Media Systems and Stateless Nations : Catalan and Welsh Radio in Comparative Perspective

This paper offers a first exploratory approach to the comparative study of radio systems in Catalonia and Wales. Within the framework of comparative media systems studies, this paper uses the concept of subsidiarity as its central axis for analysing two cases. It represents one of the first comparative analyses of the structure of radio systems as well as a first approach to the reality of media systems in stateless nations, areas usually ignored in literature about this subject. In doing so, it compares five core dimensions of any radio system using a variety of secondary and comparable sources: ownership, programming, language, funding and regulation. The results illustrate the asymmetry of the two radio systems, which have different degrees of development. Regulation and language emerge as cornerstones for designing media systems in stateless nations. At the same time, the level of subsidiarity of these systems to state media systems also plays a central role in structuring these systems.