When, on 1 August 1935, the National Radio Broadcasting Service Emissora Nacional was inaugurated, it was the first great step towards the professionalization of radio in Portugal.
Radio became a great companion to the Portuguese. It made it possible to follow, up to the minute, great national and international events, and rapidly became the most important form of mass communication. On 1 September 1939, it was through the radio that the invasion of Poland by German troops, starting the World War II, became known throughout the world. Radio also became an effective tool of political propaganda, used by the regime until the revolution of 25 April and, afterwards, a constant target of attempts at manipulation. Having been the watchword and voice of the April revolution, radio definitively occupied a privileged place in the hearts of the Portuguese. And as if there were any doubt, it confirmed its huge capacity to generate strong waves of affection. It was, in fact, the first “social network”, long before the concept took on.
Great sporting events are also broadcast on the radio, attracting larger audiences and becoming ever more indispensible in the lives of the Portuguese people.
If words are fundamental on the radio, music is their perfect complement. From the musical evenings of the early years of radio, fulfilling Camões’ motto “by singing I’ll spread forth to every part”, to the present day, music finds in radio its most faithful ally. With the quality provided by FM, light and classical music are the sustenance of radio, offering the entire population the chance to hear the best performances.
While television failed to kill the radio, modern times and the digital era, far from constituting a threat, also offer enormous opportunities. From the outset, the ability to create increasingly segmented radios online, winning, public to public, larger and larger audiences.
Radio is here, intimately linked to our everyday lives. And, paradoxically, it can also even be seen, without ever ceasing to be, always, radio.
RTP - Rádio e Televisão de Portugal
