RADIO'S COUP: HOW POLITICS TALK DISPLACED NEWS IN PUERTO RICAN INFORMATION RADIO AND ITS INFLUENCE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION By Yadira Nieves-Pizarro A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Information and Media-Doctor of Philosophy 2018 RADIO'S COUP: HOW POLITICS TALK DISPLACED NEWS IN PUERTO RICAN INFORMATION RADIO AND ITS INFLUENCE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION ABSTRACT By Yadira Nieves-Pizarro Commercial news media organizations focus more frequently on the entertainment value of politics, restricting thoughtful reporting on public issues. In recent years, information radio in Puerto Rico, a Spanish-speaking territory of the United States, has increased their opinion programming and downsized newsrooms. As a result, audiences’ access to information is limited or filtered through the opinions of partisan commentators. Using a mixed method approach that included in-depth interviews to radio workers and audience members, as well as a content analysis of information radio programing during election years 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016, this study examined how different constraints shaped content and its impact on political polarization. Following the Hierarchy of Influences Model, radio worker interviews revealed pressures at all levels impacted content causing the displacement of formal news programs and the consolidation of an offer based on political commentary and opinion. At the media organization level, ownership and editorial policy determine what news are broadcast and how issues are framed. In addition, the main radio networks offer only pro- statehood and pro-free-associated state commentary relegating pro-independence voices in politics talk shows. Radio’s economic model depends exclusively on advertising and has yet to transform the Internet into another source of income. Therefore, audience ratings are the main criteria to select the content giving primacy to politics talk shows. The content analysis examined the programming of WKAQ 580, NotiUno 630, and Radio Isla 1320. Although the interviews with radio workers and an analysis of the programing grids of the aforementioned radio stations showed an increase in politics talk shows, news is present across different program formats in the form of bulletins, but not formal news programs. As a strategy to gain commercial success, topics focused on political controversy, economy, and crime. Incidentally, outrage was not as pervasive as it is in United States news/talk radio. Finally, audience interviews revealed the public chooses opinion programs over news. Politics talk shows serve an educational function since they contribute to the understanding of political processes. Participants assign credibility to politics talk show hosts that are reputable and have experience in the political arena as former politicians or political advisors. While some respondents identify slant in political commentary, others attribute journalism tenets such as objectivity to politics talk shows. Accordingly, audiences recognize opinion programs that provide multiple ideological perspectives as unbiased. Consistent with Selective Exposure, publics sponsor opinion programs aligned with their party affiliation. Messages in news and politics talk shows lean towards maintaining a political relationship with the United States. This is evident in the negative tone used to reference the Puerto Rican Government and absent or positive allusions to the U.S. Government. However, polarization occurs along the lines of national identity. Political parties differentiate ideologically as the Popular Democratic and Independence parties embrace the idea of a Puerto Rican nation while the New Progressive Party advocates integration as a state of the Union. In Puerto Rico the right is associated with statehood whereas the left is related to the demand for political powers or secession. Copyright by YADIRA NIEVES-PIZARRO 2018 To Amaya The answer to my prayer v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I thank God for his multiple mercies and care during the completion of the doctorate. I thank my husband Marcos, who left everything to venture to Michigan, so I could pursue this project. We got more that we bargained for with the arrival of our daughter Amaya. ¡Te amo con todo! To my parents, Vilma and Milton, for giving it all for their children and reinforcing the importance of education in achieving our dreams. To my three brothers, Javier, Iván and David for their constant expressions of support and looking after Mom and Dad while we were away during devastating hurricane María. To my dissertation committee, Dr. Manuel Chavez (chair), Dr. Bruno Takahashi, Dr. Rachel Mourão, and Dr. Dustin Carnahan for their guidance and advice. To the Inter American University of Puerto Rico for their financial support in completing the Ph.D. To all, thanks. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ix LIST OF TABLES.……………………………………………………………………… LIST OF FIGURES.……………………………………………………………………… x CHAPTER 1.……………………………………………...……………………………… 1 INTRODUCTION.………………..……………...……….……………………………. 1 CHAPTER 2.………………………………...……………………………………………. 4 LITERATURE REVIEW.………………………………………………………………. 4 Political Background.……………………………………………………………………. 4 Radio in Puerto Rico.……………………………………………………………………. 8 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND.…………………………………………………….. 11 Hierarchy of Influences Model.………………………………………………………..… 11 News Quality.……………………………………………………………………………. 19 Polarization, Selective Exposure, and Political Participation.……………………..……. 22 CHAPTER 3.…………………………………………………………………………….… 28 CONTENT ANALYSIS.……………………………………………………………….... 28 METHODS.……………………………………………………………………………… 28 Operational Concepts and Measures.……………………………………………………. 29 RESULTS.……………………………………………………………………………….. 34 Outrage-Based Language.……………………………………………………………….. 40 Tone towards Government Institutions.…………………………………………………. 48 CHAPTER 4.……………………………………………………………………………..... 55 RADIO WORKERS’ INTERVIEWS.…………………………………………………. 55 METHODS.……………………………………………………………………………… 55 RESULTS………………………………………………………………………………... 56 News/talk stations 1970s - 2000s.………………………………………………………... 56 News Slow Death and Rise of the Politics Talk Show.………………………….………. 58 Level Constrains on Content.……………………………………………………………. 61 Media Organization Level.………………………………………………………………. 61 Organizational Structure…………………………………………………………………. 62 Editorial Policy…………………………………………………………………………... 65 Economic………………………………………………………………………………… 68 Social Institutions Level ………………………………………………………………… 72 Individual Level………………………………………………………………………….. 79 Routines Level…………………………………………………………………………… 85 Ideological Level………………………………………………………………………… 87 Radio Worker’s Perception of their Audience…………………………………………… 91 CHAPTER 5……………………………………………………………………………….. 94 AUDIENCE INTERVIEWS…………………………………………………………….. 94 METHODS.……………………………………………………………………………… 94 RESULTS.……………………………………………………………………………….. 96 vii CHAPTER 6……………………………………………………………………………….. 112 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION…………………………………………………… 112 Changes in Content.……………………………………………………………………… 112 Influences in Content...….………………………………………………………………. 114 Media Organization Level……………………………………………………………….. 115 Social Institutions Level…………………………………………………………………. 117 Ideological Level………………………………………………………………………… 118 Individual Level…………………………………………………………………………. 119 Routines Level…………………………………………………………………………… 120 Audience Choice….……………………………………………………………………... 121 APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………………........ 126 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………….. 147 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Donations for Political Parties 2011-2017……………………………………….. 8 Table 2: Inter-Coder Reliability……………………………………………………………. 29 Table 3: Types of Programs in Puerto Rican Information Radio………………………….. 37 Table 4: Topic Distribution per Radio Station……………………………………………... 39 Table 5: Use of Outrage Language in Puerto Rican Information Radio…………………… 40 Table 6: Use of Outrage Language by Program Type……………………………………... 42 Table 7: Use of Outrage Language by Speaker Type……………………………………… 44 Table 8: Use of Outrage Language by Station……………………………………………... 47 Table 9: Tone towards Puerto Rican Government Institutions………………….…………. 48 Table 10: Tone towards U.S. Government Institutions……………………………………. 48 Table 11: Tone towards Puerto Rico Government Institutions per Program Type………... 49 Table 12: Tone towards U.S Government Institutions per Program Type………………… 50 Table 13: Tone towards Puerto Rico Government Institutions per Speaker Type………… 52 Table 14: Tone towards U.S Government Institutions per Speaker Type…………………. 53 Table 15: Summary of Station Call Letters, Names, Ownership, and Status……………… 65 Table 16: Radio Worker’s College Level Education by Area of Study…………………… 80 Table 17: Participant Demographic Profile………………………………………………... 94 Table 18: Time Spent and Place of Radio Listening………………………………………. 96 Table 19: Participant’s News Consumption by Medium…………………………………... 97 Table 20: People who Consume News/Talk Stations according to Listeners……………... 98 Table 21: Programs Audiences Consume for Political Information……………………….. 99 Table 22: Audience Perception of Bias per Speaker Type………………………………… 103 Table 23: Audience’s Party Affiliation…………………………………………………….. 104 ix Table 24: Radio Stations Audiences Consume according to Political Affiliation…………. 104 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Puerto Rico Voter Turnout 1996-2016…………………………………………... 8 Figure 2: Puerto Rico Format Listening…………………………………………………… 11 Figure 3: Hierarchy of Influences Model…………………………………………………... 13 Figure 4: WKAQ-Univision Programs 2004-2016………………………………………… 35 Figure 5: NotiUno Programs 2000-2016…………………………………………………... 35 Figure 6: Radio Isla Programs 2004-2016…………………………………………………. 36 Figure 7: Types of Programs on Information Radio November 2004 to February 2016….. 37 Figure 8: Audience Political Participation Behavior………………………………………. 106 Figure 9: Shows Voting Participants Consume……………………………………………. 107 Figure 10: Shows Participants Volunteers in Political Campaigns Consume……………... 107 Figure 11: Shows Petition Signing Participants Consume………………………………… 108 Figure 12: Shows Participants who Call/Write Government Officials Consume…………. 109 Figure 13: Shows Participants that Call-in Programs Consume…………………………… 110 Figure 14: Shows Participants that Post about Politics in Social Media Consume………... 111 xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION News media consumption has been reported to have a positive influence on political participation (Boulianne, 2009; Delli Carpini, 2004; Holt, Shehata, Strömbäck, & Ljungberg, 2013; Norris, 2000; Strömbäck & Shehata, 2010) and the overall development of democracy (Gripsrud & Weibull, 2010). Specifically, radio has played an important role in shaping the political discourse (Benson, 2004) and, therefore the political process (Jamieson & Cappella, 2008). Yet, increasingly news media organizations are taking a commercial and infotainment approach to politics, limiting serious reporting on public issues (Davis, 1997; McNair, 2000). For instance, in recent years radio stations in Puerto Rico, a Spanish-speaking territory of the United States, have increased their opinion programming, relegating news to a minimum (Lalo, 2016; Metro, 2017a; Subervi, 2016; Torres Torres, 2017a). In Puerto Rico radio remains a powerful medium that often makes sense of local politics (Jamieson & Cappella, 2008; Rodríguez-Cotto, 2017c; Sepúlveda-Rodríguez, 2014; Vargas, 2012). What is more in the case of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Maria that struck Puerto Rico in September 2017, collapsing the electric power and communications infrastructure, radio becomes central to satisfying the information needs of the population (Ewart & Dekker, 2013; Hindman & Coyle, 1999; Inside Radio, 2017). The main purpose of this study is to examine how different constraint levels shape information radio content and its impact on political polarization. The focus is on Puerto Rico because of the influence of radio (Nielsen, 2017) and the decline of voter turnout despite a tradition of high participation levels (Issenberg, 2012; Ravel, 2017; Vargas-Ramos, 2016). Other forms of political participation such as signing petitions or being vocal about politics in radio or social media were considered as well. Using a mixed method approach that included in-depth interviews to radio workers and audience members, as well as a content analysis of information radio programing, this 1 dissertation identified the type of information radio content (news or politics talk) audiences consume for the purpose of seeking political information. Semi-structured in-depth interviews based on Shoemaker & Reese's (2014) Hierarchy of Influences Model assessed the causes of the changes in the content of information radio from news to politics talk. In addition, a content analysis of the programming of three major Puerto Rican news/talk stations (WKAQ-Univision Radio, WUNO-NotiUno, WSKN-Radio Isla) delved deeper into the characteristics of the content during election years 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. Indeed, listeners’ political engagement may drive the type of content they prefer. Consequently, semi-structured interviews with listeners, drawn from the selective exposure hypothesis and Jamieson & Cappella's (2008) study on politics talk shows, examined the link between political participation and media use. This dissertation’s contribution to the debate lies in filling a void in the research of Puerto Rican information radio’s organizational practices, content, and audience, as this would be the first study on the subject (Subervi, 2016). Furthermore, Puerto Rico offers a good case study because of its similarity to the US broadcasting system, allowing comparison of the characteristics of information radio with the existing body of research on political communication. Using a media sociology perspective, this analysis estimates constraints imposed specifically at the media organization level (Shoemaker & Reese, 2014) have played a significant role in shaping information radio content in such a way that politics talk shows have superseded the amount and quality of news. In addition, journalists and commentators occasionally employ outrage-based strategies that use overgeneralizations, sensationalism, and misinformation (Berry & Sobieraj, 2014) in reference to public issues. This content strikes a chord with politically interested audiences, which according to the selective exposure hypothesis, favors programs consistent with their attitudes regarding Puerto Rico’s political status. Finally, the boundary between opinion and news is blurred therefore audiences may 2 attribute news quality standards, such as fairness and balance, to politics talk shows in news/talk radio stations (Carpini & Williams, 2001). This study applied Selective Exposure to a colonial context where the dominant political ideologies diverge slightly, and local authorities hold symbolic political power. In countries with multiparty elections, polarization reflects the degree of ideological differentiation among political parties (Dalton, 2008). According to Downs (1957) and Sartori’s (1976) Spatial Models of Party Competition, voters and political parties align along a single policy or a Left and Right continuum regardless of the number of political organizations up for election (Dalton, 2008). Thus, in multiparty systems citizens are more aware of ideologies than in bipartisan systems (Downs, 1957). Members of the electorate select the party akin to their position in the continuum (Dalton, 2008). If the options are far from the elector or equidistant, voters become indifferent or abstain (Dalton, 2008). In Puerto Rico the main political parties are equidistant in regard to their intention of maintaining a political relationship with the United States, yet their rhetoric advocates for either assimilation or assertion of the Puerto Rican national identity and sovereignty. Intriguingly, the party that favors the colonial understanding with the U.S. fluctuates between remaining under American guardianship and affirming Puerto Rico’s political power. Within the party, leaders may lean left or right and still proclaim that Puerto Rico is a nation. For the purpose of party politics, this organization represents a centrist position that clusters voters who fear a future without the political support of the United States yet affirm their cultural identity as Puerto Ricans. 3 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Political Background During the 19th century, the Manifest Destiny, a United States expansionist policy, promoted that the country should increase its control in the Americas and the Pacific to strengthen its economy by accessing their resources, markets and labor sources (Flores, 2010). The Spanish-American War, waged in favor of the independence of Cuba from Spain in 1898, ended with the cession of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam to the United States. Although American intervention in Cuba was projected as temporary, Puerto Rico was seized as a key outpost for the protection of the future Panama Canal (Ayala & Bernabe, 2007). Dissatisfied with Spanish colonial rule and hopeful that the U.S. would eventually grant independence or statehood, Puerto Ricans did not make common cause with the Spanish when faced with the invasion (Flores, 2010). The U.S. military concentrated on taking over power from colonial administrators and elected Puerto Rican officials, suppressing the legislative body and appointing officers in place of mayors (Flores, 2010). U.S. interests outright shifted the agricultural economy to a sugar monoculture as the country was the largest consumer of Puerto Rican sugar (Little, 2017). Coffee and tobacco exports that depended on European markets writhed under the new regime when the United States insisted its Merchant Marine be used to carry goods abroad, increasing transportation costs. Furthermore, the imposition of an exchange rate that favored the dollar over the peso reduced the net worth of all Puerto Ricans overnight. By 1930, 95 percent of the archipelago’s commerce was exclusively with the United States (Flores, 2010). When Puerto Rico was appended to the country by the 1898 Treaty of Paris, its status was as a colonial possession with no future statehood understanding – similar to the cases of Hawaii and Alaska (Newkirk II, 2017). It was not until 1917 that Congress extended citizenship 4 to Puerto Ricans through the Jones Act; yet to this day islanders cannot vote for President or representatives. With the endorsement of Congress, Puerto Rico was allowed to draft its own Constitution in 1952. The result was the creation of the Estado Libre Asociado (ELA) or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. While the idea was to get Congress to relinquish its plenary power over Puerto Rico, the United States government endorsed the ELA because it allowed legislators to argue that Puerto Rico was no longer a colony while maintaining its rights over the territory (Ayala & Bernabe, 2007). The ties between the United States and Puerto Rico promoted a massive migration towards the mainland after World War II. Recently, a $123 billion debt (Walsh, 2017) encourages a continued exodus to the mainland. The migration surged further after Hurricane Maria struck the U.S. territory, with as many as 100,000 people heading north monthly looking to escape the devastation (Dobrin, 2017; Luscombe, 2017). Puerto Ricans are the second largest population of Hispanic origin in the United States and settle mostly in New York City, Chicago, and more recently in Florida (Collazo, Ryan, & Bauman, 2010; Motel & Patten, 2012). In the Puerto Rican colonial context, in which an inherent deficit in democracy exists, politics revolves around the status. On the one hand, pro-independence activities have been historically criminalized; on the other, Puerto Ricans have been denied full citizenship and equal participation in the national political process. Consequently, political participation has been defined by the ambiguity that surrounds the status choices available (Malavet, 2004). Moreover, in January 2016, the United States Congress approved the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Stability Act S. 2328 (2016), which appointed a financial board to supervise payment of $123 billion debt with bondholders so as to gain access to capital markets. In order to pay for its billion-dollar debt and without the consent of the elected local government, the Oversight Board has imposed austerity measures, which include cutting pensions and limiting essential government services. 5 While Puerto Rican politics orbit around the dynamics of colonialism and the assertion of a Puerto Rican identity (Dávila, 1997), politics in the United States focus on the relationship between the individual and the government. Although the United States is a pluralistic society, Americans tend to lean toward political conservatism in comparison with other developed democracies (Farmer, 2006). Since the early 1990s, today more Americans consider themselves politically conservative than liberal with an average of 36 percent of U.S. adults identifying themselves as conservative and 25 percent as liberal (Saad, 2017). Conservatism favors a society where citizens can live free with minimal government interference (Marietta, 2012). This tendency often distrusts the power of the state, yet cherishes established institutions, traditions, and hierarchies (Farmer, 2006). In contrast, liberalism holds social justice as an ideal and makes the government responsible for relieving its citizens from the oppression that characterizes human societies. Therefore, liberals expect government to be tolerant of the multiple differences of its constituents without judgment (Marietta, 2012). Presently, the three prevailing political status ideologies in Puerto Rico are: independence or advocates for the separation from the U.S. and complete sovereignty as a nation; estadolibrismo (supporters of the ELA), roughly translated to Free Associated State, or followers of the current status who favor a perpetual legal and political relationship with the U.S.; and statehood or those who favor becoming a state of the Union. Within the three status ideologies exists diversity of opinions ranging from liberal to conservative. Likewise, those who favor independence can range from social conservatives to socialists (Malavet, 2004). ELA and statehood supporters that participate in the national primary process can be either Republican or Democrat. While status is a strong determinant of voting behavior (Barreto & Eagles, 2000), recently more citizens circumvent the issue and cross party lines to change government officials (Correa Velázquez, 2016; Cortés Chico, 2016; El Nuevo Día, 2012; Morris, 1995). 6 With regards to electoral systems, the U.S. democratic process to elect the president every four years is based on a majority vote of the Electoral College, equivalent to the number of Senators and Representatives of each state. Senators and members of the House of Representatives are elected by direct popular vote and serve six and two-year terms respectively. Most governors are elected for four-year terms (Kalb, 2016). The electoral system of Puerto Rico contrasts with both federal and state level electoral processes in the U.S. The electoral system is a mixed-member proportionality system that allows equal share of members from the two main political parties in both chambers. Therefore, the Legislative Assembly is elected both, on the basis of the Puerto Rico-wide general constituency (at-large senators and representatives from 78 municipalities) and the constituencies in which Puerto Rico is divided (senators and representatives from 8 districts) (Suksi, 2011). Therefore, the Senate hosts 27 members, while the House of Representatives holds 51. Puerto Ricans hold a General Election every four years, usually the same day of the U.S. presidential election. In this electoral event, the offices of Governor, the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as Mayor and Municipal Assemblies are before the consideration of the voters. Finally, a ballot is cast for a non-voting Resident Commissioner to the House of Representatives in Congress. Both the offices of Governor and Resident Commissioner are elected by direct popular vote and serve four-year terms. Puerto Ricans have a very high voter participation rate. Although Puerto Rico’s constitutional and legal arrangements are adverse to voting (Camara Fuentes, 2004), the turnout for the General Elections is 50 percent higher than it is for Presidential contests in the 50 States (Ravel, 2017); however, the last election reflected a deep plunge on voter participation (Fig. 1). This 25 percent plunge in voter turnout takes place while the migration wave towards the continental U.S. is on a rise (Cortés Chico, 2018; Metro, 2017b) and political donations remain constant for the two main political parties. Political contributions for the 2012 and 2016 7 election cycles went mostly to the New Progressive Party (44%) and the Popular Democratic Party (36%) who have alternated power since the 1960s (Table 24). Figure 1: Puerto Rico Voter Turnout 1996-2016 Source: Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections Table 1: Donations for Political Parties 2011-20171 Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent 12723 17239 67697 55287 8.3 11.3 44.3 36.1 152946 100.0 8.3 19.6 63.9 100.0 Political Party Other Puerto Rican Independence Party New Progressive Party (Statehood) Popular Democratic Party (Free Associated State) Total Source: Abre Puerto Rico Radio in Puerto Rico In spite of the political relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, the broadcasting industry does not resemble that of the mainland (Sabes Turmo, 2005). Of 127 1 The “other” category includes independent gubernatorial candidates and parties, such as Workers’ Party (Partido del Pueblo Trabajador, PPT), Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico (Puertorriqueños por Puerto Rico, PPR), and United Autonomy Movement (Movimiento Unión Soberanista, MUS). 8 radio stations, five are not-for-profit public stations while the remaining are commercial for- profit (Collado Schwartz, 2009; El Nuevo Día, 2014; Sabes Turmo, 2005). Whereas radio station ownership in the continental United States is concentrated on a few investment groups and corporations, individuals and small groups own the bulk of radio stations in Puerto Rico (See AM/FM Station Ownership and Format Table in Appendix) (Albarrán, 2004; Collado Schwartz, 2009; Straubhaar, LaRose, & Davenport, 2012; Subervi-Vélez & Hernandez-López, 1990). Puerto Rico inserted itself in the nascent radio broadcasting industry during the 1920s as the fifth country in Latin America to have a stable commercial radio station with a strong social presence (Merayo Perez, 2009). Herman and Sosthenes Behn, owners of telephone companies in Puerto Rico and Cuba, founded WKAQ in December 1922 (Nido Nylund, 2007; Tirado, 2007). Politics talk dates back to the beginnings of the radio broadcast industry, when stations both in the United States and Puerto Rico featured political broadcasts, such as party conventions, speeches of politicians and elected officials, and political debates with well know leaders of the time (Davis, 1997; Feliciano, 2012; Sepúlveda-Rodríguez, 2014). For example, in the mainland President Franklin Roosevelt marked a watershed in radio’s history with his famous fireside chats. Likewise, Louisiana Senator Huey Long became an acclaimed speaker on national broadcasts getting up to 60,000 letters in response to his fiery speeches (Davis, 1997). In Puerto Rico, one of WKAQ’s landmark broadcasts was Governor Horrace Mann Towner’s inaugural address after being appointed to the post by President Warren G. Harding in 19232. Later, two icons of Puerto Rican politics in the 20th century, Luis Muñoz Marín, the prime lever for the current territorial status (ELA), and Pedro Albizu Campos, a charismatic 2 The Museo de la Radio in San Juan’s Universidad del Sagrado Corazón holds a collection of historical pictures from the Puerto Rico Amateur Radio League (PRARL) that document Governor Horace Mann Towner’s inaugural address as it was being broadcasted by WKAQ in 1923 a few weeks after being on-air. 9 pro-independence leader, would masterfully use the air waves to attract voters during radio’s golden age (Feliciano, 2012; Sepúlveda-Rodríguez, 2014). In the subsequent decades, the number of radio stations quickly multiplied in the archipelago, offering varied programming such as news, drama, and sports. With the large number of stations broadcasting by the 1970s, specialization began, dividing the spectrum in talk, musical, and religious themes (See AM/FM Station Ownership and Format Table in the Appendix) (Tirado, 2007). Presently, Puerto Ricans spend more time listening to radio than audiences in the metro areas of Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Baltimore, and St. Louis. Nationally, the Puerto Rican radio market is ranked No. 16, while Tampa is ranked No. 19, Baltimore No. 21, and St. Louis, No. 23 (Nielsen, 2017). Talk radio can take many shapes. From sports to politics talk, these niche formats differ in approach to appeal to varying audiences. Traditionally, talk stations included a mix of news, talk, sports, and music. Yet, most eventually moved to specialized formats, such as information or music (Eastman & Ferguson, 2013). Currently, news/talk content is among the most consumed radio format alongside other popular music formats such as Spanish Tropical and variations of contemporary music (Fig. 2). Parenthetically, the radio stations considered in this study are defined as News/Talk. 10 Figure 2: Puerto Rico Format Listening 3 Source: Puerto Rico Radio Today THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Hierarchy of Influences Model For the purpose of this study, the reasons for the changes in information radio and its impact on the content, workers, and audiences are framed by the Hierarchy of Influences Model and the Selective Exposure Hypothesis. In this section particular attention is placed on how policies put in place by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), at the societal level, have changed the radio industry landscape. Financial and editorial practices, that work at the organizational level, more closely relate to the increase of politics talk shows. On the other hand, Selective Exposure will help explain the production and consumption of polarizing 3 The information corresponds to available data from Arbitron’s Puerto Rico Radio Today from the years 2003- 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2013. 