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Web Radio by Children?
An Explorative Study on an International
Children’s Radio Network
Doç. Dr. Serhat GÜNEY
Doç. Dr. Kerem RIZVANOĞLU
Ar. Gör. Özgürol ÖZTÜRK
Abstract
This research investigates the fundamental participation strategies
of an online children radio network (Radijojo) concerning organization
and production. It focuses on in what extend the interactive services
of the platform nurture participation. The research adopts two analysis
frameworks to examine the reciprocity between interactive tools of the
site and main participation strategies. Qualitative data is collected in two
major phases: Content analysis and semi-structured interviews. Results
revealed that despite the lack of detailed interactive and participative
tools, the model based on collective content developing process within a
significant editorial setting provided a potential for the inclusion of children
in the communication process.
keywords: internet radio, children’s media, participation, interactivity
galatasaray üniversitesi, iletişim fakültesi
sguney@gsu.edu.tr
krizvanoglu@gsu.edu.tr
ooztürk@gsu.edu.tr
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Radio web par des enfants?
Une étude exploratoire sur le réseau radiophonique International
pour enfants
Resumé
Cette recherche examine les stratégies fondamentales de la participation
d'un réseau de radio d'enfants en ligne (Radijojo) concernant l'organisation et
la production. Il se concentre sur quelle mesure les services interactifs de la
participation nourrit la plate-forme. La recherche adopte deux cadres d'analyses
pour examiner la réciprocité entre les outils interactifs du site et des stratégies
de participation principale. Des données qualitatives sont recueillies en deux
grandes phases : analyse du contenu et des entrevues semi-structurées. Les
résultats ont révélé que, malgré l'absence de détaillé interactifs et participatifs
des outils, le modèle basé sur contenu collective, l'élaboration de processus
dans un cadre éditorial important fourni un potentiel pour l'intégration des
enfants dans le processus de communication.
mots-clés : la radio d’Internet, média d’enfant, la participation, l’interactivité
Çocukların Web Radyosu?
Uluslararası Bir Çocuk Radyo Ağı’nın Anatomisi
Özet
Bu çalışma internet üzerinde faaliyet gösteren bir çocuk radyo ağının
(radijojo) uyguladığı temel katılım stratejilerini organizasyonel açıdan ve üretim
perspektfinden hareketle incelemektedir. Çalışmanın ana yönelimi, radyonun
kullandığı etkileşim hizmetlerinin katılım olgusunu ne ölçüde besleyebildiği
sorusuna yanıt aramaktır. Araştırma etkileşim araçlarıyla katılım stratejileri
arasındaki ilişkiselliği inceleyebilmek için iki analiz çerçevesi önermektedir.
Niteliksel veri iki düzlemde ele alınmaktadır: İçerik analizi ve derinlemesine
görüşme. Çalışmanın sonuçları göstermektedir ki; etkileşim ve katılım araçlarının
konumlandırılmasında ve uygulamasında belli başlı noksanlıklar olmakla birlikte,
belli bir editoryal çerçeve içerinde kolektif bir içerik geliştirme yöntemiyle işleyen
yapı, çocukları iletişim sürecine dahil etme noktasında önemli bir potansiyele
sahptir.
