Basque radio networks. New sources in basque radio stations
Gorka J. Palazio
Department of Journalism.
UPV/EHU
Abstract:
The present article has two objectives: firstly, the author seeks
to provide information on radio journalism in the small European country
of Euskal Herria (the Basque Country) and, secondly, on news sources in
radio network stations. The research affords the first overall view of the
real and current situation of news gathering in all types of radio stations
all over the Basque Autonomous Community (Spain). The author attempts to
explore the continuing struggle over who sends and receives news in Basque
radio stations and makes an effort to define the controversial news source
concept by his own schema of the waterfall. He goes over the meaning this
word has for some authors. The article provides intensive up to date information
on the news gathering percentages that the author has obtained in Basque
newsrooms during 1995 and the first months of 1996. Therefore, the last
chapter is supported by empirically based data in order to identify the
news sources which are the origin of the countless words pouring into Basque
radio newsrooms every day.
- Basque radio networks
- New sources: conception and definition
- Obtaining information on Basque radio
stations' new sources
- Conclusions
- References
Firstly, I would like to define the purpose of the present article.
Although I have two goals: to inform on the real situation of Basque radio
networks and to provide information about news gathering of those stations,
I think the main aspect that will shape the present study is to show the
importance of news gathering in the radio networks of the Basque Country:
a small European country in which there are three languages and three political
communities.
1. Basque radio networks
The Basque Country has, throughout its history, been identified by its language
called Euskara, the only pre-Indo-European language still alive in Europe.
Nowadays, the Basque Country, or Euskal Herria, spreads over both sides
of the Pyrenees along the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic Ocean. It is divided
into two autonomous communities (Euskadi and Navarre) in the south, located
on the Iberian Peninsula, and the community of the North Basque Country
in the Aquitaine (France). Basque is spoken today by over half a million
people and this vestige of old European languages coexists with Spanish
in the south and French in the north. As a result, the media in the Basque
Country offer the consumer a variety of broadcast products in these three
languages.
Therefore, there are three Basque communities, and the largest is the Basque Autonomous
Community (BAC). This is the political name of the most densely populated of the
three. Over 2 million people live in this administrative area where the inhabitants
are extremely aware of their identity as a nation. The political party PNV/EAJ1
is the most voted in this community, and with the Catalonian nationalists,
is one of the key parties on Spain´s political scene today.
In the field of the media in the Basque Country the appearance of the national
public media: EITB (Basque Radio-Television) has been the most important event
in the past two decades since the death of General Franco and the instauration
of the democratic monarchy2. In only
twenty years, this radio-television network has become the leader in audience
rates in the BAC. It is also quite clear that this network does not suffer from
stunted growth like other networks all over the Basque Country3.
In April of 1996, an agreement was reached between the two community governments
of the South Basque Country so that the people who live in Navarre have full access
to Basque radio-television stations in Castilian (Spanish) and Basque. However,
the recent change of government in Navarre numbed the accord last autumn. Secondly,
an overall view of the linguistic situation shows a high rate of success in Basque
language schooling. The Basque Public Radio is the only one among major national
networks which is clearly in favor a non-diglossia situation or normalization
of the Basque language4. Euskadi Irratia
(total radio) and Euskadi Gaztea (all music-news station; format radio) are the
stations which Basque speakers prefer. The radio stations within this public broadcast
network have a total budget of 1,689 million pesetas ($13,731 million) for its
four stations5. Audience rates for 1995
and 1996 are as follow:
Source: EGM
It should not be forgotten that the Basque language was forbidden for many years
during General Franco´s regime. Thus, Basque radio stations have grown gradually
in recent years. Furthermore, as is the case in Catalonia, radio stations have
multiplied more quickly than the written press6.
The stations in the Basque Country have a larger number of listeners than that
registered in other areas of Spain. At present, nearly 56% of the adult population
in the two communities in the South Basque Country listen to the radio whereas
this percentage does not reach even half of the population over 14 years of age
in other communities in Spain. The following tables show the total number of listeners
(in thousands) in the South Basque Country and the AM and FM audience for 1996
7.
