The advancement of information and communication technology during the Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0 eras has brought significant changes to community media practices, especially in rural areas. This study examines the roles and social responsibilities of community radios CDR FM in Bantul, Yogyakarta, and RASI FM in Garut, West Java, amid the dynamics of digital media convergence. Employing a qualitative approach with a constructivist paradigm, data were collected through interviews, observations, focus group discussions, and documentation. The findings reveal that both community radios maintain their existence through active community participation, adaptation to digital technology, and management grounded in local values. Digital media convergence enables the expansion of broadcast reach from local to global levels, enhancing interaction and social mobilization. The social responsibility of community media is reflected in delivering factual information, shaping public opinion, preserving culture, and ensuring accountability to the audience. Key challenges include the regeneration of media activists and funding, which can be addressed by strengthening partnership networks and human resource capacity. This study confirms that community media play a strategic role as agents of social development in rural areas by leveraging evolving communication technologies.

This research explores the role community radio initiatives play in empowering women in Kibera and Mukuru informal settlements in Nairobi who are encountering gender-based violence (GBV). The study examines the women’s empowerment strategies employed by Pamoja FM and Ruben FM, female audience engagement with community radio, and community radio programming tailored for female audiences to address GBV. The study employed qualitative methods, promoting rigorous analysis of empowerment strategies, inclusion, and perceptions, and thus contributing new knowledge to community radio scholarship and practice. Standpoint theory, as a lens, provided insights into understanding community radio strategies for women’s empowerment and their perceptions of community radio programs aimed at empowering women. Community radio’s standpoint to empower the female audience vis-à-vis women’s perspectives to counter social discrimination against them, such as the culture of silence, enriches the audience space on community radio. The study argues that through inclusion, community radio can effectively facilitate women’s empowerment.

ABSTRACT Postcolonial feminist scholarship has extensively critiqued external imposition of Western gender frameworks, yet mechanisms through which culturally embedded approaches achieve transformation remain insufficiently documented. Based on four months of multimethod ethnographic fieldwork incorporating focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, household observation and broadcast analysis at Simli Radio in Kumbungu district in Northern Ghana, this study investigates how community radio facilitates gender transformation in patriarchal Dagbong society, where women public speech constitutes transgression governed by what this research terms the ‘conspiracy of silence’. Analysis integrated postcolonial feminist theory, strategic essentialism, and participatory media scholarship. Three synergistic mechanisms were identified. First, radio listener clubs organized exclusively for women created protected spaces where members developed public speaking skills, political awareness, and organizing capacity. Second, radio broadcast deployed culturally resonant formats including folk narratives, indigenous music, and traditional storytelling to enable gender critique emerging from within tradition. Third, repeated mediated exposure through daily broadcasts normalized women public voices through habituation processes. The study demonstrates that meaningful normalization requires years rather than months, challenging conventional development programming cycles. The documented mechanisms offer transferable insights for interventions navigating tensions between universal commitments and cultural particularity, providing tools for distinguishing genuine transformation from cosmetic accommodation.

The study investigated the role of Mang’elete FM's programme content, Kenya’s first community radio station, in fostering economic development in Makueni County, a rural region with a 64.1% poverty rate. Grounded in participatory development communication theory, the research examines how locally relevant, Kamba-language content addresses socio-economic challenges like poverty, unemployment, and agricultural constraints. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving 260 listener respondents and seven key informants who included content producers and senior management. Findings reveal that the majority of listeners perceive Mang’elete FM’s content as economically empowering through education, advocacy for service delivery and community engagement. However, limitations such as inadequate expert involvement, leadership disputes, a deficit in a more participatory content development a deficit in more participatory content development and restrictive regulations limit its potential. The study recommends enhancing professional input, increasing community participation, and advocating for supportive policies. This study affirms community radio’s role in advancing Sustainable Development Goal 8, which aims at attaining decent work and economic growth in rural contexts, offering a model for other developing regions

