Community Radio Stations Research Articles

Role of radio in agricultural advisory service in western region of Cameroon

The objective of this article is to analyze the contribution of radios in agricultural advisory services and agricultural extension in the Western region of Cameroon. The study is focused on 3 of the 8 divisions of the region, those having around 70% of the radios of the region were particularly investigated, and it is about Menoua, Mifi and Bamboutos Divisions. With the help of structured questionnaires and interview guides, surveys were conducted with 13 radio broadcasters, 17 agricultural advisory agents and extension workers and 35 farmers' organization managers. The findings show that the region has 24 radio stations, divided into 3 main categories: public (12.5%), private (41.66%), and community (45.83) radio stations. The emergence of these radio stations had several reasons, amongst which the main are: the need to promote the activities of the rural areas (85%), inform, sensitize and advice the farmers (15%). Radio broadcasters are predominantly male (85%) having completed higher education (85%). They are made up of trained journalists (54%); on-the-job facilitators (31%) and agricultural technicians (15%). The content of the proposed programs cover training (50%), the raising of awareness (18%), advertisement (17%) and miscellaneous information (8%) on agricultural development and practices. The programs involved two categories of actors: farmers whose interaction with the radio is either by call (47%), text messages (7%), or by listening (46%); then the agricultural advisory agent for whom it is a flexible and indispensable tool for the execution of their various activities. Despite some infrastructural and logistical difficulties being encountered, the radio has effectively contributed to the improvement of agricultural activities in the region

Engaging political histories of urban uprisings with young people: The Liverpool riots, 1981 and 2011

Based on a participatory research project which involved academics and young people at KCC Live, a community radio station in Merseyside, exploring the 1981 and 2011 riots in Liverpool, UK, this paper argues that co-produced research involving young people and radio provides an under-utilised avenue for research on historical and political geographies. Working together for a year in 2012–13, the academic and non-academic participants produced a radio documentary exploring how and why the 1981 riots in Liverpool occurred, and what we could learn from those historical events to help understand the more recent 2011 riots. Young people’s capacities to engage with past events that took place before they were born, in order to reflect on and understand the political present, are seldom explored in research. The research that this paper is based on therefore provides an original and significant contribution to debates on conducting research with young people, in particular developing approaches to thinking through how young people engage with, and make sense of, politics and political activity, especially disruptive or insurgent activities like riots/urban uprisings. As a result, the paper makes an important contribution to work being done on the political capacities of young people; collective histories and memories in young people’s understandings of politics, place, and space; and knowledges of urban uprisings. We argue that bringing children’s/youth geographies into dialogue with political and historical geographies such as those discussed here is a useful avenue for future research.

Census of Community Radio Stations in Chile: Territorial Location, Description, Characteristics and Projection of Community Radio Work

The article gives an account of the results of the first census of community radios (CR) in Chile. The official data on these stations and those collected by community radio organizations are not complete or reliable, so it is necessary to know how many radios they are, where they are located territorially and what their characteristics are. The census detects 361 community radios distributed in the country. It accounts for characteristic elements and reaffirms the differences in the development of CR in Chile, in relation to other Latin American countries such as Argentina, Ecuador or Colombia, where radios occupy frequencies of the radio spectrum before the government allows it, negotiating its legalization later. It is determined that in Chile the majority of CRs initiate their transmissions and operate in accordance with the law. They are mostly small radios, since Chilean law allows them a maximum of 25 watts; Its members are mainly volunteers, with low audience participation in their management and with a weak association between them and with existing radio organizations. The article provides data that allows the development of territorial profiles of broadcasters and provides information on their technical, operational and financial characteristics, and helps to know how CRs actually work in Chile.

