"This article seeks lessons for the sustainability of community media by looking at its role in Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution. It draws on recent theorization to define community media as an articulating mechanism of a maximally democratic civil society. It then situates this understanding in
...
relation to the Gramscian notion of a ‘civil state’, which has increasingly informed Latin American socialism and in which the state’s role is to maximise participatory governance within civil society. The article then analyses the weaknesses of the Venezuelan community media sector under a liberal framework, and attempts to establish a new legal structure that would integrate participatory media with civil society and the Bolivarian ‘commune’ system. These efforts demonstrate that heterarchical institutional structures may best integrate community media with civil society in a manner that assures sustainability and autonomy." (Abstract)
more
"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." (Abstract)
more
"The increasing commercialisation of community radio in Canada, evident in changing station practices and regulatory policies, has resulted in the erosion of volunteer run governance and programming. This article draws on community media, anti-oppression, and third-sector studies literature to inves
...
tigate the experiences of volunteers from two stations, CHRY in Toronto and Radio Centre-Ville in Montréal. Current Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulations define community radio ‘by virtue of its place in the communities served.’ This article concludes that reducing the engagement and empowerment of volunteers in community radio programming and governance limits the place of community radio in the community. The authors will also identify best practices that are needed to re-centre community radio within the community while ensuring a sustainable non-profit community broadcasting sector." (Abstract)
more
"The Australian community radio sector is a rich source of information for researchers, activists and practitioners working to support and develop community broadcasting worldwide. With a 46-year history, it represents an established and enduring third tier of independent local broadcasting with ove
...
r 450 non-profit radio services legislated to provide opportunities for community engagement and participation. This article focuses on the political, economic and institutional factors involved in a change of ownership and management of Radio Adelaide, the country’s longest running community radio station. The process illustrates the impact and effects of the non-profit industrial complex as stations struggle for financial survival and independence in an increasingly competitive, corporatized environment. It is a case study which questions the contemporary understanding of a strong and resilient sector, highlighting themes to inform community media research and practice internationally." (Abstract)
more
"Even at the most audience-informed organizations, journalists recognize the immense difficulty in making sense of what audience members and relevant experts know, particularly without presently available tools and ample staff. This work is hard, yet there is an increasing amount of interest in it.
...
We hear more reporters, editors, and audience development staff around the world asking: how can this work be operationalized? With this report you see what we have learned so far about memberful routines. We close by highlighting some of the limits and cautions of working closely with members. We do this not to dissuade you from pursuing these routines, but to help as you undertake your own projects with members, donors, subscribers, and contributors: not every story can have, and not every story should have, reader involvement; make it crystal clear to community members: Everyone has opinions. Your opinions will not run our newsroom; member engagement is hard work. Staff need to be identified, trained, and given time to do it right; be ready to handle the incoming traffic if your callouts and other outreach succeed and you have plenty of takers. Design for potential over-supply of information!; project management is a discipline unto itself. Without it, news sites will find it hard to succeed at establishing memberful routines; members in their natural state do not necessarily know what news organizations need from them. We have to teach them that part." (Conclusion, page 53)
more
"En respuesta al riesgo que enfrentan tanto las emisoras comunitarias como otros medios de comunicación en todas las regiones del país, Colombia cuenta con un programa de protección a periodistas desde el año 2000. Luego de 19años, puede afirmarse que esta iniciativa ha contribuido considerable
...
mente a la disminución de homicidios contra reporteros en el país. Sin embargo, el programa se limita a acciones reactivas, no promueve acciones preventivas para proteger a los reporteros y carece de un alcance integral que involucre a las diferentes entidades estatales —para lograr, entre otras cosas, sanciones judiciales a los agresores—. Este enfoque integral también implica que los medios de comunicación asuman un rol activo en la implementación de medidas preventivas para proteger a sus comunicadores. Considerando los problemas estructurales del actual programa de protección a periodistas, así como las situaciones de riesgo que enfrentan las emisoras comunitarias y sus reporteros, la Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) y la Red Cooperativa de Medios de Comunicación Comunitarios de Santander (Resander) han creado, con el apoyo de la Unión Europea, este manual de autoprotección, con el fin de que las emisoras comunitarias establezcan medidas preventivas para ejercer su labor informativa. El objetivo de este manual es que las radios comunitarias fortalezcan el trabajo a través de sus redes de comunicación, en aras de monitorear la situación de seguridad de sus comunicadores. Adicionalmente, en este producto se brindan algunas pautas para la elaboración de análisis de contexto y se presenta el ejemplo de los departamentos de Guaviare, Caquetá, Putumayo y Nariño. Finalmente, se hacen recomendaciones para la implementación de medidas de autoprotección antes del cubrimiento de temas de interés, durante el cubrimiento, antes de la emisión de información y al interior de la emisora. Teniendo en cuenta que no es posible anticiparse a todas las situaciones de riesgo, al final del documento se sugieren rutas de acción para enfrentar situaciones de riesgo inminente." (Página 6-7)
more
"Este curso trata sobre la siempre difícil sostenibilidad económica de las radios de fines sociales. Pensaremos herramientas que ayuden a pensar unestra práctica en estos temas, dónde conseguir fondos, cómo adminstrarlos. La idea es reflexionar sobre las diferentes dimensiones que hacen que una
...
