Innovating in public media services through listening and participation

Interview

Abstract

Dr. Isabel Reis is a leading figure in the study and practice of radio journalism and audio media in Portugal. In this interview — given to researchers Elton Bruno Pinheiro and Luís António Santos — the radio lecturer at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto and RTP Listener Ombudsman reflects on the contemporary challenges of Portuguese public broadcasting, highlighting the issue of innovation as a kind of laboratory in public media, as well as the relationship between technology and citizenship, and the need for greater appreciation of audio and public radio in the digital context. By conceiving radio as a space for listening and participation, Reis proposes an integrated vision of Public Service that transcends the mere dissemination of content, configuring itself as a collective, democratic and inclusive project. Between academia and journalism, between the practice of public listening and the culture of hearing, her perspective reaffirms the necessary relationship between Public Media Service and symbolic innovation by directly engaging with the principle that guides her mandate as Ombudsman: “"A radio with ears: radio must know how to listen to listeners — it does not exist for listeners — it is made with listeners."