SER – committed to global radio

After 16 consecutive seasons as audience-share leader, SER now faces the challenge of defending its position. With this goal in mind, the channel is to maintain the winning schedule that has proved the key to its success for over 15 years, and bolster its flagship programs such as Hoy por hoy, Hora 25, La ventana and Carrusel deportivo. "Continuity" was the key word yesterday as SER kicked off the new season with a special Hoy por hoy in which the station's leading talents gave a preview of the novelties in store for their respective programs. It's set to be a great year for José Ramón de la Morena, who celebrates 20 years at the helm of El larguero, as well as for Manolo Molés, who presents his 30th season of Los Toros.

By focussing on information, sport and entertainment, SER hopes to become "the biggest and best" provider of content for the Spanish-speaking world and to develop a truly "global radio". These were just some of the comments made by the director general of Unión Radio, Raúl Rodríguez, as the new 2009-2010 season was launched. Rodriguéz emphasized the group's continued commitment to "rigor, plurality and independence".

With more than 1,200 broadcast channels, Unión Radio is present in Spain, the US, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and Argentina. Over 24 million listeners tune in on both sides of the Atlantic. One example of the group's commitment to transnational broadcasting is the international version of Hora 25. For anchor Àngels Barceló, the program is "extraordinary due to the talent and calibre of its collaborators".

As well as developing its global reach, SER is all too aware of the challenges posed by new technologies. "We're working on a new digital model, one which goes way beyond a mere facelift for the current internet platform," explained SER director Daniel Anido. At a local and analog level there are also innovations. These will involve a "change of mentality" when it comes to dealing with information, because "what matters to the public is no longer what their public representatives have to say, but how they will be affected on a day-to-day basis by the decisions politicians make," said Anido.

Helping to analyze these changes are Rosa García, vice-president of Microsoft España, and Luis Alegre, scriptwriter and film director, both of whom will join the team at A vivir que son dos días, the weekend magazine program anchored by Montserrat Domínguez. Hoy por hoy, anchored by Carles Francino, incorporates a number of new sections, including 'Sonido vinilo' (Vinyl Sound), which picks out the best vinyl records in music history; 'Qué hay de nuevo' (What's new?), a survey of cultural and technological innovations; and 'El retrovisor' (Rearview Mirror), a look at historical memory.

Enabling us to better understand the economic crisis, La Ventana will be joined by economists Santiago Niño and Javier Andrés. The evening program, with Marta González Novo still temporarily at the helm, will repeat its candid children's debates.

At the same time, SER renews its commitment to news, with José Antonio Marcos presenting Hora 14 and Jesús Cintora the weekend news bulletins. SER's director illustrated the group's commitment by highlighting the New Journalism prize recently won by Marta del Vado for her series of reports titled Los muros del mundo (Walls of the World). The award, the most prestigious to be given for work in Spanish and Portuguese in Ibero-American media, was created by Gabriel García Márquez.