How Radio María has silently won a community of millions of faithful

Radio María is one of the most important radio phenomena in Spain. With a community of listeners that are counted by millions worldwide, its history is not exempt from controversies. However, when the entire country succumbed to last week’s blackoutRadio María endured firmly without interrupting its programming. This is how this unique dissemination chain of Catholic thought works.

Stop Radio María. He Past black that left the whole country disconnected did not affect all radio stationswhich made the little and old -fashioned transistors In very precious goods. Among the chains that endured the envy with, among other means, electricity generators such as Those of HospitalsThey were RNE, Zero Onda, La Cope wave BE. But among all, Radio María highlighted for its apparent modesty: indefatigable, it was still arriving at all points in Spain thanks to its large number of repeaters, 2,000 worldwide. A figure comparable to that of any large radio chain.

Maria for the world. The devotees of the station will not be surprised: Radio Maríaof Italian origin, it is heard in points of Spain where the rest of the chains, even the big ones, arrive with difficulty, thanks to the 225 stations that have distributed throughout the country. And even beyond: it has 93 radio stations in the world, reaching points as remote as Asia or Oceania, which add 11 stations. Radio María presumes 500 million listeners (potential) that are sustained thanks to a network of volunteers that make possible the propagation of the radio faith: since 1998, since 1998, World Family of Radio Maria It is a non -profit association that brings together all these stations.

A radio consecrated to faith. Radio María was born in Italy in 1983, as a parish radio in the diocese. Safe and priests wanted to develop an evangelization work with explicitly religious programming. This has been respected in radio growth throughout the world, and is noticed in its Spanish incarnation, where it arrived in 1999. On its grill the religious dissemination programs with all the spasible approaches (Jívenes, elders, marriages, psychology, theology, sacral music, news related to the Pope and the Church) and, of course, the religious acts, with prayer programs and two daily masses.

Armando Lío. One of the aspects that Radio María takes care of is its relationship with younger Catholics. It has a program, in fact, entitled “Armando Lío”, such as Hakuna’s slogan, the Youth Catholic Activism Association that He congregated 85,000 people in Cibeles chanting their religious pop hymns. Although Radio María is little given to facilitate audience figures for its programs, the attention on their grill to spaces oriented to the youngest public, such as’Armando Lío‘,’Breaking molds‘Or also musical’Sing and walk‘They are proof that generating a community that supports the project is an important objective for the survival of the station.

Niche community. Radio María is the perfect example of how beyond the attention of the great media and the general public live very numerous and involved communities, to the point of sustaining one of the most effective and listened radio stations of the country only with donations. “Our goal is to reach everywhere and we act to achieve it. It may sound very rare, but we do not move for the number of possible listeners or the possibilities of a station, we have some principles different from those of conventional radio,” said Quintanilla in the confidential.

Undoubtedly, a criterion that has led the station to highlight in a situation as adverse as a national blackout.

How is financed. It is the big question, the great enigma around Radio María. Officially, the station makes it very clear on its website: Maintaining the issuance costs 573 euros at the time, and the options for the faithful are multiple: periodic or punctual donations, income and transfers, checks, bizums .. until the fiscal deductions that correspond by donations are specified, which make up the 99% of the issuing income. The other leg of support to Radio María is the network volunteerwhich also admits multiple variants: in the promotion, in the dioceses, from home …

Currently, they have more than 1,500 volunteers throughout Spain, which generate 90% of the programming. However, doubts also arise.

Recent doubts. Of course, not everything is very clear accounts: yesterday The Superior Court of Justice of Castilla y León annulled the order by which the Board had awarded 124 radio licenses, 27 of them to Radio María. One of the reasons for the complaint, filed by the being, is that the stations were awarded irregularly: both Radio María and another of the main beneficiaries, the eleventh hour (owned by the Adventist Church), are non -profit stations and the bases of the Award Contest spoke of “provision of commercial audiovisual services.” Radio María and the eleventh hour monopolized 30% of the licenses awarded.

Everywhere. Diffusion strategies like this or how to buy Rodrigo Rato in 2012 six radio licenses For a million euros They assured him total coverage in the Balearic Islands are those that have guaranteed his brutal expansion. Although its president, José Manuel Díez Quintanilla, affirms that certain activities that root the illegality They are a thing of the pastRadio María has taken advantage of its non -commercial condition to invade foreign frequencies or expand power above what was allowed, which earned them in their day the occasional fine like one of 126,000 euros from the Junta de Andalucía In 2012.

Header | Jacob Hodgson in Unspash

In Xataka | Listen to the radio on the mobile: options to do so and main problems of each