11 content in the Puerto Rican colonial context where the political ideologies diverge in terms of national identities. Specifically, the ways in which different level of forces in news media organizations shape the content will be assessed through semi-structured interviews to radio station managers, producers, and/or journalists. The Hierarchy of Influences Model illustrates the pressures that drive media content production. At the center, in the micro level, lies the individual communicator whose personal and professional characteristics impact content (Hanitzsch & Mellado, 2011; Reese, 2001). Following is the most immediate constraining and enabling structure, or routines, within which the individual operates, labeled as the routines level (Giddens, 1979; Reich, 2014; Shoemaker & Reese, 2014). While radio workers claim adherence to journalistic norms, routine practices condition the availability of quality news content. According to Carpenter (2008), these constrains affect professional journalists working in media organizations and not citizen journalists. The influences of the larger organized entity within which the individual functions, or the organization level, is distinguished from routines in describing the context of the routinized activities as determined by media ownership. This stratum includes organizational policy and how the media enterprise is structured (Giddens, 1979; Reich, 2014; Shoemaker & Reese, 2014). Specifically, the financial aspect of the radio operation allocates economic resources on politics talk shows restricting the development of quality journalistic content. For instance, in Mexico financial arrangements with government and business influenced journalistic practice (Relly & Bustamante, 2013). Moreover, the institutional and extra-media forces also compel the individual communicator. For example, in Latin America and Eastern Europe, a journalists decry government pressures on their reporting and some self-censor to avoid reprisals (Milojević & Krstić, 2018; Saldaña & Mourão, 2018). Indeed, not only governments and competing media underscore information radio content, but audiences also sponsor 12 commentary over news. Finally, the social systems level has priority over the other strata as all levels conform to it (Duan & Takahashi, 2017; Giddens, 1979; Reich, 2014; Shoemaker & Reese, 2014). Mainly, the idea of a permanent political relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States has become engrossed in the ideological discourse that is broadcast through the airwaves. Figure 3: Hierarchy of Influences Model Social Systems Social Institutions Media Organization Routine practices Individual Today, the radio business is a multi-platform marketing operation designed to attract listeners to the broadcast station and a repackaged and recycled content (Pierce & Potter, 2012) available through websites, social media, online streaming, podcasts, etc. However, a combination of technological, economic, and policy transformations contributed to a rising interest in information radio in the last two decades of the 20th century. In the 1980s, the cost of distributing broadcast-quality audio throughout long distances declined as satellite and not land-based transmission became available for network operations. Around that same time, broadcasters felt free to engage in controversial topics when the Fairness Doctrine, an FCC policy that required radio stations to equally cover all sides of public issues, fell prey to the deregulation efforts under President Ronald Reagan’s administration. Finally, a massive 13 migration of music content to the FM band put financial pressures on information radio stations in the AM band, which risked airing syndicated talk personalities with hard-lined and biased political opinions (Pierce & Potter, 2012). The 1996 Telecommunications Act allowed media companies to consolidate radio station ownership as it raised the cap on the number of stations they could own nationally (Albarrán, 2004; Bednarski, 2003; Drushel, 1998; Oxenford, 2011). Spanish-language media companies thereon in the United States benefited from this policy. Univision Radio runs one of the largest Latino radiobroadcast networks in terms of audience and delivery with 62 stations in leading Hispanic Markets4. Similarly, the Spanish Broadcasting System operates 27 radio stations5 (Nuñez, 2006; Serratore, 2004). Yet, owners are limited at the local level in the number of stations they can own depending on the number of signals available in that market. Considering news/talk formats are one of most expensive to operate and maintain, consolidation enabled radio to become financially stable at the expense of reducing personnel to generate budgetary efficiencies (Albarrán, 2004). The overall process of deregulation and digitalization of radio in the United States has brought about an increase in the offer of talk show formats (Ekstrom, 2011) across a wide array of communication technology platforms. In general, consumption of audio content (news, talk, music, and sports) has continued to rise for terrestrial, online, and satellite radio in the United States. In 2016, 91 percent of Americans 12 years or older tuned in to AM/FM radio weekly, while 53 percent listened to online radio; likewise, 21 percent of Americans reported consuming podcasts on a monthly basis (Shearer, 2017). Similarly, the satellite radio platform Sirius XM informed having 29.6 million subscribers in 2015 (Ross, 2016; Vogt, 2016). While 4 Univision owns two radio stations in Puerto Rico: WKAQ 580 AM and KQ 105 FM. 5 The Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) owns four radio stations in Puerto Rico: La Mega 106.9, La Nueva 94, Z93, and Estereotempo. 14 no statistics are available for online and satellite radio consumption in Puerto Rico, survey results from a market research company Gaither International in San Juan, reported an increase from 44 to 52 percent of news consumption through social media and the Internet between 2015 and 2017 and a decrease of general consumption of terrestrial radio from 48 to 37 percent during the same time period (Gaither International, 2016). With so many available options, individuals with high political interest have the choice to tune in to partisan news (Stroud, 2011) or talk shows (Jamieson & Cappella, 2008) depending upon their liberal or conservative political leaning. The politics talk phenomenon dates back to the birth of radio, yet during the 1970s, nationally syndicated radio call-in programs with hosts such as Larry King, Bruce Williams, and Jim Bohannon were not entirely focused on politics. During the 1980s, call-in radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh gained popularity (Davis, 1997) for their irreverent take on politics and public issues after the demise of the Fairness Doctrine policy. By the 1990s, the news/talk format attracted the greatest audience – a trend that persists today (Davis, 1997; Vogt, 2016). In the past 15 years commercial radio network have increased the politics talk content in Puerto Rico (Acosta Lespier, 2008a; Brugueras, 2015; El Nuevo Día, 1997, 2003; Estrada Resto, 2002; Lalo, 2016; Primera Hora, 2009, 2011a, 2011b; Santiago Caballero, 2004; Torres Torres, 2017a; Valle, 2002). Politics talk discusses current issues at the local, state, national, and international level (Eastman & Ferguson, 2013). Thus, public affairs issues become a commodity in information radio as content in political commentary shows rest on events that transpire in the political arena. Consequently, political parties, activist organizations among other pressure groups often vie for access to airtime in these spaces (Eastman & Ferguson, 2013). Consistent with this notion, Suberví (2016) adds that Puerto Rico is the jurisdiction where more programs about political news and commentary are broadcasted. The content of 15 information radio is highly politicized and the discussion focuses mostly on the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States (Sabes Turmo, 2005). Essentially, during the 2016 election cycle, Puerto Rican radio networks purposely increased the partisan content as a strategy to raise their audience base (Rodríguez-Cotto, 2016b). Accordingly, in the interest of fairness and balance (Eastman & Ferguson, 2013), information radio stations include programs with spokespersons identified with the dominant political ideologies who analyze the latest issues: pro-statehood, pro-free associated state, and sometimes pro-independence (Lalo, 2016; Sabes Turmo, 2005). Like news, a media organization’s commercial considerations directly affect politics talk shows, yet Davis (1997) cautions that they are more closely associated to those constraints than are journalists. Not only are politics talk program hosts more aware of the outcomes in terms of advertising revenue and audience size, but also, they articulate and embody populist topics they claim brings them closer to their public. In addition, broadcast news and politics talk programs also differ in the way they cover public issues. While news fulfills the FCC requirement of news and public service programming, politics talk shows satisfies a more entertainment than information gratification for the audience (Brotman, 2017; Davis, 1997). Media have credibility inasmuch audiences perceive they are accurate, believable, trustworthy, and fair (Beaudoin & Thorson, 2005). At the same time, loyal radio listeners might develop emotional connections that evoke intense love/hate reactions towards these identifiable radio personalities (Pierce & Potter, 2012). Berry & Sobieraj (2014) emphasize that audiences consider these charismatic figures as convincing and reliable. The talent develops their reputation by creating long-term relationships with the local audience, thus their sizable followings (Pierce & Potter, 2012). In Puerto Rico, politics talk programs are hosted mostly by representatives of pro-statehood and pro-free associated state ideologies who comment on current events and politics. Generally, their outrage appeals to followers of the 16 two major political tendencies in Puerto Rico that favor a distinct but permanent relationship with the United States (Berry & Sobieraj, 2014b; Dvir-Gvirsman, Garrett, & Tsfati, 2015). Media have undergone regulatory and technological changes that adjudicate profitability to political content. Berry & Sobieraj (2014) deemed this type of politics talk a new genre called “outrage.” Here, commentators hyperbolically reinterpret current events, discuss rumors, and attack opponents (Berry & Sobieraj, 2014a; Lalo, 2016). Outrage is intended to elicit emotional responses in the audience (e.g., anger, fear or moral indignation) through the use of overgeneralizations, sensationalism, imprecise information, and attacks to a person’s character. Outrageous politics talk disguises complex policy issues with melodrama, mockery and hyperbolic predictions of impending doom (Berry & Sobieraj, 2014). Although polarization defines the lines of division that allow for a plural political arena, they encourage disaffection toward the other side and a decrease on political trust (Mutz, 2015; Nielsen, 2018; Pew Research Center, 2017). What is more, tactics such as lack of diverse ideological viewpoints, defaming opponents, and spreading frightening and exaggerated rumors may hinder the individual’s ability to conduct meaningful discussions about politics within their communities (Berry & Sobieraj, 2014a, p. 6). The success of this genre encourages the interaction between political parties, social movements, and advocacy groups with media platforms such as information radio. The question remains if this type of content weakens or strengthens citizen practices necessary for a healthy democracy. While this rhetoric is intended to capture attention and raise audience ratings through its shock value (Davis, 1997), uncivil discourse may also increase political knowledge (Diana C. Mutz, 2015; Nielsen, 2018) and shed light on political party stances on public issues (Matthew S. Levendusky, 2009; Nielsen, 2018).(Davis, 1997), uncivil discourse may also increase political knowledge and shed light on political party stances on public issues. 17 The radio marketplace is extremely aggressive, as stations compete with other media for audiences and advertising revenues in the local market. The industry’s primary revenue source comes from the sale of local advertising, which is less expensive than advertising on television and newspapers and reaches a much broader audience (Albarrán, 2004). Advertisers gravitate to radio audiences because they tend to be more loyal to the format and individuals are less likely to tune-out during commercial breaks (Pierce & Potter, 2012). Radio station executives have the challenge to produce quality programs on a tight budget. In small market stations, the lack of constant sources of available news stories, limited staff, and limited economic funds make it more difficult to provide fresh content to their audience throughout a daily broadcasting cycle (Wu, 2017). Stations distribute content on-air, through podcasts, online streaming, and apps for mobile devices, thus it is conveniently accessible to listeners. Consequently, radio stations seek to monetize these various distribution platforms either through advertising for on-air broadcasts or subscription fees to listen to a podcast from that same radio station. Industry consultants agree that ratings and revenue increase when content is a form of audio entertainment. Hence, the most successful news/talk talent remains focused on the entertainment value of their presentation, which means discussing topics in compelling, interesting and controversial way (Pierce & Potter, 2012). Since politics talk has produced greater profits, for years, Puerto Rican information radio stations have effectively downsized their news staff (Rodríguez-Cotto, 2017). Interviews conducted for this study with radio journalists revealed that although AM radio stations claim to offer “news and analysis” (Garcia Rodriguez, 2015, 2017) they seldom conduct investigative reporting while broadcasting the same volume of hours as when they had fully staffed newsrooms (Rodríguez-Cotto, 2017e; Torres Torres, 2017b). Content production relies on excerpts from political commentary programs. In respect thereof, Berry & Sobieraj, (2014) 18 conducted a quantitative content analysis of the most popular political commentary talk radio programs in the United States and found that in 90% of these radio shows, outrage was “not part of the content, but the content” (¶ 5). As a result of fewer resources being assigned to produce local news on radio (Wu, 2017), in Puerto Rico the news staff remains mostly in the studio and seldom goes out to cover stories (Rodríguez-Cotto, 2017). In the United States this practice leads to a reduction in the diversity of content and threatens access to public interest information (Crider, 2012; Hood, 2007; Huntemann, 1999; Saffran, 2011; Wu, 2017). In the interest of quality journalism, news stories should aim for objectivity, reliability, and trustworthiness (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2014). Yet, under these working conditions, journalists resort to a simplistic balance in news stories to avoid inappropriately discounting one or another point of view. Simply juxtaposing conflicting accounts or views is an incomplete coverage as the issues are not addressed with an objective accounting of the relevant facts or a truly balanced blend of perspectives (Gastil, 2008). News Quality Another issue that arises when considering the deterioration of news media content is the quality of the information. In a study comparing the use of government and unofficial sources in local print and radio stories, Lacy et al. (2013) found that the former included less diversity of viewpoints. Accordingly, the criteria for selecting the stories respond to organizational, societal, and ideological constraints imposed on the medium (Shoemaker & Reese, 2014). Newsroom routine practices in combination with economic challenges that further restrict journalists’ radio of action (Lacy et al., 2013; Shoemaker & Reese, 2014) impact news quality. A misconstrued balance in journalism limits exposure to diverse perspectives and may influence citizens ability to deliberate on public affairs issues (Lacy et al., 2013). The ideal of objective and professional journalism often clashes with the unfeasibility 19 of overcoming subjectivity when delivering news (Carpini & Williams, 2001; Zaller, 2003); however, both are preconditions to news quality. Although news quality standards are not clearly defined, researchers have identified characteristics in news that aim to empower citizens to participate in democracy (Anderson & Egglestone, 2012): variety of opinions and perspectives; news presence; expert commentary; background contextual coverage; accuracy, and fairness are indicators of quality (Huang, Rademakers, Fayemiwo, & Dunlap, 2004; Jerit, Barabas, & Bolsen, 2006; Kovach, & Rosenstil, 2014; Schudson, 2002). From a practitioner standpoint, quality news focus on hard news, are based on original reporting, are fair and balanced, rely on authoritative sources, and are relevant to the audience (Belt & Just, 2008); however, content quality depends on routine practices that vary between news organization (Nieves-Pizarro, 2017). Consequently, Zaller (2003) urges a more feasible standard of news quality tempered with the available resources for news production. Increasingly, audiences’ political diet is composed of unverified news and opinion (Lewis, 2018; Silverman & Singer-Vine, 2016; Sobieraj & Berry, 2011). Politics talk programs claim to bypass filters that are in place in news media and cater information directly to audiences (Davis, 1997). As a result, many attribute objectivity, a staple of professional journalism, to politics talk shows in the general broadcast industry. A steady decline in newspaper readership and an increase in online news use (Gottfried & Shearer, 2017; Newman, Fletcher, Kalogeropoulos, Levy, & Nielsen, 2017; Rodríguez Cotto, 2017) suggests individuals are turning to these sources for political information (Sobieraj & Berry, 2011). In an attempt to gain commercial success, news focus more on crime and controversy (Belt & Just, 2008), while politics talk shows rest on a polarizing figure that uses outrage to analyze public issues (Berry & Sobieraj, 2014). For audiences, the issue of credibility rests in the speaker, but also in the medium that labels itself as news (Carpini & Williams, 2001). 20 Riding on the rigor of professional journalism, opinion and entertainment shows base their discourse on factual events – yet their objective is to amuse or accentuate political attitudes. Carpini & Williams (2001) postulate that the distinction of news from non-news is not clear in the current media environment. The relevance of journalism is challenged by other producers of political meaning, such as so-called analysts and commentators; however, politics talk shows prioritize entertainment over information as a key to retain audience attention (Davis, 1997). Economic challenges have contributed to the erosion of the boundary between news, entertainment and opinion; furthermore the lack of financing available for news departments restricts journalists’ ability to produce quality information (Carpini & Williams, 2001). Yet, radio remains the most up-to-date portable medium as it has the ability to react quickly to a breaking story without much technical effort or personnel. In general, news is an event that disrupts daily life routines contingent upon its consequences, the time, and place where it occurs (Martini, 2000). News can be categorized as hard, referring to coverage of significant events concerning top leaders and major issues that are presumably vital for citizens’ capability to understand and execute their democratic duties. Soft news is more personality-centered and incident-based and less time-bound (Patterson, 2000; Reinemann, Stanyer, Scherr, & Legnante, 2012). Moreover, localism is one of the strengths of broadcast news in local radio and the key to maintaining their audiences (Albarrán, 2004; Chantler & Stewart, 2009). International- or national-scale events are not necessarily addressed in local stations; rather weather and traffic reports among other immediate incidents are broadcasted in repeating cycles (Pierce & Potter, 2012). For the purposes of this study, news is station- produced news content that can be hard or soft and focus on the local area the station serves (Wu, 2017). 21 Undeniably, the social uses of information and media enhance civic engagement (Tufte, 2014). Yet, changes in FCC policy regarding ownership of radio stations, organizational pressures, and ever-changing technological challenges have impacted traditional outlets, such as radio, both economically and in the way they produce content. Specifically, radio has been forced to change the content of information radio favoring more politics talk and less news. Thus, what are the present characteristics of Puerto Rican information radio? Considering the aforementioned circumstances, the following hypothesis and research questions are posed: RQ 1: How did the forces illustrated in the Hierarchy of Influences Model cause changes in the content of information radio? H 1: Radio in Puerto Rico has seen a decline in news and an increase in talk shows over time. H 2: Politics talk radio programs use outrage-based strategies. Polarization, Selective Exposure, and Political Participation In the present media ecosystem, both media and audiences engage in the co-creation of the public discourse (Cummings & Gottshall, 2014; Hall, 1980). The redefinition of radio through the inclusion of new technologies (e.g., social media or Internet live streaming) has expanded the possibility of audience participation outside of the program format (Pinseler, 2015; Pitout, 2006) as well as the dissemination of their ideas to a greater public (Cummings & Gottshall, 2014), but without the restrictions gatekeeping practices in mainstream media impose (Berkowitz & Liu, 2014; Soroka, 2012). Thus, audiences are not mere receivers of messages that incite specific political actions; they play an active role in the selection of media content (Brosius & Peter, 2017; Klapper, 1960) and use that information to participate in the political process (Tufte, 2014). Audiences interested in politics routinely seek out political information. This audience is especially influential because they take a more active part in the political process than those 22 listeners who are not exposed to such content (Dvir-Gvirsman et al., 2015). Specifically, partisan content that appeals to politically engaged audiences with strong political views (Dvir- Gvirsman et al., 2015; Jamieson & Cappella, 2008; Knobloch-Westerwick & Meng, 2011; Levendusky, 2013; Stroud, 2008; Taber & Lodge, 2006). Similarly, individuals who tend to consume media from outlets that share their beliefs, opinions, and interests – and avoid unsympathetic content – engage in selective exposure (D’Alessio & Allen, 2007; Frey & Wicklund, 1978; Klapper, 1960; Stroud, 2008), a hypothesis based on Festinger’s (1957) cognitive dissonance theory. Moreover, these individuals consume media that support notions they already know in order to guard the integrity of their belief structures (D’Alessio & Allen, 2007; Klapper, 1960; McGuire, 1968). Therefore, politically interested audiences may be motivated to consume media that match their political predispositions and voting intentions (Hollander, 1996; Lazarsfeld, Berelson, & Gaudet, 1948; Stroud, 2008). Research suggests that specifically “partisan selective exposure” contributes to polarization or the strengthening of political attitudes and beliefs (Mutz, 2006; Stroud, 2010). When polarization occurs along party lines, it is called “affective polarization.” Iyengar & Westwood (2015) caution there are no social norms in place to temper disapprobation of political opponents; therefore, political leaders and partisans alike feel engaging in animus is appropriate. Avoidance of unsympathetic material coupled with affective polarization ultimately could hinder the development of an informed public opinion (Iyengar & Hahn, 2009; Iyengar & Westwood, 2015). Selective exposure has been successfully applied to study media audiences in two-party political systems, such as the United States. Yet, Puerto Rico represents a new area of inquiry for selective exposure scholarship due to the colonial nature of the government in which there are seemingly no opposing political forces; favor for independence has been waning in recent decades (Cordero, 2017). Nonetheless, the selective exposure hypothesis, as predicted by the 23 cognitive dissonance theory, talks in general terms about exposure to media congruent to pre- existing attitudes and avoidance of content that contradicts them (D’Alessio & Allen, 2007). It is my contention that the polarization occurs not in the ideological sense, left-right or liberal- conservative, but at the national identity level. Political leaders both shape and articulate ideas of what is Puerto Rican or American. When proselytizing, parties are conscious of their constituents’ attitude towards identity (Morris, 1995) and use this weapon in their campaigns. To illustrate, although the two leading parties (Partido Nuevo Progresista-PNP and Partido Popular Democrático-PPD) are located at the right of the ideological spectrum, advocate to maintain a political relationship with the U.S., and the retention of U.S. citizenship they represent two distinct national identities. In the political sense, a nation is defined by a shared territory, language, religion, and/or ancestry; non-politically, the concept of nation refers to a psychological bond that unites and differentiates peoples (Carrión, 1999; Connor, 1978; Smith, 1991) through a strong sense of identity. Carrión (1999) postulates that there are two imagined nations in Puerto Rico. One is “American” as articulated by the Statehood movement that endorses the dissolution of the Puerto Rican nation into United States (Colón Morera, 1999) and considers the United States as their nation (Malavet, 2004). Paradoxically, they imagine the United States as a multicultural and multiracial nation (Carrión, 1999) that would incorporate a poor, Spanish-speaking and predominantly brown state into the Union (Colón Morera, 1999) while retaining its cultural distinctiveness (Malavet, 2004; Meléndez, 1993). The other nation is Puerto Rican. Whilst their expressions of Puerto Rican nationalism are distinct, generally those who favor independence and estadolibristas consider Puerto Rico as their nation (Carrión, 1999). Though the PPD supports the current territorial status, it defines Puerto Rico as a nation distinct from the United States with political, fiscal, and cultural autonomy (Colón Morera, 1999; Mininberg, 2002). Consequently, Puerto Rican audiences favor particular radio stations, as well as ex- politicians and lawyers who serve as 24 commentators in politics talk shows who assume a discourse that resonates with their identity either as a Puerto Rican who yearns for statehood or one who wishes to retain his or her culture, language, and sovereignty/independence. Generally, news and politics talk shows touch upon the partisan aspects of political processes activating polarization as a result of status preferences (Carpini & Williams, 2001; Webster & Abramowitz, 2017). Bearing in mind that Puerto Rican information radio operates in a colonial context where the norm is an ambiguous political relationship with the metropolis, the following hypothesis is stated: H 3: Information radio content reflect polarization in terms of national identity as it relates to the status preferences. By contrast, media effects scholarship reinforces the notion that exposure to politics talk influences an individual’s attitudes towards particular social and political topics discussed on the air waves (Knight & Barker, 1996; Lee & Cappella, 2001; Yanovitzky & Capella, 2001). According to this paradigm, media’s influence is contingent on the amount of exposure; yet further research suggests the relationship between exposure and attitudes towards politics is not linear. While the level of exposure to politics talk is associated with message acceptance or rejection (+ exposure = message acceptance; - exposure = message rejection), attitude change only happens for individuals with moderate reception habits who tend to be somewhat resistant to these types of persuasive messages (Yanovitzky & Capella, 2001; J. R. Zaller, 1987, 2002, 2007). Although political attitudes are not the only cause of political participation, they are usually considered highly relevant (Quintelier & Van Deth, 2014). Still, the link between attitudes and participation and the role the media plays in enhancing or discouraging behavior is not clear. Some political attitudes certainly can be considered to be tendencies towards political participation, but publics do not always follow their beliefs (Quintelier & Van Deth, 2014). Even with the advent of social media, Cummings & Gottshall (2014) argue that access 25 to these technologies does not guarantee democratic habits. For example, other considerations such as election processes and rules play a role in enhancing or discouraging the voter turnout aspect of political participation. Making an effort to cast a ballot requires a certain level of interest in politics (Flanigan, Zingale, Theiss-Morse, & Wagner, 2015). The radio industry in Puerto Rico competes for attention in an overcrowded media landscape, with many options for entertainment and information from other types of media forms (Albarrán, 2004). Because the Puerto Rican radio spectrum is wide-ranging, audiences navigate a “high choice media environment” (Prior, 2005; Quintelier & Hooghe, 2011; Tirado, 2007) that encompasses talk, musical and religious themes. Talk in itself branches into different nonmusical forms of information and entertainment (Godfrey & Leigh, 1998). Audiences will favor entertainment over news when given the option. For example, with regards to television, 42% of viewers in a high choice media environment reported watching broadcast news versus 80% in a low choice media environment (Prior, 2007; Quintelier & Hooghe, 2011). As public affairs programming may do, entertainment programming can touch upon political issues, encourage debate, and critique the government (Carpini & Williams, 2001). Moreover, it’s not only the type of program consumed that produces different effects, but also the political leaning of the radio station could be related to audience loyalty or habitual listening (Eastman & Ferguson, 1997; Mendelsohn & Nadeau, 1996; Quintelier & Hooghe, 2011). For the purpose of this study, this research will evaluate if listeners would choose news over politics talk for political information purposes: RQ 2: Will Puerto Rican listeners choose news or politics talk for political information purposes? Media can influence people’s motivation to participate in the political process (Boulianne, 2011). Ideally, in a democracy, citizens follow news to gather information necessary for them to decide what will be the nature of their political participation (Habermas, 26 1989; Holt et al., 2013). Political participation includes activities intended to influence government action whether direct or indirectly (Hayes, Scheufele, & Huge, 2006; Verba, Schlozman, & Brady, 1995). A direct, yet private way a citizen can influence government is voting. Secret balloting permits citizens to avoid social consequences of their choices because they are not forced to share their preferences publicly (Hayes et al., 2006). Other forms of political participation are social acts of opinion expression subject to the scrutiny of others. These comprise, but are not limited to, conversations about politics; following political figures and causes and posting comments about them on social media; calling or writing a letter to government officials. Citizens also may affiliate voluntarily to nongovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, and social movements – often referred to as civil society (Hayes et al., 2006). To advance their interests, viewpoints, or ideologies (Tufte, 2014), these groups not only engage in the aforementioned practices, but can protest to demonstrate disagreement with a government’s actions (Hayes et al., 2006). Other factors that may influence political activity are demographic variables, such as education, income, and gender. In addition, involvement in a particular issue, a sense of power over the actions of government (political efficacy), and levels of political information may determine political participation (Carmines, 1991; Cohen, Vigoda, & Samorty, 2001; Hayes et al., 2006; McLeod et al., 1996; Scheufele & Eveland, 2001; Ulbig & Funk, 1999; Verba et al., 1995). Nonetheless, it is media use and its effect on political engagement that are of particular interest for this study. Bearing in mind that usually listeners of politics talk program show great interest in politics and already are engaged in democratic practices (Yanovitzky & Capella, 2001), the following research question is posed. H 4: Audiences who consume information radio actively engage in (a) direct and (b) indirect political participation behaviors. 