Que rádio é esse?: memórias, questionamentos e perspectivas do rádio não-comercial brasileiro

Abstract

In times of globalization, media convergence and satellite radio networks, the importance of public, educational and community broadcasters in maintaining a sense of cultural and social belonging to a community, locality, region or country is of great relevance. The radio in Brazil has become in the last decades a vehicle practically restricted to commercial interests, leaving aside other possible functions, such as its use for education. A role also for non-commercial radio in this new moment, where old and new media collide, can guarantee conditions for a greater variety and plurality in the issuance of voices and opinions by groups and collectives represented at local, state, regional and national levels, which can help democratize political participation. The use of radio for education, for cultural dissemination, for sound experiments and any other purpose that did not have space in the private market, are the soul of this other way of making radio. Even though it has existed for a long time, the form of financing dependent on the State and the influence of the ruler in power, have always stopped and even zeroed all expectations and advances of this non-commercial radio. With this potential for creation and growth and this fragmented history, non-commercial radio has reached the 21st century and needs to be rethought in this new context that we live in. Another fundamental point in this reflection is the questioning about what type of public broadcaster really exists in the country. In fact, there has been a movement in this direction since the early 2000s, when radio and television stations maintained by the State started to self-proclaim themselves as public. But what differentiates them as public and not as state? When a broadcaster goes public, is it no longer educational? To explore this story, we will start from some general concepts to punctuate our journey, soon after we will visit some concepts of the word public and finally 3 case studies will be presented.