Youth radio as ‘social object’: the social meaning of ‘free radio’ shows for young people in France

Abstract

A distinctive aspect of French radio is the very liberal and open-minded ‘free radio’ phone-in programmes broadcast on young people’s radio stations (Skyrock, Fun Radio and NRJ). These programmes deal with ‘young people’s problems’, say the 15–16-year-olds we interviewed – that is, sexuality and relationships, teenage identity, drugs and sometimes political subjects. The article first shows how radio is a medium particularly able to exploit its dual nature as both conversation and device, text and frame, conversational exchange and social interaction. The phone hoax is a typical example of this. The ‘metatextuality’ of young people’s radio is characterized by ‘talk about’ television, magazines and other radio programmes. This article also proposes a new analysis of reception based on a ‘hermeneutic sociology’ – by which we do not mean textual analysis – applied to ‘free radio’ shows, which are neither conventional talk shows, news or current affairs, nor fiction. In order to analyse their reception by young people, the article asks: ‘What kind of “social object” is radio for teenagers?’ The question is not what use teenagers make of radio programmes or how they interpret or ‘read’ them, but what these programmes represent for them. The article analyses four types of ‘social object’ – radio as ‘common sphere’, as ‘quasi-institution’, as ‘social event/occasion’ and as ‘device’. It describes what these ‘objects’ indicate in relation to socially situated listeners and to different ‘free radio’ formats.

Establishing news confidence: a qualitative study of how people use the news media to know the news-world

“…As a social and cultural object (Couldry, 2000b;Gleverac, 2005) my respondents recognize PBS news as occupying a special place in their news consciousness, one that allows it to play the role of news 'safety net'. This 'safety net' role allows my respondents to bridge the gap between dwindling credibility in news media and personally confident social realities.…”

“…It is directly concerned with power and control, and examines how people's media use, while perhaps satisfying psychological needs, may also satisfy the dominant interests that control highly unequal media and social systems. Towards these ends, I treat news outlets like PBS as social and cultural objects (Couldry, 2000b;Gleverac, 2005) that are used in different ways, for different reasons, and with implications for power, control and social change. In so doing, this article extends the traditional uses-and-gratifications paradigm by demonstrating its utility in critical scholarship.…”

Identities and Subjectivities

“…It was concluded, heeding Weller (2006) and Glevarec (2005), that community radio plays an important role in the lives of young people, in particular in socializing them to adjust to different features of adult social life. First, young people's exploration of self through relationship-building was considered.…”

“…In a similar train of thought, Weller (2006) notes that free radio shows comprise the junction of two social realities. Further, Glevarec (2005) maintains that, for adolescents in a liminal space, radio is both a negotiator of socialization in the transition to adulthood and to the public sphere. In other words, heeding Glevarec (2005, p. 335), young people's radio "shapes the frontiers within childhood and between childhood and adulthood."…”

Representation radio: digital art-making as transformative pedagogical practice in the college classroom

“…The use of radio as a digital medium for young people to represent self has been studied almost exclusively in out-of-school settings with a focus on middle and high school-aged students (Chavez & Soep, 2005;Doerr-Stevens, 2011;Glevarec, 2005;Walker & Romero, 2008). The use of radio as a digital medium for young people to represent self has been studied almost exclusively in out-of-school settings with a focus on middle and high school-aged students (Chavez & Soep, 2005;Doerr-Stevens, 2011;Glevarec, 2005;Walker & Romero, 2008).…”