"This article discusses citizen journalism ethics in crisis settings. It argues for an ontological critique of citizen journalism ethics where the practice must not be judged in relation to the moral taboos of mainstream journalism. Situating citizen journalism within the broader context of liquid m
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odernity and networked practices, the article argues that the practice marks the rise of personalised ethics and morality without ethical codes. Citizen journalism ethics in crisis settings are seen as ambivalent, nascent, fluid, individualised, situational, and sometimes contradictory. The personalisation of ethics also means that professional codes of conduct shift from codes to individual moral impulses in a complex melange of the deontic, virtuous and teleological, that is informed by higher-order ethics of freedom, human rights, social justice, media pluralism and citizen participation. Using case study and discourse analysis methods, the article concludes that citizen journalism represents something that remains deeply futuristic, where ethics are likely to crystallise around deprofessionalised and deinstitutionalised personal responsibilities." (Abstract)
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"This report is a qualitative study focussing on Zimbabwe’s failure and/or refusal to license community radio stations since 2001, despite existing legal frameworks providing for such. It looks at the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Broadcasting Services Act, the two key pieces of legislation whi
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ch provide the legal framework for the licensing of broadcasting services. The report also looks at the country’s obligations under international human rights law, experiences of people attempting to obtain community licenses and identifies the gaps that exist between policy and practice. The report is based on field visits to Zimbabwe by Amnesty International delegates conducted in August, September and October 2014 and in March 2015. A total of 29 activists involved in advocacy for establishment of community radio stations were interviewed in Bulawayo, Gweru, Harare, Kariba, Kwekwe, Lupane and Masvingo." (Page 5)
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"This toolkit combines the knowledge and experience of Internews with insights from research conducted by the University of Cambridge’s Centre of Governance and Human Rights and partners in the Politics and Interactive Media (PiMA) research project. Politics and Interactive Media in Africa (PiMA),
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jointly funded by DFID and the ESRC, examined whether and how Africans, particularly the poorest and least politically enfranchised, use new communication technologies to voice their opinion and to engage in a public debate on interactive broadcast media, and its effects on modes of political accountability. Africa’s digital revolution continues apace, yet broadcast media are vital for reaching the poor, rural and remote populations and the more marginalised, and more now and in the foreseeable future. By employing survey-based, qualitative and ethnographic methods to comparatively analyse interactive radio and TV programmes in the context of electoral and everyday politics, PiMA research critically interrogated the potential for digital communications and liberalised media sectors to promote more responsive and inclusive democratic governance, with a keen eye for turning project insights into relevance for policymakers, media houses, journalists and development organisations." (Website Internews)
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"Recent years have seen numerous attempts by community broadcasters around the world to reinvent their practices in an effort to remain relevant and financially sustainable in the digital age. One proposed initiative is to have community programming distributed via satellite, either in the form of a
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single channel or as a subscription service for local stations to find programming. Combining two case studies and multiple research methods, this article investigates the potential impact of satellite distribution on community broadcasting in Canada and East Africa. We observe that it is often not the community media organizations themselves that are pushing for satellite delivery, but, rather, outside actors such as media corporations and non-governmental organizations. As a result, we argue that a more spirited discussion within the community media sector is warranted to better understand the implications of this technological shift in delivery mechanisms." (Abstract)
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"L'article examine en particulier la relation entre les radios dites communautaires et la gouvernance locale. Se fondant sur l'exemple du Sénégal, elle montre comment la décentralisation politique et administrative d'une part et l'émergence des radios locales d'autre part ont été deux dynamiqu
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es concomitantes et intimement liées. Elle souligne combien certaines radios peuvent effectivement contribuer à améliorer la gestion de la chose publique au niveau local, mais relève aussi le caractère relativement isolé de ces bonnes pratiques." (Introduction, page 8)
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"[...] François Pascal Mbumba [écrit] sur la situation de ces médias particuliers en République démocratique du Congo, un pays qui se distingue par le caractère foisonnant de son secteur radiophonique qui compte actuellement plus de 500 stations. Les radios communautaires congolaises évoluent
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dans un contexte sous-réglementé, où leur spécificité n'est pas reconnue et où nombre d'entre elles se revendiquent communautaires tout en appartenant à des personnalités politiques ou religieuses. Alors qu'un certain nombre commettent des dérives, attribuées parfois au manque de professionnalisme journalistique de leurs animateurs, l'expérience de ces radios révèle aussi l'absence d'une définition claire du journaliste et de son activité dans l'environnement médiatique congolais." (Introduction, page 8)
