tranquileye free media papers

In May 2006 the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC) completed a study of community radio support mechanisms in several industrialized countries. This work was not exhaustive, as some countries identified as having community radio funding programs (including Denmark and Belgium) were not included because of lack of primary sources during the research period. The study was restricted to state-mandated support for community radio at the federal level. The NCRA/ANREC has identified seven industrialized countries – Ireland, the United States, Australia, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom – with national government-mandated community radio support programs. Support typically takes one of three forms: a direct station operational subsidy; targeted support for specific station operations (typically programming production and distribution, staff training and capacity building, and transmission and production equipment); or a combination of the two.

Reconstruction of 1994 paper prepared by M Sjöberg for AMARC Europe with the financial support of the Commission of the European Communities under the EUROFORM programme. Sheffield: AMARC-Europe, 1994.

From introduction: This report aims to give an overview of part of the European radio scene, focusing in particular on local and Community radio. The research on which it is based was carried out as part of a project administered by AMARC-Europe and funded by the EUROFORM programme of the European Commission... The project created a transnational training consortium whose aim was to enhance the viability of Community radio in Europe by fostering the convergence of skills and the strengthening of this sector of radio in regions where it is less developed... Community radio is a product of de-regulation at national level, combined with demand and the cheaper availability of transmission technology. The sector has mushroomed from just a handful of stations in the late seventies to some 1500 in 1992. There are about 12,000 broadcasting radio stations of all kinds in Europe*. Community radio will be affected by major technological changes in the 1990s. The single most significant advance will be the introduction of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) which could be introduced as early as 1996.

By Robert G. Picard. Published in Alan B. Albarran and Sylvia M. Chan-Olmsted, Global Media Economics: Commercialization, Concentration, and Integration of World Media Markets. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1998.

From paper: Although relatively small in geography and population, the Nordic region is a vibrant media market, accounting for an estimated $10 billion USD annually, or expenditures of $435 per
capita, on media products.

Introduction by Susan Forde, Michael Meadows, and Kerrie Foxwell to issue 10 (February 2005) of the journal Transformations called Media Communities: Local Voices, focusing on community and independent media.

From the introduction: It is being recognised internationally that in the face of globalisation, what needs protecting is ‘cultural diversity' rather than ‘cultural exception' and it is community broadcasting that has a particularly important role to play in this process (Dabbous-Sensenig 42). The community media sector worldwide is diverse and expanding, yet manages to maintain special links with its varied communities—described by some as a ‘participatory relationship' (Girard Passion 13). The empowering possibilities of local media have been canvassed and acknowledged globally in the past 10 years but virtually all this work has focussed on production rather than reception (Atton; Downing; Molnar and Meadows; Rodriguez).

By Dr. Jo Tacchi, CIRAC, Queensland University of Technology, and Eryl Price-Davies, Radio Broadcasting, Thames Valley University. Radio, Television And The New Media: Australian Broadcasting Authority Conference, May 3 & 4 2001.

From introduction: This paper emerges from what began as a tightly focussed project commissioned by the UK’s Community Media Association (CMA). The CMA began life in 1983 as the Community Radio Association. In 1997 it changed its name to allow for community TV, and to reflect the changing media environment and incorporation of new media technologies that might be used for community building purposes. Since its inception it has been fighting for the right to broadcast community radio. Finally, in the UK, after years of lobbying, the opportunity to change the broadcasting legislation and allow for a ‘third tier’ of radio broadcasting has arrived... Rather than spending time thinking about why it has taken so long, this paper hopes to make explicit the current concerns about the processes involved in legislating for, regulating and putting into practice such an ambition.

By Kitty Van Vuuren, Queensland University Of Technology. Australian Community Broadcasting Series ISSN 1445-971X Vol. 1, No. 4. November 2001.

Abstract: In this paper I explore the community development function of community broadcasting. I do so with a case study of three non-metropolitan community radio stations, conducted in 1998 and 1999. I apply aspects of the concept of social capital to analyse the results of research conducted at the participating stations. The findings indicate that social capital is related to the age composition of volunteers at community radio.