anahtar kelimeler: internet radyo, çocuk yayıncılığı, katılım, etkileşim
62
63
The Evolution of Children’s Broadcasting:
Restrictions, Problems, Potentials
As a matter of fact, today’s mass media usually tends to deny integrating
children into their programming either because they are not deemed to be part
of the society, or because broadcasters do not recognize that children could have
anything of value to say, or because it is predicted that adults would not want to
listen to children. Therefore children are mostly deprived of any opportunity to
tell their own stories and to express themselves through the use of media. Since
public service broadcasters traditionally give place more or less to children’s
programming according to the principles of universality of appeal and provision
for minorities (Tracey 1998: 26-27) and the commercial media industry based on
‘free flow of information doctrine’ could not answer the need for a democratic
media sphere, many efforts emerged in years to be able to get the excluded
sectors of the society involve in communication cycle such as children. Among
several attempts concerning children’s right of expression, UNESCO’s efforts
can be considered as prominent. Arising out of the ‘dependency critique’
that is taken up by the third world nations against the traditional broadcasting
paradigms, UNESCO uphold the ‘New World Information and Communication
Order’ in the early 1980’s despite the risk of facing opposition of corporate
media lobbies (Preston, Herman & Schiller 1989). In spite of turning back to the
‘free flow doctrine’ by the late 1980s, UNESCO continued its efforts to involve
young people in the media as active participants till today and supported youth
and child media projects especially in the developing countries (Asthana 2006;
Cecilia & Carlsson 2002, Guttman 2003). Following the UNESCO’s efforts, a
large number of social movements, NGO’s and initiatives burst into sight who
worked on issues of social justice and communication by the mid 1990s (Siochru
2005). Around the ‘media by, for and of the people’ slogan proposed by Kidd
(1998), the actors of the ‘democratization of communication’ movement tried to
improve ‘our media’ projects including children’s by challenging the neoliberal/
neoconservative paradigm represented by governmental and commercial
mainstream media (Hadl 2007: 4). The reflection of this movement on children’s
media was recognition of this voiceless minority as an audience group who
finally has been ‘given a voice’ to speak on their own behalf (Davies et al., 1998
Buckingam et al., 1994). Among these initiatives, those of AMARC’s (currently
the biggest organization of grassroots radio practitioners) and World Radio
Forum’s can be seen as distinguishable concerning the child radio programming
and the issues deriving from children’s media use. For example the declaration
of ‘Radio Manifesto’ in 2004 by WRF represents the ongoing endeavors for a
new children’s media policy in terms of interpretations of children’s media rights
(The Radio Manifesto, 2004, retrieved in May 2010, www.worldradioforum.org).
Other than these institutional attempts there are several projects of children’s
media all over the world which aims to give voice to children although they have
to face many difficulties deriving from the controversial nature of children’s
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programming in terms of defining the relationship between children and adults
(Jenks 1996; Bardy, Sgirtta and Wintersberger 1994).
Despite the fact that a couple of strategies have been exercised by
different media sectors to fulfill the need for a satisfactory programming for
children in years, participative, amateur, non-hierarchical and accessible projects
aiming to nurture reciprocal communication between children still have many
limitations caused either by the continuing domination of traditional broadcasting
paradigms on media sector or by the restrictions deriving from the nature of
media itself. Historical positioning of traditional large-scale media and its
evolution is one of the main constraints that confine children’s programming
to a narrow space. Because traditional large-scale media tend to categorize
their audience as ‘taxonomic collectives’ (Ang 1991), they usually have seen
children’s programming a function of their global objectives. During the dualist
orientation of the media as public and commercial broadcasting, children were
not much than passive ‘citizens’ or ‘clients’. But with the augmentation and
diversification of media marketplace after 80’s they acquired a more detailed
identification as an audience group. In this period new corporate media and
public broadcasters begin to launch specific channels and stations addressing
children according to the audience segmentation strategy of the new media
market in which the children’s media can be considered as one of the fastest
growing and most profitable sectors (Lustyik 2010). However, this quantitative
situation doesn’t imply a dramatic change in professionalism or hierarchy in
children’s programming, and also in presentation of children as stereotypes.
‘What is good for children’ elitism of public broadcasters and ‘what is profitable’
pragmatism of corporate media seem to be consistent despite the changing
nature of children’s identification in media. On the other hand, especially the
“development communication” wing of community radio movement has similar
handicaps as such in traditional public broadcast services settled in developing
countries. The oldest, the diffusionist or modernization approach of DevCom
paradigm that considers radio as an important instrument for modernizing
‘backward’ societies (Beltran 1998) evolved into a more participatory paradigm
leaded by UNESCO and FAO in 1980s (Servaes 2003: 15), and then into the
‘social change’ phenomenon by the end of the cold war (Servaes & Malikhao
2005: 95). However, not only the oldest diffusionist paradigm, which sees
communication as a top-down process but also the newer paradigms still seem
to fail to ‘account for differences of class, ethnicity, patterns of organization,
age or gender’ among members of the community, often leading to ‘unequal
distribution of benefits, violation of traditional practices, and creation of conflict’
(Riano 1994: 10). Eventually, among different initiatives conducted by community
radios, public broadcasting services, child and youth media organizations and
national and international children’s rights NGO’s and their facilitators, none of
the children radio projects are totally carried out ‘by’ children. The outcome of
these projects usually takes place in the schedules of public or community based
radios but not occupy a big place as well as that they have deserved. Among
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these initiatives a new medium is becoming increasingly popular in the meaning
of elimination of participation problems deriving from the nature of conventional
mediums that have certain limitations of interaction. The Internet and the World
Wide Web seem to provide an important opportunity to be able to overcome the
children’s active participation to the communication process. Nevertheless, as
a new medium Internet brings about new tensions between traditional media
industries aiming to colonize web and autonomous actors who want to make
use of potentials of Internet to create a public sphere for voiceless sectors of
the traditional communication cycle. Eventually, Internet radio is located within
this tension.