27 CHAPTER 3 CONTENT ANALYSIS METHODS In order to ascertain changes in information radio content a compilation of the programming grids of WKAQ 580-Univision, NotiUno, and Radio Isla in General Election years 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 was executed. The information was acquired visiting the station’s web sites in the referenced years using the Internet Archive’s Way Back Machine available at http://archive.org/web/. Gaps in the information were verified though in-depth semi structured interviews conducted to radio workers. The information was then organized in a spreadsheet by radio station call letters, year, program duration, program schedule, program name, program host, and program type. The Radio Network Programming Grids are available in the Appendices. To further examine the changes in information radio, a content analysis was conducted to identify the types of programs transmitted in Puerto Rican information radio; the topics discussed, specifically in news and politics talk programs; the tone and level of outrage discourse in politics talk programs; and the nature of caller participation. The population of content in this study is 216 hours of radio programming distributed in randomly constructed weeks consisting of 3 weekdays and 6 hours of programming from WKAQ 580 (Univision), NotiUno 630 (UNO Radio Group) and Radio Isla 1320 (Media Power Group). The content that was acquired from a media monitoring company in San Juan was only available for the General Election years of 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. A convenience sample was used for 2004, as the week of November 15–19 was the only one with content from the three stations of interest. A random sample was used for 2008 (November 17–21), 2012 (May 7–11), and 2016 (February 22–26). 28 As program formats varied, some were structured newscasts while others were interview, politics, or entertainment talk shows with multiple participants, coders recorded the variables of interest by speaker turns. Sobieraj & Berry (2011) operationalized a turn is a continuous block of speech by an individual. When there is a panel or conversation, each person’s turn is the appropriate unit. Changes in topic and pauses for station information, teasers, or advertisements constituted boundaries of a single turn (Perrin, 2005; Sobieraj & Berry, 2011), but are not coded. Consequently, two paid coders examined a sample of 43 randomly selected hours and 2,378 speaker turns. In the sample there were an average of 54 speaker turns per hour. A content reliability pretest was conducted using Coefficient AC1 (Lacy, Watson, Riffe, & Lovejoy, 2015) exceeding .7 for all variables. Thus, coders proceeded with coding the study content independently. Likewise, the intercoder reliability test conducted during coding yielded a Coefficient AC1 of .7 (Table 2). Coefficient AC1 (Lacy et al., 2015) is used in this study as a measure of reliability because it yielded a more stable intercoder agreement for nominal data than other known measures, such as Krippendorff’s Alpha (Gwet, 2008). Table 2: Inter-Coder Reliability Gwet's AC1 Krippendorff's Alpha Percent Agreement Variables Program type Topic Puerto Rican Government's Trustworthiness Attitude towards Puerto Rican Government U.S. Government's Trustworthiness Attitude towards U.S. Government Outrage language Operational Concepts and Measures 1 1 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 1 1 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 100 100 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 This content analysis considered eight niche formats found in Puerto Rican information radio, in which the spoken word and not music is the central content feature (Pierce & Potter, 29 2012). The FCC classifies the radio stations contemplated in this study as news/talk. Content is categorized as news or station-produced news content that emphasizes the local area where the station operates (Wu, 2017). Another format is politics talk that discusses current issues at the local, state, national, and international level (Eastman & Ferguson, 2013). Entertainment content features comedy, drama, entertainment news, and gossip, among other light content aimed to amuse. In addition, call-in programs provide an opportunity for the audience to opine on a diversity of issues (Turner, Tomlinson, & Pearce, 2006). Sports talk reviews major team sports and/or conducts play-by-play analysis (Eastman & Ferguson, 2013). The interview program may shift between information and entertainment content. In its format, talk radio is informal in nature; thus, formal interviewing procedures such as turn allocation and order as well as length are overlooked. There is often a “play of truth and insincerity, which calls into question the personality of the guest” (Martinez, 2003, p. 285). Finally, health and help talk offers advice about health, finances, or home improvement; and faith talk or religious content (S. T. Eastman & Ferguson, 2013). On the other hand, this research classified nine types of news topics covered by Puerto Rican information radio. Hard news, soft news (Straubhaar et al., 2012), and editorial were identified as umbrella categories. Hard news includes politics topics that discuss Puerto Rico status, elections, electoral campaigns, and candidates. Economic topics, which contemplate employment/unemployment; inflation; state debt and deficit; business news and imports/exports; taxation; housing market; investment issues; interest rates; individual economic stories; as well as growth/recession topics. Finally, crime stories, which describe a criminal offense, place victims and offenders in a relationship marked by theft, damage, injury, or death; and courts (Acevedo, 2010; Bonini & Morello, 2014; Brodie, Hamel, Altman, Blendon, & Benson, 2003; Hanusch, 2010; Humphries, 1981; Kalogeropoulos, Svensson, van 30 Dalen, de Vreese, & Albaek, 2014; Major, 2004; Rowe, 2007; Scott & Goebetz, 1992; Straubhaar et al., 2012). Soft news are comprised of sports topics, which discuss pre-viewing and descriptive reporting of sports events; as well as money, politics, or social impact of sports. Weather and traffic news also are a common feature of radio newscasts. Culture and entertainment topics focus on cultural events reports, music/books/film/game reviews, and technology reviews. Travel topics report on travel for leisure and information purposes. Human-interest topics consider individual story lines that portray social problems and that appeal to emotions. Health and environment topics focus on public health, health policy, disease/medical, and social policies indirectly related to health, and environmental issues that caution about the probability of harm. Finally, editorial content will be categorized as commentary, columns, or editorials, which highlight the news organization’s opinion (Acevedo, 2010; Bonini & Morello, 2014; Brodie et al., 2003; Hanusch, 2010; Humphries, 1981; Kalogeropoulos et al., 2014; Major, 2004; Rowe, 2007; Scott & Goebetz, 1992; Straubhaar et al., 2012). Additionally, politics talk radio hosts generally are negative towards government institutions. This content analysis considered the tone of references to Puerto Rico and United States government institutions of politics talk shows in Puerto Rican information radio. An example of a Puerto Rican government institution could be the figure of the Governor, members of the Legislative Assembly or the Cabinet such as the Justice Secretary or the Police Chief. Following Pfau, Soy, Holbert, Szabo, Lin & Zhang’s (1999) content analysis categories, coders evaluated the host’s perception of Puerto Rico government institutions’ trustworthiness coding as trustworthy (1),untrustworthy (0), or no reference (3); and the hosts’ attitude toward Puerto Rico’s government institutions coding as favorable (1) unfavorable (2), or no reference (3). The same was done for US government institutions when discussed in the programs. 31 Moreover, following Sobieraj & Berry (2011) conceptualization of outrage discourse in blogs, talk radio and cable news analysis programs, this study classified the use of outrage in Puerto Rican information radio per speaker turn as follows: (1) insulting language, (2) name calling, (3) emotional language, (4) verbal fighting/sparring, (5) character assassination, (6) misrepresentative exaggeration, (7) mockery, (8) conflagration, (9) ideologically extremizing language, (10) slippery slope, (11) obscene language, or (12) no use of outrage language. First, the insulting language variable evaluated whether the speaker utilizes it in allusion to “a person, group of people, branch of the government, political party, or other organization, or their behaviors, planned behaviors, policies, or views” (p. 39). For example, imbécil in reference to a person or group’s behavior is insulting language, but if the person or group is directly called imbécil this was classified as “name-calling.” Second, the name calling variable measured whether the speaker employs name- calling to refer to “a person, group of people, branch of the government, political party, or other organization” (p. 39). Friendly teasing is not considered. Instead, name-calling language is depicted by words and contexts that make the subject appear silly, incompetent, insincere, deceitful, or dangerous. Third, the emotional language variable measured instances where the speaker engaged in verbal expressions of emotion in reference to “a person, group of people, branch of the government, political party, or other organization” (p. 40). Emotion words associated with rage, fear, and unhappiness are main markers. Emotional language is not about what is said verbatim, rather about how it is communicated. Fourth, the verbal fighting/sparring variable targets instances of aggressive fighting between speakers. In radio, it may take the form of dismissive interruptions or disrespectful altercations between panelists or guests and callers or between hosts and guests/callers illustrated by in civility. Fifth, the character assassination variable evaluates when the speaker tries to harm the reputation of “a person, group of people, branch of the government, political 32 party, or other organization by defamation or misrepresentation of their views, motives, or behaviors” (p. 40). In politics, however, inquiring the truth about a statement is common and should not be confused with character assassination. For example, a journalist may confront a politician about lying, yet this does not constitute character assassination. Six, the misrepresentative exaggeration variable measured whether the speaker employs very dramatic negative exaggeration in allusion to “the behaviors, planned behaviors, policies, or views of a person, group of people, branch of the government, political party, or other organization” (p. 40), such that it notably misrepresents or conceals the truth. Seventh, the mockery variable assessed whether the speaker makes fun of the “behaviors, planned behaviors, policies, or views of a person, group of people, branch of the government, political party, or other organization” (p. 40) to make the person look bad or enflame criticism. Friendly teasing is not considered. In its place, the emphasis is on humor used to make the subject look silly, incompetent, insincere, deceitful, or dangerous. It may also be portrayed as an impersonation meant to make others laugh at the expense of the person (think e.g., parody). Eight, the conflagration variable certifies efforts to turn nonscandals into scandals. The speaker exaggerates or dramatizes the significance or implications of minor errors, omissions, or improprieties. A nonscandal is an “episode, event, or trend” (p. 41) that an educated, detached observer would not consider important or scandalous. Ninth, the ideologically extremizing language variable refers to extremist language used to critically portray “a person, group of people, branch of the government, political party, or other organization or their behaviors, planned behaviors, policies, or views” (p. 41). Usually, the descriptive language will be used as an insult rather than a description. Tenth, the slippery slope variable evaluates fatalistic arguments suggesting that certain “behavior, policy, or decision” is a minor step that will unavoidably lead much more dangerous “behaviors, policies, or decisions” (p. 41). For example, suggesting that the legalization of 33 marijuana for medicinal purposes will lead users to become addicted to other drugs. Eleventh, the obscene language variable estimates the usage of obscene language in allusion to a “person, group of people, branch of the government, political party, or other organization (or their behaviors, planned behaviors, policies, or views)” (p. 41). RESULTS Hypothesis 1 postulated Puerto Rican radio has seen a decline in news and an increase in talk shows over time. An analysis of programming grids of the three major commercial radio networks, WKAQ 580-Univision, NotiUno and Radio Isla from 2000 – 2016 supports this hypothesis. The trend is seen more clearly in WKAQ 580 programming. In 2000, Puerto Rico’s first radio station broadcasted a morning, midday, and afternoon newscasts and no politics talk shows from Monday through Friday. In 2004 politics talk show A palo limpio featrured a panel that represented the three political status ideologies. For two hours University of Puerto Rico professor Inés Quiles, representing independence, soon to be senator (2008-2012) and later governor (2012-2016) Alejandro García Padilla, representing the free-associated state, and lawyer José Sánchez Acosta, representing statehood, commented on the days’ news according to their status preference. With time politics talk shows increased exposure consequently, by 2016 WKAQ 580 offered various political commentary programs and only one newscast during the morning (See Fig. 4). Similarly, newscasts in competing station NotiUno have declined and politics talk shows increased (See Fig. 5). In the case of Radio Isla, newscasts and politics talk shows had equal airtime when the station started broadcasting in 2004 however, later politics talk shows maintained primacy (See Fig. 6). 34 Figure 4: WKAQ-Univision Programs 2004-2016 Hours per programming type from 2000-2016 for commercial radio network WKAQ-Univision Radio. Because of their hybrid nature interview programs, which discuss the news of the day with newsmakers, government officials, politicians, and political commentators one-on-one or in a panel, were coded separately from news and politics talk shows. The ‘Other’ category includes formats such as entertainment, sports, call-in, health/help, and faith talk shows. Figure 5: NotiUno Programs 2000-2016 Hours per programming type from 2000-2016 for commercial radio network NotiUno. 35 Figure 6: Radio Isla Programs 2004-2016 Hours per programming type from 2004-2016 for commercial radio network Cadena Radio Isla. Unlike WKAQ- Univision Radio and NotiUno, this station began broadcasting in 2004. Turning to the content analysis, even as newscasts have suffered a substantial decrease in the last 15 years, the presence of news is palpable throughout information radio because of periodic bulletins within other program types, making up 50% of the total content in WKAQ 580 (Univision Radio), WSKN (Radio Isla), and WUNO (NotiUno) from 2004-2016. Politics talks shows of one to two-hour duration account for 28% of the programming. Sports (9%) and interview (9%) programs are another staple of the news/talk radio networks. Upon closer inspection of individual stations, WUNO (NotiUno) offers the most news (58%), followed by WKAQ (Univision Radio) (54%), and WSKN (Radio Isla) (41%). The latter features the most politics talk programs (33%), followed by WUNO (NotiUno) (26%), and WKAQ (Univision Radio) (22%). Therefore, a Chi-square test indicated the relationship between radio station and program type is significant χ2 (12, N = 2353) = 732.1, p = .000) (Table 3). Observing the distribution of different program formats over time within our sample there is a clear downward trend of news while politics talk shows peak in 2008, 2012, and 2016 (See Fig. 7). 36 Table 3: Types of Programs in Puerto Rican Information Radio Station News Politics Entertainment Call-in Sports Interviews Faith Talk Total Talk WUNO 379.7 208.7 57.7% 25.7% WKAQ 341.1 187.5 53.8% 21.8% WSKN 456.2 250.8 Total 40.8% 33.2% 1177.0 647.0 50.0% 27.5% 20.0 4.0% 18.0 1.8% 24.0 2.2% 62.0 2.6% Talk 70.0 0.0% 62.9 0.0% 84.1 9.4 3.8% 8.4 0.0% 11.2 0.0% 23.8% 29.0 1.2% 217.0 9.2% 65.5 6.5% 58.8 5.8 759.0 2.4% 100.0% 5.2 682.0 22.6% 0.0% 100.0% 78.7 0.0% 203.0 8.6% 7.0 912.0 0.0% 100.0% 18.0 2353.0 0.8% 100.0% Figure 7: Types of Programs on Information Radio November 2004 to February 2016 37 On the other hand, the three radio networks’ content in general focuses on topics such as politics (41%), economy (12%), crime (11%), and sports (9%). Even as Puerto Rico’s economy plummeted, discussions hinged on partisan politics and the matter of the political relationship with the United States. Politics was a frequent subject in WUNO (NotiUno) (54%), followed by WKAQ (Univision Radio) (37%), and WSKN (Radio Isla) (32%). WKAQ (Univision Radio) most often referenced crime (14%). To that effect, an announcer in WKAQ reflected on the birth of an initiative that has become an emblem of the morning newscast called La noticia positiva or The Good News, “It came up one day – blood was dripping out of the speakers… we reported a lot of crimes and when it came time to give good news [the host] asked me, ‘Is there any?’ and I said ‘Of course there is! Sure!’ And that stuck and we still do it today”. Hence, the relationship between radio station and topic is significant χ2 (18, N = 2353) = 387.2, p = .000) (Table 4). 38 Table 4: Topic Distribution per Radio Station Station Politics Economy Crime Sports Weather/ Culture/ Travel Health/ Editorial Other Total Traffic Entertainment Environment WUNO 307.1 93.9 83.2 67.1 33.5 53.5% 13.6% 9.6% 2.0% 4.7% WKAQ 275.9 84.3 74.8 60.3 30.1 37.0% 14.5% 13.6% 1.2% 6.7% WSKN 369.0 112.8 100.0 80.6 40.3 Total 32.2% 9.8% 10.1% 20.3% 2.4% 952.0 291.0 258.0 208.0 104.0 40.5% 12.4% 11.0% 8.8% 4.4% 31.3 1.7% 28.1 8.7% 37.6 2.7% 97.0 4.1% .6 0.3% .6 0.0% .8 0.0% 2.0 0.1% 21.9 1.3% 19.7 2.1% 26.4 4.8% 68.0 2.9% 1.0 119.3 759.0 0.4% 12.9% 100.0% .9 107.2 682.0 0.0% 16.3% 100.0% 1.2 143.4 912.0 0.0% 17.7% 100.0% 3.0 370.0 2353.0 0.1% 15.7% 100.0% 39 Outrage-Based Language Hypothesis 2 posited that politics talk radio programs used outrage-based strategies. On this topic, a journalist from WAPA Radio expressed, “That concept of fighting and calling someone corrupt, charlatan… The interviewer calling people ‘Crook! Crook!’… They say ‘crook’ because they feel like it. If I call someone crook I have to present the evidence”. Although this confrontational style runs over and over in radio station promotional messages aimed to attract audiences, a content analysis from WKAQ 580 (Univision Radio), WSKN (Radio Isla), and WUNO (NotiUno) during 2004 – 2016 revealed little support for the hypothesis. Outrage language is present, but not commonplace, occurring 9% of the time, with name calling (24%), and insulting language (20%), being applied more frequently (See Table 5). Table 5: Use of Outrage Language in Puerto Rican Information Radio Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Insulting Language Name Calling Emotional Language Verbal Fighting/Sparing Character Assassination Misrepresentative Exaggeration Mockery Conflagration Ideologically Extremizing Language Slippery Slope Obscene Language 41 48 18 11 8 17 29 21 7 3 1 1.7 2.0 .8 .5 .3 .7 1.2 .9 .3 .1 .0 Total System 204 2174 2378 8.6 91.4 100.0 20.1 23.5 8.8 5.4 3.9 8.3 14.2 10.3 3.4 1.5 .5 100.0 20.1 43.6 52.5 57.8 61.8 70.1 84.3 94.6 98.0 99.5 100.0 Acknowledging that outrage language occurs infrequently, the remainder of this section focuses on the occurrences of outrage language present in the sample (204 speaker turns). A Chi-square test revealed there is a significant relationship between program type and 40 engagement in outrage language χ2 (60, N = 204) = 120.8, p = .000). To reiterate, coders identified station-produced news content such as newscasts, headlines, and bulletins as news, while programs that employ commentary and opinion about public issues at the local, national, and international level were categorized as politics talk (Eastman & Ferguson, 2013; Wu, 2017). Remarkably, news content (36%) feature more outrage-based language strategies than politics talk shows (29%). The use of journalism clichés and bold headlines in newscasts and news bulletins throughout the programming might account for the presence of conflagration (21%), name calling (18%), and emotional language (18%). On the other hand, politics talk shows exhibit name-calling (28%), and insulting language (17%), as a strategy to retain their audience. Finally, interview programs also employ outrage-based language (18%). Specifically, both hosts and/or guests equally incur in name-calling (32%) and insulting language (32%) during interview programs (Table 6). 41 Table 6: Use of Outrage Language by Program Type Program Type Insulting Name Emotional Verbal Character Misrepresentative Mockery Conflagration Ideologically Slippery Obscene Total Language Calling Language Fighting/ Assassination Exaggeration Extremizing Slope Language 10 14.7 13 17.2 13 6.4 Sparing 8 3.9 0 2.9 4 6.1 8 10.4 15 7.5 1 2.5 1 1.1 0 .4 Language 13.7% 17.8% 17.8% 11.0% 0.0% 5.5% 11.0% 20.5% 1.4% 1.4% 0.0% 10 12.1 17 14.1 1 5.3 0 3.2 4 2.4 7 5.0 8 8.5 5 6.2 6 2.1 1 .9 1 .3 16.7% 28.3% 1.7% 0.0% 6.7% 11.7% 13.3% 8.3% 10.0% 1.7% 1.7% 9 4.6 0 5.4 2 2.0 0 1.2 1 .9 0 1.9 11 3.3 0 2.4 0 .8 0 .3 0 .1 39.1% 0.0% 8.7% 0.0% 4.3% 0.0% 47.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0 .2 0 .2 0 .1 0 .1 0 .0 0 .1 0 .1 1 .1 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0 .2 1 .2 0 .1 0 .1 0 .0 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 12 7.4 12 8.7 0 3.3 3 2.0 2 1.5 5 3.1 2 5.3 0 3.8 0 1.3 1 .5 0 .2 73 36% 60 29% 23 11% 1 0.5% 1 0.5% 37 18% 32.4% 32.4% 0.0% 8.1% 5.4% 13.5% 5.4% 0.0% 0.0% 2.7% 0.0% 41 41.0 48 48.0 20.1% 23.5% 18 18.0 8.8% 11 11.0 5.4% 8 8.0 3.9% 17 17.0 8.3% 29 29.0 21 21.0 7 7.0 3 3.0 1 1.0 204 204.0 14.2% 10.3% 3.4% 1.5% 0.5% 100.0% News Politics Talk Entertainment Call-in Sports Talk Interviews Total 42 Moreover, a Chi-square test showed there is a significant relationship between speaker type and engagement in outrage language χ2 (110, N = 204) = 196.6, p = .000). Journalism Personalities, a hybrid communicator who feature their own programs, use journalism techniques such as interviewing and verification, and offer their opinion when addressing public issues, use outrage language 29% of the time. Journalism Personalities make use of insulting language (25%) and name calling (30%) consequently making the individual appear silly, incompetent or deceitful. Following Journalism Personalities are Politics Talk Show Hosts (20%) who subjectively comment on public issues exercising name calling (25%) and insulting language (15%). Politics Talk Show Hosts equally employ misrepresentative exaggeration (15%), which is dramatic negative language that markedly conceals the truth. Announcers are involved in outrage language 18% of the time, making use of name-calling (24%) and conflagration (30%). Finally, emboldened by radio personalities, audiences that call-in are at liberty of using outrage language 31% of the time, engaging in name calling (41%) and mockery (26%) (Table 7) 43 Table 7: Use of Outrage Language by Speaker Type Speaker Name Emotional Verbal Character Misrepresentative Mockery Conflagration Ideologically Slippery Obscene Total Type Calling Language Fighting Assassination Exaggeration Extremizing Slope Language Language Announcer 9 8.7 5 3.3 0 2.0 0 1.5 3 3.1 4 5.3 11 3.8 0 1.3 0 .5 0 .2 37 18% 24.3% 13.5% 0.0% 0.0% 8.1% 10.8% 29.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Journalist 1 .7 0 .3 0 .2 0 .1 0 .3 0 .4 2 .3 0 .1 0 .0 0 .0 33.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 66.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Journalism Personality 18 14.1 3 5.3 6 3.2 2 2.4 3 5.0 9 8.5 4 6.2 0 2.1 0 .9 0 .3 Politics Talk Show Personality Politicians 30.0% 5.0% 10.0% 3.3% 5.0% 15.0% 6.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10 9.4 1 3.5 1 2.2 3 1.6 6 3.3 5 5.7 2 4.1 4 1.4 1 .6 1 .2 25.0% 2.5% 2.5% 7.5% 15.0% 12.5% 5.0% 10.0% 2.5% 2.5% 4 4.5 4 1.7 3 1.0 0 .7 2 1.6 1 2.7 2 2.0 1 .7 0 .3 0 .1 21.1% 21.1% 15.8% 0.0% 10.5% 5.3% 10.5% 5.3% 0.0% 0.0% Government Official 0 .9 0 .4 1 .2 0 .2 1 .3 0 .6 0 .4 1 .1 1 .1 0 .0 0.0% 0.0% 25.0% 0.0% 25.0% 0.0% 0.0% 25.0% 25.0% 0.0% Civil Society 0 .2 0 .1 0 .1 0 .0 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1 1 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3 1.5% 60 29% 40 19.6% 19 9.0% 4 2% 1 0.5% 44 Workers Call-in Sports Talk Show Personality Entertainment Talk Show Personality Total 1 0.5% 31 15% 1 2 1% Table 7 (cont’d) Speaker Name Emotional Verbal Character Misrepresentative Mockery Conflagration Ideologically Slippery Obscene Total Type Calling Language Fighting Assassination Exaggeration Extremizing Slope Language Language Religious 3 1.2 1 .4 0 .3 1 .2 0 .4 0 .7 0 .5 0 .2 0 .1 0 .0 5 2.5% 60.0% 20.0% 0.0% 20.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0 .2 0 .1 0 .1 1 .0 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2 7.3 4 2.7 0 1.7 1 1.2 2 2.6 8 4.4 0 3.2 0 1.1 1 .5 0 .2 6.5% 12.9% 0.0% 3.2% 6.5% 25.8% 0.0% 0.0% 3.2% 0.0% 1 .2 0 .1 0 .1 0 .0 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0.5% 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0 .5 0.0% 48 48.0 0 .2 0 .1 0 .1 0 .2 2 .3 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 18 11 18.0 11.0 8 8.0 17 17.0 29 29.0 0 .2 0.0% 21 21.0 0 .1 0 .0 0 .0 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 7 7.0 3 3.0 1 204 1.0 204.0 23.5% 8.8% 5.4% 3.9% 8.3% 14.2% 10.3% 3.4% 1.5% 0.5% 100.0% 45 As I will expand further down in the results for the radio worker interviews, each speaker turn that showcases outrage-based language reflects organizational practices that rest on editorial lines and different programming strategies that privilege commentary and distance themselves from journalistic rigor. Accordingly, a Chi-square test unveiled there is a significant relationship between radio station and engagement in outrage language χ2 (20, N = 202) = 42.2, p = .003). As shown in Table 8, WKAQ (Univision Radio) leads in the use of outrage-based language in its content (45%), with most occurrences in name calling (30%) and insulting language (20%). In second place, is WUNO (NotiUno) engaging in this practice 36% of the time through the use of mockery (21%). Outrage-based language is not common in WSKN (Radio Isla) (19%), yet when present it comes in the form of insulting language (26%). 46 Station Insulting Name Emotional Verbal Character Misrepresentative Mockery Conflagration Ideologically Slippery Obscene Total Language Calling Language Fighting/ Assassination Exaggeration Extremizing Slope Language Table 8: Use of Outrage Language by Station 14 14.5 11 17.3 9 6.5 Sparing 2 4.0 3 2.9 6 5.8 15 10.5 12 7.6 Language 1 2.5 0 1.1 0 .4 19.2% 15.1% 12.3% 2.7% 4.1% 8.2% 20.5% 16.4% 1.4% 0.0% 0.0% 18 18.0 27 21.6 4 8.1 8 5.0 4 3.6 6 7.2 13 13.1 7 9.5 1 3.2 3 1.4 0 .5 19.8% 29.7% 4.4% 8.8% 4.4% 6.6% 14.3% 7.7% 1.1% 3.3% 0.0% 73 36% 91 45% 38 19% WUNO WKAQ WSKN Total 1 5.5 2.6% 29 29.0 2 4.0 5.3% 21 21.0 5 1.3 0 .6 1 .2 13.2% 0.0% 2.6% 7 7.0 3 3.0 1 1.0 202 202.0 14.4% 10.4% 3.5% 1.5% 0.5% 100.0% 8 7.5 10 9.0 5 3.4 1 2.1 1 1.5 4 3.0 21.1% 26.3% 13.2% 2.6% 2.6% 10.5% 40 40.0 48 48.0 18 18.0 19.8% 23.8% 8.9% 11 11.0 5.4% 8 8.0 4.0% 16 16.0 7.9% 47 Tone towards Government Institutions Hypothesis 3 stated information radio content reflects polarization in terms of national identity as it relates to the status preferences. While WKAQ (Univision Radio) and NotiUno uphold a right-wing editorial line, Radio Isla claims to abide by a centrist political ideology. In the Puerto Rican colonial context, the right is associated with favoring a permanent political relationship with the United States, whereas the left is associated with sovereignty or independence. In general, the content analysis revealed that WKAQ 580 (Univision Radio), WSKN (Radio Isla), and WUNO (NotiUno) refer to Puerto Rican government institutions in a negative tone but are more lenient towards U.S. government institutions. Across stations, program, and speaker types the Puerto Rican Government is depicted as untrustworthy/unfavorable (24%) when discussing public issues (See Table 9). Although the role of the U.S. Government is discussed with less frequency, it is portrayed equally as untrustworthy/unfavorable (5%) and trustworthy/favorable (4%) (See Table 10). Inasmuch as information radio’s narrative favors deepening Puerto Rico’s political relationship with the United States and undermines Puerto Rico’s demands for political powers hypothesis 3 finds support. Following is a breakdown of this phenomenon per program and speaker types. Table 9: Tone towards Puerto Rican Government Institutions Tone Frequency Percent Untrustworthy/Unfavorable Trustworthy/Favorable No reference Total 24 10 66 100.0 574 233 1571 2378 Table 10: Tone towards U.S. Government Institutions Tone Frequency Percent Untrustworthy/Unfavorable Trustworthy/Favorable No reference Total 106 92 2180 2378 4.5 3.9 91.6 100.0 48 A Chi-square test revealed there is a significant relationship between program type and the negative tone used to reference Puerto Rican government institutions χ2 (12, N = 2,378) = 156.1, p = .000). Politics talk show (31%), news (26%), call-in (24%), and interview programs (19%) generally engage in this practice (See Table 11). Politics talk programs address U.S. Government Institutions more frequently than newscasts or bulletins. The fact that there is an editorial decision to showcase pro-statehood and pro-free-associated state perspectives in politics talk shows may account for the untrustworthy/unfavorable (8%) and trustworthy/favorable (5%) tone of the discussions related to the U.S. Government’s role in defining Puerto Rico’s relationship with the Mainland. Moreover, the demand for a balanced news coverage is evident in the untrustworthy/unfavorable (5%) and trustworthy/favorable (5%) tone used to reference the federal government institutions such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the United States District Court χ2 (12, N = 2,378) = 65.6, p = .000) (Table 12). Program Type News Politics Talk Entertainment Call-in Sports Talk Interviews Faith Talk Total Table 11: Tone towards Puerto Rico Government Institutions per Program Type Untrustworthy/ Trustworthy/ No reference Total Unfavorable Favorable 288.2 26.2% 158.1 30.5% 15.0 9.7% 7.0 24.1% 52.4 0.0% 49.0 19.2% 4.3 50.0% 574.0 24.1 788.8 61.4% 432.7 61.2% 41.0 83.9% 19.2 58.6% 143.4 99.1% 134.1 70.9% 11.9 50.0% 1571.0 66.1% 1194.0 100.0% 655.0 100.0% 62.0 100.0% 29.0 100.0% 217.0 100.0% 203.0 100.0% 18.0 100.0% 2378.0 100.0% 117.0 12.4% 64.2 8.2% 6.1 6.5% 2.8 17.2% 21.3 0.9% 19.9 9.9% 1.8 0.0% 233.0 9.8% 49 Program Type News Politics Talk Entertainment Call-in Sports Talk Interviews Faith Talk Total Table 12: Tone towards U.S Government Institutions per Program Type Untrustworthy/ Trustworthy/ No reference Total Unfavorable Favorable 53.2 4.5% 29.2 7.8% 2.8 0.0% 1.3 0.0% 9.7 0.0% 9.0 0.5% .8 0.0% 106.0 4.5% 46.2 4.6% 25.3 5.0% 2.4 0.0% 1.1 0.0% 8.4 0.0% 7.9 1.0% .7 11.1% 92.0 3.9% 1094.6 90.9% 600.5 87.2% 56.8 100.0% 26.6 100.0% 198.9 100.0% 186.1 98.5% 16.5 88.9% 2180.0 91.7% 1194.0 100.0% 655.0 100.0% 62.0 100.0% 29.0 100.0% 217.0 100.0% 203.0 100.0% 18.0 100.0% 2378.0 100.0% Instead, different types of speakers valued Puerto Rican government institutions 34% of the time, but only weighted U.S. government institutions 8% of the time. Overwhelmingly, announcers (23%) and journalists (23%) referred to the local government as untrustworthy/unfavorable; however, politics talk shows depict the Puerto Rican government as more untrustworthy/unfavorable (40%) than favorable/trustworthy (9%). Likewise, journalism personalities consider local authorities more untrustworthy/unfavorable (25%) than favorable/trustworthy (6%). Members of the civil society, such as professional associations or non-profit organizations also refer to Puerto Rican government institutions as more untrustworthy/unfavorable (28%) than favorable/trustworthy (2%). Another recurrent voice in news/talk radio is that of politicians whose perception of the local government is more untrustworthy/unfavorable (33%) than favorable/trustworthy (22%). Thus, according to a Chi- square test the relationship between speaker type and the tone used to reference Puerto Rican government institutions is significant with politics talk show hosts and journalism personalities 50 conveying a more negative attitude when they offer their commentary on public issues χ2 (30, N = 2,376) = 272.0, p = .000) (See Table 13). That outrage language is applied scantly is not an obstacle for speaking contemptuously about the local government and praising the metropolis at the program and speaker type levels. During electoral years the content for, both, right and center leaning stations considered in this study presented the issues through a partisan lens. Thereon, Morris (1995) explains, that in Puerto Rican politics, each party reflects a different concept of national identity depending on the status preference they support. Here polarization is based on association with a Puerto Rican or an American identity. Spokespersons for the Popular Democratic and New Progressive Parties, who advocate for a permanent relationship with the United States in varying degrees, occupy most of the politics talk shows in the sample. Consequently, U.S. government intervention is commended while the actions of the local government are heavily criticized. It is worth noting that the Popular Democratic Party fluctuates between these two identities. For example, the criminal prosecution of local politicians by the United States Attorney’s Office is usually welcomed (Pacheco, 2017; Torres Gotay, 2018). However, when charges were filed against Popular Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, while running for office in 2008, the rhetoric shifted. As is apparent from the sample considered in this study, political commentators affiliated with his party disdained the federal government’s intervention on local politics raising the flag of the Puerto Rican identity. On the other hand, the New Progressive Party, which advocates for statehood, censured the displays of Puerto Rican patriotism in favor of the colonial authority. Likewise, when discussing options in status referendums parties embrace national identities for electioneering (López Cabán, 2017) and these messages are reproduced through their surrogates in politics talk shows. 