Mapping Neighborhood Storytelling Networks as a Foundation for Integrating Community Radio

Abstract

Guided by Communication Infrastructure Theory and Social Network Analysis, this study examined the storytelling network of a university community to identify the multilevel actors of its storytelling system, describe the forms, functions, and themes of stories shared, examine the pathways and mechanisms that influenced the storytelling flow, analyze the contextual factors that shaped its network structure. The study found that the neighborhood storytelling network can be reinterpreted in an academic setting. The study also uncovered the multiple roles of micro-, meso-, and macro-level storytellers rooted in their primary roles as students, faculty, staff who interact with each other on common themes about people’s stories, professional development, and policies and processes through conversations, feature stories, anecdotes, and digital content for the purposes of information dissemination and community building. Moreover, the study also found that within the university storytelling network, hubs form outside the main network. This study hopes to provide university community radio programmers and communicators the opportunity to produce well-informed program innovations that bridge actors across storytelling levels. This study demonstrates a process of collecting and analyzing data through meaningful conversations that respect the community and better informs the type of program content and programming based on stakeholders’ insights and community needs.