Universal Localism: WWOZ Community Radio, 1980–2006

ABSTRACTAs one of the nation’s best-known community radio stations, New Orleans-based WWOZ-FM is a prime example of how the cultural characteristics of a locale can achieve universal relevance, redefining traditional notions of community while working to establish financial solvency. This examination focuses on the station’s history relative to technological changes (especially the introduction of online streaming), explaining the capability of highly localized nonprofit radio stations to redefine traditional perceptions of “sense of place” and showing how online streaming can support the evolution of geographic locations into psychographically and emotionally bound communities. Moreover, this study of WWOZ explains the ways local content and technology combine to create a worldwide local community that can maintain, preserve, and promote localized culturally relevant music and cultural ideas.

Role of Radio Programs in Agricultural Development Schemes in Osun State, Nigeria

This research attempts to study the role of radio programming on agricultural development schemes in Osun State, Nigeria, with Osun State Broiler Outgrower Production Scheme (OBOPS) And Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Programme (O-REAP) as case study as well as radio’s involvement in agriculture, with a review of an indigenous agricultural program, Aroko Bodunde, broadcast on the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, Orisun FM, 89.5, Ile-Ife, a community radio station. Powerful-Effect Model and Agenda Setting Theory served as the framework for this study while adopting the descriptive survey of research. Findings revealed that radio programming role in the development of agriculture cannot be overemphasized, as the messages conveyed via the radio wave has helped to increase awareness, inform, enlighten, educate as well as encourage and mobilize listeners to embrace agriculture. Furthermore, findings showed that Orisun FM, 89.5, had a positive influence on listeners which enhanced the development of OBOPS and O-REAP agricultural schemes. It was therefore recommended that governments at all levels in Nigeria should employ community radios in quickening the pace of agricultural development and schemes as radio has proven to be adequately appropriate in giving impetus for the development of all kinds at any level.

Assessing the Social Media Maturity of a Community Radio Station: The Case of Rhodes Music Radio in South Africa

Assessing the Social Media Maturity of a Community Radio Station: The Case of Rhodes Music Radio in South Africa

By any means: Paths to sustainability for Argentina’s community radio stations

During 2016 and 2017 the Centro de Producciones Radiofónicas (CPR-CEPPAS) conducted a research project on the ways 11 community radio stations in Argentina generate and manage financial resources. We selected a comprehensive sample with different types of community radio stations and used UNESCO's Media Development Indicators as a starting point. The main goal of the investigation was to deepen our knowledge about the relationship between community radio stations and the market, taking into account work, financial planning and management. We approached the radio stations with the understanding that their sustainability could be measured on multiple levels, not only financially, but also by putting special attention to the economic aspect of sustainability. We draw regularities, identified strengths and weaknesses, and pointed out creative fundraising methods. Our main conclusion is that the multiplicity and diversity of funding sources is a distinctive element of the definition of community radio.

The smartphone generation of community radio listeners: Is FM sustainable?

Abstract This article examines the current environment of audio transmission services in the UK with particular regard to the community radio sector. Community radio stations in the UK are having to consider the extent to which their audiences choose to listen on an FM analogue signal and whether this is sustainable for them. The number of new platforms that a listener is using to access audio programming now includes DAB, SSDAB, TV carriers and online services. There are also developments to the actual receivers that may be used, in particular the use of smartphones to listen via online Wi-Fi or 4G. Currently there are no plans for an FM turn off in the UK and a hybrid system of transmission and reception is the most likely outcome for the foreseeable future. The consequences of this environment for the broadcasters, the listeners and the audio content are discussed in turn. A sample group of twelve community radio stations have been studied to assess current practices. This group are the remaining stations from the original Access Pilot community radio stations that went on air in 2002 and so are the oldest and most established of the UK stations. This article provides baseline definitions where relevant and uses recent data from national audience research, regulatory and other bodies to assess what people are listening to and how, along with examples from public service and commercial radio, as well as community radio.

Characteristics of a Nationwide Voluntary Antibiotic Resistance Awareness Campaign in India; Future Paths and Pointers for Resource Limited Settings/Low and Middle Income Countries.

