AGEISM, RADIO AND PANDEMIC CRISIS: Spanish generalist radio during the lockdown

One of the main focuses of journalistic interest during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has been the high number of deaths in the population sector over 65 years of age. The objective is to analyze the informative treatment of the subject during the first wave of the pandemic by the main Spanish radio stations. Under the framework of Age Studies, the mode of representation and the presence of old age in the programming of the four main general radio stations during four fundamental days of confinement are analyzed. The four selected generalist radio stations have got the highest audience according to the latest General Media Study, with a total of 74 editions, corresponding to 27 programs and 229 hours of radio, of the most representative spaces from SER, COPE, Onda Cero and Radio Nacional España. The main conclusion is the existence of positive ageism, both in representation and in the presence of the subject.

Ageism; Radio; COVID-19; Stereotypes; Ageing Studies