Source: CIES
Hence, the radio network scene in the Basque Country changed greatly on
20 May 1982 when the Basque Autonomous Government created Eusko Irratia
or the Basque Radio Network. In 14 years, this network has reached second
place in the total ranking of Basque radio stations. The Basque Public Radio
Network has three total radio stations; two in Castilian and one in Basque
in addition to Euskadi Gaztea (format radio) which is an all music-news
station. The total radio stations broadcast in each of the Basque Autonomous
Community´s major cities. These stations are Euskadi Irratia (in Basque,
based in San Sebastian), Radio Euskadi (mostly in Castilian, based in Bilbao)
and Radio Vitoria (mostly in Castilian, based in Vitoria). These three stations
have 198,000 listeners in the BAC. The listeners in the North Basque Country
and Navarre must also be added to this figure. In the BAC the Basque Public
Radio Network ranks second in audience rates only to Spain´s leading
major network: the SER. The following table shows listener rates for the
different radio networks which broadcast in the BAC during 1996:
Source : CIES
However, there are more stations and networks that broadcast in Basque on the
Basque radio broadcasting scene. I have not yet mentioned the stations based in
the North Basque Country in France. The audience rates of northern Basque broadcasting
are similar to that of the southern communities, but higher than Navarre´s although
both communities have the same number of Basque speaking inhabitants8
. In the three regions that make up this territory to the north of the Pyrenees,
31.9% of the inhabitants listened to at least one Basque programme daily9.This
indicates that in 1991 these radio stations´ Basque programmes had 63,000 listeners
over 15 years of age of a total population of 250,000. Nowadays there is a wrestling
match in the arena of the radio broadcasting in this administrative area. The
audience rates for 1996 are as follow:
Radio France P.B. 21% (12.3% in 1991). RFPB broadcasts 50 h. in Basque on
working days only from Baiona.
Irulegiko Irratia 20% (12.5% in 1991). This station broadcasts 80% in Basque
from Lower Navarre.
Gure Irratia. 13% (17.6% in 1991). Only in Basque from Baiona.
Xiberoko Botza. 7% (9% in 1991). 70% in Basque from Zuberoa.
France Inter 6%
Others 33%
Source: Siadeco
Having contemplated some data on the main networks and on the complex situation
of radio stations in a small, politically divided and multilingual country,
I must mention all the networks that coexist in the three communities of
the Basque Country.
When establishing the categorization of our territorial stations, two main
frames of reference can be used: first of all, the situation of radio networks
and their coverage; and in addition, the sort of radio. According to this
second factor, we could classify the radio stations of the Basque Country
in three groups: institutional or public (national, state or municipal),
commercial and free (alternative and cultural). Applying both factors, we
could make the following classification which is most useful for analysis
of radio news sources:
1. State networks: Radio France Pays Basque, SER-Euskadi, RNE...
2. Basque Public Stations: Euskadi Irratia, Radio Euskadi...
3. Regional stations: Bizkaia Irratia, Gure Irratia, Donostiako Herri Irratia,
Xiberoko Boza...
4. Municipal stations: Getxo Irratia, Arrasate Irratia, Oñati Irratia...
5. Commercial local radios: Radio 7, Kosta Irratia, Radio Correo, Onda Vasca...
6. Free radios: Euskalerria Irratia, Xorroxin Irratia, Hala Bedi Irratia...
The stations which appear in the last four categories belong to the group
of stations designated as local radios.
I must point out that it is difficult to classify some stations as it is
still not clear whether they will continue to broadcast, i.e., whether they
will be granted a license or not or whether they will have national or another
type of coverage. Furthermore, nor is it clear which make up will be chosen
(municipal, commercial or free). Such is the case of Egin Irratia, which,
although today is operating as free radio -without a broadcast license-
future broadcast coverage could include the three Basque historical territories
of the BAC. In spite of the fact that there were sixteen municipal stations
located all over the BAC in 1995, only three of the town halls where they
are located have requested broadcast licenses. Thus, the other stations
will have to go on broadcasting without a license.