The Emergence of Radio on the Internet: An Existential Problem
A medium is not a basic transmitter or a communication tool delivering
only signals or symbols, that is to say every medium has its own specificities
that differentiate itself from others. The question is that how can we differ a
medium from another or, as in our case how we can make the decision that a
new medium has arrived and can identify its characteristics that make it different
from the old one. According to Black (2001: 399), the specification or identification
of a medium comes about through the interplay of several factors and forces
including manufacture, promotion, content, patterns of usage, and language. In
the case of Internet or Web Radio, these factors represent a tension between
the endeavors of corporate culture trying to turn the Internet into an advertising
medium and the search for a democratic medium in which the voiceless sectors
of the media environment can take place. This second side of this tension is
strongly related with the identification of Web Radio as a new, cutting-edge,
progressive and participative medium.
Today, the existence of radio in Internet is usually described around two
main categories: the first is terrestrial radio stations streaming online using a
land-based transmitter and webcasting via the Internet at the same time, and
the second is Internet-based radio stations (Web stations) using streaming
technologies to webcast programs that users can listen to only through Internet
(Ren & Chan-Olmsted 2004: 5). Apart from these there are a couple of audio
services that are popular among today’s Internet users, which present radio
content such as juke box, podcasting, music file sharing and social networking
sites. But in the Internet radio literature there seems to be a relative consensus
on separating web radio from these services. In this, the term ‘broadcasting’
is likely to be a key factor, which determines any audio service as ‘radio’. For
example, podcasting, although it contains recorded speech from hosts, news
journalists and experts of many kinds, is seen as a distinctive category which
is different from Web Radio because it communicates in the form of pre-
recorded program packets (Berry 2006). Music file-sharing is another way of
using Internet to fulfill personal needs by means of music listening with music
software, and like podcasting it cannot communicate in real time (Jones 2002).
66
Rather, Web Radio is defined as any entity that is delivering radio content as an
audio stream via Internet. These audio streams may be delivered live or archived
to be accessed, but in both cases these should be created as programming for
broadcast (Smith 2002). This means that, despite new options and possibilities
existing in the nature of Internet, Web Radio is generally intended to be seen as
a version of old medium and this makes it Internet’s equivalent to analog radio
(Nyre & Ala-Fossi 2008: 50).
Especially in the first years of its evolution most of the researches on
Internet focused on the broadcast media’s Internet strategies depending upon
the increasing interest of the media industry on this new medium. Like other
converging media, studies on Internet radio usually tend to expose what this
convergence means for the existing radio industry and how it can change the
consumer needs and preferences rather than revealing its potentials for a
participatory use of medium. Especially in the succeeding years of the emergence
of first Internet radios, researchers were mostly interested in motivations behind
consumer’s use of Internet radio (Lind & Medoff 1999; Murphy 1999; Potter
2002), and how the audiences use radio station web sites (McClung 2001). The
issue of interactivity also came into prominence in many researches, but the
focus was usually on the role of interactivity as a technical strategy that has a
powerful potential to attract consumers (Coyle & Thorson 2001; Tremayne &
Dunwoody 2001). However, there seem to be a constant difference between
streaming online stations and web online stations concerning interactivity
approaches they had undertaken. The online presence of terrestrial stations
means an additional avenue for branding, direct communication to consumers,
and potential advertising/retailing opportunities (Lin & Jeffers 2001). They
usually see their online presence as a presentation of their products in a different
marketplace, while the Internet-based stations are more motivated to provide
innovative, interactive web contents to encourage audience loyalty (Ren,
Sylvia & Olmsted 2004: 22). Nevertheless, even though different strategies
of interactivity have been progressed for different types of Internet radios, the
traditional phenomenon of attracting the audience still seems to be a key factor in
both cases. Although the potentials of Internet as a customizable and personable
medium are increasingly emphasized in recent web radio projects, it is still
left in the dark that there is an improvement in the opportunities for audience
participation. This situation shows that in order to overcome the handicaps of
traditional broadcasting concerning the audience participation, web radio needs
to use versatile reception features and interactive services in a different manner
than those who prefer to define this new medium an attractive opportunity for
the radio industry. Besides, web radio initiatives need to draw away from the old
broadcasting paradigm in order to be able to present an alternative platform for
the excluded segments of the media environment such as children.
