INTRODUCTION

1. audio and communications group The development of several analogical electronic equipments and receivers using transistors during the 50’s, made possible to disseminate the radio broadcasting as a very popular and useful mass media. Although the first Marconi’s works at the ending of XIX and the beginning of XX century had made possible the appearance of the first transmitters, it was not until the development of the first solid state devices, using transistor and so with the consequent reduction of size and cost of the receivers, that could speak of an "individualized“ radio broadcasting. In addition, it was at that moment, and using the new Modulated Frequency (FM) transmitters/receivers, that was considerably multiplied the number of public radio stations in order to cover that demand of information by people. Moreover, the constant development of the first solid state devices and the very large integration scale reached by them and applied to radio station equipments, the appearance of digital devices was very important in the development of new telecommunication systems. Finally, the use of Internet has forced to reframing the form to do radio and the way to offer services to the traditional listeners. The present radio broadcasting model, will have to adjust to the necessities of a citizen who lives, studies and/or works in the Information and Knowledge Society (IKS) that power the interchange of information "in real time", the use of multimedia technology, the culture of be always connected, mobility, etc. Applying Information Technologies in a Municipal Radio Station: new Profiles and Services Carlos Hernández Franco, Raúl Terol Bolinches Audio and Communications Signal Processing Group (iTEAM) Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain chernan@dcom.upv.es, http://www.gtac.upv.es INTRODUCTION Radio broadcasting is a mass media which imply immediacy, proximity and that at the present time is experimenting changes as a result of applying the advantages of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) which are just taking place. Theses technologies will make possible a new form to do radio programs and suggest us to analyze the new situation or context, not only from the technological point of view but, in addition, from the point of view of professionals and collaborators who are using them and which are producing sociological and cultural changes in our society. Therefore, in this new context two professional profiles will have to collaborate in a very narrow form. On the one side, telecommunications and computer science professionals, through the telecommunications systems, the digitalization processes, hardware, software, data networks and Internet, etc, and by the other, journalists and collaborators, using these new “communication channels” and “digital equipments” to arrive better at their listeners, no longer only in a local or national but in a world-wide scope, being able to know their opinions thanks to the interactivity on real time that offer these technologies. BROADCASTING FROM MARCONI TO THE INFORMATION SOCIETY TECHNICAL RESOURCES, STAFF AND USABILITY In order to broadcasts its programs or contents, the municipal radio station need a “minimum” or “typical” technical infrastructure. We should emphasize that this typical infrastructure has changed so much in a very brief period of time. In the past years, they were essential vinyl and cassette recorders and it was necessary to have great abilities and skills to be able to manage them… but now some one using a personal computer will do the same tasks just "clicking" a mouse... We should need different kind of software in order to implement different tasks. Among them, an audio player, for example the WinAmp; a piece of software oriented to editing and/or processing of sound that allows us to record programs, advertisements and promotions, to make postproduction, etc, for example the Audacity; a format converter which does possible to digitizing and formatting music contents, for example dBpowerAMP; and finally, an application that allows us "to automate" the emission, for example ZaraRadio. It is possible to download from the corresponding official web sites, gratuitous versions of these applications. THE MUNICIPAL RADIO STATION “LLOSA FM”: A PRACTICAL CASE Since 1992, the locality of Llosa de Ranes, Valencian Community, Spain, has a municipal concession in order to emit radio contents in the band of 107.2 MHz FM, using analogical technology. But in 2003, the City Council trusted the direction and management of the municipal radio station to a group of people living in town, www.llosafm.com. This group was formed by collaborators. Taking into account the technological and normative frame at that moment, it was decided to make a technological updating cycle that included the acquisition of new digital equipments. Referring to the musical contents, it was necessary to convert all the music available in different analogical supports at the municipal radio station to a digital format. Also, it was necessary to sign an agreement or deal with the General Society of Authors and Editors (SGAE) in the Valencian Community, www.sgae.es. At the moment, this Society counts with an area or department specialized in topics about the creation and distribution of musical contents using the ICT, the Digital Society of Authors and Editors (SDAE). A public institution has the necessity to inform on certain actions, decisions or news that generates. In Catalonian Community, for example, many municipal radios station and televisions exist thanks to these necessities. However, in the Valencian Community it has happened yet. For the City Council at municipal level it will be interesting to count on a mass media that act like a “loudspeaker” of the socio cultural activities and that informs to the citizens about everything which occurs in the locality. It will valorise so much that image that the citizenship has about the City Council. CONCLUSIONS Radio broadcasting is a mass media that implies immediacy and that at the present time is experimenting changes as a result of the application of ICT. These ones will act as main elements of a new form to do radio and that take us to analyze the new situation, not only from the technological point of view, but in addition from the point of view of using these technologies by professionals, non professional or collaborators and listeners in a new global scope. The term glocality is understood, within the IKS that ICT are being just possible, as the legitimate interest and necessity that citizens of a certain town or city have to know aspects related to their surroundings and that, frequently, is avoided by the main mass media groups. REFERENCES [1] Hernández Franco, Carlos; Viñals Blasco, María José; Lloret Mauri, Jaime, "Formación en Inteligencia Artificial y Sistemas Digitales Aplicadas al Control de una Organización de la Comunidad Valenciana", 3ra Conferencia Iberoamericana en Sistemas, Cibernética e Informática (CISCI), 2004 [2] Terol Bolinches, Raúl, “La Emisión de la Radio Municipal”, Workshop R@DIO’06 “La Comunicación Radiofónica en la Era Digital”, EPSG, UPV, 2006 [3] Terol Bolinches, Raúl; Giménez López, Sergio, “La Importancia de la Radio Municipal en el Corporativismo Consistorial”, V Congreso de Comunicación Local, UJI, 2005