On the other hand, nowadays free radio stations, i.e., the stations that
created alternative public spheres in the Basque Country, are experiencing
a serious crisis. At a meeting of the free radios of the Basque Country,
held in January 1994, there were representatives from 16 stations. The promoters´pessimism
in some aspects of broadcasting and the impediments and difficulties mentioned
were clear. As Jacqueline Urla (1995) pointed out, "the appearance
of free radios is directly related to the radical youth movement of the
eighties". Free radio came somewhat late to the Basque Country. The
first stations of this type appeared in the early eighties and aproximately
in 1987-88, at the height of the movement, there were about 50 stations
in operation. Therefore, this movement has waned significantly in last years,
and some promoters of free stations have joined municipal stations.
2. News sources: conception and definition
There is no doubt that the subject developed in the following section is
important and gives rise to much reflection. The knowledge and analysis
of news sources in a radio newsroom will facilitate numerous data on the
characteristics of these stations, the number of journalists who work in
them and the dominant ideological trend in the broadcasting itself. This
is due to the key role that news gathering and selection play in the structure
of the news making cycle. In the planning of this cycle, gathering, selection
and production are the phases which permit radio journalists to create the
reality that radio broadcasting brings to the listeners hourly. After planning
predictable events to be covered and designating resources, the newsperson
gathers news material and chooses some items after sifting through a great
number of them. The selected items are sorted out, prepared for appropriate
presentation and a package is arranged to make up a bulletin for final transmission.
Station agendas and newsroom organization fall into three fields: time-day
or night, working day or weekend; place-where the information is usually
gathered, and thirdly, news sources. These three factors are essential to
set up the framework which exists in radio newsrooms.
There is a symbiosis between media and news sources since both are mutually
needed until a relationship of interdependence is reached. Professor Caminos
(1995) maintains that this characteristic is essential for the radio journalist´s
work: "sources need journalists so that undisclosed matters reach the
public, but journalists need sources to offer the best available information.
News sources are thus converted in the central vertex of the journalistic
activity."
The concept of news sources must be defined prior to mentioning the type
of news sources which are used in radio and after having said that every
aspect related to news sources is vital in news making. To tell the truth,
this concept is quite ambiguous, as Blumler and Gurevitch (1986) pointed
out when indicating that it has been applied to the organizations, groups
or individuals that represent the sources themselves.
I shall begin with the definition offered by Abraham Moles, who has explained
in detail the concept of source. Moles uses the terms flow and well to explain
the meaning of the word. According to Moles, source is the place from which
the news flow comes and well the place where the news flow is received.
Perhaps it would be advisable to use other terms rather than place since
source can be a physical space or correspond to a person or entities. In
any case, as Villafañé and others (1987: 54) have noted, the
definition is correct because it refers to the communication process:
"Moles´ definition is perhaps the most complete as it refers to
the concept of source associated with a well and with a communication process.
However, this communication process is not simple. We could say that it
is a long chain made up of a succession of sources and wells, and each link
of the chain is susceptible to undergoing a mediation process. It is somewhat
similar to the black cases of the General Systems Theory with their inputs
and outputs".
On the other hand, Mariano Cebrián (1981) offers the following definition
of the source concept: "In communication theory, all communication
entities that produce and broadcast messages"; which is a useful and
general definition for those of us who study and research the world of journalism.
López de Zuazo (1985) defines news sources as the origin of the data
of a news item. This broad definition covers numerous sources, from the
protagonists of the news items to hospitals or airports. Therefore, when
examining this type of sources the casuistry is too large. Along the same
lines, Vázquez Montalbán (1973) gives us the following definition:
"News sources are the events themselves or their protagonists".
This last definition, in spite of being too broad, deserves reflection since
the journalist must always attempt to obtain the protagonists' words and
interview the participants in the news events as well as obtain images and
photographs from the place where the event took place. This work is most
important as it enables us to offer the listeners first hand information.
The news source concept can be represented as a waterfall. The spring, i.e.
the address of the water flow and the height of the fall are elements which
should be pointed out to give us an account of the process which is being
studied in the present article. As we can observe in the diagram of the
waterfall, the sluicegates are what we usually call sources.
It is advisable for these lockgates to be closed to the spring as long as
possible to enable us to obtain reliable information. The farther we are
from the spring, the farther we are from serious broadcasting. The newsperson
must go against the current and not along with it to receive the news item
in the last sluicegates.
