Changing Airwaves: Identity, Practice, and the Place of Radio in the Lives of Connected Communities

• Main Author: De La Cruz, Sonia
• Other Authors: Martínez, Gabriela
• Language: en_US
• Published: University of Oregon 2014
• Subjects: Connected Communities; Diaspora; Identity & Representation; Latinos/as; Media Practitioners; Participatory Practices
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1794/18515

This dissertation is a case study of Radio Bilingüe, a community-driven, non-profit, radio network with transnational reach. With this case, I examine the reasons that gave way to the development of the radio, including focusing on the roles of media practitioners as producers of radio content and facilitators of community participation and the significance of the radio in the lives of Latino communities living across the United States. Methodologically, this is a qualitative study based on ethnographic methods of inquiry and archival research. Through ethnographic methods, it was possible to describe the roles of media practitioners, while archival research was carried out to gather a number of primary and secondary documents, which were analyzed through textual analysis to piece together the history of Radio Bilingüe. Throughout the study I weave together a few interrelated areas: first, I chronicle the history and structure of the radio station that for nearly 34 years has been at the service of underserved and under-presented Latino immigrants living in the United States; second, I examine the profession of media practitioners and their participatory practices for community engagement; and finally, I discuss the place of the radio in the lives of its listening audience to understand how it helps sustain community ties and shape identity across local, national, and transnational places.