Contenido informativo de los medios radiofónicos y su influencia en la participación de la audiencia en los cantones Chimbo y San Miguel provincia de Bolívar, período enero-abril 2026.

Abstract

This research aimed to determine how the informative content of radio programs influences audience participation in the cantons of Chimbo and San Miguel, province of Bolívar, and for that purpose a mixed approach with a descriptive level was used, applying questionnaires to a representative sample of the 43,873 inhabitants and semi-structured interviews with broadcasters and key actors from four local stations that showed poorly structured programming and limited use of digital platforms, and the quantitative results showed that 72% of respondents perceive that information almost never has an adequate source contrast and that the disorderly mix of topics causes interest drops of up to 40%, while qualitatively the interviews revealed that empiricism, editorial biases, and the requirement of documentary evidence to participate on air generate distrust and fear of reprisals, reducing interaction to commercial giveaways within a one-way scheme, and in the face of the improvisation that the broadcasters themselves acknowledge, 84% of the audience supported the need for a methodological guide, which led to the development of two practical products: a style manual to standardize processes, ensure impartiality, and open spaces for real debate, and an academic article for future publication, in order to contribute to the recovery of journalistic rigor and citizen participation.