A Polycentric Broadcasting Model: Radio and the Promotion of Portuguese Colonialism

ABSTRACT The article demonstrates how Portugal lacked a true policy of imperial broadcasting which led it to become dependent on colonial stations for the dissemination of colonialism. The broadcasters established in the Portuguese Empire dedicated significant airtime to the dissemination of Portugal’s colonial mission but also promoted local identities with programming echoing the lifestyle of the colonial elites. Thus, the article argues that while the Portuguese authorities considered the cultural expressions and identities of the white residents in Africa as peripheral, these perceived themselves as part of a new devolved center. This ‘peripheral centre’ gained particular ‘visibility’ on the airwaves.