Basté and Terribas highlight the public service and integration function of radio on the centenary of the first broadcast in Spain
Yesterday, the University of Barcelona celebrated the centenary of the first radio broadcast in Spain in the Paranymph Hall of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The event was a dialogue between two leading figures in Catalan journalism, Jordi Basté and Mònica Terribas. The dialogue was chaired by Laura Rosel, director of Communication at the UB and a professional with twenty years of experience in the world of radio, and host of the programme El matí de Catalunya Ràdio between 2020 and 2023. The conversation was a journey through the history of radio, its evolution and its future in a digital world.
Yesterday, the University of Barcelona celebrated the centenary of the first radio broadcast in Spain in the Paranymph Hall of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The event was a dialogue between two leading figures in Catalan journalism, Jordi Basté and Mònica Terribas. The dialogue was chaired by Laura Rosel, director of Communication at the UB and a professional with twenty years of experience in the world of radio, and host of the programme El matí de Catalunya Ràdio between 2020 and 2023. The conversation was a journey through the history of radio, its evolution and its future in a digital world.
During the conversation, Basté, current director of El món a RAC1, stressed the importance of Catalan on the radio, and stated that “language has never been a weapon to be used as a weapon of war, but rather an element of integration”. With this reflection, he stressed that the audience connects with the contents beyond the language in which they are broadcast, an idea that he reinforced with a reference to the radio of the Republican era: “The radio that was done during the Republic was not very different from what we do now”.
Terribas, who has a long career in media such as TV3, Catalunya Ràdio and the newspaper Ara, underlined the value of radio as a public service and “an element of extraordinary social companionship”. He added that “in Catalonia, the phenomenon of local radio stations is a constant source of talent and experimentation", and referred to the specificity of the Catalan radio model as a distinctive feature that enriches the experience of listeners.
Rosel led the debate to other current issues, such as the impact of social networks and podcasts on news consumption. Basté considered that “social networks are faster than radio, but radio retains credibility”, and added that the podcast represents a broadening of content that does not fit into the traditional grids of generalist broadcasters. Terribas remarked that “the podcast is a narrative unit in itself" and that social networks are modifying the narrative rhythm of radio and television.
During the conversation, the tension between the struggle for audience and the will to remain a public service, especially in public media, was highlighted. Terribas defended that these media “must be faithful to their public service mandate and not be slaves to the audience”, a reminder of the ethical responsibility these media have towards society. On the other hand, Basté pointed out that “there must be a great debate on where public radio should go”, and suggested the need for an open and in-depth debate on the role that radio should play in a society increasingly influenced by social networks and immediate digital consumption.
The debate also addressed the issue of female representation in the media, with Rosel asking whether a radio station with more female voices is envisaged in the future. Terribas responded with a critical perspective on the glass ceiling in the sector, stating that she has been teaching “for thirty years at the Pompeu Fabra University, and most of the students are girls, but very few reach management positions”. However, she believes that “we will get there”.
The event, which aroused great interest among the audience, concluded with a reflection shared by the three professionals on the relevance of radio as a space of proximity and rigour in an increasingly digitalized world. The celebration of this centenary at the University of Barcelona reaffirms the institution’s commitment to the dissemination of culture and knowledge and underlines the role of radio as a means of integration and social cohesion.