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Diversity of Journalisms. Proceedings of ECREA/CICOM Conference, Pamplona, 4-5 July 2011
News continuity on general-interest radio in Spain
Traditional news programs on general-interest radio stations are framed by the criteria
of topicality and broadcast periodicity, and punctuated by the news and programming
time-segments in the morning (06:00–12:00), midday (12:00–14:00), afternoon/evening
(14:00–20:00), night (20:00–24:00) and late-night (00:00–06:00). Hence, news and
current affairs programming is structured by the principle of news continuity; and, in
turn, shapes and bolsters the continuity of the programming schedule as a whole
(Moreno, 2005: 90-91) 3 .
News and current affairs comprise the main contents underlying the programming
model followed by general-interest radio stations in Spain. In recent years, such radio
stations have designed and implemented an online news information strategy that
enriches traditional on-air radio broadcasts by offering further news and analysis in line
with the evolution in the social prevalence of the internet and its emerging status as a
standard source of news information 4 .
The newsrooms in general-interest radio stations in Spain provide hourly news bulletins
and a main news and current affairs program over the course of the morning schedule.
A morning magazine program is also broadcast, including news and current affairs as
well as entertainment and cultural contents. Given close collaboration between the
magazine program’s production team and the radio station’s newsroom, the
programming flexibility of the morning schedule enables broadcasters to offer updated
news bulletins and current affairs information 5 .
News continuity is an established programming strategy at general-interest radio
stations in Spain; its production is shaped by the information techniques and
procedures followed by the newsroom editorial team. However, the development of
online radio broadcasting in recent years has modified the ways in which news content
is produced: the newsroom is now responsible for producing and broadcasting such
content in both on-air and online formats.
As online strategies have been folded into everyday newsroom procedures, the
websites of general-interest radio stations in Spain have re-asserted their commitment
to news provision and continuity. News and current affairs analysis, a staple content of
traditional on-air broadcasting, is one of the primary purposes of the communication
strategy designed and implemented on the internet (Amoedo, Moreno and Martínez-
Costa, 2010). Thus, the ability of general-interest radio as such to fulfil its
communicative function in society is dependent on the further development of an online
news strategy.
Over time, general-interest radio stations in Spain have made significant changes to
improve the provision of news and other current affairs contents on the internet. All the
3 Moreno, E. (2005). Las ‘radios’ y los modelos de programación radiofónica. Comunicación y Sociedad, XVIII (1), 90-
91.
4 Moreno, E., Martínez-Costa, P. & Amoedo, A. (2009). Radio and the Web: Communication Strategies of Spanish
Radio Networks on the Web (2006-2008). Observatorio (OBS) Journal, 10, 121-137.
5 Moreno, E., Martínez-Costa, M.P., & Amoedo, A. (2010, October). Morning Magazine Programs on Online Spanish
Talk Radio Stations: Synergy and Complementarity in Contents and Services between Traditional and Online
Programming (2009/2010). Paper presented at the 3 rd European Communication Conference (ECREA 2010),
Hamburg, Germany.
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