There is a group of people behind all news sources. In the source or in
the well, there is the human element which supplies information. People
are behind the institutions or services. In spite of this being the real
conception, we can also apply the term source to institutions or services
as Angel Faus (1981) points out. Therefore, when we say the teletext is
the source, we must think of the journalists that offer this service; or
when we say that the source is the press agency, we think of the people
who provide information from that news organization.
Returning to Moles (1975), we can say that all the messages to which content
analysis is applied have two fundamental aspects. The denoting message (what
is said) and the connotative message (the way of saying it) coexist in all
the information originating from the different news sources. With this I
am referring to the stylistic and semantic aspects of each message. On the
one hand, this refers to the reality that is contained within the field
of meaning and on the other hand, to the aspects related to the aesthetics
and the manner of expression. We must be aware of these two realities or
aspects during all the communicative process from the time the news items
are produced until it is released on the air or is printed in the paper.
The connotative aspects of the news broadcasted by sources or released by
protagonists must be taken into account as well as the denoting message
because, in this way, the sources can be ranked on a scale ranging from
high to low according to the value placed on them by the journalist. Gauging
the news sources´ reliability is basically the task of the newsperson.
The more intermediaries appear in the process, the lower the reliability
of the news items. Journalists know quite well that this process is a key
part of the production process of news making and therefore, they should
have a clear idea from the start what sort of sources they wish to depend
on.
3. Obtaining information on Basque radio stations´ news sources
The present study has focused on news gathering and the choice of news sources
rather than selection criteria and news presentation. Study of the news
gathering process will supply data on the different levels of importance
the media assign to certain sources rather than others.
Drawing up lists of news sources and observation in situ of the productive
process of several Basque radio stations´ news programmes were the
methods used to objectively establish the relationship between the receiver
structures-according to the categories set forth in the first chapter of
the present article --, the stations and the incidence of news source selection
which make up the raw material of the presentation, which is the phase following
the productive process. The approach thus involves a look at the different
lists of sources the news writing carried out in several radio stations
is based on. These stations represent the different categories previously
pointed out.
Within the methodology used, the initial hypothesis is that the mediation
which occurs during routine professional activities in the productive process
in the fields of writing and selecting news is determined by the station´s
receiver structures and the personal and human resources. Thus, the more
resources the station has the more completely does the radio journalist
develop the news item. As a result of this, it is possible to detect that
less direct influence is exercised by the large stations´ stable information
sources.
One or two stations from each category were visited to carry out the study.
The samples were taken in 1995 and 1996 and data were collected during three
consecutive days from each radio station. These ordinary working days were
chosen taking into account the fact that the top priority was to get good
average percentages. Data were collected and there was no truly remarkable
difference on the days mentioned because the plan of considering news items
out of the ordinary was abandoned at the beginning of the research. Thus,
the study was made on the basis of the daily working routine in news programmes,
getting significant samples in the shortest period of time it could be done.
The stations broadcast in the BAC and no distinction was made between the
stations based on which of the two official languages of the autonomous
community broadcasting was carried out in.
3.1. State radio stations
Concerning radio stations included in the first category which I set down
in chapter one, it should be noted that at present, the state stations are
decentralized and produce their own news programmes for the Basque provinces
located in the Iberian peninsula as well as those located to the north.
However, they connect with central stations when broadcasting key news programmes.
Therefore, these stations´ news sources are doubtlessly very similar
to those used by stations whose scope is limited to the Basque Country.
The two networks chosen were RNE (Radio Nacional de España) and SER-Euskadi.
The study was carried out on three consecutive working days in April of
1996. Data were collected on the sources used in news programmes broadcasted
by the previously mentioned radio stations in the Basque Country.
RNE has a station located in each of the three capital cities of the historical
territories in the Basque Country. A total of 29 employees-journalists and
technicians-work in the three stations.
The percentages collected in RNE-Basque Country were as follow:
Source %
Journalist 34
Press conferences 20.2
Government sources 17
Press agencies 10.6
Labor unions 6.3
SER-Euskadi, a subsidiary of the state network with the highest listener
rates in Spain, has five stations in the BAC.
