Digital innovation to support local radios in low-density territories through NEWAVES project

Abstract

The digital age has brought about a revolution in how we consume media and entertainment. The NEWAVES project addresses the challenges faced by local radio stations in low-density population areas, which remain vital for communication and community culture despite the digital revolution. These stations often struggle with underfunding, limited workforce, and fragmented resources due to a lack of collaboration. Co-financed by Creative Europe, NEWAVES unites partners from Portugal, Croatia, Slovakia, and North Macedonia, recognizing shared challenges across these regions. This article evaluates the NEWAVES project, which aims to support and revitalise local radio stations in these regions by creating a national and international network. The NEWAVES platform enables local radio stations to efficiently share audio content, ranging from generic programmes to relevant news and diverse entertainment, and to benefit from content produced by other stations or radio hosts. All content is validated in terms of technical and substantive quality. Additionally, the platform incorporates a course developed for local radio professionals, covering various topics from audio editing to digital marketing and the use of Artificial Intelligence. This article aims to present the development process of the NEWAVES platform and the rationale behind the chosen options, based on different analyses of the reality of local radio stations, which allowed for the identification of their needs. Finally, the article addresses the technical challenges and innovation opportunities associated with the development of the NEWAVES platform. The integration of streaming technologies, data security, and interoperability are some of the technical issues the project is tackling. The platform represents a significant advancement in how technology can serve specific communities, adapting to their unique characteristics and promoting digital inclusion. The next steps in the project will involve validating the platform with local radio professionals.