In the Radio worker the seat , where the most modern part of the city of Quito is sighted , he is constantly producing programs of various kinds , which are used for different stations on the continent. There, after taking a long production process, where polished to the last detail and every musical transition effect, we discussed the role of public radio, mainly in Ecuador, a country where the public media emerged five years ago:
After 5 years, how do you consider today the Public Radio of Ecuador, considered to comply with the role for which it was designed?
The first thing to say is that in Ecuador there were no public radios, and there was not even the conception of what a public media. That was a non-existent concept. Here what he had was a national radio classical music that was happening was not the slightest impact evens the smallest audience,. So the mere fact of positioning public media and the concept of what is a public medium and it should be supported by raising the 2008 constitution in Article 16 and 17. That in itself is a novelty worthy of all cards. Surely not exist, certainly up to the novelty of the term is confusing and there is the problem the public and the government, not even the public and the state. No, here the public is equivalent to government, making a fatal itinerary that confusion.
Confused by whom, by the government, the state, the public?
People can not confuse because imagine not knowing is a public medium to advertise the government. Journalists , politicians, etc. from the beginning always protested that the public media must be pluralistic for the simple reason that those who pay , wages, facilities, equipment , plural citizenship is through taxes , so have to be as plural as citizens that pay.
When we speak of plural we refer naturally to make room for all opinions, including opinions that are not favorable to the government. Give space to all religions, all world views. Public media should definitely be plural even through formats such as debates, round tables, etc. that facilitate this pluralism. In practice it is not. It is essential in a democracy that there are public media. 95 In this country, 96 percent of all radio and television frequencies were from the private sector. Public sector did not exist, and the community sector was quite tiny and ridiculous.
News that are not plural but hide better.
Given the political context in which arises Public Radio, many issues addressed in this station are legitimate function of government policy. Is this valid public radio, when you consider that government was approved by a majority?
I think so in the sense that public radio has a right and duty to have an editorial line, take a stand against the events that are taking place in international politics, national politics, before the project mainly adopted, ie , if 57 percent of the Ecuadorian population said yes to the project of the Citizen Revolution rightfully public radio has a space for its editorial position.
The problem is when there is a space, but all spaces. You must have other spaces in your schedule where different tendencies to surface, even those that are contrary to the editorial line. A position like that for me had to be in a public means that the media must have an editorial line but must have a plural programming.
You think that if you want to position the public media in the hearts of his hearers, they must become democratic agora, in citizen comptrollers and defenders.
Does having this in mind we have been talking about how politics always somehow influences in shaping the agenda of these media, I ask that assertion cannot be utopian?
Not at all. I believe that it is essential to position public media. Democratic agora media that issues are debated, not just those who are on the agenda but those who are not. Agora would install democratic debate, respectful exchange of ideas as a daily practice. That does not exist here and there should be a public media.
A public media should be the natural place where a citizen call not only to claim a daily baths, but issues which can handle issues that no ball stop civil servants, that is, a whole journalism intermediation where a citizen can call and report an abuse in a public hospital, which I do with who denounced, and the power of the media is the great person to find a solution to these citizen complaints.
And the public would control, the authorities should be accountable for what they do, how to manage their budgets, and what better place than a public medium to account and asked to account. Must be space for an authority to come and stop questioning him accountable and asked to account for what you are doing.
For me, these three functions are urgent, essential, unfulfilled. I think it’s necessary to walk in that direction because they are triple three basic foundations for a true public radio.
Translated by: Daysi Olano