The figures pertaining to SER-Euskadi´s news programmes were quite
similar to those obtained in RNE- Basque Country with the variation of a
larger percentage of press conferences than news obtained by the journalist.
The following percentages were also collected during three consecutive working
days in April 1996.
Sources %
Press conferences 30.7
Journalist 26.9
News agencies 19.2
abor unions 7.6
3.2 Basque national radio
When analysing the resources used, Euskadi Irratia and Radio Euskadi are
stations which have high budgets considering they are part of a poor media
sector such as radio. 17 journalists work in the central news writing department
daily in the Bilbao station while 4 work on holidays and weekends (in addition
to the employees in charge of technical control). These professionals also
work with an additional eight staff members in the Basque Country delegations
(six in the BAC, one in Navarre and one in the North Basque Country) and
six correspondents based in Madrid, Washington, London, Paris, Brussels
and Rome. On the other hand, the Euskadi Irratia station in San Sebastian
employs a similar number of radio journalists to carry out its news tasks
(22 radio journalists work in the central news writing department, 7 correspondents
are based outside the Basque Country and an additional 7 journalists work
in the Basque delegations10). In addition to human resources, the great
interest shown in stable sources can also be seen by the fact that three
press agencies (Efe, Vasco-Press and Reuters) send news by computer link
ups. Due to the fact that these are public radio stations which depend on
EITB (Basque Radio-Television) and have a firm commitment to all sectors
of Basque society, it is quite clear that they take great care in news gathering
and selecting sources. Since the population of the BAC is made up of politically
diverse fragments, it is understandable that these stations should receive
greater criticism than other smaller stations which go unnoticed.
Unlike stations which work on a smaller scope, newswriting in these stations
involves greater work on the journalists´ part to search out news sources.
While the television is more passive than the written press and depends
more heavily on institutional sources, radios which have resources at their
disposal are more similar to newspapers in the field of news gathering.
In the two EITB stations I was able to witness how sizeable human resources
made it possible to work more directly with the news items and depend on
the teletext or newspaper news to a lesser degree. The radio journalist
in these two stations was more concerned about checking the veracity of
his sources and seeking more data or viewpoints on the news items.
The data collected in Radio Euskadi and Euskadi Irratia on the sources consulted
for broadcast of midday and evening news programmes were as follow:
Source %
Journalist, correspondent, agenda 35.4
News agency 17.7
Government sources 11.3
Press 11.3
Political parties 9.6
Institutions or social associations 9.6
Experts 4.8
As these data reveal, the radio journalist becomes a key news source. The
news writer or correspondent often goes out in search of news without waiting
for the news to catch up with him. He thus breaks out of the passive tendency
in news searching which has been detected by some researchers in television.
Thanks to the agenda, the journalist finds news items which will head news
programmes. Correspondents´ news also play a key role. Nevertheless,
if we add these two sources the figure is still lower than those corresponding
to government sources and radio journalists . It should not be forgotten
that this tendency was pointed out earlier by Professors Villafañe,
Bustamante and Prado (1987) in an in situ study carried out in several major
radio stations.
Concerning the identification of sources which I was able to check in these
stations, my attention was drawn to the lack of ethics when mentioning news
items "borrowed" from rival stations´ broadcasts. Ten out
of the ten times checked these went on the air without the slightest mention
of the rival radio station which had initially gathered the news item. It
is evident that there is no fear of the law or codes of ethics in the world
of radio.
.3 Territorial radio stations
The station Bizkaia Irratia was chosen to show the sources used in the third
group. Five employees work in this station´s news services and its
broadcasting range covers almost all the historical territory of Bizkaia.
The samples were taken in March of 1995 and the main morning and midday
(8:00 and 13:00) news programmes as well as the evening news (20:00) were
analysed.