Antibiotic resistance has reached alarming proportions globally, prompting the World Health Organization to advise nations to take up antibiotic awareness campaigns. Several campaigns have been taken up worldwide, mostly by governments. The government of India asked manufacturers to append a ‘redline’ to packages of antibiotics as identification marks and conducted a campaign to inform the general public about it and appropriate antibiotic use. We investigated whether an antibiotic resistance awareness campaign could be organized voluntarily in India and determined the characteristics of the voluntarily organized campaign by administering a questionnaire to the coordinators, who participated in organizing the voluntary campaign India. The campaign characteristics were: multiple electro–physical pedagogical and participatory techniques were used, 49 physical events were organized in various parts of India that included lectures, posters, booklet/pamphlet distribution, audio and video messages, competitions, and mass contact rallies along with broadcast of messages in 11 local languages using community radio stations (CRS) spread all over India. The median values for campaign events were: expenditure—3000 Indian Rupees/day (US$~47), time for planning—1 day, program spread—4 days, program time—4 h, direct and indirect reach of the message—respectively 250 and 500 persons/event. A 2 min play entitled ‘Take antibiotics as prescribed by the doctor’ was broadcast 10 times/day for 5 days on CRS with listener reach of ~5 million persons. More than 85%ofcoordinators thought that the campaign created adequate awareness about appropriate antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance. The voluntary campaign has implications for resource limited settings/low and middle income countries.

A interlocução do Serviço Social e os meios de comunicação: aproximações reflexivas

O artigo considera, a partir do referencial utilizado, que a interlocução do Serviço Social com os meios de comunicação, em especial as rádios comunitárias, pode-se constituir enquanto um espaço de enfrentamento e de defesa dos direitos sociais da classe trabalhadora, e evidencia a necessidade de se fomentar a discussão sobre a articulação destas áreas. Para tanto, traz a discussão do Estado Social e a sua relação com os meios de comunicação. O acesso à informação, garantido nas legislações das políticas sociais, e a potencialização dos direitos sociais por meio das mídias alternativas, são caminhos a serem explorados pelos assistentes sociais, e isso pode ser evidenciado a partir das instâncias de defesa da categoria e também a partir de discussões ampliadas nos mais diversos espaços de participação social.

Social Marketing Techniques in Community Radio Practices

The first Community Radio Station was set up in India in the year 2006, and presently there are over 251 such operational radios in the country. The paper sets out to locate Community Radio in Indian context, and its practices based on the conceptual definition and framework of social marketing as proposed by Philip Kotler, Alan Andreasen and others. Historically Community Radio has evolved as an alternative to the mainstream media which failed to focus and give due attention to issues and concerns of rural people in general and marginalised sections of the society. The paper maps the practice of Namma Dhwani Community radio which has been broadcasting for over a decade in the state of Karnataka to the Social Marketing techniques, in promoting social ideas to bring out a change in the attitudes and behaviour. The specific objectives of the paper are to explore how Namma Dhwani draws from the theory of Social Marketing, in its implementation of commercial marketing techniques and to understand the role of Community Radio in empowering the community and bringing about a change in behaviour. A case study method approach has been adopted and the paper is conceptual and descriptive in nature.

An Examination on Challenges and Prospectus of Radio 7

In real, it is not just good enough to obtain license, establish and start functioning radio station dedicated to society that called community radio station. The success of any body is hinged on the fulfillment of the objectives of that body. It is based on this premise that this research work is to find out and examine the present operational nature of campus Community Radio Station Radio 7 supported by The IIS University, Jaipur as a case study taken in comparison with the Objectives of its establishment, researcher also trying to find out the challenges and prospectus of the radio station in the process with the hope that it will be useful to the university management council on different issues regarding the operation, policy’s, financial sustainability and equipping of the radio station.