In February 2025, Tonga's Minister of Health declared a national dengue fever epidemic, emphasizing the urgent need to raise public awareness and implement preventative measures. In response to this declaration, a study was conducted from March to May 2025 to investigate the sociodemographic determinants affecting dengue fever awareness and preventative behaviors across Tonga's primary islands: Tongatapu, Ha'apai, and Vava'u. Researchers conducted a survey of 140 randomly selected households, achieving a 93% response rate. The results revealed that although 90% of respondents were aware of dengue fever, 67% had limited knowledge of its transmission and prevention. A multivariable analysis revealed that awareness levels were significantly higher among individuals with at least a secondary education, those who regularly listened to radio broadcasts, and those who classified dengue fever as "very serious." Focus group discussions further illuminated community misconceptions about dengue fever symptoms, which were often mistaken for those of respiratory conditions. Participants also expressed concerns about a noticeable decrease in the frequency of health officials' home visits since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Community members advocated bolstering local engagement strategies, including the utilization of community radio, village committees, and targeted networks for mothers and youth. These findings underscore the necessity for effective communication strategies, including Tongan-language radio dramas, to enhance community health resilience and encourage sustained preventative practices.

ABSTRACT Despite three decades of decentralisation reforms across Sub-Saharan Africa, persistent participatory deficits characterise local governance systems, with rural citizens systematically marginalised from democratic processes. This ethnographic qualitative case study examines how community radio (CR) functions as democratic infrastructure, addressing these deficits through analysing Simli Radio in Ghana’s Kumbungu District. Employing 42 days of ethnographic radio listening observation, one focus group discussion with assembly members and six with mixed gender Radio Listener Club members, seven key informant interviews, and document analysis conducted over a four-month period, the research addresses two interrelated questions examining mechanisms through which CR transforms civic consciousness and establishes accountability architectures. Findings reveal that indigenous-language broadcasting develops critical consciousness among marginalised citizens through broadcasts that translate complex political processes into locally comprehensible discussions. Public scrutiny platforms, institutionalised oversight sessions, and evidence-based citizen journalism compel government responsiveness through reputational pressure mechanisms operating beyond electoral cycles. However, critical analysis demonstrates that both consciousness-building and accountability mechanisms operate within bounded spaces where fundamental power asymmetries remain substantially unchanged, establishing realistic expectations for community media’s democratic capacity in rural African contexts.

Community radio has surfaced as a dynamic medium for intercommunication and as an instrument in providing learning opportunities for all citizens, particularly those in the countryside. In higher education institutions, campus-based radio stations stand as a tool in transferring knowledge, in engaging communities, and in delivering extension services especially in far-flung areas. This study examined the institutional and operational capacities of ASC Radyo Pasaan, the campus-based radio station of Apayao State College, using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analytical framework. The study employed a descriptive assessment research design that made use of an institutional assessment checklist, key informant interviews, and document analysis that included administrators, faculty broadcasters, technical personnel, and student volunteers. According to the findings, ASC Radyo Pasaan possesses substantial institutional strengths including close affiliation with Apayao State College, alignment with the college’s extension mandate, participation of faculty and students in broadcasting activities, and localized community oriented programming, Nevertheless, there were also internal weaknesses that were identified such as limited financial resources, technical infrastructure limitations, and the absence of a long-term strategic development framework. The evaluation further highlighted cropping up opportunities that include the expanding recognition of community media in development communication, possible integration of digital broadcasting technologies, and opportunities for collaboration with agencies of the government and development organizations. Simultaneously, threats related to competition from digital media platforms, regulatory compliance requirements, and fast technological changes in the broadcasting industry were also observed. The study concludes that strategic development planning grounded in SWOT analysis can support the sus

The digital integration has rapidly been transforming higher education landscape in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Guided from decolonial perspective, this study aims to explore the relevance of integrating digital tools in transforming remote higher education landscape, utilizing critical case study method. This study is grounded on qualitative research design. For this, we gathered empirical data using semi-structured interview questions from purposively selected fifteen research participants. The participants consisted of five university teachers and ten undergraduate students from three different remote higher education institutions of Kalikot district of Nepal. The data were then analyzed following Miles and Huberman's qualitative data abstraction method of thematic analysis which included data reduction (coding), data display (categorizing) and drawing conclusion (concept/theme development). The study revealed that although digitalization plays the transformative role in shaping higher education, it is unintentionally widening the structural inequalities and perpetuating digital colonialism in remote higher education. The findings are critical as they showcase exact realties of digital transformation in remote regions and give a way forward to the government authorities and policy makers to adopt equity-based digital strategies to enhance access, quality and inclusivity in Nepal's higher education landscape. Furthermore, the study offered some alternatives digital strategies such as Delayed tolerant Network (DTN), voice-based mobile telephony and local community radio to bridge the disparities and enhance teaching and learning.