67
Methodology
This research, investigates in general the main participation strategies of
Radijojo, which is an online children radio network, in terms of organization and
production. It also specifically focuses on in what extend the interactive services
launched by the websites under this platform nurture participation. The research
question of the study can be defined as follows:
RQ: Is there a meaningful interrelation between interactivity and
participation in case of a non-commercial child radio claiming to be a meeting
point for children from all over the world with the purpose of giving them a free
place for expressing themselves?
In this sense the research benefits from two analysis frameworks in
order to examine the reciprocity between interactive tools provided by the
site and the main participation strategies which dominate the organization and
production: The first is the investigation of existing interactive tools in terms
of both “audience-oriented interactivity” and “source-oriented interactivity” (Ha
and James 1998) and the second is the evaluation of participation strategies in
terms of “direct publishing by the citizen”, “participation in an editorial setting”,
and “private user experience” (Nyre & Fossi 2008).
Audience-oriented interaction can be defined around the terms ‘playfulness’
and ‘connectedness’ and includes the elements that attract the curiosity of the
user such as games, choice of color, speed, language and information answering
personal interests. On the other side, in source-oriented interactivity, the focus
is usually on ‘information collection’ and ‘reciprocal communication’. Monitoring
mechanisms such as registration at websites and response mechanisms such
as e-mails, purchasing, surveys and chat rooms identify the main tools of this
kind of interaction.
Regarding participation, ‘direct publishing’ is associated with the production
of audio materials by the users themselves without an editorial process. In this
kind of participation, every user or group has a free place in which they can present
or publish their own speech or programs immunized for control. ‘Participation in
an editorial setting’ rather represents a control mechanism, which canalizes the
audience participation in terms of the radio’s objectives and production policies,
and private user experience refers to individual control mechanisms, which allow
the user to customize the site according to the personal needs and expectations.
Our analysis is based on mapping these two frameworks and aims to
investigate which interactive tools nurture which category of participation style
and in what extend it effects or determines the implementation of this strategy
in the case of Radijojo. Radijojo is chosen as the case for this research since –for
now– it is still one of the most important global platforms which host an online
68
child radio network accessing to 110 different countries. Besides Radijojo, the
websites that are located under Radijojo and specifically focus on international
radio programme exchange between children are also included in the study.
This qualitative research is derived from data collected in two major
phases. The first phase includes the content analysis of the web sites under
Radijojo platform in terms of existing interactive services. This phase also
includes the categorization of participative applications that have taken place as
long as the radio is on air. The second phase of the data collection procedure
is based on a fieldwork including semi-structured interviews with the founder,
managers and the employees of Radijojo in Berlin. This fieldwork provides
supplementary findings about the general participation policy of the radio and
its implementation.
Results and Discussion
Radijojo, which constitutes the case for our research, is an international
non-for-profit NGO (non-governmental organization) producing educative and
entertaining radio and online content for kids and with kids on all five continents
(Figure 1). By providing content that is free of advertising, Radijojo defines
itself as “the first international children’s radio, a network that’s constantly
growing around the globe”. Principles of Radijojo, which are also referred in
other websites located under Radijojo platform, are defined extensively in their
website (Radijojo website 2010, www.radijojo.de/):
“RADIJOJO! offers children from 3 to 13 and all parents an exciting, jolly and
educationally sensible program that is free of violence or offensive content.