The great use made of the written press as a news source can clearly be
seen in the morning news programmes. The following table shows the combined
data on the morning and midday news programmes:
Sources %
Press 50
Agency (Efe) 27.4
Monitoring 14.5
Ertzaintza (Basque police) 3.2
Government sources 3.2
Press conferences 1.6
In the 20:00 hourly news bulletin, however, no more than two sources were
normally used. The tendency to use the press as a source gives way to use
of the teletext and news items heard on rival stations in the following
percentages:
Sources %
Agency 62.5
Monitoring 37.5
3.4. Municipal radio stations
I have previously mentioned municipal radio stations in group four. The
study was focused on the station Getxo Irratia in particular as it is a
clearly defined municipal radio station. Analysis of three news programmes
(64 news items) revealed the following data:
Sources %
Monitoring 42.1
Press 21.8
City information 14
Social associations 12.5
City police-Basque police (Ertzaintza) 6
Radio reporter 1.5 Files 1.5
In spite of these available data, it should be pointed out that city news
occupies a key position on the station, i.e. it is given great importance
within the news services schema. On the other hand, if we add the two first
sources, we see that an absolute majority of 63.9% is attained thus relegating
other sources to only 35.5%. This clearly shows the Getxo municipal station´s
tendency when selecting news sources. While the station does not omit national,
state and international news, these are considered to be less important
and this approach gives rise to the tendency in use of news sources which
we have observed. This consists of resorting to broadcasting items heard
on other stations as well as reading newspapers to obtain non local news.
Other stations focused on the municipality make connections to cover these
three news fields or tap the signal from stronger broadcasters such as Euskadi
Irratia.
3.5. Local commercial radio stations
With respect to the stations included in the fifth group, M.Teresa Santos´s
study (1994) on local commercial radio stations´ news sources in the
BAC should be mentioned. Their main news source is the written press according
to the results of Teresa Santos´s research:
Sources %
Press 70
Radio broadcasts 24
Callers 4
Press conferences 2
Social associations -
Agencies -
Tas-Tas Agency -
Items broadcasted by other stations appear as the second most important
news source and according to Teresa Santos, AM stations are most frequently
consulted to obtain last minute news.
Continuing with the fifth group through data obtained in 1995 during the
present study we can affirm that news sent by fax, i.e. from public institutions´
press cabinets, ranks first as a news source. It should be kept in mind
that Teresa Santos´s data correspond to 1986-88 and at that time the
influence of press cabinets was not so great. However, the following data
correspond to 1995:
Sources %
Government sources 31.3
Press 19.3
Radio broadcasts 18.1
Files 12.
Callers 7.2
Social institutions 4.8
Ertzaintza 4
Radio reporter 2.4
Use of fax has become quite commonplace in these stations and its influence
has been widely felt as is shown by the data above.
3.6. Free radio stations
When analysing the next group of radio stations, it is seen that current
events do not play the key role they are assigned in free noncommercial
radio stations since the latter´s main feature is news. This tendency
has been very common in the history of pirate radio stations. Due to this
aspect, it is evident that these stations´ main news sources are social
organizations. In Teresa Santos´s research (1994), news sources of
the Basque Autonomous Community´s free radio stations were ranked as
follow:
Sources %
Written press 4
Radio news items heard on other stations -
Callers 4
Press conferences -
Social organizations 81
Agencies -
Tas-Tas Agency 11
As can be seen in the table, the alternative news comes from social organizations.
These free radio stations do not have teletexts and since they normally
have contacts with the leftist Basque nationalist movement, they often choose
news which occurs in this social group or which is of interest to the members
of the group. This news is frequently boycotted by the more powerful media.
In order to fill the gap caused by lack of a news agency and to create closer
relations among the free radio stations in the Basque Country, the alternative
agency Tas-Tas was created. Three telephones installed in Bilbao, Vitoria
and Errenteria are used to collect news to be sent to the free radio station
members of the agency.
Nevertheless, by 1995, this agency had been discontinued. The data in the
following samples correspond to the news sources used by free Basque radio
stations last year (February 1995):
Sources %
Associations or social movements 58.9
Written press 20.5
Political parties 10.2
Journalists and collaborators 7.7
Labor unions 2.5
Use of fax has become quite common in free radio stations´ newsrooms
and has silenced the voice of social movements and associations which previously
had direct access to the microphones. Messages sent by fax have become more
widely used.