51 Table 13: Tone towards Puerto Rico Government Institutions per Speaker Type Speaker Type Announcer Journalist Journalism Personality Politics Talk Show Personality Politicians Government official Civil Society Religious Workers Call-in Sports Talk Show Personality Athlete Patient Sports Management Entertainment Talk Show Personality Entertainer Total Untrustworthy/ Trustworthy/ No reference Total Unfavorable Favorable 122.0 22.5% 95.3 23.0% 80.8 25.1% 59.8 39.5% 76.4 32.5% 14.2 33.9% 24.4 27.7% 5.1 23.8% 5.1 38.1% 23.6 19.4% 43.7 0.0% 6.3 0.0% 1.4 0.0% 3.4 0.0% 4.8 10.0% 6.8 3.6% 573.0 24.1% 49.6 11.1% 38.7 10.1% 32.9 6.0% 24.3 8.9% 31.1 22.1% 5.8 20.3% 9.9 2.0% 2.1 4.8% 2.1 0.0% 9.6 7.1% 17.7 0.0% 2.5 3.8% .6 334.4 66.4% 261.0 66.8% 221.4 69.0% 163.9 51.6% 209.5 45.4% 39.0 45.8% 66.7 70.3% 13.9 71.4% 13.9 61.9% 64.8 73.5% 119.6 506.0 100.0% 395.0 100.0% 335.0 100.0% 248.0 100.0% 317.0 100.0% 59.0 100.0% 101.0 100.0% 21.0 100.0% 21.0 100.0% 98.0 100.0% 181.0 100.0% 100.0% 17.2 96.2% 4.0 26.0 100.0% 6.0 16.7% 83.3% 100.0% 1.4 0.0% 2.0 0.0% 2.7 3.6% 233.0 9.8% 9.3 14.0 100.0% 100.0% 13.2 90.0% 18.5 92.9% 1570.0 66.1% 20.0 100.0% 28.0 100.0% 2376.0 100.0% With the exception of journalism personalities who value federal authorities slightly more untrustworthy/unfavorable (6%) than trustworthy/favorable (2%), the perception of the 52 U.S. Government across speaker types is more leveled. For instance, politics talk show hosts value U.S. interventions in Puerto Rican everyday life equally untrustworthy/unfavorable (5%) and trustworthy/favorable (6%). Hence, a Chi-square test revealed the relationship between speaker type and the tone used to reference U.S. Government Institutions is significant χ2 (30, N = 2,376) = 57.2, p = .002) (Table 14). Table 14: Tone towards U.S Government Institutions per Speaker Type Speaker Type Announcer Journalist Journalism Personality Politics Talk Show Personality Politicians Government official Civil Society Religious Workers Call-in Sports Talk Show Personality Athlete Patient Untrustworthy/ Trustworthy/ No reference Total Unfavorable Favorable 19.8 5.7% 15.5 4.1% 13.1 1.5% 9.7 5.6% 12.4 5.7% 2.3 3.4% 4.0 3.0% .8 4.8% .8 14.3% 3.8 1.0% 7.1 0.0% 1.0 3.8% .2 0.0% 464.0 89.5% 362.2 92.7% 307.2 92.8% 227.4 89.1% 290.7 87.7% 54.1 94.9% 92.6 506.0 100.0% 395.0 100.0% 335.0 100.0% 248.0 100.0% 317.0 100.0% 59.0 100.0% 101.0 92.1% 100.0% 19.3 90.5% 19.3 81.0% 89.9 95.9% 166.0 21.0 100.0% 21.0 100.0% 98.0 100.0% 181.0 100.0% 100.0% 23.8 84.6% 5.5 26.0 100.0% 6.0 100.0% 100.0% 22.1 4.7% 17.3 3.3% 14.7 5.7% 10.9 5.2% 13.9 6.6% 2.6 1.7% 4.4 5.0% .9 4.8% .9 4.8% 4.3 3.1% 7.9 0.0% 1.1 11.5% .3 0.0% 53 Speaker Type Sports Management Entertainment Talk Show Personality Entertainer Total Table 14 (cont’d) Untrustworthy/ Trustworthy/ No reference Total Unfavorable Favorable .6 0.0% .9 0.0% 1.2 0.0% 104.0 4.4% .5 0.0% .8 0.0% 1.1 0.0% 93.0 3.9% 12.8 14.0 100.0% 100.0% 18.3 20.0 100.0% 100.0% 25.7 28.0 100.0% 100.0% 2179.0 91.7% 2376.0 100.0% 54 CHAPTER 4 RADIO WORKERS’ INTERVIEWS METHODS The base population for this study is 35 AM stations in Puerto Rico that broadcast under the news/talk format and are listed by the Audio Division of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The list was verified with radiostationworld.com, a search engine that catalogues radio stations according to format (Lacy et al., 2013; Wu, 2017). San Juan based- radio networks WKAQ 580-Univision Radio, WUNO 630-Uno Radio Group, Cadena Radio Isla 1320-Media Power Group, and Cadena WAPA Radio 680 that broadcast island wide; WPAB 550 in Ponce that broadcasts to a wide and loyal audience in the southern part of the island; and Mayagüez-based WPRA 990 and WKJB 710, which serve audiences in the west coast, were selected for this study. Data were collected using in-depth, semi-structured, interviews with radio station managers, producers, and/or journalists. Interviews were audio recorded and later transcribed and translated from Spanish to English for analysis. These lasted 25 – 80 minutes. To select radio personnel, a purposive and convenience sampling approach was used. Radio workers were selected within this researcher’s professional network who worked as a television news producer. Initial contacts referred additional names of potential interviewees following a snowball process. A total of 16 radio station managers, producers and/or journalists collaborated with the study. Semi-structured interviews lightly followed questions aligned with Shoemaker and Reese’s (2014) Hierarchical Model of Influences. This approach facilitates understanding of content production in information radio with a focus on the influences exerted from the organizational level. In this instance, the relationship between the radio station’s economic goals, editorial policy, and an organizational structure that assigns distinct values 55 and roles to newsrooms and journalists, politics talk programs and their hosts, ultimately shapes how and who presents content on air. Additionally, the questions briefly evaluated influences at the other levels: individual, routine practices, social institutions, and social systems. With regards to the individual dimension participants who practiced as journalists, hosts, or announcers were asked how their education and personal characteristics shaped the content with which they worked. The constraining influence of routine practices, for example, the clash between the obligation to follow journalistic norms and the media worker’s beliefs or attitudes, was addressed. At the social institutions level, participants were asked specifically if forces from outside the organization, such as government officials, politicians, advertisers or other media affected the content. Finally, as it relates to the ideological dimension, participants were asked to reflect on the radio station’s influence on public opinion. This study considers that sum of the recruitment of fewer journalists and more politics talk show hosts, their individual characteristics, the norms they do or do not follow, and the organizations’ editorial policy work to limit the range of political discourse available to the audience (Reese, 2001). RESULTS News/talk stations 1970s - 2000s Respondents pinpointed the origins and development of politics talk shows in Puerto Rico. During the 1970s, WAPA, WIAC, WKVM, and WKAQ broadcasted music and periodic news bulletins, yet they did not have formal news departments. Often, commercial announcers would introduce music, commercials, and also read the news. Halfway through that decade, WKVM launched a newscast managed by Hiram Collazo (Announcer, WKAQ). NotiUno (Programming Director, NotiUno) and WKAQ soon followed and eventually changed its’ programming to all-news – a trend that would last for most of the 1980s – led by seasoned 56 announcers Ramón S. Olivencia and Diego Acevedo (Announcer, WKAQ; 2, Journalist, WAPA). Towards the end of 1970s, Ponce local station WPAB shook the radio industry when its proprietor Alfonso Giménez-Porrata introduced talk shows after scouting the novel format in the United States and Europe (Torres Guzmán, 2015). By the 1980s WPAB had a dynamic programming where talk-show hosts such as Juan Manuel Garcia Passalaqua and Pedro Ortiz Álvarez, two renowned political commentators, interacted on-air with journalists who broadcasted breaking news or live news conferences. WPAB incorporated newscasts during prime time and offered news bulletins every 30 minutes (News Department Director, Radio Isla). In the 1990s, WKAQ, which for more than a decade had showcased all-news programming, incorporated Luis Francisco Ojeda and Carmen Jovet, two television journalists, who frequently breached the norm of objectivity with their aggressive interviewing styles and offered their opinion about public issues. The station’s General Manager, Humberto Biaggi, ended the all-news format and incorporated talk shows with tremendous success going into the 2000s. Humberto sees in Carmen Jovet and Ojeda a new journalism that not only gives an account of what is going on, but that acts as a watchdog, butts in, does social work because, in one way or another, they were helping the audience. It was much more than a public service because they satisfied the needs of the people. Someone called Jovet and Jovet would find a wheelchair for him or her. Someone called Ojeda and Ojeda would fix the traffic light or the light post so quickly as the person would call-in. Then, more opinion programming appeared. After Carmen and Ojeda came David Noriega, who had an opinion panel on Saturdays, and in the latter 1990s opinion programs – with partisan representation – emerged not only in WKAQ but also in other 57 stations. In 2006, Rubén Sánchez6 arrives. He is part of that new journalism that butts in, that assumes a position, that is not limited to giving an account of what is going on, but calls to account (News & Content Director, WKAQ). Two Senior Executives from UNO Radio Group and WPAB 550 said that political commentary in radio in the form of debate or panel representing the Puerto Rico’s status ideologies became entrenched in the programming toward the end of the 1990s. For instance, during that time WSKN, formerly the Súper Kadena, incorporated the talk-show format (La Super Kadena Noticiosa, 1999). Pro Free Associated State partisan García Passalaqua brought his program Fuego Cruzado from WPAB to the Súper Kadena in 1997 integrating a panel with Carlos Gallisá, who favors independence, and Ignacio Rivera, who champions statehood, with great success (News Department Director, Radio Isla). The program, which remains a staple of political commentary, would later air in WKAQ, Radio Isla, and Radio Paz (WKVM) (elnuevodia.com, 2010; Martínez, 2004; Metro, 2016; NotiCel, 2016; Rivera Saniel, 2010). News’ Slow Death and Rise of the Politics Talk Show As interviews and politics talk shows established a strong foothold in news/talk radio stations news departments shrunk, That’s the difference from 15–20 years ago where radio was very structured. You had to follow a script and do it in such a way, with your deep throaty voice. There were editors and writers that proofread. We relied a lot on print, EFE7 or the news wires. Then there were reporters in different towns and big cities such as Ponce, Mayagüez, there was one in Washington, another 6 Rubén Sánchez is a journalist who began his career in NotiUno as editor and News Director. In 2006, he moved to WKAQ 580 (Univisión Radio) where he currently hosts Puerto Rico’s highest rated morning newscast Temprano en la mañana and leads an interview show named La entrevista de frente. Over the years he also has hosted a television versión of his interview program on WAPA TV, Univision, and the Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) (Radio Online: The Industry’s Front Page, 2017; Uforia Radio, 2015). 7 EFE is an international news agency with headquarters in Madrid that serves Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. 58 in Miami, and yet another one in New York and it was a more formal newscast (Announcer, WKAQ). Radio is done differently. Before, at least what I remember, news departments were bigger in all radio stations just as much in WKAQ, NotiUno, and Radio Isla (…). There was also the Súper Kadena, Cadena Radio Puerto Rico, Radio OSO and WAPA Radio who had pretty big news departments during that time (Senior Executive, Radio Isla 1320). First, I will tell you that ten years ago, each radio network, each news station, had reporters on every region of Puerto Rico. I talk, for example, of WKAQ where I used to work. WKAQ had a reporter in Ponce, Arecibo, in the west, in the Humacao area, plus the staff in the Metro area. Over the years, apparently for economic reasons, or changes in styles, however you want to call it, correspondents were eliminated. (…) During that time, they started substituting reporters with personalities that had run for office and had lost or were running for office and were trying to use the station to make themselves known among people. Knowing as I know the radio market, there was a disparity between what was paid to the so-called talent and what was paid to reporters (Journalist, WKJB). Although politics talk shows base their discussion on current events and public issues that make headlines, today they have primacy over newscasts, News generates a lot of information here, but it is not enough to have it all day, so we complement with analysis programs and they are the main component of the programming. This format has changed. A talent may have served as a lawyer but gained recognition in media overnight and has become… someone like [Enrique] Kike Cruz, who worked as Manager for American Airlines for a long time, he started as a collaborator until he became a political analyst (Senior Executive, UNO Radio Group). 59 I would say that news is the foundation, the cornerstone where we build a varied offer for our audience. We always draw from the facts, from responsible journalism that gives an account of what happened: How? When? Where? Etcetera. But in WKAQ we identified, more than a decade ago, the opportunity and the need to explain those facts. Based on classic journalism we have built a broad offer of explanations about those facts. During the day we problematize social phenomena. Our offer is of problematizing and opining based on facts and we have an extensive spectrum for reading social phenomena so that our audience can generate a critical analysis of the Puerto Rican social reality (News and Content Director, WKAQ). Even the morning newscast has adopted analysis and is reporting news differently. As I told you it is more conversational. Occasionally something comes up and we talk about it, we take the newspaper and, without reading it, [The newscast host] and I talk about it. That is different than before. Before it was more reporting, more bla, bla, bla (Announcer, WKAQ). Journalists, however, resent losing ground and question the conflict of interest inherent in many of the politics talk shows, “Lots of politicians comment on the news, analyze the news according to the contract they have, and who they have it with… the so-called analysts” (1, Journalist, WAPA). And although others look on with suspicion the political opportunism and lack of depth of the arguments discussed in these programs, they recognize it is an effective tool to increase audiences, I believe that there is much opinion and little news. These analysis programs are not such, they are commentaries. They pass commentary as if it was analysis and analysis is something else. (…) Opinion passes as analysis often and analysis is something else. It requires study and deep thinking (2, Journalist, WAPA). I have seen the rise of media figures that become… sometimes they talk about news and sometimes they are funny. They report on news not in a serious manner. Their analysis is not 60 serious. During this time, across all stations, I have also seen people analyzing, but with their particular agendas (Senior Executive, Radio Isla). When I arrived here there still was an interest in information-based programs. That changed, and personalities hoarded spaces previously held by news. They could do that because these programs already had figures offering opinions and because of their recognition factor. They are a “big name.” That is the term that radio station owners use, although they haven’t done it in front of me. Using a renowned figure, they seek to garner audience sacrificing the news programs that station could have (News Department Director, WPAB). Level constrains on content Research question 1 inquired about the nature of the forces that caused changes in the content of information radio in Puerto Rico. Based on the Hierarchy of Influences Model, this section discusses how pressures at the media organization level (organizational structure, editorial, economic) have a greater influence on content, followed by constraints at the social institutions level (government and competition with other media), the individual level (radio worker education; conflict between following norms and religious/political ideologies; perception journalistic autonomy), routines level (timeliness in a social media ecosystem) , and ideological level (diversity of ideological perspectives in content and the stations’ influence on public opinion). Media organization level The radio stations as businesses value news and politics talk programs in terms of economic gain. Furthermore, economic goals and editorial policy assign distinct roles to journalists and politics talk program hosts, ultimately shaping how and who presents content on air. 61 Organizational structure With one exception, stations that are the objects of this study are family businesses. According to ownership records in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), WAPA Radio is the largest radio network with six stations in San Juan (WAPA 680), Arecibo (WMIA 1070), Guayama (WXRF 1590), Mayagüez (WTIL 1300), Morovis (WVOZ 1580), and Ponce (WISO 1260). It is a family business headed by Cuban exile Wifredo G. Blanco Pi and his son, Jorge Blanco Galdó. The broadcasters have a tight grip on management, as Blanco Galdó is Programming and News Director and engineer. The station focuses only on news, This station does not have analysts, beyond some little programs here and there in the afternoon and a program one of them [the owner] hosts. Analysts are not paid – they are invited. Where you really hear the news all the time, information all the time, is in this station. Here they cut ads to broadcast news. In other stations where I have worked they cut news because they have to broadcast ads. In this station, news is first (1, Journalist, WAPA). Uno Radio Group is a Puerto Rican firm that owns news/talk station NotiUno (WUNO 630), as well as FM music stations Cadena SalSoul (WRIO 100.1), Fidelity 95.7 (WFDT 100.5), and Hot 102 (WMIO 102.3). As it appears in FCC records, the Soto family runs the business under ARSO Radio Corporation (Uno Radio Group, 2012). NotiUno’s main studios are in San Juan, yet local stations in Mayagüez (WORA 760) and Ponce (WPRP 910) may broadcast their own programming and sell their own commercial spots catered to their audience. Contrary to WAPA, Uno Radio has a set organizational structure, “I started as an engineer, but today I’m Senior Executive. I work more frequently with the technical aspects, the sales and accounting departments, and the programming directors. The programming directors are the ones in charge of the content of each station” (Senior Executive, UNO Radio Group). 62 Media Power Group owns Cadena Radio Isla, a Puerto Rican network comprised of three stations in San Juan (WSKN 1320), Cayey (WLEY 1080), and Yauco (WKFE 1550). But, another five stations hold a membership contract with Cadena Radio Isla, amplifying its broadcast range. This is the status of another local station considered in this study, WKJB 710 in Mayagüez, which consistent with FCC records, belongs to Radio Station WKJB AM-FM, Incorporated, yet broadcasts some content from Radio Isla. PAB 550, a news/talk station in Ponce, is also a family business: Alfonso Giménez Porrata is the owner, while his son, Alfonso Giménez Lucchetti, is the manager of WPAB Incorporated. Although its signal covers all of Puerto Rico, its content is catered to audiences in Ponce and neighboring towns. WPAB management keeps a distance from corporate media’s way of operating as evidenced in the content analysis results where politics talk shows supersede newscasts, There is a difference between corporate media and those who are not. All media can belong to a corporation that represents them in the Department of State. Now, I’m referring to a corporation that has other businesses, that are not information businesses, which have other interests: financial interests in commercial franchises such as restaurants, construction companies, advertising, entertainment, and other interests outside of Puerto Rico. That is what I mean by corporate media: when their interests are in other businesses and news just happens to be one of them. Understand? These corporate media that operate from San Juan prioritize personalities’ opinions, advancing their individual agenda (News Department Director, WPAB). Finally, the largest Spanish-language broadcast group in the United States, Univision Communications Inc., owns television stations WLII (Tele Once) in San Juan, WSUR (Canal 9) in Ponce, FM radio station KQ 105 (WKAQ 104.5), and AM radio stations WKAQ 580 in San Juan, WYEL 600 in Mayagüez, and WUKO 1420 in Ponce (Santiago Caballero, 2004). 63 According to FCC records, it is licensed under WLII/WSUR License Partnership. News/talk radio station WKAQ 580 is the most popular with a clear advantage in audience ratings over its AM and FM competitors (Radio Online: The Industry’s Front Page, 2017). While journalists and news department directors claim they have freedom to practice journalism, management revealed a certain level of interference, “In the content? 100%. Anything that happens, the lawsuit will be on our behalf. We’re always supervising, always monitoring what is going on. No program goes to air unless it has our blessing and that of the sales department” (Senior Executive, NotiUno). Similarly, NotiUno’s Programing Director intervenes in the News Department, “If I listened to the newscast and maybe saw, ‘Look we have too much politics’ or ‘Every day, we have the same sources,’ then I stepped in. ‘Let’s vary a bit.’ I sort of guided them, but this didn’t happen frequently”. We take action against analysts when they are crossing a line, and someone complains that what is being said is not true. Then you have to protect the individual, privacy, and libel. People make mistakes and sometimes they get false information (Senior Executive, Radio Isla). There were times when the administration intervened, and I had to intervene too, because there were analysts who, based on their prejudices, said things that were not true or that could be true, but we had no proof. So, the administration would exercise its power to prevent a lawsuit or avoid spoiling commercial interests… if they were current or potential sponsors (News Department Director, Radio Isla). To tell you that we establish a content guide… Well… there are some general company policies that as manager I make sure are followed. We have to be guided by truth constantly. I hear something that is presented as a fact; the talent must have evidence, written, verbal, whatever, because we do responsible work. A talent cannot give opinion as if it was fact and they know 64 this. That they may lose perspective on the way… well, I’m here so that does not happen (News & Content Director, WKAQ). Editorial Policy Table 15: Summary of Station Call Letters, Names, Ownership, and Status Station Call Letters WAPA WUNO WSKN WKAQ WPAB Station Name Owner Wilfredo Blanco Pi WAPA Radio NotiUno 630 Political leaning Right Right Radio Isla 1320 Media Power Group, Inc. Center Right Left Arso Radio Corporation Univision WPAB, Inc. WKAQ 580 PAB 550 Political Status Preference Statehood Statehood/ Free-Associated-State Free-Associated-State Statehood/ Free-Associated-State Independence WAPA Radio. WAPA Radio has a right wing, pro-statehood, editorial line (Rodríguez-Cotto, 2016a). To highlight its allegiance, the station logo showcases a United States flag. In addition, the station plays the national anthem when the clock strikes 12:00pm. In his program “Dándole Casco al Tema,” which airs from Monday through Friday at 8:30am, station owner Wifredo Blanco Pi openly promotes statehood and comments on public issues using that lens. However, they have lost the support of the Partido Nuevo Progresista that promotes annexation, They [WAPA Radio] have fallen into an obsessive fanaticism. People have lost respect for them. They have fallen into absurd ideas such that it is a sin to wave the Puerto Rican flag after hurricane María, that sort of stuff. Even the party ignores them (1, Journalist, WAPA). NotiUno. Likewise, NotiUno holds a right-wing editorial line. The opinion programming showcases pro-statehood and pro-free-associated state voices. NotiUno considers itself an advocate of the people and often employs an aggressive style when holding government officials accountable in politics talk shows as well as newscasts (Primera Hora, 2010). Nonetheless, NotiUno is perceived as pro-statehood and journalists have a hard time distancing their work from that status ideology, “Well everyone knows that NotiUno has an open right- wing editorial line. Sometimes people will say, ‘Those journalists are statehooders.’ No, it’s 65 not the journalists; it’s the media organization or UNO Radio, not the journalists” (News Department Director). Radio Isla. Radio Isla’s Senior Executive claims the station upholds a liberal editorial line. In this case, opinion programs highlight pro-free associated state and pro-independence voices. Although openly tied to the Partido Popular Democrático, management often issues editorials in favor of figures who represent autonomy or separation from the United States, We assumed a position about Óscar López Rivera. Years ago, we were the first station to support the movement to release Óscar López Rivera, knowing that it could have negative consequences. In fact, it is one of the few instances when I have taken a stance as [Senior Executive]. Later, other media followed. (…) When Filiberto Ojeda was assassinated, we also spoke out. (…) When we see acts of injustice and violence… for example, now with Hurricane María I aired an editorial calling to join the Governor, to give him space, in other words, to lay politics aside (Senior Executive, Radio Isla). Univision Radio. Radio workers refrained from expanding on WKAQ’s editorial line, yet generally Univision leans to the right, openly criticizing left-leaning governments in Latin America and the Caribbean (Fox, 1996). Politics talk show host in Univision Radio either favor Puerto Rico’s current status or statehood and lean to the right. WPAB. Local station WPAB 550 upholds a liberal ideology and is pro-independence. One Senior Executive revealed having participated genuinely in recent Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño conventions after receiving an invitation, “Everyone knows I’m independentista. (…) We’re liberal, nationalists, who defend Puerto Ricanness” (Senior Executive, WPAB). This station’s reduced opinion programming is left leaning. 66 Editorial policy influences more saliently politics talk show content. For instance, news/talk radio networks Univision Radio and NotiUno offer only pro-statehood and pro-free- associated state commentary relegating pro-independence voices, Before there were three people talking from three different political perspectives, we saw this as a distraction. In our opinion, devoting 33 percent of airtime to something that represents 2 percent of voters… if we think about ratings, I’m boring my audience with that participation, because in the end it is all about appealing to audiences. So, we focused on the two main [status ideologies] and the discussions were more dynamic, because sometimes they would turn into a two-to-one, and it was not the [pro-free-associated state]. Indeed, it has paid off (Senior Executive, UNO Radio Group). Here stations have obvious editorial lines where the analysts they hire support that editorial line. And the audience listens what they want to listen and not what they should listen, so stations appropriate like-minded audiences (1, Journalist, WAPA). Media in Puerto Rico are anti-independence, pro-establishment and pro-what we have, “status quo.” That anti-independence is masked as an anti-PIP [Spanish acronym for the Puerto Rican Independence Party]. Any comment towards independentism they attack the PIP, ‘That they do this or do that, that they are not democratic’, because the PIP is the only organized party (2, Journalist, WAPA). On the other hand, WPAB programming is distant from the news and talk show formula that its competitors embraced. Today, WPAB offers few and far between politics talk programs and has banned politicians who oppose their political inclination. In tune with its pro- independence editorial line, the station often takes a stance on public issues, 67 That stuff about objectivity… that is to say, we assume a position. We were against the U.S. Navy8, we issued editorials and conducted news coverage. We are against the coal ashes9. (Interviewer: Do you issue editorials to establish the station’s stance regarding those topics?) For example, regarding the coal ashes we did not issue an editorial per se, but the [lean of the] coverage is clear. And that stuff about looking for the other side… scientists have said it is toxic, I’m not granting equal airtime to AES so they can say the compounds found in there are in a Centrum vitamin because that would be an insult to people’s intelligence (Senior Executive, WPAB). Neither the station nor I pick people thinking about ideological balance. Granted, here I have some independentistas, but am I forced to look for an estadolibrista and a statehooder? That is not the criteria here. It’s topics and people who are capable of discussing them… Probably, most people think they are all independentistas (News Department Director, WPAB). Economic Whether it is news or opinion, information is a commodity, as a manager for WKAQ acknowledges, “Prime time is the cash register of any radio business because it is where we generate money… during the morning driving time” (News and Content Director, WKAQ). His counterpart in Radio Isla agrees, “This is a ratings business. There is even a careful analysis of what an ad will cost per thousand population. In other words, so many people are listening so the ad cost so much per thousand population” (News Director, Radio Isla). Puerto Rico’s financial bankruptcy and the rise of alternative media have combined to decrease advertising revenue in the Radio Industry. While 20 years ago radio generated $90 8 The death of civilian security guard David Sanes in Vieques during a bombing exercise in 1999 (The Associated Press, 1999) triggered calls for the exit of the US Navy from different sectors of the civil society and the Puerto Rican Government. The Navy used Vieques for target practice during 60 years (Stanchich, 2013). 