Community radio and crisis communication: a study on the reach and effectiveness of Peridar Kaala Vaanoli 107.8 MHz

A community radio (CR) station stands as a lifeline for information and communication to the remote, marginalized and the most vulnerable during natural disasters like the Tamil Nadu Floods in 2015. As a result of this, a license was granted to allow the operation of an emergency community radio station ‘Peridar Kaala Vaanoli’ (PKV) (Tamil words meaning ‘Radio in the time of extreme calamity’). This became the first emergency radio station in the country. The current study aims to evaluate the reach and impact of the community radio PKV with broadcast frequency 107.8 MHz in communicating crisis information during the aftermath of the Tamil Nadu Floods, 2015 in Cuddalore district through an interview schedule of the listeners of Peridar Kaala Vaanoli. The study considers the aspects of the socio-economic profile of the listeners, influential factors of listenership and the impact created by the community radio. The respondents were found to be posing socio-economic vulnerability; the factors influencing listenership were communication style, information credibility and educational broadcasts. The psycho-social impact created by PKV includes issue mediation, knowledge empowerment and community development.

‘Meaningful participation’: Exploring the value of limited participation for community radio listeners

Community radio represents an opportunity for audiences to play a lead role in the production, dissemination and ownership of media channels and content. The active participation of audiences is one of the primary differences between community radio stations and their commercial and state-run counterparts. The role of participation though is complicated in environments where community radio acts as an instrument for development, as is the case in India where community radio licenses are held by either educational establishments or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Discussions around defining, encouraging and evaluating participation are extensive, yet little has been written about what defines meaningful participation from the perspective of community members. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in India, this article explores what makes participation meaningful and who is able to engage in this meaningful participation with community radio stations. Applying this perspective to community radio, encourages a more qualitative, holistic view of the benefits and outcomes of those who participate. Considering meaningful rather than maximalist or minimalist allows space to explore the impacts of participation in environments where it may be limited or restricted by structural factors. Engaged, invested audiences who regularly and meaningfully participate in their stations can help ensure that community radio remains a collaborative and powerful force within the global media landscape.

Imagined Community of Radio

The research paper problematises the very idea of community Radio’ as ‘participatory communicative tool.’ It uses Michel Certeau’s concept of ‘Strategy’ to understand the very evolution of Community Media in India since the setting of communicative strategy by state body polity to ameliorate the socio-economic conditions of the society. This theoretical perspective posits ‘participatory communication’ as linear, hierarchic and sedentary which is self-aggregating and creates a community of spectacle. The paper focuses on the tripartite division of community in the mediatised realm. The first division exists in the relationship between ordinary life and a specialist (Mainly civil society and NGOs). The second division looks at community as a hoodwinked entity in the wake of proxy ownership (often by politicians, bureaucrats and Armed Forces) of CR stations. The third division exists in the semantics of the programme production and its receptivity by the ‘community.’ Through different case studies Community Radio Stations, the paper argues that ‘strategy’ is self-referential and poses a serious threat to everyday practice of life. However, it recommends that strategy as a statist tool should be replaced with tactics (Opposition of Strategy) which is in contradistinction with the idea of strategy.

Community Radio as Amplification of Rural Knowledge Sharing

Community radio’s relationship with the farming communities has a long history in India. The earliest successful experiments in community broadcasting involved both farmers and agriculture. In terms of development communication, community radio in India represents a confluence of somewhat conflicting paradigms. While community radio is generally presented as a highly democratic, participatory medium, the way it is operationalized in India more closely aligns with the modernization/diffusion paradigm.In 1976, Joseph Ascroft observed the phenomenon of ‘interpersonal diffusion’ among farmers, whereby for each farmer trained in new techniques, three more would adopt the innovations. While this ‘interpersonal diffusion’ was by no means perfect, it was illustrative of the complex communication networks involved in the diffusion process. It also hints towards the ways in which community radio can act as a facilitator of these processes; as somewhat of an intersection between diffusion and participatory communication.Drawing on ethnographically inspired qualitative research conducted at a rural community radio station in South India, this article explores the role of community radio at the intersections of participatory development and diffusion. This article argues that community radio facilitates the sharing of technical information and innovations among farmers and contributes to amplifying existing knowledge communication systems. The implications of this article suggest that a focus on existing local knowledge communication and transfer systems could contribute to achieving broader development outcomes and further situating the role of community radio within development and social change initiatives.