On the other hand, there is no substantial change between the data collected
by Teresa Santos and those which are presented above. It should be kept
in mind that approximately eight years have elapsed between the two samples.
However, the free radio movement is much weaker than before and proof of
this is the lack of desire to start up another news source of its own.
4. Conclusions
Examination of news programmes in some Basque radio stations does not indicate
that the radio journalist consults different news sources. Unfortunately,
the habit of confirming information is not widespread in most of the radio
stations included in our study. This affirmation leads us to our first conclusion.
The more locally orientated the radio station, the stronger its tendency
to receive news from only one source. On the other hand, in the autonomous
radio stations in the Basque Autonomous Community, the newsperson´s
effort to confirm and work on the news items when time permits can be clearly
observed. This is especially clear in the case of major news items when
the radio journalist examines the news sources more deeply and makes an
effort to obtain news from very different sources. In any case, the habit
of making use of official news sources is quite widespread. As is the case
of newspapers, the key task of radio newsrooms is to find reliable, predictable
and programmable news raw material since these same stations also broadcast
standard news. This is proof of the bureaucratic affinity principle mentioned
by Mark Fishman (1980). Institutional sources'/agencies' and the media´s
bureaucratic makeup is similar and they are dependent on each other. All
radio workers know that there is a lower news flow at the weekend because
the institutions are closed. This is the reason, to a certain extent, why
radio stations do not take greater care in weekend news programming.
As a second conclusion, we can state that the journalistic research carried
out in radio stations located in the Basque Country leaves a great deal
to be desired. The radio journalist is constantly rushed for time and lacks
the desire or calm necessary to set up continuous contact with news sources.
This is clearly reflected by the nonexistent journalistic research carried
out in Basque stations. In addition, it appears that this type of research
journalism will not be very successful in future. The truth is that the
radio is still the television and press´s poor relation. Some private
statewide radio programmes can be mentioned as an exception, but the radio
newsperson may be more guided by political interests rather than the desire
to carry out research journalism.
The third conclusion is that of the competition which exists between items
heard on other stations and reading the daily press, both considered news
sources, there is a greater tendency to consult the press for morning news
programmes. Concerning items heard on other stations, I have run into journalists
who only take them into account in rare cases.
Manipulation of news items is a subject that always comes up when studying
radio stations. Therefore, in order to avoid errors and particular bias,
we must make use of trustworthy sources. It should be kept in mind that
the closer the newsperson is to the origin of the news, the more able he
will be to offer proper journalistic news. Thus, it is not surprising that
the radio journalist is quite pleased when he manages to obtain data from
primary sources without any intermediaries or is actually present at what
other authors have called the news site. In any case, even if the radio
newsperson does not rely excessively on news sources and is pleased with
the work he has done, everything is in vain if he does not carry out his
task ethically and professionally.
We must not forget that some sources have subtle malicious mechanisms to
control the type of news they wish to release and how they wish it to be
made public. This control arises in news sources and Txema Ramírez´s
(1995) suggestion on how to avoid it is quite useful: to take into account
or give greater opportunities to the less powerful news sources and that
each media should have its own diary by subjects.
Large and small radio stations alike depend excessively on large communications
companies for news. Ranging from CNN and the large television channels to
the autonomous radio stations in the Basque Country, the same news sources
are used and similar routines are carried out to obtain news. The present
study only detected a wide enough news field for the radio to offer a fresh
approach to the process of creating and elaborating news from radio reporters
on a municipal level. This is due to the fact that radio can still compete
at the same municipal level with the other large media.
In a sense, the radio journalist does not usually do more than amplify the
news items that news agencies and institutions release to the public. This
is clearly seen in the Basque radio stations included in the present study.
6. References
BLUMLER J. y GUREVITCH, M. (1986) "Journalists´ orientations to
political institutions: The case of parliamentary broadcasting" in
P. Golding, G. Murdock & P. Schelisnger (ed.),Communicationg politics:
Mass communications and the political process. New York: Holmes & Meier.
CAMINOS, José M. (1995, unpublished) "Las fuentes de información
y la investigación periodística" in José M. Caminos,
Manual de periodismo de investigación. pgs. 125-153
CEBRIAN, Mariano (1981) Diccionario de radio y televisión.
