Comunidades Invisíveis: Vozes Minoritárias no Jornalismo Profissional Alavancadas Pelo Jornalismo Comunitário em Rádios Alternativas

Miguel Midões

doi:10.17231/comsoc.48(2025).6456

Authors

Miguel Midões Departamento de Comunicação e Arte, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Viseu, Portugal/Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9492-9918

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.48(2025).6456

Keywords:

citizen journalism, community radio, invisibility, alternative media

Abstract

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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Author Biography

Miguel Midões, Departamento de Comunicação e Arte, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Viseu, Portugal/Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal

Miguel Midões is an adjunct professor at the School of Education of the Polytechnic University of Viseu. He holds a PhD in Communication Sciences from the University of Coimbra, where he conducted the first mapping and characterisation of Portuguese community radio stations. He has a master’s degree in Communication Sciences from the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro and a specialist title in Journalism and Reporting awarded by the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Social Communication from the Polytechnic University of Coimbra in 2004. He is an integrated researcher at the Communication and Society Research Centre of the University of Minho. His research interests focus on community media (particularly radio), local journalism, audio (radio and podcast), and media literacy. He has been a journalist (CPJ 4707A) since 2004 and previously worked for TSF Rádio Notícias.

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