Blog Post 2: Reflection on the visit to Radio LORA Munich

By: Ignacia Palma

Before visiting Radio LORA, the truth is I had no idea how a community radio worked. When I heard we were going to meet a community radio station I imagined something really different from what we actually got to know. In chile I have also never visited a radio station, but from what I have heard it is a bit different that from here. Most of the radios in chile have the purpose of informing people, entertain or music reproduction and reaching the most amount of people, and that is the idea of a radio that I had in my mind. Nonetheless, after the visit to radio LORA, I realized that radios have totally different purposes than the ones I had imagined. And that is the thing that most impressed me.

We arrived at the radio at 11 am, and professor Victoria introduced us to a lecturer who worked on the radio and she told us about the whole history of the radio and the purpose of it. During the presentation they explained that Radio LORA is an independent radio and it has no profit making purposes. It does not depend on big enterprises and it is goal is not to make money, their objective is to offer a space so that different people can express their opinions and speak about different subjects. I thought it was interesting that the radio does not try and compete with big chains of radio, but to complement information from a near perspective to the community.

Another thing that surprised me was to know that most of the work in the radio is made by people who work as volunteers. I never thought that Ann organization could work as well as this one because of the commitment of different people just because they believe in a project. I think that proves that there are still places where the main interest is not making money, but making a positive impact In the society and giving a voice to people who normally don’t have it.

While we were in the radio, we got the chance to see the installations and the different rooms where they record the different programs of the radio, and it rally got my attention that I thought the place was going to be bigger, and it wasn’t. It wasn’t a luxury place or too big, but the sensation it transmitted for me it is that this place was a space where people worked togheter and the ideas are more important that appereances.

One of the aspects that I thought were the most interesting was the diversity of themes other radio speaks about, they don’t only speak about politics, or actual themes, but also about culture, the environment, immigration, social rights and local activities. Also they have a really different proposal as for music than commercial radios. They explained us that they rather have independent music from. Local artists and styles that normally don’t have this kind of spaces. Personally I think this idea is amazing because it allows people to discover different type of music and if not for this radio they would have probabily never known.

If there was a comparison from Radio LORA to other media communications, I think the biggest different is their mission. Tarditional enterprises or media communication need to attract big audiences so that they can get publicity and keep on working, instead Lora seems to be more concerned with representing different social groups and because they offer a participation space. This gives me the impression that the success does not get messured for the amount of people who hear the radio, but for the contribution the radio can make in the community.

This visit also made me think about the role that the media have in the democratic society. Sometimes we take in for a fact that all of the important information comes from the big national media, but as I got to hear the story from LORA Arcadio station, I understood that there are small media that have a very similar function.

Thanks to them, people, associations and communities can share their experiences and speak about themes that perhaps would never appear in a national TV net or a commercial radio.

I think in Chile there is also community radios, but I don’t think they have much visibility. Generally they are oriented to specific communities or rural zones and they work with rally few resources. Even so they have an important role because they informe people of local themes and they allow the community to participate more directly. After getting to know LORA, I think this type of media communication should have more recognizition, because they help to make the community stronger and the participating of everyone easier, also it represents different realities that other wise could be left out from the traditional media.

In general, I enjoyed this field trip so much, because it was a really different experience. In chile in my home university I had never had a field trip, classes in chile are optional so normally I don’t interact much with my pairs in class, and with this field trip I met a new friend (the girl who sat next to me, while the lecturer speaker) and for that I am really grateful. It was an amazing experience, I learned a lot, not only about how a radio works, but also I changed my point of view from the media communication and the role they have and how that can affect a community and make people seen and heard. With this visit I take with me is that the idea of communicating is not always trying to each the most leaseners or viwers. Sometimes creating a space where different people can express them selves, share experiences and feeling represented is more important. I think that is one of the most important things of radio LORA and the reason as why the visit was so Intersting for me. Also I will be forever impressed that it is a non profit radio, and that the people who work there is because they truly believe in the project, and for me that is incredibly amazing. I hope I can have more experiences like this and learn as much as I learned in Lora radio.

Thanks to them, people, associations and communities can share their experiences and speak about themes that perhaps would never appear in a national TV net or a commercial radio.

I think in Chile there is also community radios, but I don’t think they have much visibility. Generally they are oriented to specific communities or rural zones and they work with rally few resources. Even so they have an important role because they inform people of local themes and they allow the community to participate more directly. After getting to know LORA, I think this type of media communication should have more recognizition, because they help to make the community stronger and the participating of everyone easier, also it represents different realities that other wise could be left out from the traditional media.

In general, I enjoyed this field trip so much, because it was a really different experience. In chile in my home university I had never had a field trip, classes in chile are optional so normally I don’t interact much with my pairs in class, and with this field trip I met a new friend (the girl who sat next to me, while the lecturer speaker) and for that I am really grateful. It was an amazing experience, I learned a lot, not only about how a radio works, but also I changed my point of view from the media communication and the role they have and how that can affect a community and make people seen and heard. With this visit I take with me is that the idea of communicating is not always trying to each the most leaseners or viwers. Sometimes creating a space where different people can express them selves, share experiences and feeling represented is more important. I think that is one of the most important things of radio LORA and the reason as why the visit was so Intersting for me. Also I will be forever impressed that it is a non profit radio, and that the people who work there is because they truly believe in the project, and for me that is incredibly amazing. I hope I can have more experiences like this and learn as much as I learned in Lora radio.