RADIJOJO! is independent, advertising-free, non-commercial. RADIJOJO!
is bound to no religion, denomination or political party and it is committed
solely to the welfare of children. RADIJOJO! broadcasts everything children
are and should be interested in: Music, captivating radio plays, colourful
magazines, interactive shows, information easy to understand and explanatory
conversations … The variety of topics is without limits: Only to mention a few of
the areas: history, politics, economy, science, health, sport; musical education,
foreign languages, as well as skills in the mother tongue. RADIJOJO! is a
platform for all organisations, persons and social groups, who serve the welfare
of children. Whether prevention of violence and addiction or education for
example in health education, media competence or in social and communicative
abilities: our nuclear task is the appropriate approach of target groups for
these essential contents. RADIJOJO! is a vehicle for musicians, authors and
journalists, who would like reach the children of the world with educational
and sensible contents. RADIJOJO! is a unique forum for children. RADIJOJO!
motivates children to discover their talents and to present work of their own.
RADIJOJO! is supported and consulted by experts in educational theory,
media psychology, radiomanagement, technology, non-profit management and
fundraising. RADIJOJO! values the independent controlling of the work and
performance. An advisory board made up of socially approved representatives
watches over the guidelines of RADIJOJO!’s program and the protection of
69
children and young people. RADIJOJO! is financed by donations, endowments,
public subsidies, memberships, sponsoring, licences and merchandising of
RADIJOJO! products.”
Figure 1: Homepage of Radijojo (Radijojo website, 2010, www.radijojo. de/)
Radijojo provides access to eight different websites which contribute to the
exchange of radio programmes made by children for children: “World Children’s
Radio”, “Euchira”, “Across the Ocean”, “Global Radio Kids”, “Spielofezien”,
“FEZitty”, “Radio Panke” and “We discover the World”.
“World Children’s Radio”, “Euchira”, “Across the Ocean”, “Global
Radio Kids” and “We discover the World” are websites that are specifically
designed and moderated by Radijojo initiative to enable intercultural exchange
of children radio programmes from different parts of the world. Radijojo works
with local initiatives from 110 different countries in order to provide content
for these websites. The rest of the websites are products of local projects
realized in Berlin. “Radio Panke” is a website dedicated to a local project realized
between September 2008 and December 2009 in Pank Street in Berlin Wedding
disctrict. In collaboration with local schools in the district and local NGOs, 15
radio courses are given to the children. The radio programmes made by children
are broadcasted on the site. “Spielofezien” and “FEZitty” are projects in which
70
Radijojo took part as a contributor. “FEZitty” is named as ‘the capital city of
children’ in which various workshops are organized for children in order to
provide them the opportunity to experience different jobs. Radiojojo directed
the radio workshop in this facility for six weeks in the summer of 2008 and
2010. “Spielofezien” is also a special event for children in which Radijojo also
organized a radio workshop in summer 2009. Both websites provided access to
the radio programmes produced as results of these workshops.
By excluding the websites of local projects, our study included analysis on
Radijojo and “World Children’s Radio”, “Euchira”, “Across the Ocean”, “Global
Radio Kids” websites which represented the global efforts to create an online
international children radio network. “We discover the World” website was also
excluded in the study as it was not online at the period of data collection.
“Euchira” is “European Children’s Radio” and part of “World Children’s
Radio” Network which enables programme exchange between the countries
in five different continents. “Global Radio Kids”, which is realized with the
cooperation with Hanisauland1, adopts the same mission but presents a limited
content. “Across the Ocean” is also a website which is realized through the
Transatlantic programme of the Federal Republic of Germany with funds from
the European Recovery Programme (ERP) of the Federal Office for Economy
and Technology (BMWi). It is a new radio station created especially for the kids
in Europe, Canada, and the US (Across the Ocean website, 2010, www.across-
the-ocean.org/): “This is a special network for kids made by kids where kids on
both continents can have the chance to get to know each other better and have
their very own station so that they can express their own views, concerns and
themes. That is why it is called ‘across the ocean’, because it serves as a bridge
for young audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The discussion in the following section will be mainly held by referring to
the two frameworks provided in the previous section. The findings are derived
from content analysis on features that support interaction and participation in
the chosen five websites. Semi-structured interviews provided complementary
findings for a thorough discussion.
