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Radio in Urban Guatemala

Radio continues to be an important communication medium despite television's ubiquitous reach in urban areas. Sixty-two percent of urban survey respondents said they listen to the radio daily and eighty-five percent said they listen to the radio at least weekly, compared to 90 percent daily viewership for television.

The radio industry is highly competitive, with several hundred stations ranging in size from local community radio to national broadcasts. Radio is also the only medium that reaches more distant rural communities. It is also important in that it has the ability to reach the indigenous Mayan communities, as multiple stations broadcast programs in the Mayan languages of Quiche, Cachiquel and others.

Chart 1

In addition to being the most popular radio stations, Radio Sonora and Radio Emisora Unidas were listed by survey respondents as their most “important” radio stations for news and information. Radio Sonora, which started broadcasting in 1948, offers around-the-clock news programming. The station draws its listeners from both genders and all education groups. Number two Emisora Unidas tends to draw male listeners and the better educated. It is very popular among those 45 and older.

Chart 2

Radio X-Trema, the fourth most popular station, is geared toward young people, primarily broadcasting national and international music. Its key demographic draw is students and young adults (16-29). Radio Nuevo Mundo, a Mayan language station while not popular within the AudienceScapes urban survey is popular among Mayan descendents that reside outside Guatemala’s urban centers.

Chart 3

Radio in Guatemala has become more than a medium for entertainment or news. Some organizations have begun to use the radio airwaves as a tool for educating individuals in a direct way. El Instituto Guatemalteco de Educación Radiofónica (Guatemalan Institute for Education Radio or IGER), a non-profit based out of Guatemala City, broadcasts radio education courses through 28 stations nationwide. The courses provided by IGER pair independent book work with daily radio broadcasts that provide explanations of scheduled lessons and administer a series of hands-on exercises help support and reinforce independent study. The basic coursework IGER provides are literacy classes and basic secondary education courses. The service also provides coursework in Quiche and Cachiquel.

IGER also teamed up with the World Bank between 2005 and 2007 to create the Guatemala Municipal Radio Training Program, a multi-course initiative that sought to empower local community leaders in the implementation of Guatemala’s decentralization strategy. The project focused on capacity building among local government officials, community leaders and organizers, officials from the Municipal Planning Offices, and public administration students. The main objective of the COCODE training program is to allow citizens to learn about the legal framework that enables community organizations to organize recognized institutional structures, COCODEs.