2.2. Research questions

Firstly, it bears mentioning that even though the concept of reputation has been used mostly for the analysis of intangible assets of corporations and business organisations, and also to explain personal branding and the development of leadership skills (political, social, organisational, etc.), it has been assumed that the theory of reputation can and should be applied to the study and analysis of the professional activity of the communication and audio-visual sector itself (Alloza, Carreras & Carreras, 2013; Ortiz, 2015; Villafañe, 2013).

On the one hand, after having analysed the results obtained from the participant observations carried out between 2013 and 2017, as a result of their participation in different forums and on commissions of experts for the reopening of the public radio and television service, as well as having analysed specialised reports and publications, it was considered crucial to find out more about the opinion of the professionals with regard to the press coverage of the RTVV closure, an occurrence that has had an enormous impact on the reputation of communication professionals at the social level, which we specified in a series of questions in the surveys of 2015 and 2017 as follows:

1. How do Valencian communication professionals perceive the media, and in particular, the news coverage of the RTVV closure?

2. What has been the focus of newspapers in both paper and digital format when reporting the RTVV closure?

3. How would you describe the news coverage on the international repercussions of the RTVV closure?

These questions were the result of having analysed the information obtained through interviews with the heads of the different associations, as well as participant observation.

From these questions, there was an apparent need to study the coverage carried out by the rest of the media regarding the RTVV closure, as well as the reputation of the communication professionals involved. On the other hand, it was considered appropriate to find out more about the perception of communication professionals regarding the reputation of the Valencian communication and audio-visual sector nearly a year after the launch of À Punt Mèdia, an issue addressed in the 2019 survey:

4. How do Valencian professionals perceive the social recognition that communication receives in the Valencian Autonomous Region of Spain in comparison with the most advanced OECD countries?

5. Do you believed the media has lowered or raised the prestige of professions linked to communication?

6. How do you assess the role of the MESAV, as well as its communication campaign entitled, “Voices for a New Audio-visual Space”, or the creation of the Valencian Audio-Visual Academy?

In short, the purpose of the surveys was to assess the reputation of the communication and audio-visual sector, and consequently, the questions were adapted to the changing situation of the sector during the six years that this research was carried out. In the 2015 and 2017surveys, the same structure was maintained, and in 2019 the decision was made to introduce questions 4, 5 and 6 in order to monitor the changes the sector had undergone.