This article examines the transformative potential of community radio (CR) in facilitating social change. Using a case study of Khwezi Community Radio (KR) in South Africa (SA), the study draws on vignette-based analysis informed by content analysis of KR programming, supported by excerpts from interviews and focus groups with community members and radio staff from the broader doctoral study. It advances a nuanced analysis of power that goes beyond its hierarchical and oppressive dimensions, exploring it as relational, negotiated, and potentially transformative. The study interrogates how communities engage with power through KR, particularly in relation to leadership structures, as exemplified in the KR mayoral show, where decision-making power remains contested. Findings highlight how communities cultivate collective agency through the Masibumbane Listeners Club (MLC), reinforcing a shared sense of community and participatory engagement. However, the study problematises static conceptualisations of participatory spaces by demonstrating how power asymmetries persist and are continuously negotiated within CR-facilitated interactions embedded in broader socio-political and economic structures. The study argues that understanding the extent to which CRs contribute to social change requires a critical power lens, revealing the constraints of transformative power when community leaders act as gatekeepers, thereby impeding ser-vice delivery and obstructing participatory governance. Furthermore, the study challenges the assumption that power asymmetries exist solely in external structures, highlighting subtler forms of power embedded within collaborative spaces such as the MLC.

This study aims to fill this gap through a bibliometric analysis of publications discussing radio in communication studies from the time of the first article to 2025. Using data from the Scopus database and visualization tools such as VOSviewer, the analysis identified key contributors, publication trends, thematic clusters, and areas that have not been explored. Quantitatively, there was a surge in publications from 2019 to 2024, driven by the pandemic and the adoption of digital technology, marking a shift to a hybrid radio platform ecosystem. The map also highlights geographic disparities, with Australia as the most significant contributor, while emphasizing the need for cross-theme integration to more strongly connect the governance-public sphere axis with the digital frontier, particularly in terms of resilience and social justice.

ABSTRACT Rumors and misinformation can escalate to the level of an infodemic and significantly complicate public health efforts to disseminate accurate information and promote understanding. Like other parts of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO South-East Asia Region had its share of this challenge. This paper reports on the joint WHO South-East Asia and AMARC Asia Pacific program titled, Building resilient communities against COVID-19: Responding to fake news and misinformation through community radios in Asia Pacific, or simply, the Community Radio Project. This initiative involved examining the landscape of rumors and misinformation circulating in the Region and designing a corresponding online training for community radio journalists, with the aim to strengthen their capacities in managing infodemics. The project also included the rollout of a short mentorship program, as well as the building of an online bank of resources where various tools had been made available to support community radio practitioners in tackling rumors and misinformation. Mixed-method assessment was used to examine the online training component of the Community Radio Project 2 years after its implementation. A majority of the respondents confirmed that the 2022 training contents had helped them and that their respective radio stations had been taking action to help address misinformation spreading in the localities. Additional capacity building, strengthening networks and resources, and research will enhance community radio’s ability to address infodemics.

Empowering women to make informed reproductive health decisions is an essential pathway to promoting gender equity and improving their health. However, cultural and socio-economic barriers are often limiting women's autonomy to make informed reproductive health choices. This study examined women empowerment in reproductive health decisions and midwifery -led interventions in Rivers State. Two objectives and two research questions guided the study. Two hypotheses were also tested. The study adopted cross-sectional mixed methods design. The population of this study consisted 799,792 women of reproductive age living in Rivers State during the study. A sample of 400 women of reproductive age living in the state provided data for the study. The instruments used to collect data were a validated questionnaire and an interview guide. The reliability coefficients of the questionnaire were established at 0.82, 0.81, 0.76, 0.86, 0.77 and 0.80. The quantitative data collected were analysed using percentage, mean, standard deviation and Chi-square, while qualitative data were analysed thematically and textually. The findings of the study revealed that 71.47% of women in Rivers State had a high level of awareness about midwifery-led interventions (x̄ = 2.92), and 55.71% rated the psychometric properties of the interventions highly (x̄ = 2.78). Furthermore, the participation of women in the interventions was substantial (x̄ = 2.90; 64.94%), resulting in a significant improvement in their reproductive health outcomes (x̄ = 2.85; 57.88%; χ² = 43.287, p = .000). The study recommended that Rivers State Ministry of Health should develop and implement a consistent and community-focused awareness campaigns about midwifery-led interventions. These campaigns should leverage local leaders, community radio, and religious organisations to disseminate information on reproductive health services, including antenatal care, and menstrual health management. Healthcare administrators should prioritise the deployment of more midwives to rural areas to ensure that reproductive health services are easily accessible.

