tranquileye free media papers

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.