Audience-oriented Interaction vs. Source-oriented Interaction
The analysis of the interactive tools in Radijojo platform’s websites due to
the framework explained in the previous section, are shown in Table 1 below.
1 Hanisauland is a children’s Internet site with a political theme. It is made by the Federal Centre
for Political Education in Bonn, Germany. The name “Hipharpigland” refers to the land of hippos,
hares and pigs. These animals, together with others in our comic, have lots of funny and exciting
adventures. The Hipharpiglanders, you see, are all trying to run a democracy together. http://
www.hanisauland.de/.
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AUDIENCE-ORIENTED INTERACTIVITY
Playfulness
Curiosity arousal
devices
Illustrative Interface √√ √ √ √
Music (jingle) √ √
Games Animative Banners/
Icons √ √ √ √
Customizable Layout
√
Choice of color
Connectedness
Speed
Podcast for different
bandwiths √ √ √
Live stream through
embedded audio player
for different bandwidths
√ √ √ √
Language Content available in at
least two languages √ √ √ √ √
Information about
content of interest
Categories √ √ √
“On air” √
“Best of” √
News √ √ √ √
“About us” /
Impressum √ √ √ √ √
Projects √
Partners √ √ √ √ √
Search engine √ √ √ √ √
SOURCE-ORIENTED INTERACTIVITY
Information
Collection
Registration at
websites
Log in panels
Reciprocal Communication
E-mails E-mail information √ √ √ √ √
Purchasing
E-commerce
Donation √ √ √
Surveys Polls
Synchronous
communication Chat
Asynchronous
communication
Discussion forum
Contact √ √ √ √ √
Feedback √ √ √
Newsletter √ √ √
Social Media √ √ √
“Get involved” √
Table 1: The analysis of the interactive tools in Radijojo platform’s websites
When the existing interactive tools in the websites were analyzed in terms
of both “audience-oriented interactivity” and “source-oriented interactivity”,
it was found out that Radijojo platform mostly supported “audience-oriented
interaction”.
Being aware that the target audience is children, “playfulness” is highly
prioritized and provided by the use of diverse interface features. Curiosity arousal
devices like flash-based illustrative graphical user interfaces and creative jingles
are used in all of the websites. Though games are not directly provided in any of
the websites, gaming experience is enabled to a certain extent through animated
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banners and icons. As a contribution to the gaming experience, “Global Radio
Kids” website also provides limited customization, as the location of the menus
can be directly manipulated by the users.
“Connectedness” is also valued by the Radijojo platform since all of the
websites support access to content by various features. Considering a global
audience from different cultures of the world, content is provided in at least two
different languages. The moderators of the platform are aware of differentiating
bandwidths in various regions of the world and prioritize providing rapid access
to content for all users. Considering the low-bandwidth in especially developing
countries, live stream and podcast options are provided for both high and low
bandwidths of Internet connection. Although Radijojo tries to adopt a sensitive
approach in providing accessibility to children, more efforts concerning universal
usability should be spent to support user experience. Providing the opportunity
of ‘customization’ and ‘font size manipulation’ may enrich the user experience.
The content analysis reveals the efforts of the moderators for presenting
information that answers diverse needs of the audience. Radio content is
presented through various categories and search engines. The platform also
shows significant efforts to create awareness on the Radijojo network’s mission
and vision through links like ‘about us’, ‘partners’, ‘projects’, etc. Though it seems
important to emphasize the great need for a children radio network, on the other
hand, this preference towards provoking awareness seems to dominate the
content and navigation menu as well. At the perception level, this may result in
confusion caused by a paradox between the information architecture and layout
design which address different target audiences distinctively: A playful layout
addressing the kids, but rather an informative content addressing the parents.
