Paper short abstract:

This paper explores an under-researched case in the media and minorities field: initiatives concerning privileged populations (EBU, 2011: 20-22). It examines the specificities of a locally produced radio station founded by, and catering to, self-designated ‘expatriates’ residing in the south of Portugal.

Paper long abstract:

Drawing on an ethnographic approach, the paper examines the case of Bright FM Algarve - a radio station largely produced by and for self-designated "expatriates" residing in the south of Portugal. It situates the station in the media ecologies (Tacchi et al 2006) of "lifestyle migrants"(Benson & O'Reilly, 2009; O'Reilly, 2000) to explore the specificities of its role.

It argues local radio add to other (local, national and international) media in triggering and facilitating the international move in search of amenities and "a better quality of life", as well as in the process of settlement - and the maintenance of transnational connection this involves. It suggests the radio strategically operates within the so-called migration industries (Castles, 2013; Hernández-Léon, 2008; Spener, 2009) even if not resulting from, nor displaying, conscious collective dynamics of cultural affirmation that are common amongst minority media (i.e. Echchaibi, 2002; Kosnick, 2008; Matsaganis, Katz, & Ball-Rokeach, 2011; Rigoni & Saitta, 2012; Silverstone & Georgiou, 2005).

The discussion problematizes the issues of inclusion and exclusion, voice, transnational connectivity, and cultural reproduction when discussing a medium of a population for whom integration is not necessarily a goal (King et al., 2000). Ultimately, it questions the pertinence of considering a category of "expatriate media".