AGEISM, RADIO AND PANDEMIC CRISIS: Spanish generalist radio during the lockdown

One of the main focuses of journalistic interest during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has been the high number of deaths in the population sector over 65 years of age. The objective is to analyze the informative treatment of the subject during the first wave of the pandemic by the main Spanish radio stations. Under the framework of Age Studies, the mode of representation and the presence of old age in the programming of the four main general radio stations during four fundamental days of confinement are analyzed. The four selected generalist radio stations have got the highest audience according to the latest General Media Study, with a total of 74 editions, corresponding to 27 programs and 229 hours of radio, of the most representative spaces from SER, COPE, Onda Cero and Radio Nacional España. The main conclusion is the existence of positive ageism, both in representation and in the presence of the subject.

新冠疫情危机期间，新闻报道的核心关切之一，便是65岁以上老年群体的高死亡率。本研究旨在分析西班牙主流广播电台在疫情第一波期间对该议题的信息呈现方式。本研究以老年学研究（Age Studies）为理论框架，对西班牙四家主流综合广播电台在四次关键封控日的节目中，老年群体的呈现模式与出镜情况展开分析。根据最新通用媒体调研（General Media Study），本次选取的四家综合广播电台均拥有最高收听率，样本涵盖SER、COPE、Onda Cero与西班牙国家广播电台（Radio Nacional España）旗下最具代表性的节目板块，共计74期内容，对应27档节目与229小时的广播时长。本研究的核心结论为，在老年群体的呈现与出镜环节中，均存在正向年龄偏见（positive ageism）。