Accented Radio in Miami and New Orleans

“Accented radio” is an idea I developed drawing from Hamid Naficy’s (2001) concept of accented cultural production to explore a specifically transcultural mode of radio production. Through analyses of accented radio production, I argue here that transcultural radio programs can function as an alternative to often reductive top-down radio representations of marginalized and minority communities. My use of this concept builds on Naficy’s theory of accented film production as a transcultural mode of production which signifies not only the “accent” of those represented but also the producers’ experiences of displace-ment, movement and settlement which are then embedded in the text produced. An accented mode of production incorporates the sense of duality characteris-tic of transnational experience, as the migrant or minority subject speaks from a migrant/minority perspective to a migrant/minority community, yet from within the normative communication structures of the host country (Naficy 2001) and/or from within a public sphere characterized by reductive represen-tations of the given community and often by limited spaces for community self-expression. “Accented radio” provides a critical lens incorporating exploration of elements of production practice (guest and topic choices; information provi-sion; air time for callers in to the show) which reinforce community-building for marginalized and minority communities on air.1 Deploying accented radio as an embodiment of transcultural community production enables exploration of what John Hartley (2000) has identified as radio’s community-building ten-dencies, allowing for a combined analysis of aesthetic, political and production components which comprise community forms of programming.