9 Residents of the southern town of Peñuelas demand the closing of AES coal-fired power plant and stop dumping toxic coal ash (Gottesdiender, 2017). 68 million, by 2016 profits had dropped to $60 million (Rivera Cruz, 2017). Additionally, Puerto Rican broadcasters face rising operational costs that have forced reductions in personnel and/or their salaries (Torres Torres, 2017b). Nonetheless, there is a blatant difference between what journalist and politics talk show hosts earn, “In general, it is $8.00 per hour for a reporter. The producer position pays a little more” (News Department Director, NotiUno). A veteran radio journalist was outraged by how much more politics talk show hosts earned while a news department director recognized there is a lack of investment in news, It is not cheaper. For speaking an hour a day these lawyers are paid what a journalist only dreams of making in a month. Journalists are paid poverty wages, while analysts earn two or three thousand dollars a month (...). We journalists make much less, working eight, nine and ten hours a day (1, Journalists, WAPA). Not that analysts cease to exist, I think the investment made in analysis is disproportionate and the selection we make of those analysts is not always the best. It is disproportionate with respect to the number of journalists hired, what they get paid, and the availability of resources to conduct investigative journalism (News Department Director, Radio Isla). Inasmuch as information is a commodity, the prime criteria for selecting the content is ratings and revenue, When the moment comes to create a program and see what we are going to do, we consider how popular it will be with audiences. In the moment of truth, we design programming seeking ratings (Senior Executive, UNO Radio Group). There are three basic criteria in all businesses: One is the demand. What does the audience want? The other is revenue. How much can that programming generate? (…) There is another element that guarantees the demand of the audience is satisfied, that there is financial revenue and that it is cost effective, and that is polarization. We have discovered that audiences show 69 great interest for polarizing content. So, our offer is geared to generating polarizing content. That’s what we talked about earlier, problematizing and explaining social phenomena. We look for content that is so extreme that it wakes the audience’s interest (News & Content Director, WKAQ). That’s when we get into the spectacularization of news. (…) I can understand the reason why news is given spectacular elements. Lately in television, there has to be something punchy, the idea that you have to sell it because if it does not have sponsors you have to cancel (2, Journalist, WAPA). Within the context of economic strain, the current advertising economic model forces radio to depend on municipal and state government publicity (Torres Torres, 2017b). This phenomenon is common in Latin America where financial dependence on government is both open and covert, the latter occurring in countries where airtime commercialization for electoral campaigning has been regulated (Cobos, 2017; Espino Sánchez, 2016; Galarza Molina, 2014). In Central America, where most ads come from government, media owners fear critical journalistic reports might cause a loss of financing (Rockwell & Jonus, 2001). Furthermore, the economic stability of journalists is threatened by elites and government forces that control advertising (Rockwell & Jonus, 2001). This financing model keeps low-paid workers encouraging constant personnel turnover that results in a lack of a monitorial journalism (Rockwell & Jonus, 2001). Whereas it is uncertain if economic interests drive the content, politicians and their surrogates gain more prominence and news is stifled (Rodríguez-Cotto, 2017a, 2017e). Censorship has arisen, Stations are restricting information that questions or challenges the government’s discourse about how they are handling the hurricane [María] and that takes advertising. If I don’t have ads, I have to maintain a station, so I will limit the questioning… the information that questions 70 the government’s discourse. (Interviewer: They counteract by buying ads, buying airtime?) Buying airtime. Inasmuch as there are ads from the Department of Health, the Department of Social Services, the Power Authority, what they are doing is that they are overriding the news department’s ability to be critical (2, Journalists, WAPA). That’s the business, no? If you have a program in which [an insurance company] has scheduled to run an ad, you are not going to put [the insurance company] down. Surely, advertising [is important] in any media organization, print, radio, or television, because it is a business… and you do not want that sponsor to leave. But that does not mean that you don’t cover topics news or opinion-wise. If there is a problem you will not conceal it, you will cover it. You are going to have some considerations in the sense that you will invite the person or you will call him or her beforehand, something like that. But that they buy an ad space does not make them immune (Senior Executive, Radio Isla). Local station WPAB claims to buffer the influence of ads on content, nonetheless the pressure imposed by a financial interest is present, There is a firewall between the sales and news departments. (…) [Someone from the news department] asks ‘I’m looking for someone to discuss about this health topic.’ And I say, ‘Why don’t you call this person who works in a medical group and knows the subject very well?’ They say, ‘That’s a great idea.’ Then I say, ‘Hold on one moment. Let me check with sales because they were going to sell him some airtime. You talk to him first and after he says he is available, then we sell him the airtime so he doesn’t mistake he bought an interview too (Senior Executive, WPAB). As commercial media we rely on advertising and sponsors. That’s an important criterion when we make a co-production agreement where advertising revenue is split on some percent. I do 71 not meddle in that area because it is the responsibility of the Sales Department (News Department Director, WPAB). Social Institutions Level Forces from outside the organization, such as government officials, politicians, advertisers, or other media also affect the content. The general agreement among radio workers is that U.S. and local government structures intimidate or pressure media to withhold information. For instance, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) inquired about a WPAB journalist who interviewed fugitive Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, the leader of the pro-independence group Ejército Popular Boricua or Los Macheteros, assassinated in an FBI raid in 2005, It was after I interviewed Filiberto in 2002, with the FBI. They did not come here. They called. It wasn’t with me directly. In 2002, things changed with the Patriot Act, after the September 11 attacks. Risks were greater. That changed the whole dynamic. Now if they wanted, you went to jail. There was no way because they were no longer subject to freedom of expression or freedom of the press. It was a question of public policy… the war against terrorism. I don’t know what happened with that. Evidently it went nowhere. Apparently, they were just gathering information (News Director, WPAB). Efforts to silence the press date back to the 1940s when the Puerto Rican government enacted the Ley de la Mordaza, or Gag Law, aimed to contain the growth of the independence movement by restricting the printing, publishing, or selling material that would undermine the government – a law the local press protested (Acosta Lespier, 2008b; Denis, 2015). Thus, past and present administrations have used different tactics such as threatening to pull advertising, boycotting, among others to subdue opposing news, “Oh yes [from the Governor’s Mansion] many times, in different administrations and in different radio stations I have worked in. They 72 always do the same. They complain. They pressure. They pressure to pull ads” (News Department Director, Radio Isla). From [the Governor’s Mansion] and high-ranking government officials… Here journalists, and hosts that have influence, have received warnings from [the Governor’s Mansion] simply because they don’t like how things are said. But it’s the truth and they have been calling all week because of what is being said here. It happened a lot with the death toll during [hurricane] María, with Whitefish10 (Journalist, Radio Isla). It has happened to me, I don’t know what their intentions were, but they have called, I don’t know, to complain or to say, ‘[Journalist] said this and that.’ Afterwards, they tell me about it and I say it on air (…). Why don’t you call me, and I clarify? They call my supervisor. What! So he can scold me? (1, Journalist, WAPA) There have been cases when they call or message you. They don’t dare to stand up, they generally text you. I have had problems with two or three Public Relations (PR) professionals in this country and I want nothing to do with them because they want you to say what they want you to say. Politician’s PR representatives do it more often. Either they call, or they insult you through the Internet or they discredit you. They do all of those things. But who has not gone through that? (Producer, WKAQ) Especially with male politicians, for example, during the Guyanabo [mayoral] primary one of the candidates was intimidating, aggressive, and wanted everything to be as he pleased. When we called him for reactions, on equal terms as his opponent, he threatened to call the Programing Director (…), so there always was a threat, not only with me, but also with the 10 The Puerto Rico Power Authority awarded Whitefish Energy a two-year contract to restore the electrical grid after it was obliterated by Hurricane María in 2017. The company’s rates were overpriced and press reports related the securing of the contract to political ties between the owner and CEO Andrew Techmanski and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke (González, 2017; Levin, 2017). The Government of Puerto Rico eventually cancelled the contract. 73 other colleagues in the news desk, because a majority of the staff in NotiUno are women. Therefore, we called [the Programing Director] beforehand (…). That happens, and it happens a lot (News Department Director, NotiUno). All the time, in the strongest ways you can imagine; all the time in PPD and PNP administrations. Personally, I sympathize more with one party. My party has been tougher because people think that because we are colleagues… Here governors from the Partido Popular Democrático have been harshly criticized and they have retaliated… financial retaliation… boycott. It has happened with other parties like the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (PIP, for its Spanish acronym). They boycotted us for two years. Yes! They said that we had an agenda to destroy Rubén Berrios Martínez’s11 image. It’s crazy! A great lie! They wanted us to have representatives from the PIP in all panels and we brought people from the PSP12, the MUS13, and the MINH14 (Senior Executive, Radio Isla). We have been sued on multiple occasions because they don’t agree with [what was aired]. We have tried to solve it; however, as a media organization we are confident provided that we have the facts and the sources. That they threaten us with taking us to court will not prevent us from pursuing the news (Senior Executive, UNO Radio Group). It depends on the burden or complexity of the information and the consequences that entail for that figure. Some try to shift the content through private conversations, but they have an opportunity to address the controversy. We guarantee, we seek, and defend freedom of expression, not only for our analysts, but also to any politician or public figure who is the subject of a controversy in this station (News & Content Director, WKAQ). 11 Rubén Berríos Martínez is the president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party who served as an at-large Senator in the Puerto Rico Legislature in three occasions during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s 12 Partido Socialista Puertorriqueño (PSP) or Puerto Rican Socialist Party 13 Movimiento Unión Soberanista (MUS) or United Autonomy Movement 14 Movimiento Indepdendentista Nacional Hostosiano (MINH) or Hostosian National Independence Movement 74 Other media are another source of content constrain. On the news beat, radio stations compete for the scoop, Our competitor is NotiUno because it is the one that more closely relates to what we do. For example, if I’m covering an event and NotiUno is there we stay until the end, because if something happens and we were not there, but NotiUno was there, we fail so to speak (Journalist Radio Isla). Before one saw WKAQ, Radio Isla, and WAPA [Radio] as competition. Not now, now I compete with everyone. My competition is WAPA [Radio], but also with El Nuevo Día and Metro and they compete with me. Today, people come to you with an exclusive and it’s difficult to convince them to withhold. You have something and if you wait to work on it for a few days, you’re doomed. A digital outlet published it! (Programming Director, NotiUno) Although more experienced journalists concentrate on the task on hand, they claim to monitor competing media only as part of their job, One always listens to what is being said and why it is being analyzed, but in here [the newsroom] we don’t listen to nobody. Well, sometimes the boss [will say], ‘I heard this thing in NotiUno, check it out,’ and that sort of thing, but it’s unusual. It has happened, but it’s not usual. It’s not the way we work (1, Journalist, WAPA). I can say I don’t do it because I have learned with experience, and with the years, that this is a journey not a race. I compete with no one. I do my job; those who like it? Good. And those who don’t? There are other options. ¡There is cake for everyone! I know there are others who monitor what we do here. I know. I’m very aware of that. (Interviewer: Do they copy you?) They can copy, but not equal (Journalist, WPRA). 75 Likewise, government officials closely watch media reports in key media outlets and quickly respond to unsympathetic information. In this respect, journalists consider they act as watchdogs and serve a social function towards the public, Lots [of influence] as press officers and government officials confirm. In NotiUno’s case, during this administration, press officers have said they are called to monitor the station from early in the morning and to react. That is important for us because when in [the Governor’s Mansion], who are the ones who make decisions at the end of the day that affect the country? They say, ‘If NotiUno calls and demands a statement we have to put out the fire, we have to monitor’... We send them complaints from audiences in social media and they are met quickly. We make opinion and we’re relevant (News Director, NotiUno). Reduced personnel and resources often force radio newsrooms to pick-up the work of print newspapers; however, some encourage original reporting, We don’t use the newspaper as a guide. Every day, [the News Director] and I sit down and select various topics and we work on them and we continue to work on them, for example, the [political] status. (Interviewer: Exactly, for example, we know about other stations that whatever was published in the paper is what is discussed in the morning newscast.) Then, El Nuevo Día is programming. (Interviewer: Exactly). No, we don’t use the newspaper here (Senior Executive, WPAB). Sometimes when media, for example, radio and television, see a front page they go, ‘Wow, that front page is the most important news of the day’, and they abandon original reporting for what El Nuevo Día and El Vocero prints. Since I got here, the past News Director established that no newspaper could change what is news… the editorial line. Why? Because it is our content, our information, the work of a team, and El Nuevo Día’s editorial line cannot be NotiUno’s editorial line because we don’t have the same interests. NotiUno’s staff is responsible and we don’t push other financial interests and sometimes behind editorial lines there are financial interests. The 76 perspective of a politician that is pushing something and it’s stated clearly there. NotiUno’s exclusives and scoops are our priority. If there is an important topic, we’ll work it out from our perspective. (…) NotiUno also monitors digital media such as Noticel, but no other media will impose their editorial line (News Department Director, NotiUno). Managers revealed, however, monitoring competing radio stations to establish long-term programming, Stations are structured more or less in the same way, from 6:00 to 9:00am, 6:00 to 8:00am we have the morning news show. Going back to the example of Jugando Pelota Dura15 that is no longer here, I have to look what is out there in the market for the same audience. What is the offer? We look to find a gap; something that we can bring that’s different and that we can run with it. When there is something new it takes time until [it engages] people. (…) So, we consider [the competition], it’s one of the most important elements (Senior Executive, UNO Radio Group). Maybe in the lineup, because you counter program. But in the everyday news coverage, no, that is not a consideration. But, for example we’re designing something now, so I’m trying to see how I address this programming block; therefore, I have to think about what the other is doing (Senior Executive, Radio Isla). I wouldn’t say that it’s done every day, but it’s done strategically. For example, if I know WKAQ is number one in audience [ratings] I look at their content. And when Radio Isla started 15 Jugando Pelota Dura started out in 2011 as a politics talk radio and television program in NotiUno and Sistema TV hosted by Ferdinand Pérez, a former representative and 2008 San Juan mayoral candidate under the Partido Popular Democrático (PPD) insignia. The radio versión discussed public issues from a pro-free associated state perspective, represented by Pérez, and a statehood perspective, represented by various in-office legislators from the Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP). The televisión versión, aired in the Ana G. Méndez University System public televisión station, paired Pérez with journalists who commented on the day’s news and conducted interviews. In 2018, Jugando Pelota Dura televisión version moved to Univision Television’s evening prime time slot and an extended versión in Univisión Radio (WKAQ) called Jugando Pelota Dura Extra Inning. 77 rising [in audience ratings] because of something we were doing, other stations took notice and modified some things in their programming (News Department Director, Radio Isla). There is a market logic issue that all stations follow and each one looks for its own strategy. But, in regard to the content, our boss does not pressure us like that, never! He doesn’t like it. He has always wanted this station to be genuine by simply looking for the news that is fresh. If its breaking news that we take advantage of it, if it’s an exclusive to take advantage of it and that people know its and exclusive but not to look out for what the other is doing to compete because that is unfair competition (Host, Radio Isla). In this sense, WKAQ is confident in its competitive advantage, “We’re Number One. A short time ago, someone told me about a station that always monitors us. I don’t feel the need to monitor anyone” (Producer, WKAQ). I think we influence the competition. Forgive me for saying this, but… (Interviewer: No, it’s important you say it). Because, even in the papers the next day you see what we addressed here and it’s the inverse… many things come up here (Announcer, WKAQ). Fortunately, our ratings advantage in the slots that are of our interest, which are morning and afternoon, is such that we don’t have to do that exercise anymore. When you see, for example that within the audience population… the 12+ radio stations in all Puerto Rico … in the morning our station has 16 points and the closest competitor has 8… we double the audience in the morning, so that type of exercise is not necessary. However, we can’t isolate ourselves, obviously, either from radio nor other media. So, we monitor to nurture ourselves. Which are the trends? The discussions? (News & Content Director, WKAQ) 78 Individual level Participants who practiced as journalists, hosts, announcers, or administrators consider their college-level education has prepared them effectively to perform their role in news/talk radio. Most radio workers with over 30 years of experience do not hold a degree related to journalism, communications, or media production since the first School of Communications opened in 1972 as a graduate program in the University of Puerto Rico (Table 16). Old-timer radio workers, however, consider that to their advantage, I have two Bachelor degrees: political science and education and some economics; and later I studied a little bit of law. My education is not on theory or the journalism practice. It is in fields related to what one covers, political science, economics and education (News Department Director, Radio Isla). Well, I’m a teacher turned journalist. I did not study journalism. I studied to become a history high school teacher in the Inter American University of San Germán. I practiced it after I graduated throughout eight years. During my third year I started doing things on radio because in teacher training, especially in the social sciences, you train in how to conduct interviews, facilitating knowledge to your students through reading. You encourage learning, and you ask students, and they answer. That is the everyday dynamic in the classroom. For me, it is habitual because it is part of my education (News Department Director, WPAB). Oftentimes, one’s youth activism in politics and labor unions help shape a vision of the world and one is curious about economics, politics, culture, and sports. Inasmuch as one develops curiosity and a desire to learn one studies. Inasmuch as one studies, one learns. To write you have to study and read. To talk in radio, you have to study and read (2, Journalist, WAPA). 79 Participants who studied journalism, communications, or media production disclosed their training equipped them with the necessary technical and industry know how to successfully perform their roles, I studied journalism in the School of Communication in the University of Puerto Rico and I also completed a Master’s Degree there. At a theoretical level, it gave me the tools about audience behaviors and the communications process that allows me to be more efficient in knowing the radio industry beyond pure journalism, reporting the facts, but understanding communication processes within market interests (News & Content Director, WKAQ). You know, I have an education that, thank God, was thought for these times because a lot of colleagues are limited to pure journalism and when they come here they are confused: Am I a journalist or a commentator? That happened to me too. But, the education was good because I knew how to work technical equipment. It helped me a lot. I owe everything to my education (Producer, WKAQ). Table 16: Radio Worker’s College Level Education by Area of Study College-level Education Radio Workers Percent Journalism/Communications/Media Production Engineering General Education Social Work Law Political Science Surveyor Business Education Total 6 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 37.5 6.3 12.5 6.3 6.3 12.5 6.3 6.3 6.3 16 100.0 As radio workers perform their roles, they are subject to internal pressures that influence their work (Hellmueller & Mellado, 2015). Personal characteristics such as attitudes and beliefs sometimes conflict with journalistic imperatives. Even though some radio workers recognize it is their responsibility to adhere to professional norms they struggle to remain 80 impartial, “When I hosted Foro, that was when I became a born-again Christian, I had to deal with some topics that were brought to me, and I touched them very lightly. I did not delve deep, but respected” (Announcer, WKAQ). I handle it thinking objectively, not mixing emotions, and maybe not using too many adjectives. Adjectives indicate that you are focusing on something too much, so I do not use them. When I feel it is something that can affect me personally I write concisely, using just the right words, maybe something short, I don’t expand as much (Journalist, Radio Isla 1320). Some things are often shocking, things that hurt, that bother me. I have conducted interviews with politicians that in the middle of the interview I would like to stop and say, ‘Don’t be such a liar.’ But I have not let that show on air. However, I have heard stories, right now about [hurricane] María, that have made me cry, that shake me. One cannot help feeling that way, feel that deep sorrow because that person is hurting (Host, WPRA). There is temptation. I tell you out of experience because I used to do three-hour interview programs. The temptation of poking one’s ideas… and if you host a panel you get in there as another panelist. In other words, the temptation of not having rigor is great. But it is then and there when you have to make an effort. If you are conducting an interview and you are a journalist you have to try to get the news, not that your ideas or cause come to light, but whatever is news in that interview is news (News Department Director, Radio Isla). I’m talking to you as a journalist, because there are stories… many times in the program called Los Fiscales16 [The Prosecutors] we discussed delicate topics such as women and child abuse. I could not stand it and I would say, “This is outrageous! The person who did this is a charlatan!”. One is biased and passes out judgment without a judicial process. That is something 16 Los Fiscales (The Prosecutors) is a one-hour program in NotiUno 630 that features two ex prosecutors with experience in the federal and state courts that discuss legal cases, judicial proceedings and security issues. 81 that one should think about if you only want to report the facts and let the audience reach their own conclusion, because once one expresses an opinion you are influencing the listeners (Programing Director, NotiUno). Radio workers use techniques to tackle clashes between public issues and personal beliefs. For example, when interviewing an experienced news radio host attributes opposing views and places himself on both sides of the issue when asking questions, It happens to me and I think that the most difficult part is when you have clear views, let’s say political ideologies, and you hear things, it is hard. It takes mental effort to be as neutral as possible. When it has to do with faith, one has convictions, dealing with that without being biased is difficult. I deal with it this way: I put myself in both sides. If we’re talking about faith and religion I would say, this sector says this and the other says that. Maybe I favor one of the positions because I’m also a human being. Other radio workers have come to terms with the impossibility of attaining objectivity/balance and rely on their judgment independent if they are performing a reporter or talk show host role as in radio they are expected to cover all bases, I do my job. I’m not thinking if people consider I am objective or not because there will always be a section of the population that will think I am not. I do not go out of my way to try and sell an image of objectivity. What I do is that I cover the facts, describe them, cover them, and look for different sources that can comment on it, not looking for the two sides, but looking for sources that can add information about the event in question. I bring up this business about the two sides because some use it as a cover to talk about objectivity (News Department Director, WPAB). I’m not impartial. I’m honest. I go to cover a news event with the knowledge I have, and the education I have, and the training I obtained, and I try to organize the information so it could 82 be easily understood. But I’m not thinking if I’m impartial or not. What is a photojournalist to do if he goes to cover a scene and there are some children burning? Do you take the picture or save the children? That sort of thing. So, it is important to be honest. One might make mistakes? One might have used the wrong approach? Being honest with the information one gets and not manipulating the information. Manipulating information, I consider being one of the worst sins. If you went to report something and you did not like it in print, radio or television there is a place for you to comment, but do not poke your commentary in the news (2, Journalist, WAPA). In order to function as watchdogs, a producer from WKAQ deprives himself of expressing opinions; however, opposition and criticism to his job are a badge of honor, I don’t vote. I don’t talk about my political ideology. Here in this job, we say what we think, period. In other words, I have no problems opening up the mike and saying what I think, period. In some specific cases, I might have an opinion, but I bite my tongue because there are limits and you know some people can be affected if you say the wrong thing… for being too emotional. (…) I’m used to it. My twitter [account] is full of insults, people call-in to insult us. (…) (Interviewer: How do you react to that?) It was difficult at first, but I really don’t care. If you are bothered because of what I say here it’s because I’m doing my job right. Why? Because at least I know I’m striking a chord. At least that’s our vision around here. (Producer, WKAQ). Concomitant with the imperative of an independent journalism, most news/talk radio workers perceive the organization allows for a certain level of autonomy. That junior producer in WKAQ also expressed how he felt in this regard, “Free in all our programs and mine. In other words, I can do whatever I want. I close the door behind me; I cover the window with paper, pick up the mike, and do whatever I want. They don’t tell me anything”. For an announcer in WKAQ, the change from all news to talk allows more freedom, 83 That has changed, and I stress, not on behalf of reporters because we wanted to search for more [information]. As a reporter, I went through a lot because I had to cover various situations in the Capitol and I always received instructions form the here [the newsroom], ‘Leave it there, don’t cross’, even when I knew I needed that information. It was the same when I hosted my program, Foro, back in the 1980s. The difference between what I did then and what is done today is great (Announcer, WKAQ). A senior executive in the Radio Isla Network assured management did not impinge on the daily news coverage. The staff confirmed management gave them freedom to conduct their journalistic work, “There was no such control from the management. They did not know what was going to be discussed on any given day. That is to say there was no prior censorship” (News Department Director, Radio Isla). In that sense, management has always given us that freedom. Of course, one is prudent, and one knows. In my particular case I’m not an analyst that comes, conducts their program, and leaves. I represent the station. I’m the station’s official voice. So, I’m very careful and I touch upon topics with freedom. (…) There have never been restrictions. No, ever, neither with the other programs. We’ve had none of that here. We can touch upon strong topics, that we have to talk about, but there have never been restrictions or reprimands. And that is good! (Host, Radio Isla). Here, an editorial line or political ideology is not imposed. Even in news stories we are free to monitor, with moderation, right? But, never has management ever restricted me or my colleagues of speaking or asking a question how we would like to (Journalist, Radio Isla). 