The emphasis on informative content can also be traced by the lack of
interactive tools that enable reciprocal communication. Though Radijojo defines
itself as an online platform, they mostly provide one-way interaction since
“source-oriented interaction” is only limited with conventional asynchronous
response mechanisms like ‘contact form’, ‘newsletter’, etc. Only in “Across the
Ocean” website, the call for interaction and participation is evident by the ‘get
involved’ link. In other websites, the user has to search in order to contact with
the moderators of the website. Feedback is limited with letters and pictures
sent from the users. Social media use is limited with “Twitter” and only available
in three of the websites.
Adoption of limited “source-oriented interactivity” also brings the limitation
of proactive participation, which is discussed in the following section. Briefly,
although Radijojo heads for becoming a global children radio platform, it does
not seem to benefit the full potential of www for interaction and participation.
However, interviews realized with the founder and moderators of Radijojo
revealed that online participation is not limited intentionally. Establishment and
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moderation of online synchronous communication and monitoring mechanisms
in the websites required the employment of experts in Radijojo. Besides, online
platforms can easily bring the risk of the exploitation of the children. These factors
seem to push the platform towards the adoption of a unique structure, which
idealizes the participation of the users in the production procedure conducted by
the editors themselves and other moderators such as teachers.
Participation in an Editorial Setting
When the participation strategy of Radijojo platform’s websites were
analyzed with regards to the interactive tools, which are mostly audience-
oriented, it was found out that the platform mostly adopted the strategy of
“participation in an editorial setting”. As an exception, as a part of ‘private media
consumption’, access to background information about the website and the
producer of the programs were presented in all of the websites. The analysis of
participation in Radijojo platform’s websites is shown in Table 2.
All the websites presented the tools and links to get in touch with the
moderators of the websites. Although uploading content directly by the user
is not enabled by any of the websites, the moderators and supervisors play
important roles in carrying the produced content to web. This production
procedure is structured with definite steps designed by the Radijojo initiative.
In this procedure the children are the major producers, but the actors in the
participation procedure are mostly teachers and educators since they act as the
bridge between the content and the web: “The participation is mostly dedicated
to educators, teachers”.
This reveals the participation strategy of Radijojo initiative, which the
founder and chief editor of Radiojojo, Thomas Rohlinger defines as a certain
editorial frame: “Participation in my context does not mean anybody does
anything they want at any time. That way you get nowhere. We sat a frame here
and try to make it exciting for the kids. And the rest was up to them...”.
In this defined editorial setting, the production is carried out by national
and international workshops realized with elementary schools through the
moderation of the Radijojo crew. In all the workshops, the moderators work with
the teachers. Depending on the demand of the schools or the projects engaged
within, two major strategies are employed in realizing the workshops.
As the first strategy, two schools are chosen and the teachers are
contacted. If the workshop is funded by a project, the moderators visit both
schools and carry out workshops on radio production with kids. If not, the teachers
are informed and they conduct the workshops by themselves. These workshops
provide skills of radio programming to kids. The moderators and the teachers
choose a theme such as ‘hunger’, ‘education’, etc. After having prepared for
74
discussion on the chosen subject, the children in both schools discuss with each
other on the theme through Skype under the supervision of their teachers and
the whole conversion is recorded. This innovative phase, which is based on the
exchange of ideas between children living geographically apart, appears to be
the most interactive and participative part of the collective production. Radijojo
initiative also values this phase: “What we do is Skype sessions with kids where
they interact directly”. The recording is edited editorially by the Radijojo stuff
and broadcasted on web. Radijojo platform is quite experienced with this model,
since they realized many projects between schools in Germany and schools in
Britain, France and Turkey as well.
The second strategy includes the realization of workshops not between
pairs of schools but rather with each school separately. The same procedure is
conducted under the supervision of the teachers. However, after the workshop,
the students go to the field to make interviews about the chosen theme. The
recorded material is transferred to Radijojo platform by the teachers and is again
edited and broadcasted by the Radijojo stuff. In this model, the teachers play a
more important role, since after the workshop, they are the only supervisors of
the whole production procedure from the beginning to the end.
Both strategies point out to a participation approach shaped within a
significant editorial setting defined by the Radijojo initiative. This approach
prioritizes the participation of the kids in the collective radio production phase
rather than the direct participation through web.