Masters Thesis, Philip Tamminga, School of Communications, Simon Fraser University, 1997.

Abstract: Is radio an effective medium for development? For years development theorists believed that mass media, particularly radio, were ideal instruments to bring 'development' to rural societies. Scores of projects in Latin America attempted to use radio for educational purposes, but for the most part, these experiments did not fully meet their development objectives.

This study assesses the potential of radio from a different perspective by examining the effectiveness of community-based radio as a component of 'grassroots' development processes. Radio programrning by two non-govemrnental organisations in Honduras is examined in detail: Radio San Miguel (RSM) in Marcala, and the Honduran Ecumenical Community Services Institute (INEHSCO) in Santa Rosa de Copan. RSM and INEHSCO are representative of a movement in Latin America towards community radio. The theoretical framework adopted here suggests that community radio challenges the monopoly of knowledge held by the dominant media and deveiopment model in Latin America, and under certain conditions it can be used successfully to support grassroots development initiatives. But the ongoing challenge faced by community radio is to transform social relations in society without internally replicating the hierarchies and inequities of that dominant model.

The study situates RSM and INEHSCO in Honduran society and assesses the effectiveness of their programming according to three main criteria: use of local language, culture and indigenous knowledge; participation of community members in programming; and impact of programming on audiences. Internal and external constraints that limit the effectiveness of RSM and INEHSCO are discussed as well. Research tools included interviews and focus group sessions and workshops with staff and community members of both organisations between 1992 and 1993. The research concludes that both organisations have been strikingly successful at utilising indigenous howledge and culture to produce radio programming that is sensitive to the development needs of their audiences. But in practice, contradictions of power and participation limited the effectiveness of RSM and INEHSCO in contributing to social change. Increased participation in planning and decision-making, well-organised and consistent programming content and better use of indigenous knowledge are required if RSM and INEHSCO are to effectively support grassroots development processes.

Lisa Monk, Masters Thesis, Communications Studies, Concordia University, 1997.

Abstract: The first part of this study examines the academic and official (CRTC) discourse regarding the regulation of radio broadcasting in Canada from the 1920s to the present. It examines the limits of earlier historical frames through which radio broadcasting policy has been explored. It introduces Foucault's mode1 of study and frame of analysis termed governmentality. The second part is an ethnographic examination of specific policy, programming and operations of campus-community radio station CKUT-FM (Montréal), and, as a related object, the policies and interventions of the National Campus-Community Radio Association (NCRA). It provides a critique of campus-comunity radio itself, and of the complex term, community. The third part is a detailed exploration of governmentality. This term refers to the process of thinking about, and practising government. One of its main components is the study of power relations. Conclusions are formulated in terms of future research and policy intervention in the area of FM radio regulation.

Kitty van Vuuren
December, 2000
CBAA Conference, 25 November 2000
School of Film, Media and Cultural Studies
Griffith University, Nathan

Abstract: In this paper I explore the community development function of community broadcasting. I do so with a case study of three non-metropolitan community radio stations, conducted in 1998 and 1999. I apply aspects of the concept of social capital to analyse the results of research conducted at the participating stations. The findings indicate that social capital is related to the age composition of volunteers at community radio.

Australia's unique community broadcasting sector is the fastest-growing in the country. With more than 200 licensed local radio stations and a further 150 which offer specialist programming to Australia's Indigenous and ethnic communities, the mediascape promises extraordinary diversity. However, recent studies of the sector reveal that this promise, in many communities, has yet to be realised. This paper looks at the successes, stumbling blocks and failures of a communication system which has the potential to extend public sphere debates beyond the narrow confines of the mainstream media and their corporate overlords. It features the compelling and passionate approaches by some communities in using local radio to enhance the meaning of community; in others, broadcasting represents a powerful cultural resource which has the potential, at least, to contribute to public sphere activity. The paper presents a sample of views drawn from the estimated 20,000 volunteers who contribute to the sector across the country.