Multiplicity of voices in community development through radio in Fanteakwa District, Ghana

The study examines community radio as a channel for development through people’s participation in development activities in the Fanteakwa District of Ghana. The study argues that participation of people is necessary for development. The study employed the concept of participatory development communication and the empowerment theory to help understand the role of community radio in development. Mixed method research design was used for the study. Data was collected through survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling and multi-stage sampling techniques were used to select respondents. It was found that participation is highest amongst people whose preferred channel of contribution to development initiatives is Radio Listenership Clubs. Though community radio station is serving the community, more needs to be done to properly integrate it into the lives of the people. Another finding was that community radio is not necessarily owned by the community, but can be the result of an individual’s entrepreneurial effort. It is concluded that the integration of participatory approaches in radio programming and ownership is relevant because they are more people-centred and can be sustainable. A legislation on community broadcasting is recommended in order to define the role of individual entrepreneurs and NGO’s in establishing community radio stations.Keywords: Community Radio, Community Development, Participation, Empowerment, Fanteakwa District

News by any other name: community radio journalism in India

Abstract Community radio journalism is a cultural resource that offers a voice to local communities and works to democratise media landscapes. Despite its indisputable value, community radio journalism in India faces a unique set of challenges: the foremost being that, officially, it does not exist. According to government policy, community radio stations are prohibited from broadcasting any news and current affairs content. The situation is further complicated by the presence of a development discourse underpinning the entire rationale for the sector. Instead of serving their listeners, community radio stations are beholden to a nebulous ‘development’ agenda. Under such circumstances, it is unsurprising that community radio journalism in India is relatively unexplored in the literature. This paper aims to address this gap by exploring how community radio practitioners in India source content and work around their restrictions in order to provide their listeners with relevant information and news.

The relevance of public policies for the sustainability of community media: Lessons from Argentina

Since 2004 and for the first time in the history of broadcasting in the region, a dozen Latin American countries have acknowledged community radio and television stations as legal providers of audiovisual communication services. In Argentina, a law passed in 2009 not only awarded legal recognition to the sector, it also provided a promotion mechanism for community media. In this respect, it was one of the most ambitious ones in the region. The driving question is: How relevant are public policies for the sustainability of community media in Argentina? The argument is: even though the sector of community media has developed and persisted for decades in illegal conditions imposed by the state, the legalization and promotion policies carried out by the state from the perspective of human rights in a context of extreme media ownership concentration have been critical to the growth and sustainability of non-profit media.

La formación de ciudadanía en México a través de las radios comunitarias. Caso: Radio Teocelo, Veracruz

Esta investigación plantea cómo las audiencias han modificado su consumo de medios, transformando tal dinámica en un proceso que requiere de ciudadanos participativos, que acceden al espacio público a través de los medios de comunicación para formar parte de la toma de decisiones colectivas para coparticipar del ejercicio del poder. En tal sentido, por medio de este trabajo se plantea que otras formas posibles de comunicar permiten reconstruir el tejido social fracturado en los modelos de comunicación comercial y público, haciendo posible el fortalecimiento de la democracia de manera auténtica, a través de medios cuyos contenidos fortalezcan la identidad, los valores y la cultura de sus regiones, al tiempo que aportan información específica de interés para sus audiencias, atendiendo a un reclamo social en zonas o regiones en donde los públicos no forman parte de la segmentación que interesa a otros modelos de medios. Así es como las radios comunitarias surgen y tienen valor para sus comunidades, en un trabajo que debe estar garantizado por el Estado, pues es a él al que le corresponde garantizar su funcionamiento en forma democrática, brindando la pluralidad y el equilibrio necesarios para facilitar el acceso de las audiencias al espacio público a fin de intervenir en la discusión y toma de decisiones de competencia colectiva, mediante el ejercicio efectivo de ciudadanía.