When and how did
Rádio Espírita
begin and how
can we access it
through the
internet?
Rádio Espírita began
broadcasting in May 2007,
produced by the same team in
charge of the weekly TV
programme that was then
broadcast by NetCampinas’s
Channel 8. Because of its
high costs, it became
impossible for us to carry
on with the television
programme. The team then had
the idea of carrying on with
a radio show via the
internet. Our first
programme was broadcast on
May 1st 2017
and its main theme was
“Planet Earth, Our School”.
Rádio Espírita has not
stopped since and we are on
air 24 hours a day every day
of the week. There is still
a great deal to be done. In
these past 10 years, our
studio has been refurbished
four times so we could
improve the quality of the
programmes with Spiritist
ideals that we send to our
listeners. Our address on
the internet is www.radioespirita.org.br.
How do you keep the radio
station running from a
financial perspective? Where
do the resources come from?
We run the radio station
with our own resources, as
we don’t have any sponsors.
We have a plan to set up a
Friends of Rádio Espírita
Club, which would allow us
to expand our activities and
buy new equipment.
What are the technological
resources required?
In order to set up a web
radio station, the
technology required is
simple compared to that for
setting up a conventional
radio station. You need a
computer, a sound mixer, at
least two microphones,
software for live
broadcasting and a streaming
provider. With that you have
enough to go on air. But
that is only the first step.
Because in order to have a
high quality schedule you
need financial and human
resources, and that is the
main problem.
How do you choose your
schedule?
Our schedule at the moment
is 80% music and 20% other
programmes, with debates,
interviews and studies. We
are open for ideas that will
help improve our schedule.
Do you also broadcast live
events?
Yes, we have live
programmes, such as “A Hora
é Nossa” (“This Is Our
Time”), which is broadcast
from Monday to Friday at
20:00 with the participation
of our listeners. Our fellow
Spiritist Rubens Toledo also
comes live often from events
he is taking part in and
that has given a big boost
to our output. We welcome
any opportunities for live
broadcasts in partnership,
but there must be broadband
in the place where the event
is taking place.
We also open our schedule
for Spiritist Centres who
wish to broadcast live their
regular weekly talks. All
they need to do is to get in
touch with us through email contato@radioespiritat.org.br.
Are our old transmissions
accessible on the website?
As we are still
restructuring the new site,
archive content is not yet
available, but it will be
there on our website very
soon. That is our aim.
Tell us a bit about the
contact and feedback from
your listeners.
That is a very interesting
point and the main reason
why we carry on despite all
the challenges. We were once
doing a transmission. It was
a programme called “Opinião
Espírita” (Spiritist
Opinion) and we were
speaking about Allan Kardec
when we received and email
from a listener in France.
He shared with us his
emotions, as he was
listening to us exactly at
the moment when he was
preparing to record a
documentary about Kardec.
Is there anything from your
experience as head of a web
radio that you would like to
share with us?
What touches me every day is
the pleasure of working on
radio and of being in
contact with people not only
from Brazil but also from
many other countries, such
as France, Australia, Mexico
and the United States. We
have some 15,000 listeners
every month. Every day is,
therefore, a new
experience.
Anything else you would like
to add?
I would like to thank our
listeners for the love they
give us. Without them we
would not have been able to
keep this project going for
so long. And I thank this
publication for giving us
the opportunity of sharing
our gratifying experience
with so many people.