radio comunitaria perdure y desarrolle sus objetivos (sostenibilidad político-social, comunicacional, económica-administrativa). A partir de allí nos concentraremos en pensar específicamente el aspecto económico para tener herramientas para analizar cómo abordamos estos temas en nuestra emisora y qué podemos hacer para fortalecernos, obtener más recursos, hacer una gestión prolija. Siempre entendiendo que las radios comunitarias se sostienen con diversas y múltiples fuentes de financiamiento y que también en este aspecto de la gestión es fundamental la comunidad y su participación." (Página 2)
more
"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 outby 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 nonprofit media." (Abstract)
more
"[Esta guía] es el resultado de la realización del Diplomado en Periodismo Comunitario llevado a cabo con comunicadoras y comunicadores populares de la Región Altos y Selva de Chiapas en el 2018, como parte de la labor que como Red de Comunicadores Boca de Polen realizamos desde el campo del peri
...
odismo y comunicación comunitaria en México." (Capa psoterior)
more
"Sustainable development is a big challenge for developing countries, due to lack of effective communication about sustainability to the rural population. This paper aims at building a theoretically and statistically sound model to communicate sustainability more effectively in rural areas in order
...
to achieve sustainable development. To this end, the constructs and items of the hypothesised model are identified, based on a focus group discussion and backed by the literature reviewed. Both partial least squares and covariance-based structural equation modelling approaches were used to test the hypotheses and validate the model against multiple indices after analysing survey data collected from 300 community radio listeners in Bangladesh. It was found that the unique media characteristics of community radio positively increased the acceptability of sustainability communications, which in turn affects the behavioural determinants (popular theory: attitudes, self-efficacy belief and social norms) and changed the intention to adopt sustainable behaviour. Example cases from around the world also support the statistically sound model." (Abstract)
more
"This paper examined listeners’ perceptions of Forte FM’s role in facilitating community development in Alice, which is a small rural town under Raymond Mhlaba Municipality, South Africa. Forte FM is a community radio station located at University of Fort Hare, Alice campus, established to facil
...
itate development in communities within the Amathole District Municipality. The paper adopted a qualitative design in which qualitative questionnaires with open-ended questions were used to collect primary data. The findings revealed that listeners view Forte FM as a community station that facilitates development in Alice in various ways, including providing the community with agricultural information, promoting local culture and local artists as well as creating health awareness among others. The paper further revealed that listeners feel a sense of community ownership towards the radio station and this means that the community is involved in their own development." (Abstract)
more
"This article discusses some structural elements affecting spaces for social interaction within community radio processes, such as spaces for participatory planning and interpersonal communication that could be considered as a crucial contribution to the construction of peace in Colombia. Methodolog
...
y: The study used two ethnographic vignettes to investigate these spaces: (i) the “Programming Boards” of community radio stations in the Caribbean, and (ii) the “Local Thematic Committees” of community radio stations in northeast Antioquia. Literature on participatory intensities frame this research providing a historical and critical perspective of community communication for peace. Discussion and conclusions: We concluded that it is necessary to strengthen participatory planning with a political emphasis and that interpersonal communication should form the basis of a radio designed to call and engage civil society to meet, share, and dialogue towards the collective construction of peace." (Abstract)
more
"This article adopts the case study research approach through the use of document analysis and interviews to investigate the role of two community radio stations in selected areas of the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa with regard to rural development and the dissemination of information to w
...
omen listeners. It also suggests ways by which these radios may be used to enhance access to information by rural women in South Africa. The findings reveal that although community radio stations are recognised as support systems for information dissemination in rural communities, their role in information dissemination and the community development of women has not been fully explored. This article suggests ways in which the services of community radios may be enhanced by the provision of information to women for rural development." (Abstract)
more