%0 Journal Article %T Citizen¡¯s participation in the media: the show ¡°Banda Ampla¡± in Catalonia¡¯s TV3 %A F¨¢bio Ribeiro %J Estudos em Comunica£¿£¿o %D 2012 %I Universidade da Beira Interior %X In the grasp of the media literacy studies, the concept of ¡®participation¡¯ has been able to gather a more signi cant attention and focus. In this regard, we could underline the 2009 European Union¡¯s recommendations where it is possible to observe how participation is de ned by this political organism in a framework of an active democracy alongside the intention to contribute into a healthier intercultural dialogue. In the same year, the EAVI (European Association for Viewers¡¯ Interests) has published also the Study for Assessment for Media Criteria Levels, as part of a research which understood participation as a social competence, a communicative skill in the top of the Media Literacy Criteria Levels¡¯ pyramid. Acknowledging the importance of participation in a active citizenship, as it was put forward by Sherry Arnstein (1969) and profoundly related to the digital media literacy requirements (Per¨¦z-Tornero, 2004), this research paper aims to draw the attention under the social representations of one group of participants in the audience discussion programme Banda Ampla, from the Catalan public television TV3, in Spain. Having in mind the motivations that have been able to conduct this group of citizens to participate live in the set, we have also been interested in evaluating the levels of adhesion in the participants to the technology possibilities to interact with media. In a fty people sample, we will describe the production settings, through an ethnographic approach, based on a non-participation observation technique. In this inquiry we have also some data which allows us to think and question how media productions are actually opening the gates to let people partici- pate in their productions, such as in this programme broadcasted on 13th January 2011. %K participation %K media %K media literacy %K public opinion %U http://www.ec.ubi.pt/ec/12/pdf/EC12-2012Dez-3.pdf