Radijojo Euchira
World
Children’s
Radio
Across the
Ocean
Global Radio
Kids
Direct
Publishing
Producing and publishing own
speech and audiovisual material
Speaking with the editors
√
√
√
√
√
Speaking or sending on air, or on a
recording made by producer
√
√
√
√
√
Participation in an
editorial setting
Writing messages
√
√
√
√
√
Creating personalized playlists
Accessing background information
√
√
√
√
√
Time-shifting the programs
Changing stations (tune in or out)
Participation
Private Media Consumption
Switching the equipment
Table 2: The analysis of participation in Radijojo platform’s websites
75
Although the analysis indicate that there is only limited participation in
terms of ‘participation in an editorial setting’, the interviews with the board of
Radijojo revealed that participation issues in these web sites were not excluded
strictly on purpose. Röhlinger emphasized the lack of human resources and
finance for developing participation:
“At the beginning we had a forum but there were strange people there
in the middle of the night and we closed it. Being global like that requires being
open all the time... It means five educated people who can speak at least two
or three languages."
He also indicated that participation via interactive tools is something they
want to implement in the sites but with caution because there could be some
legal and ethical difficulties.
“The files will be processed editorially. This is the difference from
YouTube. People say it should be open but I say no. Because it is a children thing
and it will be open then also to child abusers. So we can’t do that.”
Even though they are close to the idea of building a controlled web
environment in which the users can upload and download files easily, the
platform does not feel ready to realize this phase.
Another reason for that preference appears to be the competition with the
other interactive entertainment media.
“Children sitting at home are looking for entertainment. So you should be
more entertaining and you cannot be looking cheap. Of course we would like to
do that but if I had ten editors.”
As a result it can be stated that –for now– Radijojo network does not
present the direct participation tools for the audience to interact directly, but
enables participation in the production phase. However, the statements of the
editors show that they wish to present direct participation tools in the coming
future if they can overcome the financial issues.
Conclusion
As we have pointed out before, among different initiatives conducted
by community radios, public broadcasting services, child and youth media
organizations and national and international children’s rights NGO’s and their
facilitators, none of the children radio projects are totally carried out ‘by’ children
in today’s media environment. However, the Internet and the World Wide Web
seem to provide an important opportunity to be able to overcome the children’s
active participation to the communication process. Among a couple of others,
76
one of these Internet based endeavors seems to be prominent in terms of
presenting opportunities for children to participate to the communication cycle.
Radijojo, as an international radio network addressing children deserves to be a
research case concerning interactivity and participation strategies which are the
most important issues of an ongoing discussion around the emancipatory use
of Internet.
When the existing interactive tools in the websites of Radijojo platform were
analyzed, it was found out that Radijojo platform mostly supported “audience-
oriented interaction”. While the target audience is children, “playfulness” is
highly prioritized and provided by the use of diverse interface features.
Considering a global audience from different cultures of the world,
content is provided in at least two different languages. The moderators of the
platform are aware of differentiating bandwidths in various regions of the world
and prioritize providing rapid access to content for all users.
However, insistent emphasis on providing information about the
background of the platform causes confusion at the perception of the website.
The information architecture and layout design address different target audiences
distinctively: A playful layout addressing the kids, but rather an informative
content addressing the parents.
Though Radijojo defines itself as an online platform, it does not seem
to benefit the full potential of www for interaction and participation. However,
interviews realized with the founder and moderators of Radijojo revealed that
online participation is not limited intentionally. At this point both legal and financial
issues seem to push the platform towards the adoption of a unique structure,
which idealizes the participation of the users in the production procedure.
In this defined editorial setting, the production is carried out by national
and international workshops realized with elementary schools through the
moderation of the Radijojo crew. In all the workshops, the moderators work
with the teachers who supervise the students in the production procedure.
This strategy points out to a participation approach shaped within a significant
editorial setting defined by the Radijojo initiative. This approach prioritizes the
participation of the kids in the collective radio production phase rather than the
direct participation through web.
Despite the lack of interactive and participative tools the content developing
process and content itself makes the Radijojo platform a unique environment for
children. Considering the previous projects and progress of the network, this
platform seems to be close to adopting a more interactive structure with definite
participation opportunities.
77
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