Radio Literacy in Transitional Broadcast Ecosystems: Infrastructural Differentiation among Listeners in Sabah, Malaysia

HRMARS - This study reconceptualises radio literacy as infrastructural differentiation competence within hybrid broadcast ecosystems. While media literacy has been widely theorised, radio literacy remains conceptually underdeveloped, particularly in contexts where analogue and digital systems coexist. Drawing on qualitative focus group discussions (n = 279 participants across 20 groups) conducted in Sabah, Malaysia, this study examines how listeners define and differentiate analogue FM, digital terrestrial broadcasting, and online radio streaming. Thematic analysis reveals three dominant interpretive patterns: platform equivalence assumptions, device-based categorisation, and infrastructural ambiguity. Participants largely conceptualised radio through experiential use rather than transmission architecture, frequently equating smartphone access with digital broadcasting. Grounded in Disruptive Innovation Theory, Technological Determinism, and Media Convergence Theory, the findings suggest that perceptual digitalisation may precede infrastructural digital transformation. The study argues that infrastructural awareness constitutes a neglected dimension of media literacy and has significant implications for digital migration policy in emerging broadcast economies.