This study assesses the effectiveness of Community Radio in Promoting Voter registration in Mufulira focusing on Mafkeni Radio on Mufulira District. In Zambia, low voter registration rates and limited civic engagement, particularly among youth and rural populations, present a challenge to inclusive democratic participation. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, comprising both qualitative and quantitative methods in collecting data from Mafkeni Radio staff and Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) officials as well as the members of the public. The research examined three core areas: the reach of voter registration programs, messaging strategies employed, and the effect on voter registration behaviour. Findings reveal that Mafkeni Radio has significant reach among youth and urban listeners, largely due to strategic programming during peak listening times and the use of Bemba and English languages. Messaging strategies, including jingles, talk shows, interviews, and interactive call-ins, were found to enhance clarity, cultural relevance, and listener engagement. Evidence from both interviews and questionnaires indicates that the broadcasts positively influenced voter registration, motivating listeners to register and encourage others within their communities. Limitations were noted in reaching older populations, rural areas, and minority language speakers, as well as in program airtime and scheduling. The study concludes that Mafkeni Radio serves as an effective civic education tool and partner to the ECZ, promoting democratic participation. The implications of the study include increasing program airtime, diversifying language use, strengthening collaboration with the ECZ, expanding interactive platforms, and sustaining civic education beyond registration periods.

Community media act as vital alternatives to hegemonic media practices and products, providing a much-needed space for marginalised voices in a homogenised and globalised media landscape. While there are strong and long-standing examples of Indigenous community media around the world, there remains a western-centric bias in community radio research, both geographically and epistemologically. This research seeks to address this gap by exploring community radio as a vehicle for and guardian of Indigenous knowledge systems in the Global South. Drawing on an ethnographic case study of Radio Dhimsa, an Indigenous community radio station in the Indian state of Odisha, the findings reveal the critical role of Radio Dhimsa in fostering community participation, amplifying marginalised voices, and countering the dominance of expert-driven knowledge cultures. By highlighting the interplay between community media and Indigenous knowledge systems, this research contributes to the emerging scholarship on community media in the Global South and underscores the transformative potential of community radio as a tool for cultural preservation and participatory communication.

In South Africa, citizens are increasingly using social media to monitor and report failures in municipal service delivery. While Citizen-Based Monitoring (CBM) is gaining traction in public sector reforms, its application through social media remains informal, fragmented, and largely unrecognised by municipal authorities. A notable feature of these practices is the use of African indigenous languages, allowing citizens to articulate grievances authentically within their cultural contexts. Guided by Digital Public Sphere theories and the Uses and Gratifications Theory, this study examines how citizens employ digital platforms - particularly through vernacular expression - to participate in public deliberation, seek accountability and fulfil information, expressive, and community-oriented needs. Using a qualitative design, the research combines content analysis of vernacular posts from municipalities with strong social media presences and in-depth interviews with government officials, community-based organisations (CBOs), and community radio representatives. The findings show that indigenous language use amplifies marginalised voices, enhances accessibility, and fosters communal legitimacy around service delivery grievances. However, municipalities often lack the linguistic capacity, digital tools, and institutional frameworks to monitor or respond effectively to vernacular complaints. Meanwhile, community radio and CBOs play intermediary roles without formal support. The study contributes to digital governance, language justice, and participatory democracy scholarship by proposing a framework to formalise vernacular CBM. Key recommendations include developing multilingual digital engagement strategies, formally partnering with community media, and investing in African-language natural language processing (NLP) tools. Recognising vernacular citizen monitoring practices offers a pathway to more inclusive, responsive, and linguistically representative local governance aligned with South Africa’s democratic ideals.