84 Routines level Routines, or a set of journalistic practices and forms that facilitate the production of news (Shoemaker & Reese, 2014), also influence the individual and, accordingly, the content. A routine level pressure, such as deadlines, often conflict with the radio worker’s ability to produce quality journalism, “One arrives at a news conference, opens the mike and broadcasts. There is no treatment… no background is offered to put that information in context. As a result, you get thoughtless journalism” (Journalist, WAPA). The urgent cannot kill the important. Because of that eagerness to compete, of being first, we lose important details. Maybe there was a question that could have been done in a better way. We should think beyond the competition, of doing a good job, practicing good journalism, verifying, et cetera (Journalist, Radio Isla). Timeliness resides in social media; thus, traditional media scramble to cover breaking news, Social media is not competition, but a complement for NotiUno. However, one must recognize that the people who use social media and radio listeners are different audiences, so we compete to attract that segment that gets its news from social media. We have a slogan, “NotiUno, first with the news,” but we compete with social media because now they are “first with news.” That is one of the fundamental changes and getting reporters that recognize the importance of being “first with the news” has been tough (News Department Director, NotiUno). Journalists are at a disadvantage with respect to timeliness. Media such as radio and television are not timely anymore. Because first there was radio and then television, that could (…) broadcast from the news scene. Now, before any radio or television station you find out about news on your cell phone. And if someone who is not a journalist sees something and broadcasts it through Facebook or YouTube for the whole world to see. However, that is not as reliable or 85 objective if a journalist does not filter it. In my opinion, journalists should use that resource with the reliability and rigor that we have been taught. Instead, journalists are copying the informality of social media that does not follow norms and where lies can become truths (News Department Director, Radio Isla). By all means, social media has shifted routine practices and news/talk radio reproduce information from official sources’ social media accounts relegating original reporting, fieldwork, and on-site presence (Anden-Papadopoulos & Pantti, 2013; Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2014; Reich, 2014), Before news stations, including this one, assigned reporters to sources. It also happened in newspapers. Work routines have changed due to the access new technologies. We could have a reporter all day in the Capitol or [the Governor’s Mansion]. That is not necessary anymore because, right now, all official sources generate content that, even when an inquiring journalist does not filter it, it is content that informs a journalist’s work. Before, even when we had journalists in news conferences, we might have had an opportunity of getting a question in and a follow-up. It was mere opportunity to get basic facts that one can easily get through the Internet or public relations specialists. So that transformed the journalism practice. We do not send journalist to the field unless there is an editorial interest from the organization to capitalize on an event in the activities calendar. (News & Content Director, WKAQ). Granted, social media has redounded to the benefit of journalism and has created closer ties with Internet audiences, “Social media is demanding because all the time you have to be, ‘This is what is happening.’ Since the programming schedule is so rigid the only way to tell people what is going on is though social media” (Producer, WKAQ), We read comments in Facebook and our web site. I always say to my colleagues read the comments because those are also important. That way we know if we left out some perspective 86 that we had not considered, or if we’re striking a chord, or if there is something that bothers our audience (News Department Director, NotiUno). Social media is a very important phenomenon because it has given more participation to audiences who could only participate if they called in. Before audiences’ perspectives depended on a programing offer and strategy that allowed for call-in participation. Nevertheless, with social media, the spectrum is broader, and people cannot only interact with content but also generate content that is later recycled in the programing. In that sense I believe that radio as a medium and the industry, in general, has refocused (News & Content Director, WKAQ). I like it when people feel some love for the communicator; that they can trust them and not see them as someone distant. That’s the intimacy of radio. Technology has been a positive change. The Internet and social media reach everyone and people listen to the station in all parts of the world. People write to us from the most remote parts. People have written from Thailand, people write from Switzerland, and you say, ‘How is this possible!’. And not all of them are Puerto Rican, which is funny (Host, Radio Isla). Ideological Level Ideology is a cohesive and integrating influence in society; it also can be defined as organized thoughts that form internally coherent modes of thinking and that become evident as a set of values, orientations, and predispositions (Berkowitz & Liu, 2014; Lull, 2000; Shoemaker & Reese, 2014). In this sense, ideology in Puerto Rico hinges on the nature of the political relationship with the United States. Therefore, information radio programs that addresses political issues should provide diverse ideological viewpoints (e.g., pro-free- associated state, pro-statehood, and pro-independence) regardless of their editorial line, “There is no doubt in my mind that this is the station that offers more opportunity to all sides, all sides counter to statehood,” (1, Journalist, WAPA). 87 I believe so. The producer is pretty balanced. If we’re talking about political status, he wants all three ideologies to be represented. Because that is good! If you’re independentista you will identify with the person that is talking in favor of that ideology, and successively with the other ideologies (Journalist, Radio Isla). I think that there is balance in all the programming. That each program has its [editorial] line, and maybe one program does not have the balance one would want, but the programming in general does have it. What is done in the morning, midday, and the afternoon complements different ideas and that balance is found in the general programing (Announcer, WKAQ). Radio, and especially WKAQ, has become the new public square where different social characters converge. The more diverse the spectrum, the more representativeness there is. We make sure that we showcase all ideologies, or we can think about them as left and right. Maybe a listener hears Luis Dávila Colón17, who leans to the far right, and within some parameters that people establish, Pabón Roca 18 is more liberal. So, if you contrast, we have a broad spectrum of stances and perspectives that represent Puerto Rican society (News & Content Director, WKAQ). Yes, even when we uphold a centrist [editorial] line, more liberal, there is incredible message diffusion. We have people talking about the economy, people talking from the business perspective, from the workers’ viewpoint, people talking about healthy nutrition, the elderly, children, soon we’ll have a program about breastfeeding. That is to say, there are a lot of things, crazy entertainment things, and sports. We have a broad range of topics that are discussed with 17 Luis Dávila Colón is an pro-statehood attorney and a political commentator for print, radio and television. Currently he hosts El Azote in Univisión Radio (WKAQ) afternoon primetime slot. 18 Luis Pabón Roca is an pro-fre associated state attorney and a political comentator for radio and television. Currently he leads WKAQ Analiza alongside pro-statehood attorney, law profesor, and political commentator, Carlos Díaz Olivo in Univisión Radio (WKAQ) morning primetime slot. 88 a particular style. Some things don’t match that style, but when you see it overall, it has hair, eyes… Understand? You can identify it (Senior Executive, Radio Isla). On the other hand, Uno Radio Group and WPAB Senior Executives openly enforce their editorial line, and while NotiUno banned the independence ideology from their airwaves WPAB 550 embraced it, When I select someone to be on air, it’s not just anyone. We specifically are taking responsibility in terms of not placing just any madman, any charlatan, because they just sound good or a group likes them, but has no good journalistic content or is someone irresponsible… There are a lot of those! So, what happens? What do we do? We look for people who can manage controversial topics, aggressive topics, but in an elegant manner, who can control themselves, who can express themselves appropriately. In the content, if I have two contradicting perspectives, I try to offer both sides of the coin, and at the end of the day it is the audience who decides which perspective is correct (Senior Executive, UNO Radio Group). Here we reached a very clear conclusion, that is to say, Americans will never give us statehood. So, discussing statehood would be like discussing that the world is made out of cheese, and is that cheddar cheese or blue cheese. We won’t waste our time on that. And we’re against [Puerto Rico being a] colony (Senior Executive, WPAB). Finally, considering media’s influence in society is unequivocal, participants reflected on their radio station’s influence on public opinion, It’s something as basic as having the ability to generate the day’s topic of conversation... That our content, our programming in general, is able to penetrate the audience’s everyday endeavors and be present when they wake up and they listen to our content, and on their way to work talking about that content, and when they arrive at work they say to a colleague, ‘I heard this 89 on the radio,’ the water cooler talk… That it remains people’s topic of conversation (News & Content Director, WKAQ). You see the comments on social media where local audiences express their opinion and say they heard the information on this station, ‘I heard it in KJB,’ without saying which program, ‘I heard it in KJB.’ So, if you hear a person saying something that comes as a result of listening to this station, the influence is there, definitely (Journalist, WKJB). A lot, so much as El Nuevo Día’s front-page. I’m telling you why, because I see it every day. For example, when Aníbal Acevedo Vilá19 says something in the morning you go to a lot of places and people comment on that. When [Rafael Lenín López]20 scoops something in the morning [news show] you see it during the day. Things happen. They do not happen every day, that is to say you are not influencing every day, but I’ve seen. I’ve seen people get fired when they have scooped things. Yes, a lot of influence (Senior Executive, Radio Isla). At one point, this station was decisive in formation of public opinion. For instance, when Aníbal Acevedo Vilá won the election by a slim margin, Radio Isla was important in getting those votes to be counted. On the night of the election, Island votes had not yet arrived at San Juan. They had not been transmitted [to the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections] so we could have a Governor-elect, who preliminarily was Aníbal Acevedo Vilá. Someone did not want to transmit those votes. Those votes are transmitted through judges. And here with us was current Governor Sila Calderón’s ex-husband, who was a panelist in Fuego Cruzado, and I told him what was happening. He said, ‘This cannot be. The judges have to decide – not politicians! Those votes cannot be sequestered.’ So, he called the President of the Supreme Court and told 19 Aníbal Acevedo Vilá is an attorney, former representative in the Puerto Rico Legislature, Resident Commissioner to the House of Representatives in Congress (2000–2004), and Governor (2004–2008) under the Partido Popular Democrático that hosts a political commentary program in Radio Isla since January 2017. 20 Rafael Lenín López is a television and radio journalist who hosts Radio Isla’s morning newscast ‘Pega’os en la Mañana’ and is a staff reporter at Noticentro, WAPA TV. 90 him, ‘You’re allowing this to happen!’ The President of the Supreme Court ordered, not to change the result, but to transmit the results. This is why Aníbal Acevedo Vilá became governor (News Department Director, Radio Isla). WPAB staff does not see their influence on public opinion as an objective, rather as a social function, We’re a media organization, not an end in ourselves. We amplify the voices, that is to say the fight against the [construction of the] gas pipeline, the Via Verde, the coal ashes; we cover the message those people send that is ignored by other media and amplify it. If, as a result, there is more mobilization and solidarity, in that way we’re altering [the public opinion] (Senior Executive, WPAB). We’re a news station and my job is being a journalist. I know my reach, I comment, I assess, I analyze things, but there is a limit. If, as a result, someone has initiative to do something, then good. That happens. It’s been happening for years, but it is not my motivation (News Department Director, WPAB). Radio Workers’ Perception of their Audience An interesting finding that arises across the interviews with radio workers was their perception of the audience. In most cases, Puerto Rican information radio is market-oriented, subordinate to the goals and logic of market, as opposed to the public interest, which considers audiences as both citizens and consumers (Hanitzsch, 2007). This culture bleeds into the already scarce and defunded journalism spaces in news/talk radio that often address public issues in a shallow manner. The idea that audiences demand programming that interprets the news for them is pervasive among radio workers (Programing Director, NotiUno; Producer, WKAQ; News & Content Director, WKAQ). To serve that purpose there is a proliferation of opinion programs that underestimate their audiences ability to think critically (Rodríguez- 91 Cotto, 2017e), “Management in different media organizations and studies they have conducted show that we have to comment on the news, we have to research the news, we have to digest the news, explain to people what it really means” (Producer, WKAQ). If you put in a three-minute investigative report about how the Federal Tax Reform affects you and 45 seconds into the story… (Interviewer: There’s no one.) No, because it might be a little dense for a person to be engaged. (Interviewer: However, an analyst can touch upon that subject and they are engaged. Why?) Because, in my opinion, it has their personal touch, and, at the same time, they are giving information alongside their opinions. The reporter will not give you their opinion, it’s just reporting without passing judgment. (…) Inasmuch as people don’t feel they are affected… You can speak to them about Vladimir Putin’s visit to Syria and they will change the dial because it does not affect them (Programing Director, NotiUno). In 1990, around 1989 before I left WPAB, [the Senior Executive] hired a Boston expert in news/talk programming to assess our programs. I don’t know if she even did it right – maybe they translated the programs for her, because she neither spoke nor understood Spanish. But, the lady said our programs were useless because our journalists did not comment on the news, they did not have an opinion, that journalists had to have a stance and the audience should be called into supporting or attacking that position in order to have ratings. We were too light. She said that the future of radio was in a figure who took a stance, initiated a debate to generate audience. That is to say, not based on news but in an opinion that could generate debate (News Department Director, Radio Isla). Beyond disseminating information, local station WPAB considers its role is to educate the audience, which is an uncommon goal for commercial media organizations, Turning into a news station so that listeners are in a constant education process. Some call it being informed. I call it learning. Why? Because I think that inasmuch as you give the facts, people are more aware of things and can learn from that. Later, it is our duty to explain why. The answer to 92 the ‘why’ is the learning material. People love that, I’m sure. During many years and across all education levels, listeners tune in because they always learn something new (News Director, WPAB). 93 CHAPTER 5 AUDIENCE INTERVIEWS METHOD Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with news/talk radio listeners. Interviews were conducted between December 2017 and March 2018 with 30 AM Radio listeners. These lasted between 5–10 minutes, were audio recorded, and later transcribed and coded for analysis. To select the audience members, a purposive and convenience sampling approach was used. First, participants were recruited and interviewed face-to-face in their homes in select Bayamón suburbs and barrios and at the Paseo de Diego in San Juan. A second wave of participants was drafted through call-in radio programs in the stations of interest and the researcher’s social media. This last cohort was interviewed via telephone. Of the 30 participants, 53% were male and 47% female, mostly living in San Juan (37%) and Bayamón (23%); ranging from 28 to 77 years old; 30% were retired or held professions such as lawyers (10%), engineers (7%), or business owners (7%) (Table 17). Gender Male Female Residence San Juan Bayamón Mayagüez Guaynabo Carolina Toa Alta Cidra Aibonito Toa Baja Caguas Table 17: Participant Demographic Profile Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent 53.3 100.0 36.7 60.0 63.3 66.7 70.0 80.0 86.7 90.0 93.3 100.0 53.3 46.7 36.7 23.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 10.0 6.7 3.3 3.3 6.7 16 14 11 7 1 1 1 3 2 1 1 2 94 Table 17 (cont’d) Occupation Professor Retired Pensioned Business owner Lawyer Freelance Journalist Housewife Construction worker Clergy Administrative Assistant Accountant Engineer Social Worker Car Salesperson Human Resources Public Relations Age 28 - 29 34 - 37 45 - 48 50 - 58 60 - 68 70 - 77 N = 2 9 2 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 5 2 7 11 3 30 6.7 30.0 6.7 6.7 10.0 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 6.7 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 6.6 16.7 6.6 23.2 36.6 9.9 6.7 36.7 43.3 50.0 60.0 63.3 66.7 70.0 73.3 76.7 80.0 86.7 90.0 93.3 96.7 100.0 6.6 23.3 29.9 53.1 89.7 100.0 In order to evaluate the link between media and political participation the semi- structured interviews followed questions aligned with the selective exposure hypothesis and Jamieson & Capella’s (2008) study on the effects of conservative media on the 1996 U.S. election, which focuses on radio and television politics talk shows. The questions examined the frequency of use and type of media the audience consumes to get local and international news. More specifically, participants were asked about their radio use (frequency) and type of radio program consumed. Respondents were also asked to rate the fairness and balance of political commentators and journalists that host news or politics talk programs in the selected radio stations. 95 The outcome variable is political participation and was measured in two dimensions: voter turnout and other forms of participation (Dvir-Gvirsman et al., 2015; Hayes et al., 2006). Respondents were asked how often they vote and if they cast a ballot on the 2017 Status Referendum and the 2016 Puerto Rican General Election. To determine their political affiliation, participants were asked whom they voted for Governor in the General Election. This response is usually a measure of the party with which they associate. Subsequently, respondents indicated how often did they participate in volunteering for a political campaign, signed a political petition, took part in a political discussion, participated in call-in radio programs, and blogged, tweeted, or joined a Facebook group about politics or other social causes. RESULTS Consistent with the participants’ age profile and occupation, most reported listening to radio three or less hours during the day mostly at home (50%), in their car (33%), or both at home and in their car (13%). However, some participants reported heavy radio listening habits, up to 5 – 9 hours daily (20%) (Table 18). Thereon, a radio manager explained news/talk radio is consumed at different times of the day, People listen to AM radio in the morning – that is to say during the driving time of 6:00am to 10:00am. Later, people listen to FM radio and then come back in the afternoon. I would say we are strong in the morning (Senior Executive, Radio Isla). Table 18: Time Spent and Place of Radio Listening Time spent Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent 1 or less 2 hours 3 hours 4 hours 5 – 9 hours 10 or more hours 5 5 6 4 6 4 16.7 16.7 20.0 13.3 20.0 13.3 16.7 33.3 53.3 66.7 86.7 100.0 96 Table 18 (cont’d) Place Car Home In the car and at home Work Total Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent 10 15 4 1 30 33.3 50.0 13.3 3.3 100.0 33.3 83.3 96.7 100.0 Participants consume a variety of media for local and international news. To stay up- to-date with local news, participants reported using radio overwhelmingly (54%), followed by television (12.5%), social media (12.5%), and online news media (12.5%). Still, to be informed about international events most participants turn to online news media, such as BBC Mundo (35%), and cable television news, like CNN (33%) (Table 19). Table 19: Participant’s News Consumption by Medium Local News Television Radio Newspaper Social Media Internet Total International News Television Radio Newspaper Social Media Internet Total Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent 6 26 4 6 6 48 13 4 4 5 14 40 12.5 54.1 8.3 12.5 12.5 100.0 32.5 10.0 10.0 12.5 35.0 100.0 12.5 66.6 74.9 87.4 100.0 32.5 42.5 52.5 65.0 100.0 Listeners sense middle-aged (31%) and older (36%) people to consume news/talk stations. They also described their peers as professional (9%) and educated (3%) (Table 20). Still, radio 97 managers claim their content targets a much younger segment of the population for revenue purposes, “First, our listeners were dying, literally. Second, they entered another stage in life and we were left without a market. These people are not buying cars or mortgages, so we needed to rejuvenate our audience to attract advertising dollars. Our audience profile was 55 and older, but with these changes we rejuvenated our audience, so we’re in a 24 – 54 (News & Content Director, WKAQ). Table 20: People who Consume News/Talk Stations according to Listeners Audience Young Middle-aged Old Professional Housewives Educated Liberal Non-partisan Middle class N 8 18 21 5 1 2 1 1 1 Percent 13.8% 31.0% 36.2% 8.6% 1.7% 3.4% 1.7% 1.7% 1.7% Total 58 100.0% Research question 2 explored they type of program Puerto Rican listeners choose for political information purposes. As their presence is so pervasive in the airwaves, audiences reported listening more to politics talk shows (45%), followed by news (29%), and interview (20%) shows (Table 21). Radio managers’ strategy of analyzing news thoroughly in the voices of polarizing politicians and lawyers has won the favor of the audience. A 56-year-old female business owner from Bayamón said politics talk shows hosts “are objective, since Puerto Ricans live so alienated, they bring up what is really happening in the United States. They are the ones who keep us up to date” (35). 98 Table 21: Programs Audiences Consume for Political Information Program Type Politics Talk Shows News Interviews Music Call-in Programs N = N 22 14 10 2 1 49 Percent 44.9% 28.6% 20.4% 4.1% 2.0% 100.0% Audience members revealed understanding political processes and unbiased analysis are compelling reasons for listening. For instance, a 68-year-old retired woman from Bayamón said, “They explain in simplified terms, they are assertive, and talk about current events” (924001). Similarly, a 66-year-old retiree from San Juan explained, “These people are not politicking. They talk about what goes on in [Puerto Rico] without political preferences” (1019001). While journalists’ incisiveness and watchdog interviewing style resonate with audiences, a recognized career in politics or their professional experience gives standing to politics talk show hosts. In this respect, a 60-year-old retired woman from San Juan said, “[Rafael Lenín López] is an investigative reporter and I like how he conducts interviews. I very much like the [Aníbal Acevedo Vilá] program for the way he expresses himself… because he is a law professor” (42). Likewise, a 67-year-old government retiree from Toa Alta explained, “I believe in the intellectual ability of [Aníbal Acevedo Vilá] and I listen to Inés Quiles21 because she is a teacher and cuts straight to the point” (920003). They are renowned lawyers who keep us up-to-date and use the law to validate their commentary… and that seems interesting to me. I like it when they read and comment on the news. One of the things I like about Luis Pabón Roca and Carlos Díaz Olivo’s program is that 21 Inés Quiles is a pro-independence professor of Social Science in the University of Puerto Rico who hosts a politics commentary program in Radio Isla (WSKN) called Si no lo digo reviento and airs from Monday thru Friday from 5:00 – 6:00pm. 99 they disagree on political issues and that interests me because I listen to the two sides. [Luis] Dávila Colon is openly a statehooder. I already know what he’s going to say, and I like to listen to him even though I don’t share his opinion (28-year-old engineer from San Juan; Code: 1219001). Fuego Cruzado is the only program with a little more balance. Even though I don’t agree with him, Aníbal [Acevedo Vilá] is a person who knows a lot. He was Governor, and though he is a politician, he’s more objective than the others. He invites many panelists who have nothing to do with his ideals (58-year-old lawyer from Cidra; Code: 1127002). About Aníbal [Acevedo Vilá] I like that he has a lot of information because he has experience in public service, as he promotes himself. I listen to him because I understand he has good information, especially about how Puerto Rican issues are dealt with in Congress, in the United States government. About [Julio Rivera Saniel]22 I like he is an intelligent person, that has a lot of information, and I consider as a good interviewer (66-year-old retired woman from San Juan; Code: 1221001). On the other hand, a freelance journalist assumed audiences enjoy outrage, “Vulgarity… on average people have that profile, unfortunately. The audience loves that lack of respect” (2, Journalist, WAPA). Nonetheless, audiences are aware of outrage and criticize the use of that style because it makes them feel uncomfortable, so much that they tune out. Thereupon, a 68- year-old retired female from Bayamón said, “Sometimes they are too intense, and they hold on to their way of thinking. Especially Jay Fonseca23 is too impassioned. I even worry he’s going 22 Julio Rivera Saniel is a radio journalist in Radio Isla (WSKN) and a television news presenter in Noticentro (WAPA Television). Alongside his wife Milly Méndez, they hosts an interview show called Dígame la verdad (Tell me the truth) from Monday thru Friday from 10:00am – 12:00pm in Radio Isla. 23 Josué (Jay) Fonseca is a young lawyer and economist with much influence in social media with regards to political issues. He leads WKAQ al Medio Día in Univisión Radio from Monday thru Friday from 12:00pm – 2:00pm. He hosts a weekly investigative journalism program in Telemundo (WKAQ Television) called Jay y sus Rayos X. He also conducts political commentary segments in Telenoticias, Telemundo’s prime time newscast. 100 to have a panic attack” (924001). A 63-year-old pastor criticized a journalism personality’s interviewing style, “In [Rubén Sánchez’s] case, the style he uses during interviews does not allow people to communicate properly. He cuts them off. I understand he must be tough, but that attitude is disruptive (1127001). I listen to [Jay Fonseca] with the same interest I listen to [Luis Dávila Colón], because I cannot stay in my bubble. I must see what it is that other people think. Jay is a young guy who has a lot of information, but I think it’s all about him and I don’t like that. Sometimes he starts screaming and I just turn it off because I think, “This boy is going to have a heart attack!” But that is a character (66-year-old retired woman from San Juan; Code: 1221001). Throughout the years [Rubén Sánchez], has changed his style. Maybe wanting to be more analytical, he disrespects. He is not objective and that is clear. His is so aggressive he does not allow interviewees to answer and one wants to know what that person has to say (50-year-old Public Relations Specialists from Toa Alta; 1225002). Although audiences are somewhat conscious of radio personalities’ biases, some attribute journalism norms, such as objectivity to politics talk show hosts. To that effect, a 70- year-old housewife from San Juan said, “I like they are truthful, that they don’t lie, that they talk about what really goes on in the country” (918002). Likewise, a 68-year-old retiree from Bayamón expressed, “I like they are neutral and allow the audience to give their opinion on political topics” (924001). Moreover, when asked about the radio personalities’ bias, members of the audience considered politics talk show hosts (80%) and journalism personalities (20%) were not slanted. Still others recognized politics talk show hosts (67%), journalists (22%), and journalism personalities (11%) tipped the scale in favor of their attitudes and beliefs. And other listeners perceived that journalists (27%), politics talk show hosts (36%), and journalism personalities (36%) are biased on occasion (Table 22). 101 Audience members who perceive the slant in the political commentary identified politicking, lack of ideological viewpoints, and depth in the content. In respect thereof, an administrative assistant from Aibonito feels uncomfortable when politics talk show hosts force their views, “They try to be neutral, but they are not. They focus on their convictions. I don’t like it when they impose their positions” (1127005). Likewise, a 66-year-old retiree from San Juan criticized the extremist views of some politics talk show hosts, “I change the dial when someone from one political party is constantly criticizing others. It’s a bad thing to be blind and not see the reality. Fanaticism is not good” (1019001). It is obvious they have an agenda in favor or against depending on the political party they are involved with. I don’t like that. I consider that they don’t go deep into the topics. Seems to me it’s a superficial discussion. They wake up talking about nonsense when the day before something of more relevance happened. I dislike when not all perspectives are available about a political issue. For example, in a program they have a pro-statehood and pro-free-associated state viewpoint, but they don’t have a pro-independence standpoint (63-year-old pastor from Bayamón; Code: 1217001). There needs to be increased presence of woman and independentistas. This has become a space governed by establishment white males. There are no dissenting voices, nor of woman, nor of the poor, and communities are not represented. What we have here is the corporate press. Commentators are not fair or impartial because they have their agenda. They have the prerogative of having their point of view and promote it, but they should be honest. For example, [Luis] Pabón Roca at one point in time had $300,000 contracts with municipalities; well, he has to say that. You have to say you are tied to x municipality or government agency because they are your client. If you do not say it, you are a dishonest person (66-year-old retired woman from San Juan; Code: 1221001). 