Women and morning radio: contrition but insistence

Yesterday I made a list of the main morning radio programs, both in Catalonia and Spain, and both from generalist and music stations, to denounce that next season –barring any surprises– all magazines will be led by men. But it is true that I did not indicate any audience cutoff, so some readers who have sent me three names are right: Gemma Nierga on Ràdio 4, Mercè Raga on Ràdio Estel, and Marina Fernàndez on SER Catalunya. In all three cases, we are talking about a following that is one or two orders of magnitude lower than what RAC1 and Catalunya Ràdio achieve. In the end, the three combined do not even reach 5% of what Jordi Basté achieves on any given Tuesday. But this is not a demerit of theirs: all three are solid and solvent professionals who make programs where the lack of budget is compensated by good craft and know-how. What happens is that they are in structures that do not play in the same league: one radio station is very niche and the other two have a big house like SER and RNE that inevitably places them in a secondary position. That said, all my respect for their contribution to radio Catalan, which may be modest from a quantitative point of view, but important in terms of providing plurality to the landscape.

My omission yesterday deserves a scolding –because in the end, if we are to denounce their invisibility, the least one can do is mention the resistant heroines– but in no case invalidates the thesis of the article: where radio stations are fighting tooth and nail to achieve good audiences in the EGM, the choice is unanimously for a man. The exceptions, honorable ones, should be pointed out, but for them we must ask not so much for more recognition –like the one I myself denied them– as, above all, for more resources to be able to grow.