Madrid: Alhambra.
DIAZ MANCISIDOR, Alberto (1994). "La radio subsidiaria" in Tendencias
1994, Fundesco, Madrid, pgs. 241-246.
FAUS BELAU, Angel (1981) La radio: introducción a un medio desconocido.
Madrid: Latina Universitaria, 1981, pgs. 248-250.
FISHMAN, Mark (1980) Manufacturing the news. USA: The University
of Texas Press.
GARITAONANDIA, Carmelo (1995) A television to save a language and a culture.
The Basque case . This paper was read in Budapest at the 3rd Media Conference
of Hungarians Living Outside Hungary and titled "Communication to serve
Communities". November 21 to 25.
LOPEZ ZUAZO, A. (19854) Diccionario del periodismo. Madrid: Pirámide.
MAXWELL, Richard (1996) "Technologies of National Desire" in Shapiro
M. & Alker H. R. Challenging boundaries: global flows, territorial identities,
Mineapolis, University of Minnesota Press, pgs. 327-368.
MOLES, A. et alt. (1975) La comunicación y los mass media.
Bilbao: Mensajero.
RAMIREZ, Txema (1995) "La influencia de los gabinetes de prensa. Las
rutinas periodísticas al servicio del poder." Madrid: TELOS
scientific journal, n. 40, pgs. 47-56.
SANTOS DIEZ, M. Teresa (1994) Radios comerciales... Ondas libres.
Bilbao: Onda Cero Radio, pgs. 89-92.
URLA, Jacqueline (1995) Outlaw language: creating alternative public
spheres in Basque free radio in "Pragmatics", USA.
VAZQUEZ MONTALBAN, M. (1975) Las noticias y la información.
Barcelona: Salvat.
VILLAFAÑE J., BUSTAMANTE E. y PRADO E. (1987) Fabricar noticias.
Las rutinas productivas en radio y televisión. Barcelona: Mitre,
1987.
Notas
1. The Basque Nationalist Party
2. The Spanish government created legislation
in 1908 that gave the central state the right to establish and exploit all
systems for broadcasting. Thus it happened that "when the Basque government
agreed to start Euskal Irrati Telebista in 1982, their action constituted
the most significant intitutional change of broadcasting since the Spanish
civil war. It was, moreover, a direct assault on the national law that had
regulated radioware communication for over seventy years" (Richard
Maxwell, 1996: 335).
3. As professor Carmelo Garitaonandia (1995:
3) has pointed out "these televison and radio stations are vital to
the development of Basque culture as they are the only ones operating in
this language except for some local radio stations in the Basque Country
located on both sides of the border".
4. EKB, the main Basque Culture Association,
filed a complaint against the Spanish state with the UN Economic, Social
and Cultural Committee on 29 April 1996. This denouncement was prompted,
among other issues, by the fact that the Spanish Public Television broadcasts
less than 0.1% of total programming in Basque in the BAC and Navarre. Euskalerria
Irratia, the only station which broadcasts in Basque in Pamplona, was denied
permission to broadcast on October 25 1990. This gave rise to complaints
that their native language was being discriminated against from most of
the 80,000 Basque speakers in the area.
5. The total cost per radio hour that Basque
inhabitants listen to is approximately 5 pesetas ($0.05). Therefore, I think
that the Basque Public Radio Network is not as expensive for the Basque
people as has been suggested by other authors (Díaz Mancisidor, 1994).
6. Since 1990 there has been only one national
newspaper in Basque (Euskaldunon Egunkaria-Basque People´s Newspaper)
which had daily average circulation of 12,500 copies in 1996 (Euskaldunon
Egunkaria. December 6. 1996:11).
7. These data cover the whole year and have been
published by CIES. There is a 95% reliability level.
8. There are 70,000 potential listeners for Basque
language broadcasting in the northern territory. This datum appeared in
the newspaper Egin on 26 September 1995.
9. These data were published by SIADECO in 1991.
10All data correspond to April 1995.
© Gorka J. Palazio
revista de estudios de comunicación
komunikazio ikasketen aldizkaria
mayo 1997 maiatza
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