In the early hours of February 24th, 2022, Russia launched a military offensive on Ukraine, starting a war in Eastern Europe. Vladimir Putin's government invaded cities in southern and eastern Ukraine, an offensive which sparked a Ukrainian refugee’s gigantic migratory flow to the neighboring countries, but also to distant European countries like Portugal.
In times of war, radio always assumed a fundamental role either as an instrument for propaganda, or as a vehicle of information, dissemination, and humanitarian support. With most Ukrainian radios facing transmission difficulties, stations from other countries began to mobilize as replacing news polls. The Portuguese web Rádio Comercial Ukraine was an example of solidarity and community collaboration. It started its programmes on March 16th in an online format to fulfil a double challenge: on the one hand, to be a useful information source, with news, interviews and music (essentially Ukrainian and Portuguese); on the other hand, to bridge hundreds of refugees arriving to Portugal and the organizations that could help them, namely the Refugee Support Platform (PAR) of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), the Migrations High Commissioner, the Ukrainian Association, and its Embassy.
In addition to the online broadcast, which can be accessed through the website or at Rádio Comercial´s app, one can also listen to its four podcasts: Portuguese language classes for Ukrainians, legal advice, psychological support, as well as interviews carried out by its main voices - Viktoriya Starchenko and Marcos Fernandes - who talk in a daily basis with professionals or institution’s representatives that are helping those fleeing war. This interview section has also welcomed Ukrainian artists, media professionals from Kiev, Ukrainians living in Portugal, who talk about their integration process, or companies which have created job exchanges for refugees and disclose their forms of support through that radio channel.
The present investigation contemplates the mapping of the podcast’s initial four months, and its content analysis, trying to answer to the following research questions: a) What are the most recurring contents of Rádio Comercial Ukraine's podcasts? b) How can its formats and categories be typified? c) Are they podcasts or audio extensions of a web radio? d) Do these podcasts fulfil a social function? For this purpose, audition, and analysis of the podcasts from March 16th to June 20th, 2022, were carried out, as well as a non-participant observation of two morning programs on May 4th and 11th, 2022. Also, semi-structured interviews with the main actors of this initiative were conducted – namely with the CEO of Media Capital Rádio CEO, the news Rádio Comercial Director (and Rádio Comercial Ukraine Editor) and the two host-presenters of this new digital channel.
| Period | Jul 2023 |
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| Event title | IAMCR Lyon – 2023: Inhabiting the planet: Challenges for media, communication and beyond |
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| Event type | Conference |
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| Location | Lyon, FranceShow on map |
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- Podcast
- War
- Ukraine
- Migrants
- Refugees
- Community
