Radio Ga Ga: Mallorcan radio

Something that popped up in yesterday's piece was the Muro councillor who has responsibility for radio and television. It came as news to me because I wasn't aware that there was either a local radio or television station in Muro. As far as the television is concerned, there is so little reference to it that you wonder which television the councillor is responsible for: the town hall's plasma screen perhaps? As for radio, there is a Muro radio station, though I would have qualified as one of the 25% of the local population who was unaware of it when a survey was conducted in 2005.

They don't seem to have repeated the survey exercise. Maybe because the results six years ago were not exactly a ringing endorsement of the station's existence. Based on interview research with 554 people, the survey discovered that a whopping 6% of the local population said that they listened to the station every day. 75% said that they never listened to it. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the research was the average length of time the small number of listeners actually spent listening. All of eight minutes per day.

Maybe its listening figures are a whole lot better now, or maybe they aren't. If not, then what is the point of the station?

The station is, obviously enough, one means of local communication and can be a forum for issues specific to the community, but then how many burning topics does a small town like Muro generate? Another finding from the survey suggested that news wasn't a priority for listening in. 50% said they tuned in to hear music. And you can hear music on any number of other radio stations.

Having different forms of local media is laudable enough, but can they be justified either in terms of listening figures or cost? Are they more a case of me-too media rather than meeting a genuine need?

Alcúdia also has a radio station. It celebrated its twentieth anniversary last week. Unlike Muro, Alcúdia Radio does have a strong presence. Alcúdia is almost three times the size of Muro, so you might hope that it would do, and it makes its presence felt. For example, each year during the Sant Pere fiestas there is an Alcúdia Radio procession. The station is on hand to broadcast from the fiestas and the autumn fair. It is certainly listened to, as you can often hear it on in shops and hear the ads.

Ah yes, the ads. There must be a small studio somewhere with a couple of voiceover artists who try their best to vary their voices over whatever cheesy muzak they dredge out of the archives. It must become extremely difficult to know how to sound enthusiastic when you're spouting the same "especialista en carne" line for the thousandth time.

Though Alcúdia Radio has become a fixture, it was, in its early days, a thing of some controversy. It had been going only a short time when an issue of the old local magazine "Badia d'Alcúdia" reported: "The municipal radio is losing listeners and will lose more ... it is not a municipal station but a partisan radio station which serves only a part of the population." It was politically biased, in other words.

And it is political bias that has continued to dog local media. It isn't unusual for the media to adopt a particular political stance, but the bias has manifested itself in a different way; radio and television have been controlled by different parties.

In 2006 Ràdio i Televisió de Mallorca, TV Mallorca as it is commonly known, was created by a Council of Mallorca driven by the Unió Mallorquina. It was a rival to the IB3 radio and television service, at that time "managed" by the Partido Popular. In addition to charges of political bias and interference, these two broadcasters have failed spectacularly to make money and have failed to create wide audiences. President Bauzá suggested before the elections that he would close down TV Mallorca and privatise IB3.

Where was the sense in having two broadcasters? Very little. Arguably, neither was necessary. Which brings you back to the likes of Muro, to its radio and elusive TV and to need. Public broadcasting isn't solely about profitability, but if it doesn't address a genuine need then there is no point to it. There are plenty of alternative broadcasters and alternative forms of communication. But without the radio and TV, what would a poor councillor do?


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.