Radio challenges in digital convergence sceneries

Abstract

This article analyzes the current situation of the Spanish radio in the new media scenery, characterized by digital convergence, the redefinition of the classical functions in the media and the constant development of an increasingly more demanding and segmented audience. In the era of information, the codes and rules existing during decades have changed completely, especially those which affect the production process and the access to information. Thanks to the Internet, contents of any kind are at reach for citizens at any place and any time, and radio is no longer the only one with the gift of instantaneity and ubiquity. As it loses the exclusivity of one of its most defining characteristics, radio has to adapt itself to the new reality and compete with the press and television, which offer news and fiction services in similar conditions to radio.