This review examines Montoya Ortega’s dissertation on the transformative role of community radio among Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in Nicaragua. Based on three URACCAN radio stations, it shows how campaigns on health, land rights, and identity enhance strategic and participatory communication. Using a mixed-methods approach, it traces the relationship between civic action, culture, and identity. The study offers graphic communicators and public service communicators valuable tools for designing social change, revealing how sound, rhythm, and collective memory can generate new forms of visual narrative.

grassroots people through their voices and strengthen them in Sri Lanka. This research investigates about the history of Uva community radio and its steps of growthen with the challenges. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether Uva Community Radio functions as a complete community radio station by broadcasting the voices of oppressed people from the upcountry region. This study has been followed as quantitative and qualitative research with the ten operational definitons which were identified as the parameters for operating as the voice of the voiceless, which include working on a non-profit basis, expressing local language and identity, having various social programs, accommodating minority groups, improving the educational knowledge of the community, promoting good governance, communicating local culture, participating in regional development, and operating independently. The study concludes that Uva Community Radio was established to bring the voices of marginalized people in Uva Province to the forefront. However, its programming has been adapted to include more entertainment-focused content, leading to its departure from being a complete community radio station. Additionally, the study identified challenges faced by Uva Community radio, including a lack of funding, insufficient technical equipment resources, political interference, a lack of human resources for field trips, and a change in frequency. Further, the study concludes that Uva Community radio fully operated as a community radio station during its first ten years of operation, but after 2013, it was separated from being a complete community radio station. The programming on Saturdays has more community radio characteristics, while programming on Tuesdays has the least.

Agriculture requires a continuous flow of timely and relevant information to improve productivity and ensure sustainable livelihoods. Community radio has emerged as an effective medium for agricultural extension due to its affordability, accessibility, and local relevance. The present study examined the listening behaviour, awareness, and programme preference of listeners of Phule Krishi Vahini 90.8 FM, a community radio station operated by Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Rahuri. The study was conducted in Ahilyanagar district of Maharashtra using an ex-post facto research design. A total of 160 respondents were selected through simple random sampling from eight villages across four tahsils within the broadcast coverage area. Data were collected using a structured and pre-tested interview schedule through personal interviews. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents (66.87%) exhibited a medium level of listening behaviour, while 23.75 per cent showed high listening behaviour. Most respondents listened to programmes at home, primarily during morning and evening hours. More than half of the listeners spent four hours or more listening to radio programmes, and mobile phones emerged as the most preferred listening medium. Awareness about Phule Krishi Vahini programmes was found to be moderate among the majority of respondents (71.25%). Programme preference analysis indicated that agriculture-oriented and locally relevant programmes such as Krishi Jagat Dnyandata, Krishi Jagat Anndata, and Sanshodhanachi Vari Aplya Dari were the most preferred. The study concludes that Phule Krishi Vahini Radio plays a significant role in disseminating need-based agricultural information and serves as an effective extension tool for strengthening knowledge dissemination among rural communities.

Drawing on a socio-economic approach to media and field-based research, this study investigates the funding mechanisms of community radio stations in Senegal to evaluate their long-term viability. The fundings indicate that these stations operate within a legal and economic framework that is largely unfavorable, placing them in a state of persistent vulnerability. Consequently, many adopt a « catch-all » approach to ensure their survival. This study thus examines the economic viability of a radio model that relies heavily on external funding.

In this article we will present a study about the importance of indigenous community radio for preserving, disseminating, and developing the culture of native peoples, and about the difficulties found in Peru for the development of this type of communication projects. To this end, we will first analyze the history of community radio in the country, as well as its legislation regarding communication matters. Subsequently, we will address the question of Peruvian indigenous identity from a brief historical perspective and its current linguistic situation. We will then focus on the particular case of the Network of Indigenous Communicators of Peru (REDCIP) to study their work in the field of indigenous communication in the country. We will approach this question through interviews with network members themselves, as well as through active listening to some of their radio programs. Both the interviews and program listening were conducted between January and March 2023; for this reason, the national crisis situation the country went through during those dates takes on significant relevance, and its analysis forms part of our work.