102 You have to take radio programs with a grain of salt because the majority is political party propaganda. (…) Station owners have to wake up and stop paying big money to these so-called analysts. Just so you know, it is a fraud. They give their own opinion. That is all. There is no such thing as a political analyst. It is the opinion of a person who just so happens it is being paid for it. They are paid $2,000, $3,000, up to $5,000 monthly. It is a waste of money. The radio station employees, who work 40 hours, earn a pittance. They are paid the federal minimum wage (62-year-old Car Sales Person from Bayamón; Code: 1219002). Table 22: Audience Perception of Bias per Speaker Type Bias No Yes Sometimes Total Politics Talk Show Personality Journalism Personality Journalist Total 8 80.0% 6 66.7% 4 36.4% 18 60.0% 0 0.0% 2 10 100.0% 9 22.2% 100.0% 3 11 27.3% 100.0% 5 30 16.7% 100.0% 2 20.0% 1 11.1% 4 36.4% 7 23.3% Consistent with the selective exposure hypothesis, the Programming Director from NotiUno acknowledged there is, “a demand for people who analyze from their [political] spectrum and as a listener you choose which analyst you like the most, which is closer to your line of thinking”. Congruous with selective exposure, results show that there is a relationship between polarization and media consumption. Participant’s choice for Governor in the 2016 General Election was considered as a measure of their political affiliation. 28 out of 30 respondents disclosed their voting choice the majority favoring the current political status (42.9%) (Table 23). Affiliates of the two main political parties, New Progressive Party (60%) and Popular Democratic Party (66.6%) revealed they preferred WKAQ 580 (Univision), a station that maintains the favor of the audience according to Nielsen (Radio Online: The 103 New Progressive Party Popular Democratic Party Puerto Rican Independence Party Independent Across party lines Total 3 60% 8 66.6% 1 33.3% 2 66.6% 5 100% 19 1 20% 4 33.3% 1 1 20% 0 0% 1 5 100% 12 100% 3 33.3% 33.3% 100% 1 33.3% 0 0% 7 0 0% 0 0% 2 3 100% 5 100% 28 100% Industry’s Front Page, 2017) and showcases exclusively content that leans toward a sustained political relationship with the United States (Table 24). Table 23: Audience’s Party Affiliation Affiliation Status Frequency Percent Popular Democratic Party Free-Associated-State 12 New Progressive Party Across party lines Statehood Undisclosed Puerto Rican Independence Party Independence Independent Total Undisclosed 5 5 3 3 28 42.9% 17.9% 17.9% 3.5% 3.5% 100.0% Table 24: Radio Stations Audiences Consume according to Political Affiliation Affiliation WKAQ 580 WSKN WUNO Total (Univision) (Radio Isla) (Noti Uno) 67.85% 25% 7.14% Finally, hypothesis 4 explored information radio audiences’ level of engagement in political participation behaviors. This study considered voter turnout and other indirect behaviors, such as (a) volunteering for a political campaign, (b) signing petitions, (c) calling or writing to government officials, (d) talking about politics with friends and family, and (e) 104 expressions about politics and social issues in radio call-in programs or social media, as political participation behaviors. Participants disclosed going to the polls (97%) and talking about politics with friends and family (93%) as the top two political participation behaviors. Engagement with other indirect political participation behaviors occurs at a lesser degree. Although audience members equally sign petitions (47%), call or write to government officials (47%) or post about politics in social media (47%), it is not common for them to volunteer for political campaigns (37%) or much less participate in call-in radio programs (27%). Therefore, hypothesis 4 finds partial support as the degree of engagement with politics varies depending on the type of behavior. Political participation occurs via direct vote and in the traditional public sphere, where citizens discuss issues face-to-face. Petition signing and writing to government officials about grievances is gaining traction in Puerto Rican society. Of the media related behaviors, posting about politics in social media is oddly more habitual that calling-in to radio shows. The level of commitment with political parties is low, as working in an electoral campaign is uncommon (Fig. 8). 105 Figure 8: Audience Political Participation Behavior Signing a petition Call/Writing Government Posting about Volunteer for a Participating in politics or political Officials social issues campaign on Social Media radio call-in programs 120.00% 100.00% Voter Turnout Talking about politics with friends and family 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00% On one or more occasions Never 106 On the other hand, audiences’ political participation will determine their sponsorship of news or politics talk shows. Respondents that reported participating in General Elections preferred news (45%), followed by politics talk shows (31%), and interview programs (17%) Figure 9: Shows Voting Participants Consume Voter Turnout (Fig. 9). 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 News Politics Talk Interviews Shows Call-in Programs Music On one or more occasion Never Likewise, participants who reported working with a political campaign at least once in their lifetime opt for news (46%), politics talk shows (27%), and interviews (18%) (Fig. 10). Figure 10: Shows Participants Volunteers in Political Campaigns Consume Volunteering for a Political Campaign 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 News Politics Talk Interviews Shows Call-in Programs Music On one or more occasion Never 107 Puerto Ricans are no strangers to political petitions. In recent elections, many have given their signature to register new political parties or independent candidates who do not represent any of the prevailing political status options. Citizens also have endorsed an online petition for a presidential pardon towards political prisoner Óscar López Rivera (Delgado Robles, 2016) or more recently another to audit Puerto Rico’s debt (El Nuevo Día, 2017). Participants that reported having signed a political petition equally favor news (36%) and politics talks shows (36%), followed by interview programs (29%). Those who refused to sign a political petition (50%) chose to listen to news followed by politics talk shows (31%) (Fig. 11). Figure 11: Shows Petition Signing Participants Consume Signing Political Petitions 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 News Politics Talk Interviews Shows Call-in Programs Music On one or more occasion Never 108 Similar to the petition signing behavior, respondents generally do not call or write to their representatives to push for the approval of a law or to seek the resolution of matters related to their communities. Those who do not contact government officials prefer politics talk shows (38%) to news (31%). The relationship is inverse for those who reach out to local authorities as they favor news (57%) over politics talk shows (27%) (Fig. 12). Figure 12: Shows Participants who Call/Write Government Officials Consume Calling/Writing to Government Officials News Politics Talk Interviews Shows Call-in Programs Music On one or more occasion Never 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 109 Even though they report listening to news/talk radio stations, most participants do not call in to chime in on the conversation, equally listening to news (36%) and politics talk shows (36%) (Fig. 13). Figure 13: Shows Participants that Call-in Programs Consume Participating in Call-in Programs News Politics Talk Interviews Shows Call-in Programs Music On one or more occasion Never 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 110 Lastly, while they have an account on social media, not all participants make their opinions about politics or social issues public. Respondents who deprive themselves from touching upon these controversial topics (47%) favor news (50%) over politics talk shows (14%). On the other hand, those who are more vocal about politics (53%) prefer politics talk shows (50%) to news (38%) (Fig. 14). Figure 14: Shows Participants that Post about Politics in Social Media Consume Posting about politics on Social Media 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 News Politics Talk Interviews Shows Call-in Programs Music On one or more occasion Never 111 CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Changes in Content The content analysis attempted to track the shift from news to opinion in news/talk radio during election years 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 as well as identify if outrage-based strategies were used in the overall content irrespective of program format. An analysis of WKAQ 580, NotiUno, and Radio Isla programing grids from 2000 – 2016 show there is indeed an increase in politics talk shows (Figs. 4 – 6). Moreover, the rise of political commentary programs and decrease of formal newscasts was extensively discussed with radio workers. Nevertheless, because the content analysis examined speaker turns, periodic bulletins within different programing formats were coded as ‘news’. As a result, the content analysis of the three main news/talk radio networks revealed twice the amount of news (50%) than politics talk shows (28%). Therefore, despite the fact that there are fewer formal journalism programs dedicated to reporting and analysis, news permeates different program formats (interviews, politics, sports, and entertainment talk shows) in the form of bulletins. This approach might explain this apparent inconsistency between the information obtained from the programing grid and radio worker interviews and the content analysis. That said, topics addressed by information radio content focused on political controversy, followed by the economy, and crime. This finding goes hand in hand with Belt & Just's (2008) assertion that media emphasize on criminality and polemic to gain commercial success. Popular news/talk talent focus on the entertainment value of their performance (Pierce & Potter, 2012). Focusing on the news values of novelty, negativity, and conflict attracts audiences and, consequently, advertising dollars (Crouch & Rozell, 2014). In that regard, WKAQ management admitted a deliberate effort to generate polarizing content, a strategy that has given them the lead in audience ratings. 112 This approach is evident in the tone used to reference Puerto Rican and U.S. Governments in news and politics talk shows. Because information radio’s narrative supports continuing Puerto Rico’s political relationship with the United States, content demanding more political powers is limited. There is an editorial decision to showcase only pro-statehood and pro-free-associated state perspectives in politics talk shows. Therefore, content is polarized in terms of national identity, but there is consensus with respect to maintaining a political relationship with the United States as it relates to the status preferences. Radio stations, different program formats, and varying speaker types depict the colonial Government as untrustworthy or unfavorably. Accordingly, U.S. Government involvement in local matters is either praised or ignored. Consistent with the Selective Exposure hypothesis, audience’s decision to vote for the predominant parties is strengthened (Hansen & Kosiara-Pedersen, 2017) and, with it, a discourse that favors U.S. intervention. Incidentally, outrage was not as pervasive as it is in United States radio and television talk shows (Berry & Sobieraj, 2014a; Sobieraj & Berry, 2011). The use of outrage-based strategies was minimal. Remarkably, news emphasized more outrage-based language strategies than politics talk shows. Following a market strategy aimed to retain audience attention, news headlines and bulletins incorporate sensationalized storytelling techniques (Belt & Just, 2008) through the use of journalism clichés. With the same aim in mind, politics talk shows rest on polarizing figures that stir up political controversy. The same phenomenon occurs among speaker types. Journalism personalities hinge on their reputation as professional journalists and juggle opinion and controversy to infotain. Politics talk show hosts claim expertise and proximity to political actors to push forward a discourse that accentuates political attitudes. Moreover, the fact that audiences assign credibility to both the speaker and the medium that markets itself as news (Carpini & Williams, 2001) raises concern. Upon examining the use of outrage language by station, WKAQ 580 113 (Univision Radio), NotiUno and Radio Isla relate significantly to this practice in a greater or lesser degree. A limitation of this study is that the content analysis findings partially match the radio worker and audience interviews. The content was only available for the three main radio networks that broadcast Puerto Rico wide and are located in San Juan. Absent from this analysis is the content from a fourth radio network WAPA Radio and local stations in Ponce and Mayagüez, which were addressed in the radio worker interviews. Thus, the content analysis results pertain to WKAQ 580, NotiUno, and Radio Isla in a period that comprehends electoral years 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. In sum, framed by news-type content such as bulletins and occasional breaking news reports, politics talk shows attempt to break down legal, judicial, and legislative procedures from the perspective of the two prevailing political parties. The strong foothold of politics talk- shows in AM radio challenge the relevance of journalism even as they prioritize controversy over information. To expand on Carpini & Williams’ (2001) claim about the blurring between news and non-news, audiences can extricate opinion from news; nevertheless, they are equally suspicious and credible of both format (news/opinion) and speaker (journalist/commentator). As it will be discussed in the audience interviews section, not only does the public consider news to be objective, but politics talk shows as well when topics are discussed from different ideological perspectives. Influences in Content The conversations with radio workers shed light on the changes in the content of information radio and the reasons behind them. Following, I discuss the forces that shaped the current information radio landscape where politics talk shows reign. Like in mainland U.S., the migration of music to the FM band and the relaxation of FCC policy on equal airtime during the 1970s and 1980s gave birth to the news/talk format in Puerto Rico. Media consolidations 114 during the 1990s and 2000s increased the reach of Spanish-language radio giants Univision and the Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) to Puerto Rico. While SBS has concentrated ownership on Puerto Rican FM stations, Univision possesses WKAQ 580, the oldest, most highly reputed AM station, and current industry reference in political commentary programs. Locally owned networks WAPA Radio, NotiUno, and Radio Isla, plan long-term programming accordingly to compete with WKAQ. Local stations WPAB in Ponce, and WKJB and WPRA in Mayagüez focus on regional issues and broadcast from the aforementioned stations to address national topics. Media Organization Level Pressures at all levels impact news/talk radio station content, but particularly at the media organization level. Some radio stations in Puerto Rico are owned by media corporations. Others are family businesses and executive positions are kept within relatives. Irrespective of ownership, editorial policy is dictated and enforced from the owners upon newsroom administrators on to producers (Hanitzsch & Mellado, 2011) and finally upon program hosts and journalists. For instance, the organizational chart in WAPA Radio enforces and legitimizes the authority of the Blanco family whose main goal is to advance the cause for statehood (Hanitzsch & Mellado, 2011; Rodríguez-Cotto, 2016a). This station enforces a right-wing conservative editorial line that inevitably shapes which stories are considered newsworthy, how they are prioritized, and how they are framed (Reese, 2001; Rodríguez, 2018). Similarly, politics talk shows in WKAQ 580 (Univision Radio) and NotiUno offer only pro-statehood and pro-free-associated state commentary relegating pro-independence voices in politics talk shows. On the other side of the ideological spectrum, local station WPAB has banned some pro-statehood politicians from their programming and news coverage because their editorial line is liberal and left leaning. 115 Finances are another factor that affect content. Like in the United States, the primary revenue source for Puerto Rican Radio stations is advertising. Accordingly, this economic model compels radio to rely on municipal and state government publicity (Torres Torres, 2017b). Radio workers recognized government officials threatened to cancel or terminated advertising when the stations broadcasted damaging or unsympathetic information. This practice became public during the 1990s when then-Governor Pedro Rosselló cancelled $4.5 million worth in advertisements to a daily newspaper following a report that highlighted a corruption scandal (Navarro, 1997; Quintero, 2014). The government continues spending millions of dollars in advertising. In 2017, amidst economic bankruptcy, agencies and public corporations spent over $15 million on advertising, public relations, and events (López Alicea, 2017). So long as the advertising model remains as the main source of revenue, information may be subject to financial pressures. Although Puerto Rican radio stations have increased their presence in the Internet through online streaming and social media, stations have yet to transform the Internet into another source of revenue (Albarrán, 2004). Thereon, a Senior Executive from UNO Radio Group recognized their online presence is growing; however, it only represents 12 percent of the dollar spent on overall advertising in media. Accordingly, radio is a dual product market because it offers (1) content to listeners and sells (2) access to particular demographic groups to advertisers (Albarrán, 2004). To that effect, administrators in Radio Isla and Univision Radio confirmed radio is a ratings business. News and talk formats represent a large percentage of a station’s operational costs, as they need more staff, equipment, and resources (Albarrán, 2004) than other radio formats. Combined with Puerto Rico’s financial bankruptcy, broadcasters have been forced to reduce their news departments. Still, most radio workers agree the difference between what journalists and politics talk show hosts make is abysmal. Whereas most radio technicians, production and news personnel income has not risen in more than a decade, political commentators increase in 116 number and wages (Rodríguez-Cotto, 2017e). There is much debate among journalists about which aspect of their careers is important (Weaver, 1996): does freedom on the job outweigh an $8.00 per hour wage? In this respect, NotiUno’s news department director expressed concern about the constant turnover in personnel as many reporters move on to work for government agencies and politicians who offer a more competitive salary. Insofar as information is a product, the main criteria to select the content are ratings and revenue; thus, primacy is given to political commentary. Extant literature shows a positive relationship between a media organization’s investment in newsrooms, quality content, and profits (Chen, Thorson, & Lacy, 2005; Lacy, 2000). For instance, WAPA Radio’s listenership and advertising increased 300 percent in the aftermath of Hurricane María (Bell, 2017) because it was the only media available for a population of 3.4 million. An army of experienced journalists volunteered to cover the incidents related to the cyclone for WAPA Radio (Lugo, 2018; Torres, 2017). But, according to two journalists interviewed for this study, senior management did not recognize the potential of having high quality content by investing in news and the project did not continue. Conversely, between pre- and post-María, Radio Isla’s commercial breaks doubled in length from four to eight minutes (Bell, 2017). Although Radio Isla was the station with more politics talk shows between 2004 and 2016, after this experience, the management has increased journalist-led programs. Future research should examine how investment in news relates to listenership and advertising revenue in the Puerto Rican media context. Social Institutions level Aside from advertisers, other societal institutions influence content. Radio workers in Puerto Rico identify the government, through their public relations efforts, and other media organizations as forces that work to limit the information broadcast on the airwaves. Most radio workers agreed that US and local government structures intimidate or pressure media to 117 withhold information through boycotting, canceling advertising, suing, or threatening with criminal investigations. Sometimes news personnel receive support from management, other times their employers may be closely tied to larger business or political interests that are at odds with content (Hanitzsch & Mellado, 2011; Reese, 2001). All respondents, however, claimed bypassing these threats. Competing news organizations that range from other radio stations to online media represent another source of influence. Radio markets are comprised of several stations that vary in format making it a monopolistic competition market structure (Lacy & Riffe, 1994). Lacy and Martin (2004) explained that the selling point for monopolistic market structures is differentiation. Although traditional news media differentiate by distribution system (television, radio, print) (Lacy & Martin, 2004), the Internet leveled the playing field as all have the ability to broadcast breaking news and essentially offer the same information diet. Therefore, in Puerto Rican information radio differentiation exists through political leaning of opinion programs and their featured hosts. Based on the theory of monopolistic competition, Lacy and Martin (2004) conclude that radio stations face imperfect substitutes as competing stations represent different political leanings. News departments compete with other radio stations for the scoop, yet to determine long-term programing managers monitor the competition in such a way that the line-up across most radio networks is similar, varying only in the leaning of the politics talk shows hosts. Ideological Level The recruitment of journalists and politics talk show hosts, with particular attitudes and beliefs, together with the radio station’s editorial policy, and their ties to societal institutions, work to support the status quo, that is maintaining a political relationship with the United States. Furthermore, the constrains imposed by the different level forces limit the range of ideological perspectives (Reese, 2001) in regards to the degree of power Puerto Ricans exert 118 over political, social and economic issues. That is to say, each of the previous levels lead up to a coherent ideology. While most radio workers assured there was opportunity for all sides of the political spectrum to expose their ideas on-air, in practice NotiUno and WKAQ 580 (Univision) only showcase voices of the two main political parties in their analysis programs. In this case, media reinforce their ideological content in favor of a neoliberal economy because it aids their own financial interests (Ocampo Villegas, 2004). Considering media’s influence on public opinion, future studies should assess how content production is connected to political or economic interests (Reese, 2001). Individual Level Limitations imposed at the individual and routines level are another source of pressure on content. With regards to journalism, there are two camps: news professionals who struggle to remain objective/neutral and those who assume an advocacy approach (Hanitzsch, 2006). To balance their attitudes or beliefs and journalistic norms, some news professionals avoid delving deep into controversial issues or attribute opposing views to sources for the sake of fairness. Others have made peace with the futility of remaining objective and openly admit not including dissenting sources in their coverage. Although objectivity is one of the measures of quality journalism, before broadcasting news professionals counterbalance other information characteristics such that it is reliable and trustworthy (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2014). Similarly, Gastil (2008) found fault with the notion of presenting the two sides of the same coin as opposed to appraising the relevant facts. For example, a News Department Director in local Ponce station WPAB said that during the coverage of the environmental contamination produced by a coal-fired power plant they did not include the power plant’s perspective because they claimed the compounds found in the toxic ash were the same as the ones found in a popular over-the-counter vitamin. Likewise, after Hurricane María devastated the Island in September 119 2017, journalists fell back on civil society sources when government officials failed to address the serious issues that arose during the recovery phase. Increasingly, civic journalism efforts online, such as the Center for Investigative Journalism among other experienced broadcast journalists dare to bend predominant normative notions (Collazo Berrios, 2017; Hanitzsch, 2006; Rodríguez Ortiz, 2017; Rogstad, 2014; Steele, 2002). However, the practice of a detached journalism still has a strong foothold in Puerto Rican corporate media. Generally, journalists do not analyze policy options or political ideas as it is a practice in Europe and the United States (Nord, 2006). Reporters undertake the role of neutral observers, while politics talk show hosts interpret current events for audiences eager to understand the relevance of political and societal issues. An additional aspect within the individual journalist that affects the quality of the content is the perception of autonomy. Assuming that it is not appropriate for the media to be dependent on social institutions, journalists must have a certain level of freedom to exercise their function (Reese, 2001; Schudson, 2002). Thus, autonomy is central to the journalism profession. Here, most journalists disclosed feeling at liberty to cover assigned events or to discuss topics they deemed relevant in their programs. Routines Level Contrary to what they disclosed, radio workers do not have complete autonomy. The forces of technology, time, space, and norms constrain news departments (Reese, 2001). Specifically, routines level pressures also impact news/talk content. Journalistic routine practices are deeply embedded in media work (Reese, 2001). For instance, radio workers revealed deadlines limit the quality of the information as the imperative of offering news in a timely manner often prevent them from contextualizing information or investigating issues further. Moreover, in a media context dominated by digital technologies, social media has displaced journalists in such a way that original reporting and fieldwork are consigned to 120 government social media accounts. For instance, WKAQ 580 (Univision Radio) considers it is not necessary to cover press conferences because the news department will use sound bites and press releases facilitated by public relations aides. This approach is dangerous in the sense that it allows social institutions to broadcast their messages unfiltered to the public. Miller (2014) cautions, once a dominant narrative is institutionalized it defines a status quo way of understanding problems. Consequently, an institutionalized discourse can influence which ideas are allowed into the mainstream (Miller, 2014). As routines constrain, so do they enable (Reese, 2001). In social media news, professionals have another venue where they can expand on coverage because rigid programming schedules often limit the length of news reports. In addition, it is a space where audiences could relay instant feedback and even point to new areas of inquiry for reporters to follow-up. A future study could compare the content that is broadcasted in social media streams and traditional media to assess the information quality. Furthermore, because social media is a fertile ground for civic journalism, corresponding research could determine if the audience and journalists work together to contribute to the public discourse. Audience Choice The audience interviews give insight to their reasons for looking favorably upon politics talk shows. Most respondents turn to radio for local information and choose to listen to opinion programs, followed by news. Politics talk shows serve an educational function for audiences because they help them understand political processes, especially those issues that entail legislative procedures both in Puerto Rico and the United States. Another compelling reason to listen to political commentators is the speaker’s reputation. A host will gain following inasmuch as he or she is a career politician, and/or their occupation/experience allows them to sketch educated opinions on public issues. This finding validates the radio station’s editorial decision to supplant journalists with political personalities in order to attract audiences. 