Zig Zag radio: the foundations of a public Internet radio for children in Portugal

Children and media are today a reasonably developed research field. However, little research has been conducted on children and radio. This paper aims to contribute to the debate on radio for children in the digital age by analysing Zig Zag, a Portuguese public Internet radio for a child audience aged 5 to 9, launched in 2016. It seeks to answer the question: what are the principles and objectives that guide the creation and development of a public radio for children? Based on interviews with the professionals who make this radio, plus the former director, is analysed how it is produced, its principal goals, the criteria that guide its programming, and the values to which it aspires as a public service broadcaster. The results show an effort to produce programmes aligned with the public service mission. Zig Zag team is committed with children, concerned with empowering them and fostering their citizenship.