and a significant share (39%) already
work in radio or television. It is interesting to note that of the 42 students that work in the
area, three are attending the first semester, 24 the 5th and 15 the 7th. This could indicate that
the course is adequate for the needs of the market. On the other hand, in spite of the
significant number of college students that work, the percentage that pays for their own
tuition is small (21%), against a high number (71%) that depends on parents/others, in
addition to 7% of students that receive a scholarship and 1% that did not answer.
The data reveals students with a relatively high economic level, that were able to
study in private schools and that, despite the fact that they work, continue to rely on the
family to pay for their studies. This is corroborated by the data on Internet access, which
occurs preferably at home (73%), using wide bandwidth (81%), every day of the week

21
Even with no research to confirm this fact, Baptista believes that the number of women who abandon the course is
lower than that of men, resulting, according to him, in a higher number of women during the last semesters. The
questionnaire here presented does not contemplates this information..
(69%), for 3 hours or more (61%). The answers indicated also that Internet access happens
mostly from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to midnight.
And what would be the relationship between students and Radio as a
communication vehicle? Twenty-two students say that they never listen to radio,
representing 11.5% of the total, while 13% listen to the radio only in a few instances during
a given month. These are significant numbers, indicating that almost one quarter of the
students have little or no contact with radio. Of the rest, 30.5%, i.e., 59 students, listen to
the radio everyday, 20.5% almost every day and 24.5% some days of the week. The
average listening time is one hour among those that listen to the radio.
The three types of schedule most sought by students/listeners on a radio station are:
music (with 146 responses), comedy programs (with 108 responses) and news (95
responses). Such preferences explain that the radio stations most remembered by the
students/listeners are stations heavily centered on music for young people (international
pop and rock) and comedy, in large national networks such as Mix, Jovem Pan and Kiss.
Although the majority of students spend daily more than 5 hours on the Internet, the
number of those who look for radio stations while on the web is small: only 21% (40
students) listen to radio on the Internet. Of the remainder, 77% do not listen to the radio on
the web and 2% did not answer the question. Those that do it normally seek the same type
of programming found on stations transmitted by electromagnetic waves – music (25
responses), comedy (13 responses), and news (10 responses). In fact, the vast majority of
them (21%) seek on the Web, above all, the same stations that they can listen to on
traditional radio receivers at home or in the car. There are few responses about Web
Radios.
We were intrigued by the student‘s relationship with the new audio possibilities,
such as the production and reception of Podcasts. Surprisingly, only 10% (20 students)
accesses Podcasts, and the majority of them does it only a few times during a given month,
looking mainly for music and information. 22
Radio audience on cellular phones follows the same path: only 10% of the students
of the Radio and TV course of Anhembi Morumbi University, listen to the radio on a cell

22
The Infinite Dial 2007: Radio‘s Digital Platforms – telephone poll carried out by Arbitron and Edison Media Research
from January 17 to February 18, 2007, with 1855 persons. See www.arbitron.com.
phone,23 and do it only a few times during the week (42%), in spite of the growing
popularity of cell phones with this feature in the country.
Based on the data presented up to now, it is not surprising that the Radio and TV
students studied also do not get involved in discussions about the adoption of digital radio
in Brazil. 24 Only 17% of them reported to follow the discussions around this issue.
However, when asked about it, do not forward any opinion, or are limited to statements
such as:
―I don‘t have an opinion about this issue‖. (Female student, 7th semester,
evening)
―I think it‘s cool because I‘ll watch video clips on the radio‖. (Female
student, 7th semester, morning)
―Differently from TV, it didn‘t draw the attention of the public‖. (Male
student, 7th semester, morning)
―Interesting. The quality of radio will improve‖. (Male student, 1 st semester,
evening)
―It‘s the radio of the future‖. (Female student, 1st semester, evening)
―It‘s an area that will make a lot of money‖. (Male student, 5th semester,
evening)

Few students demonstrated to have effectively reflected on the subject, evaluating

its limitations and possibilities:
―It will increase the possibility of creation and propagation of the medium
and increase the number of listeners‖. (Female student, 5th semester,
evening)
―I believe that it will not contribute to the democratization of radio, as it
will remain in the hands of the large communications groups, similarly to
what happens in TV, with groups that monopolize the medium.‖. (Male
student, 7th semester, evening).

23
It should be considered that in Brazil – similarly to other developed or emerging countries – the use of cellular phones
has increase vertiginously, especially from July 1997 on, with the approval of the General Telecommunications Bill,
allowing the privatization of telephone companies in Brazil, with the objective of expanding services to the entire
population. Information published by Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) in March of 2007 indicated
102,152,437 active cellular phones in Brazil, with 82,.166,.834 being pre-paid (80.44%) and 19,985,603 post-paid
(19.56%), for an estimated population of 170 million. Source: http://www.anatel.gov.br/universalização. Last access on
April/19/2007.
24
Radio‘s move towards digitalization in Brazil has been controversial, like everything that involves the
telecommunications sector. Federal government is frequently accused of giving in to corporate communications interests
(led by groups such as Rede Globo) and of leaving up to the broadcasters the decision about the system to be tested, as
well as of refraining from regulating the industry. Civil society has been kept at bay of this decision, as corporate media
keeps silent about the subject, many times, not even informing the mandatory results of the digital tests that are being
carried out.
5. Initial conclusions
As observed by Downing, in countries full of disparities such as Brazil, radio plays
an overriding role in the process to consolidate democracy and propagate and guarantee the
citizen‘s basic rights. After all, radio is easy and inexpensive to operate, to receive and to
transmit.
However, there is an evident lack of synchronicity between radio‘s potentialities
and the way it is seen and used by future communications professionals – those that today
are students, but who, shortly, will be in the frontline of content production and strategic
planning of the system; future professionals that should be involved in the commercial
market as well as in independent and alternative productions.
This lack of synchronicity can be clearly perceived when we observe some of the
results of the poll here presented. Although of an initial nature, the data shows how feeble
is the relationship of Radio and TV students with the vehicle: a significant part of the
students polled did not even have the habit of listening to the radio. On the other hand,
those who do listen look for the same mass-produced musical programs put out by
corporate communications groups. These students also do not have the habit of exploring
new possibilities that have presented themselves in recent years – among them those on the
web. This is very significant, considering that for most of them, the web has been
incorporated into their lives.
The data does not allow us to assert whether our students would become interested
if they were stimulated to do so, but point to the inexistence of discussions about the
context in which mediatic productions are done, the forms of appropriation by future
professionals.
We intend to continue to reflect about the relationship of students with the media
(not only radio) and to direct out attention towards ways to stimulate and to include these
issues in the academic context, which we consider fundamental.

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