121 In the case of news content, journalists who address power in an assertive manner bolster the audiences’ sense of government accountability. Publics look for this quality on opinion programs, yet in market-oriented media, incisiveness manifests through outrage strategies, such as rude interviewing styles, name calling, insulting language, mockery, or conflagration. Hence, audiences enjoy the interpretive aspects of politics talk shows, but not the outrage-based strategies. And while some respondents identify bias in the political commentary, others attribute journalism principles such as objectivity to politics talk shows. Although audiences claimed unbiased analysis is another precondition for listening, participants revealed consuming politics talk shows attuned to their political affiliation, a finding compatible with selective exposure literature (Hollander, 1996; Lazarsfeld, Berelson, & Gaudet, 1948; Stroud, 2008). Subsequently, consumption of partisan messages strengthens attitudes and opinions (Mutz, 2006; Stroud, 2010), both, towards one’s political party and the opposition. Furthermore, participants felt listening to like-minded political information protected the integrity of their belief system (D’Alessio & Allen, 2007; Klapper, 1960; McGuire, 1968). Like citizens in multiparty systems, Puerto Ricans are more likely to be persuaded by ideological considerations than voters in two party systems (Dalton, 2008; Norris, 2004; Powell, 1982). Polarization not only reinforces party choice (Hansen & Kosiara-Pedersen, 2017), but has an overall positive impact on political attitudes (Levendusky, 2010; Matthew Levendusky & Malhotra, 2016), participation (Moral, 2017) and consumption of political content in media (Dvir-Gvirsman, Garrett, & Tsfati, 2015; Natalie Jomini Stroud, 2010). Consequently, media identify polarizing content that attract ratings and revenue in two-party, multi-party, and colonial settings. The audience’s sample size and interview methodology limit the assumptions that could be drawn about of consumption of information radio and the effects on audiences’ political 122 participation. Based on previous research, publics are not passive receivers, they actively select media (Brosius & Peter, 2017; Klapper, 1960) and use that information to engage civically (Tufte, 2014). In accord with the selective exposure hypothesis, however, publics highly interested in politics who often exercise different political participation behaviors were more inclined to consume political content that is sympathetic. Although the findings are not generalizable, this study found that the political behavior that drives consumption of news/talk radio content is frequently engaging in conversation about politics with family or circle of acquaintances. Furthermore, audiences’ friends, relatives and colleagues in interpersonal and social media circles expose the individual to ideologically congruent and incongruent political information (Barker, 1998; Masip, Suau-Martínez, & Ruiz-Caballero, 2017; Wang & Shen, 2018) that motivates political engagement behaviors. By contrast, participating in the General Election, among other indirect forms of political participation, such as signing petitions or calling/writing government officials are not linked to listening to specific program formats in information radio. Therefore, the steep decline in voter turnout is not related to the rise on opinion programing as the majority of participants proudly reported exercising their right to vote as a top civic duty. Nonetheless, media use may predict political engagement behaviors depending on the individual’s political knowledge (Moral, 2017; Viswanath & Finnegan Jr., 1996; Wang & Shen, 2018). Another precondition of media influence on political participation is the availability of media choices (Prior, 2007; Quintelier & Hooghe, 2011). Armed with political knowledge citizens in a high media choice environment will consume news and political shows consistent with their ideologies (Baum & Groeling, 2008; Colleoni, Rozza, & Arvidsson, 2014; Farrell, 2012; Lawrence, Sides, & Farrell, 2010; Wang & Shen, 2018). One of the motivations to conduct this study was the shrinking of traditional media spaces to practice journalism in Puerto Rico. Not only has radio downsized newsrooms, in the last 123 decade 35 media organizations have closed leaving 1,200 communications professionals without a job (Rodríguez-Cotto, 2017e). To add to the global media credibility crisis (Wahl- Jorgensen & Hanitzsch, 2009), information radio has replaced journalists with non- communication professionals to opine on the day’s news. Although most audience members might express intense love/hate reactions towards these charismatic figures, they either consider them relevant or reliable making listening a habit. To mitigate bias, audiences call for multiple points of views, yet in practice that means having representatives of the two dominant status ideologies analyzing the day’s news. Both media managers and audiences consider that if the content presents both sides, then the picture is complete, regardless if those sides are presented in news or politics talk shows. While radio journalists attempt to supply that demand by being balanced, different level constrains limit the quality and ideological perspectives in the information. Nonetheless, radio executives have no intention of investing in newsrooms as they outsource journalistic legwork to social media. Editorial and financial pressures foster politics talk and journalism personalities’ infotainment takes on public issues. Beyond fairness, both news and political commentary should incorporate voices that challenge the dominant narrative or concentrate on relevant information to adequately cater to the publics’ information needs. To recap, findings in this study are relevant to Puerto Rico information radio and cannot be generalized because of the small sample size of the media workers and audience. Future studies should address the relationship between radio’s current economic model and quality journalism by exploring how investment in news relates to listenership and profits. This may be done comparing Puerto Rican radio stations with radio stations in the United States that cater to a Spanish-speaking audience. Furthermore, the challenge to the relevance of journalism in the present media environment represents an opportunity to refocus on what medium is used to deliver different levels of information to the public and the quality of such content. For that 124 purpose, a prospective study should address news media’s social function and the conception of journalists’ roles among media professionals that may compel them to assume positions on controversial issues. Another aspect to research is the pressures radio station’s social media accounts are subject to as opposed to traditional media and the opportunity to develop civic journalism. 125 APPENDIX 126 Source: FCC AM/FM Station Database; Nielsen Audio AM/FM Station Database; radiostationworld.com *The AM Stations in gray are considered in this study AM/FM STATION OWNERSHIP AND FORMAT Calls AM Frequency Name PAB 550 City of License PONCE PR US Parent WPAB, INC. WPAB WEGA WQBS WABA WRSS WUNO WORA WPRP WDNO WMSW WYAC WIAC WVJP WCGB WBMJ WIVV WCMN WKVM WUPR WCPR WHOY WQII WEXS WKUM 550 1350 870 850 1410 630 760 910 960 1120 930 740 1110 1060 1190 1370 1280 810 1530 1450 1210 1140 610 1470 NotiUno Cima Norte Radio Once WIAC 740 Boricua 740 The Rock Radio Network NotiUno Radio Paz Éxitos 1530 Radio Coamo Radio Hoy Format News/Talk News/Talk News/Talk News/Talk News/Talk Tropical Religious News/Talk Oldies Cadena Radio Isla VEGA BAJA PR US A RADIO COMPANY, INC. La Gran Cadena SAN JUAN PR US AERCO BROADCASTING CORPORATION Talk La Grande AGUADILLA PR AGUADILLA RADIO & TV CORP., INC. Romantica/News/Talk Radio Progreso SAN SEBASTIAN PR US ANGEL VERA-MAURY News/Talk SAN JUAN PR US MAYAGUEZ PR US PONCE PR US ARSO RADIO CORPORATION News/Talk QUEBRADILLAS PR AURIO A. MATOS BARRETO Spanish Variety HATILLO PR US AURORA BROADCASTING CORPORATION CABO ROJO PR US SAN JUAN PR BESTOV BROADCASTING, INC Radio Caguas CAGUAS PR US BORINQUEN BROADCASTING CO., INC. JUANA DIAZ PR SAN JUAN PR US VIEQUES PR US CALVARY EVANGELISTIC MISSION, INC. ARECIBO PR US CARIBBEAN BROADCASTING CORP. SAN JUAN PR US CATHOLIC, APOSTOLIC & ROMAN CHURCH UTUADO PR US CENTRAL BROADCASTING CORPORATION News/Talk/AC COAMO PR US SALINAS PR US COAMO BROADCASTING CORP. AC COLON RADIO CORPORATION Spanish Variety 11Q SAN JUAN PR US COMMUNICATIONS COUNSEL GROUP, INC. Cadena Radio Isla PATILLAS PR COMMUNITY BROADCASTING, INC. News/Talk News/Talk Cumbre 1470 OROCOVIS PR CUMBRE MEDIA GROUP CORP. Spanish Variety 127 WFAB WWNA WRSJ WIBS WISA WJIT WYKO WCMA WGDL WLRP WMNT WLEY WSKN WKFE WNVI WALO WMDD WBSG WIPR WOIZ WBQN WOQI WPPC WOLA WKJB WIDA WSOL WOSO 890 1340 1520 1540 1390 1250 880 1600 1200 1460 1500 1080 1320 1550 1040 1240 1480 1510 940 1130 1160 1020 1570 1380 710 1400 1090 1030 La Nave CEIBA PR US DANIEL ROSARIO DIAZ Religious Radio Una 1340 AGUADILLA PR US DBS RADIO, INC. Salud 1520 Radio Caribe WISA Radio Radio Hit SAN JUAN PR US GUAYAMA PR US INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING CORP. Variety ISABELA PR US SABANA PR US ISABELA BROADCASTING INC. JP BROADCAST CORP. La Poderosa 880 SABANA GRANDE PR US JUAN GALIANO RIVERA Cima 103.7 La Mejor AM BAYAMON PR US LA MAS Z RADIO, INC. LARES PR US LARES BROADCASTING CORPORATION News/Talk/Variety Talk (Health) News/Talk Variety Talk/Oldies Tropical Tropical Radio Raíces SAN SEBASTIAN PR US LAS RAICES PEPINIANAS, INC. Spanish Variety Radio Atenas MANATI PR US MANATI RADIO CORPORATION News/Talk CAYEY PR US SAN JUAN PR US Cadena Radio Isla YAUCO PR US MEDIA POWER GROUP, INC News/Talk Zona 1040 MOCA PR US NEW LIFE BROADCASTING, INC. AC/Romantica Cadena Radio Isla HUMACAO PR U OCHOA BROADCASTING CORPORATION Cadena Radio Isla FAJARDO PR US PAN CARIBBEAN BROADCASTING DE P. News/Talk News/Talk Super 1510 AM 940 LAJAS PR US PERRY BROADCASTING SYSTEMS Spanish Variety SAN JUAN PR US PUERTO RICO PUBLIC BROADCASTING Oldies Radio Antillas GUAYANILLA PR US BROADCASTER Spanish Variety RADIO ANTILLAS OF HARRIET BARCELONETA-MANATI PR Radio Borinquen US RADIO BORINQUEN, INCORPORATED Adult Contemporary Radio Casa Pueblo ADJUNTAS PR US RADIO CASA PUEBLO, INC Spanish Community Radio Felicidad PENUELAS PR US RADIO FELICIDAD, INC Radio Procer BARRANQUITAS PR US RADIO PROCER INC. Cadena Radio Isla MAYAGUEZ PR US RADIO STATION WKJB AM-FM, INC CAROLINA PR US RADIO VIDA INCORPORADO SAN GERMAN PR US SAN GERMAN BROADCASTERS GROUP Religious CHR News/Talk Religious Talk Radio Vida Radio Sol Total Radio SAN JUAN PR US SHERMAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION News/Talk/Information 128 WENA WNEL WNIK WLEO WISO WMIA WTIL WVOZ WXRF WAPA WKAQ WYEL WUKQ WPRA WXEW 1330 1430 1230 1170 1260 1070 1300 1580 1590 680 580 600 1420 990 840 La Buena 1330 YAUCO PR U SOUTHERN BROADCASTING CORPORATION Radio Una 1340 CAGUAS PR US TURABO RADIO CORPORATION Hot AC Variety Unica Radio Radio Leo ARECIBO PR US UNIK BROADCASTING SYSTEM CORP. News/Talk UNO RADIO OF PONCE, INC. Oldies PONCE PR US PONCE PR US ARECIBO PR US MAYAGUEZ PR US MOROVIS PR US GUAYAMA PR US WAPA Radio SAN JUAN PR US WIFREDO G. BLANCO PI News/Talk SAN JUAN PR US MAYAGUEZ PR US Univision Radio PONCE PR US WLII/WSUR LICENSE PARTNERSHIP La Primera MAYAGUEZ PR US WPRA, INC Radio Victoria YABUCOA PR US WXEW RADIO VICTORIA, INC. News/Talk Variety AC/Tropical 129 Calls FM Frequency WXHD WRIO WFDT WMIO WMAA WVJP WCAD W268BK WCMN WORO WVID WJVP WZCL WCXQ WZFE WTPM WYQE WGZA WOYE WVPJ WODB WQBS WZET WIOC WNIK WELX WLUZ 98.1 100.1 105.5 102.3 93.7 103.3 105.7 101.5 107.3 92.5 90.3 89.3 98.1 98.1 97.9 92.9 92.9 90.9 97.3 107.9 90.9 107.7 92.1 105.1 106.5 100.5 88.5 CABO ROJO PR US ARSO RADIO CORPORATION MOCA PR US BEHIND THE SOUND CORP. Contemporary Christian Dimensión 103 CAGUAS PR U BORINQUEN BROADCASTING CO. Pop/Rock/Tropical Alfa Rock SAN JUAN PR US BROADCASTING & PROGRAMING Album Oriented Rock Pura Palabra Radio SAN JUAN PR US CAGUAS EDUCATIONAL TV, INC. Contemporary Christian ARECIBO PR US CARIBBEAN BROADCASTING CORP. Contemporary Hit COROZAL PR US CATHOLIC, APOSTOLIC & ROMAN Easy Listening Hot 102 Red 93.7 Hot 102 Oro 92.5 Vid 90 Tropical AC CHR-Pop Jazz Religious Name La X City of License Parent Format SANTA ISABEL PR AMOR RADIO GROUP CORP Pop Contemporary Hit Cadena SalSoul PONCE PR US Fidelity 95.7 AGUADA PR US Radio Kodesh CULEBRA PR US CLAMOR BROADCASTING NETWORK ANASCO PR US CENTRO COLEGIAL CRISTIANO INC. Club 98.1 Super Q Radio Fe Paraiso 92 Yunque 93.9 Radio 90.9 Magic Radio Sion Cantares FM Mix 107 Z93 Fresh CABO ROJO PR US CLUBRADIO PR COMMUNITY INC. Community/AC/NEW ISABELA PR US COMMUNITY ACTION CORP. Community MOCA PR US CONCILIO DE IGLESIAS RIOS DE VIDA INC. Christian Contemporary AGUADILLA PR US CORP. OF THE SEVENTH DAY Religious/Talk/Soft AC NAGUABO PR US FAJARDO BROADCASTING CO. MAYAGUEZ PR US FEEDING HOMELESS CORP FAJARDO PR US IDALIA ARZUAGA, ET AL, EXECUTRIX MAYAGUEZ PR US IGLESIA EVANGELICA SION Tropical Tropical Adult Hits Religious CAGUAS PR US CAROLINA PR US HORMIGUEROS PR US IGLESIA REFUGIO SANIDAD Contemporary Christian Hot AC Tropical PONCE PR US INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING Adult Contemporary Super K106 ARECIBO PR US KELLY BROADCASTING SYSTEM Contemporary Hit Magic Sacra FM ISABELA PR US LA EQUIS BROADCASTING CORP. Adult Contemporary LEVITTOWN PR US LA GIGANTE SIEMBRA INC. Christian Contemporary 130 88.9 91.3 100.7 104.1 98.3 90.5 90.1 90.1 94.7 95.1 97.5 93.7 WPUC WIPR WXYX WERR WZOL WIDA WVQR WJDZ WODA WEGM WIOB WZNT WVIS WRUO WRTU WAEL WQHD WKAQ La Nueva 94 BAYAMON PR US Mega 106.9FM SAN GERMAN PR US Estereotempo SAN GERMAN, ETC. PR US Z93 SAN JUAN PR US SPANISH BROADCASTING SYSTEM 106.1 Radio Joe VIEQUES PR US STEREO COMMUNICATIONS 88.3 89.7 96.1 94.5 104.7 Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico FM 96 Radio 94.5 KQ 105 MAYAGUEZ PR US SAN JUAN PR US MARICAO PR US AGUADA PR US Reggaeton/Urban AC Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Adult Contemporary Tropical Variety Jazz Variety WNRT WCRP WNVM 96.9 88.1 97.7 Triunfo 96.9 MANATI PR US LA VOZ EVANGELICA DE PUERTO MINISTERIO RADIAL CRISTO VIENE Christian Contemporary Inspira GUAYAMA PR US PRONTO INC. Religious Nueva Vida Onda Cultural del CIDRA PR US NEW LIFE BROADCASTING, INC Contemporary Christian WJED 107.9 Sur GUANICA PR US ONDA CULTURAL DEL SUR INC. Variety Adult Católica Radio PONCE PR US PONTIFICAL CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY Contemporary/Religious Allegro 91.3 La Nueva X SAN JUAN PR US PUERTO RICO PUBLIC BROADCASTING Classical BAYAMON PR US RAAD BROADCASTING CORPORATION Contemporary Hit 104.1 Redentor VEGA ALTA PR US RADIO REDENTOR, INC. Contemporary Christian Radio Sol Radio Vida Radio Vieques La Estación de la Familia LAS PIEDRAS PR US RADIO SOL 92, WZOL, INC CAROLINA PR US RADIO VIDA INCORPORADO Religious Religious VIEQUES PR US RADIO VIEQUES-LA VOZ DEL ESTE INC. News/Talk/Music PASTILLO PR US SIEMBRA FERTIL P.R., INC. Christian Contemporary UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO WAEL, INC. Spanish Contemporary WEST COAST BROADCASTING Tropical SAN JUAN PR US WLII/WSUR LICENSE PARTNERSHIP Pop Contemporary Hit 131 RADIO NETWORKS PROGRAMMING GRID WKAQ-UNIVISION RADIO 2000-2016 Station Year Hours Schedule Program WKAQ 2000 5.00 5:00am-10:00am Noticiario Radio Reloj WKAQ 2000 2.00 10:00am-12:00pm Más allá de la Noticia WKAQ 2000 1.00 12:00pm-1:00pm Noticiario Radio Reloj Host - Carmen Jovet - WKAQ 2000 3.00 1:00pm-4:00pm Desde otro Punto de Vista Nellie Rivera, Fernando Pérez González WKAQ 2000 1.00 4:00pm-5:00pm Noticiario Radio Reloj WKAQ 2000 3.00 5:00pm-8:00pm WKAQ 2000 1.00 8:00pm-11:00pm Ojeda sin Límite Mesa redonda WKAQ 2004 4.00 5:00am-9:00am Noticiario Radio Reloj - Luis Francisco Ojeda Rosa Julia Parrilla - Moderador: Rubén Sánchez Type News Interviews News Other News Interviews Other News Panelistas: José Arsenio Torres, Marta Font, César WKAQ 2004 1.00 9:00am-10:00am Pica y se Extiende WKAQ 2004 2.00 10:00am-12:00pm La Entrevista de Frente Vázquez Rubén Sánchez Politics Talk Show Interviews Eliot Castro, Joaquín Porrata, Norman H. Dávila, WKAQ 2004 1.00 12:00pm-1:00pm La Descarga Deportiva Carlos Uriarte, Paco Rodríguez WKAQ 2004 2.00 1:00pm-3:00pm Desde otro Punto de Vista Nellie Rivera, Ángel Rodríguez WKAQ 2004 1.00 3:00pm-4:00pm Noticiario Radio Reloj Torres Rosado WKAQ 2004 1.00 4:00pm-5:00pm Resumen de noticias Fernando Pérez González Other Other News News Inés Quiles, Alejandro García Padilla, José Sánchez WKAQ 2004 1.00 5:00pm-7:00pm A palo limpio WKAQ 2004 2.00 7:00pm-9:00pm Micrófono abierto Acosta Ángel Rodríguez WKAQ 2008 1.00 5:00am-6:00am - Fernando Pérez González WKAQ 2008 3.00 6:00am-9:00am Temprano en la mañana Rubén Sánchez Politics Talk Show Other News News WKAQ 2008 1.00 9:00am-10:00am WKAQ Analiza Luis Pabón Roca, Carlos Díaz Olivo Politics Talk Show WKAQ 2008 1.00 10:00am-11:00am La entrevista de frente Rubén Sánchez Interviews 132 Station Year Hours Schedule Program WKAQ 2008 1.00 11:00am-12:00pm Las canto como las veo Host Sergio Peña Clos WKAQ 2008 1.00 12:00pm-1:00pm Juanma en WKAQ Juan Manuel García Passalaqua WKAQ TABLE (CONT’D) WKAQ 2008 1.00 1:00pm-2:00pm WKAQ 2008 1.00 2:00pm-3:00pm WKAQ 2008 2.00 3:00pm-5:00pm Perspectivas 580 Debate 580 Ojeda en el 580 WKAQ 2008 2.00 5:00pm-7:00om Normando Valentín en WKAQ Ángel Rosa Ángel Rodríguez, Oreste Ramos, Fernando Martín Politics Talk Show Luis Francisco Ojeda Normando Valentín Moderador: José Raúl Arriaga Panelistas: José Emilio González, Cirilo Tirado, Type Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Interviews Interviews Other News WKAQ 2008 1.00 7:00pm-8:00pm WKAQ en la noche WKAQ 2012 3.00 6:00am - 9:00am Temprano en la mañana Lcdo. Fronteras Rubén Sánchez WKAQ 2012 1.00 9:00am-10:00am WKAQ Analiza Luis Pabón Roca, Calos Díaz Olivo Politics Talk Show WKAQ 2012 1.00 11:00am-12:00pm La entrevista de frente Rubén Sánchez Interviews WKAQ 2012 2.00 12:00pm-1:00pm Los Hernández Mayoral en WKAQ José Alfredo & Juan Eugenio Hernández Mayoral Politics Talk Show WKAQ 2012 1.00 1:00pm-3:00pm Normando Valentín en WKAQ WKAQ 2012 2.00 3:00pm-5:00pm Ojeda en el 580 WKAQ 2012 2.00 5:00pm-7:00pm El Azote WKAQ 2012 1.00 7:00pm-8:00pm WKAQ en la noche WKAQ 2016 2.50 6:00am - 8:30am Temprano en la mañana Normando Valentín Luis Francisco Ojeda Luis Dávila Colón Jay Fonseca Rubén Sánchez Politics Talk Show Interviews Politics Talk Show Other News WKAQ 2016 1.50 8:30am-10:00am WKAQ Analiza Luis Pabón Roca, Calos Díaz Olivo Politics Talk Show WKAQ 2016 1.00 11:00am-12:00pm La entrevista de frente WKAQ 2016 2.00 12:00pm-2:00pm WKAQ al medio día WKAQ 2016 1.00 2:00pm-3:00pm WKAQ 2016 2.00 3:00pm-5:00pm WKAQ 2016 2.00 5:00pm-7:00pm La Escuelita Ojeda en el 580 El Azote WKAQ 2016 1.00 7:00pm-8:00pm WKAQ en la noche Rubén Sánchez Jay Fonseca Ángel Rosa Luis Francisco Ojeda Luis Dávila Colón Walo Dávila Interviews Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Interviews Politics Talk Show Other 133 WUNO PROGRAMMING GRID 2000-2016 Station Year Hours Schedule WUNO 2000 1.00 5:00am-6:00am Program Noticias Host - WUNO 2000 3.00 6:00am-9:00am Desde Nuestra Redacción Rubén Sánchez Type News News WUNO 2000 1.00 9:00am-10:00am Analizando Juan Manuel García Passalaqua Politics Talk Show WUNO 2000 1.00 10:00am-11:00am Entrevista en Caliente WUNO 2000 1.00 11:00am-12:00pm Noticias WUNO 2000 1.00 12:00am-1:00pm Desde la Redacción a l WUNO 2000 1.00 1:00pm-2:00pm Noticias WUNO 2000 1.00 2:00pm-3:00pm En Tres y Dos WUNO 2000 1.00 3:00pm-4:00pm Noticias Rubén Sánchez - Zoraida Torres - Omar Matos - WUNO 2000 1.00 4:00pm-5:00pm Desde Nuestra Redacción María de Lourdes García WUNO 2000 1.00 5:00am-6:00pm WUNO 2000 3.00 6:00am-9:00pm Hablando Claro De Buena Tinta WUNO 2000 1.50 9:00pm-9:30pm Servicios Legales WUNO 2000 1.00 9:30pm-10:30pm WUNO 2000 6.50 10:30pm-5:00am Dialogando Contacto WUNO 2004 4.00 5:00am-9:00am NotiUno en la Mañana WUNO 2004 1.00 9:00am-10:00am El Panel de las 9:00 WUNO 2004 2.00 10:00am-12:00pm En Caliente WUNO 2004 1.00 12:00pm-1:00pm El Escandalo del Día WUNO 2004 2.00 1:00pm-3:00pm Echando Chispas WUNO 2004 1.00 3:00pm-4:00pm El Juicio Final Nicolás Nogueras Luis Dávila Colón - José García Aníbal Ribot - Miriam Ramírez de Ferrer, Víctor García San Inocencio, Héctor Ferrer Carmen Jovet - Pedro Juan Figueroa Jorge Raschke WUNO 2004 1.00 4:00pm-5:00pm Desde La Redacción María de Lourdes García WUNO 2004 1.00 5:00pm-7:00pm En La Mirilla Luis Dávila Colón Interviews News News News Other News News Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Other Other Other News Politics Talk Show Interviews Other Other Other News Politics Talk Show 134 WUNO TABLE (CONT’D) Station Year Hours Schedule WUNO 2004 3.00 7:00pm-10:00pm WUNO 2004 2.00 10:00pm-12:00am Program Tira y Tapate Tema Libre Host Jerry Rodríguez Andrea Lugo WUNO 2004 5.00 12:00am-5:00am Contacto NotiUno Alberto “Zombie” Rivera, Michelangelo Guevara WUNO 2008 4.00 5:00am-9:00am NotiUno en la Mañana Luis Enrique Falú, Pedro Rosa Nales Type Other Other Other News WUNO 2008 1.00 9:00am-10:00am Con todo el Derecho WUNO 2008 2.00 10:00am-12:00pm En Caliente WUNO 2008 1.00 12:00pm-1:00pm El Escándalo del Día Ferdinand Mercado Carmen Jovet Luis Enrique Falú Politics Talk Show Interviews Other WUNO 2008 1.00 1:00pm-2:00pm El Malletazo Zaida 'Cucusa' Hernández Politics Talk Show WUNO 2008 1.50 2:00pm-3:30pm Echando Chispas Pedro Juan Figueroa WUNO 2008 0.50 4:00pm-4:30pm Resumen de la Tarde WUNO 2008 0.50 4:30pm-5:00pm El Cafecito de la Tarde WUNO 2008 2.00 5:00pm-7:00pm En la Mirilla WUNO 2012 4.00 5:00am-9:00am NotiUno en la Mañana WUNO 2012 1.00 9:00am-10:00am Con todo el Derecho WUNO 2012 2.00 10:00am-12:00pm En Caliente WUNO 2012 1.00 12:00pm-1:00pm El Escándalo del Día WUNO 2012 1.00 1:00pm-2:00pm Echando Chispa Luis Dávila Colón Luis Dávila Colón Luis Enrique Falú Ferdinand Mercado Carmen Jovet Luis Enrique Falú Pedro Juan Figueroa WUNO 2012 1.00 2:00pm-3:00pm Jugando Pelota Dura Ferdiand Pérez, Enrique Meléndez WUNO 2012 1.00 3:00pm-4:00pm WUNO 2012 1.00 4:00pm-5:00pm WUNO 2012 2.00 5:00pm-7:00pm Sin Censura El Malletazo Analisis 630 WUNO 2016 3.00 5:00am-8:00am NotiUno en la mañana Adolfo Krans, Luis Batista Salas Zaida 'Cucusa' Hernández Enrique Cruz Eliezer Ramos WUNO 2016 1.00 8:00am-9:00am Jugando pelota dura Ferdinand Pérez, Enrique Meléndez WUNO 2016 1.00 9:00am-10:00am Por la piedra Mario Porrata Other News Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show News Politics Talk Show Interviews Other Other Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show News Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show 135 WUNO TABLE (CONT’D) Station Year Hours Schedule WUNO 2016 2.00 10:00am-12:00pm Program En Caliente WUNO 2016 1.00 12:00pm-1:00pm El escándalo del día WUNO 2016 1.50 1:00pm-1:30pm WUNO 2016 1.00 2:00pm-3:00pm WUNO 2016 1.00 3:00pm-4:00pm WUNO 2016 1.00 4:00pm-5:00pm WUNO 2016 2.00 5:00pm-7:00pm Echando Chispa Dímelo de frente Los Fiscales El Malletazo Análisis 630 WUNO 2016 3.00 7:00pm-10:00pm NotiUno en la noche Host Carmen Jovet Luis Enrique Falú Pedro Juan Figueroa Type Interviews Other Other Eddie López Serrano, Antonio “Tony” Soto Politics Talk Show Osvaldo Carlo, Ernie Cabán, Alex Delgado Politics Talk Show Zaida 'Cucusa' Hernandez Enrique "Quique" Cruz Mario Vega Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Other 136 Station Year Hours WSKN 2004 WSKN 2004 WSKN 2004 WSKN 2004 WSKN 2004 WSKN 2004 WSKN 2004 WSKN 2004 WSKN 2004 WSKN 2004 WSKN 2008 WSKN 2008 WSKN 2008 WSKN 2008 WSKN 2008 WSKN 2008 4.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 WSKN 2008 WSKN 2008 WSKN 2012 WSKN 2012 WSKN 2012 WSKN 2012 WSKN 2012 WSKN 2012 WSKN 2012 WSKN 2012 0.75 2.25 1.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 1.50 1.50 2.00 2.00 Schedule 5:00am-9:00am 9:00am-10:00am 10:00am-11:00am 11:00am-1:00pm 1:00pm-3:00pm 3:00pm-4:00pm 4:00pm-5:00pm 5:00pm-7:00pm 7:00pm-8:00pm 8:00pm-10:00pm 5:00am-8:00am 8:00am-10:00am 10:00am-12:00pm 12:00pm-1:00pm 1:00pm-2:00pm 2:00pm-4:00pm 4:00pm-4:45pm 4:45pm-7:00pm 5:00am-6:00am 6:00am-8:00am 8:00am-10:00am 10:00am-12:00pm Cara a Cara En boca de todos Prende el Fogón Hay que tener vergüenza Reporteros 1320 Reacción Inmediata Fuego Cruzado Varied programming Pégala en la noche Pega'os en la mañana La última palabra Si no lo digo reviento Prende el Fogón En boca de todos Hay que tener vergüenza Balance del día Fuego Cruzado Noticias 1320 Pega'os en la mañana Voz Primera Si no lo digo reviento 12:00pm-1:30pm 1:30pm-3:00pm 3:00pm-5:00pm 5:00pm-7:00pm La Descarga Original Hay que tener vergüenza Primero en la Tarde Fuego Cruzado WSKN PROGRAMMING GRID 2004-2016 Program Host Pega'os en la mañana Luis Penchi, Normando Valentín, Wanda Smith Luis Penchi Belén Martínez Cabello Susa y Epifanio Jorge Seijo - Luis Pabón Roca Carlos Gallisá, Ignacio Rivera, Adolfo Krans - - Luis Penchi, Rafael Lenin López José Arsenio Torres, Ileana Colón Carlo, Julio Muriente Inés Quiles Susa y Epifanio Belén Martínez Cabello Jorge Seijo Type News Interviews Other Other Politics Talk Show News Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Other Other News Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Other Other Politics Talk Show Luis Penchi, Leziedaris Morales, Widalys Rivera, Karleen Cortes, Marielli Rivera, Maribel Melendez News Carlos Gallisá, Ignacio Rivera, Néstor Duprey Politics Talk Show José Luis Renta Rafael Lenin López, Julio Rivera Saniel Benny Frankie Cerezo Inés Quiles Elliot Castro, Joaquin Porrata, Norman H. Davila, Carlos Uriarte, Paco Rodríguez Jorge Seijo Julio Rivera Saniel News News Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Other Politics Talk Show News Carlos Gallisá, Ignacio Rivera, Néstor Duprey Politics Talk Show 137 Station Year Hours Schedule WSKN 2016 WSKN 2016 WSKN 2016 WSKN 2016 6:00am-8:00am 8:00am-9:00am 9:00am-10:00am 10:00am-12:00pm 2.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 WSKN 2016 WSKN 2016 WSKN 2016 WSKN 2016 WSKN 2016 WSKN 2016 WSKN 2016 WSKN 2016 WSKN 2016 1.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 12:00pm-1:00pm 1:00pm-3:00pm 3:00pm-4:00pm 4:00pm-5:00pm 5:00pm-7:00pm 7:00pm-8:00pm 8:00pm-9:00pm 9:00pm-10:00pm 10:00pm-11:00pm WSKN TABLE (CONT’D) Program Pega'os en la mañana Sobre la mesa Hablando claro Dígame la verdad La descarga original Rompiendo la tarde El Fuetazo El Junte Si no lo Digo Reviento Varied programming Varied programming Dígalo con Jerry Radio Isla en la Noche Type News Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Interviews Other Other Interviews Politics Talk Show Politics Talk Show Other Other Other Other Host Rafael Lenin López Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Jerome Garfer e Iván Rivera Julio Rivera Saniel Elliot Castro, Joaquín Porrata, Norman H. Dávila, Carlos Uriarte, Paco Rodríguez Luis González Damaris Suárez Carlos Ignacio Pesquera Inés Quiles - - Jerry Santiago Carlos José Ortega 138 RADIO WORKER INTERVIEWEE LIST Call Letters Station Name Ownership WAPA WAPA WAPA Radio WAPA Radio Wilfredo Blanco Pi Wilfredo Blanco Pi Broadcast Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Position Journalist Journalist WKAQ Univision Radio WLII/WSUR LICENSE PARTNERSHIP Puerto Rico News & Content Director WKAQ WKAQ Univision Radio WLII/WSUR LICENSE PARTNERSHIP Puerto Rico Univision Radio WLII/WSUR LICENSE PARTNERSHIP Puerto Rico Producer Announcer WSKN Cadena Radio Isla WAPA Cadena Radio Isla WSKN Cadena Radio Isla WSKN Cadena Radio Isla WUNO WUNO WUNO WPAB WPAB WPRA NotiUno NotiUno NotiUno PAB 550 PAB 550 La Primera Media Power Group Media Power Group Media Power Group Media Power Group Arso Radio Corporation Arso Radio Corporation Arso Radio Corporation WPAB, Inc. WPAB, Inc. WPRA, Inc. WKJB Cadena Radio Isla Radio Station WKJB AM-FM, Inc. Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Ponce Ponce Mayagüez Mayagüez Senior Executive News Department Director Host Journalist Senior Executive Programing Director News Department Director Senior Executive News Department Director Host Journalist Code 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 139 AUDIENCE MEMBER INTERVIEWEE LIST Code Gender Residence Female Female Female Bayamón Bayamón San Juan 33 35 42 43 918002 918003 918004 918005 918006 920001 920003 920006 924001 1018001 1018003 1019001 1127001 1127002 1127004 Occupation Professor Business Owner Retired Female Guaynabo Freelance Journalist Female San Juan Housewife Male San Juan Construction Worker Female San Juan Male Male Male Female Female Female Male Male Male Male Male Male San Juan Carolina San Juan Toa Alta San Juan Bayamón Bayamón Mayagüez San Juan Bayamón Cidra Cidra Lawyer Pensioned Retired Retired Retired Retired Retired Pensioned Retired Retired Clergy Lawyer Lawyer 1127005 Female Aibonito Administrative Assistant 1129001 1129002 Male Male Bayamón Toa Baja Business Owner Construction Worker 1207001 Female San Juan 1209001 Male Caguas Professor Engineer 1217001 Female San Juan Social Worker 1219001 1219002 1220001 1221001 1225002 Male Male Male Female Female Caguas Bayamón Toa Alta San Juan Engineer Car Sales Person Human Resources Retired Toa Alta Public Relations Specialist 140 Age 63 56 60 37 70 55 54 45 75 63 67 66 68 52 77 66 63 58 62 48 29 36 34 52 34 28 62 37 66 50 INTERVIEW PROTOCOL FOR RADIO WORKERS Interviewee (Title and Name): ______________________________________ Sections Used: _____ I: Individual _____ II: Routine Practices _____ III: Media Organization _____ IV: Social Institutions _____ V: Social Systems Other Topics Discussed: _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Walk me through your work. What are some changes you observed in radio in the last few years? Why do you think they happened? Individual 1. What is your educational background and how has it helped you in your work? 2. How does this work affect you personally? I. II. Routine Practices 1. Have you noted any differences in the challenges that you face in your journalistic work over the past 10-15 years? 2. Have you ever experienced a time when you felt it difficult to separate your political views from a story you were covering/ a topic you addressed in your program? If yes, how did/do you react in this/these situation(s)? III. Media Organization 1. How would you describe your programming? 2. How do you select the types of programs that will be in your line-up? The hosts for these programs? 3. In regard to the amount of news programing in this station, how has the offer changed in recent years? Why? 4. Who is your audience? 5. How much time does your audience spend listening to your programming? 6. What are your highest rated programs according to your market research? 7. What does market research say about the appeal of politics talk for your audience? News programs? 141 8. How much does the management interfere in your reporting/the content of your program? Have you noticed any more or less involvement from management in the past few years? 9. Does advertising revenue play a role in the ratio of news and politics talk programing offered by your station? IV. Social Institution: Political forces 1. Can you recall a particular instance when politicians and/or government officials interfered with your reporting? The content of your program? 2. How does competition with other news media organizations influence the content of your programs? V. Social Systems: Ideology 1. Do you believe your politics talk programs provide diverse ideological viewpoints on political topics? 2. How much influence would you say these stations have on public opinion? Is there anything else you want to add about this topic? VI. Demographic Profile a. Gender : ☐ Male ☐ Female b. Education: _______________________________ c. Years of experience: _______________________________ d. Age: _______________________________ 142 CONTENT ANALYSIS CODE SHEET A. Date ________________________________________ B. Station Call Letters: ________________________________________ C. Turn (Time code) D. Program name ________________________________________ E. Speaker ________________________________________ ________________________________________ F. Program type ________________________________________ 1. News 2. Politics Talk 3. Entertainment 4. Call-in 5. Sports talk 6. Interviews 7. Health and help talk 8. Faith talk 9. Other G. Topic ________________________________________ 1. Politics 2. Economy 3. Crime 4. Sports 5. Weather and traffic news 6. Culture and entertainment 7. Travel 8. Health and environment 9. Commentary or editorial 10. Other H. Tone 1. Perception of Puerto Rico’s government institutions trustworthiness ___ Trustworthy = 1 Untrustworthy = 0 No reference = 3 2. Perception of attitude toward Puerto Rico’s government institutions ___ Favorable = 1 Unfavorable = 0 No reference = 3 3. Perception of US government institutions trustworthiness ___ 143 Trustworthy = 1 Untrustworthy = 0 No reference = 3 4. Perception of attitude toward US government institutions ___ Favorable = 1 Unfavorable = 0 No reference = 3 J. Outrage ________________________________________ 1. Insulting Language 2. Name Calling 3. Emotional Language 4. Verbal Fighting/Sparring 5. Character Assassination 6. Misrepresentative Exaggeration 7. Mockery 8. Conflagration 9. Ideologically Extremizing Language 10. Slippery Slope 11. Obscene Language 12. None 144 INTERVIEW PROTOCOL FOR RADIO AUDIENCE MEMBERS 1. Where you get news about what is happening in your local area? 2. Where you get news about what is happening around the world? 3. On a typical day, about how many hours do you personally listen to the radio? 4. What TYPES of radio programming do you listen to regularly? 5. Which radio stations do you typically listen to? 6. Which local radio personalities do you listen to regularly? 7. Why do you listen to these radio personalities? 8. What is your favorite thing about the show? 9. What is your least favorite thing? 10. Would you say these radio personalities are fair and balanced? 11. From your perception, what are the political views presented in the shows? 12. Who do you think are the others in the audience for these shows? 13. How often would you say you vote? 14. Did you vote in the June 11th, 2017 Status Referendum? If yes, what status did you vote for? 15. Did you vote in the 2016 Puerto Rico General Election? If yes, who did you vote for Governor of Puerto Rico? 16. In the past year, how many times did you participate in the following activities? a. 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