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"The manual has been structured so as to enable you to understand migrants as a unique and critical audience within your station’s larger listenership. Often, out-migration is seen as desertion by people who stay behind in the villages, and there is a general negative public opinion about internal
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migration in India. This manual lays out a different perspective on the issue of internal migration, which contextualizes and explains the causes and consequences of migration in a non-judgmental way, through a rights-based approach. The manual will guide CR practitioners through a process of thinking about the kind of radio programmes, campaigns and other broadcasts that can be developed to address the myriad issues around migration, particularly reflecting ethical approaches to addressing migrants and their issues. It also examines methods and practices to actively include migrant communities within the CR station's listenership, its programming and outreach. It will thereby help you create a socially inclusive agenda for your CR station with respect to migrants." (Pages 8-9)
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"Community Radio is still nascent in Bangladesh while in India it has completed a decade and in Nepal it has existed in its myriad forms without a policy for much longer [...] The existence or non-existence of a guiding national CR policy plays an important role in determining the kind of Community
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Radio being sustained in the country. The policy has impacted the kinds of institution that is eligible to establish Community Radio as well as the kind of institutions the Community Radios themselves are evolving into. The practices at the stations in the three countries are quite diverse with CR stations in Nepal having a slight edge over those in India and Bangladesh from the point of having evolved as ‘media’ organizations’ rather than as ‘development’ organizations. Communities in all three countries are conceived of as geographic communities and not as communities of interest. All stations work on principles of not for profit in India and Bangladesh where as the underlying principles in Nepal seems to be community shareholding at least in the CR stations that were part of the study." (Conclusions, page 33)
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"This research explores the present status of the community radios (CR) in India in the initial sections. But the main focus has been given on the innovative practices of the community radios scattered in nook and corner of the country. Emphasis has also been given to classify the possible innovatio
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ns in the sector and a list of areas on innovation has been identified. This endeavour would open up new paths to create a robust CR environment in the country." (Preface)
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"This article draws on the first extensive study of community radio audiences in the Middle East to contribute new insights about documenting the impacts of community radio, and the evaluative mechanisms that should be in place for non-profit, community media to better fulfill their mission to serve
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the community. Building on critical ethnographic audience research, I argue for a storytelling approach that facilitates personal narratives and cooperative focus groups among community radio audiences." (Summary)
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"The overarching philosophy of community radio, acknowledged worldwide, is that it is a tool for social justice and a platform for community voices. Community radio seeks to counter the hegemony of the mainstream media and move away from the commerce-driven negative tendencies of media and journalis
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m such as sensationalism, tabloidization, celebrity-worship, the unrestrained use of hidden cameras and paid news. Ordinary people, through participation in management, content production and organization, produce information relevant to them, choose their own stories, express their voice and define their identity. As India witnesses an endeavour to erect a nationwide network of thousands of autonomous, locally orientated community radio stations, it becomes necessary to build a set of codes of practice for this third tier of broadcasting so that it does not become a clone of mainstream media. This paper looks at some of these principles that the community radio sector in India must hold as sacred in order to strengthen civil society, journalism practices and democracy in India." (Abstract)
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"La presente tesis presenta un panorama de la problemática particular de los medios audiovisuales sin fines de lucro y de la radiodifusión comunitaria en particular. Desde la perspectiva de la Economía Política de la Comunicación (EPC) analiza aspectos vinculados a la industria de la radiodifus
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ión sonora y su regulación, el mercado publicitario y las audiencias. Aborda, además, aspectos específicos de la Ley de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual que tienen impacto en el sector sin fines de lucro. Se exponen allí las principales tensiones, divergencias y acuerdos sobre las problemáticas del acceso a las licencias, la sostenibilidad, el trabajo y las incumbencias profesionales históricas de la radio. Por último, propone un análisis más profundo sobre los modos organizativos, administrativos, económicos y de resolución del trabajo sobre 10 emisoras del Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires." (Resumen)
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"Auch wenn es in Brasilien heute mehr als 4.000 Community Radios gibt, empfinden viele der Radiomachenden die gesetzlichen Rahmenbedingungen nicht als adäquate Übersetzung des »Rechts auf Radio«. Sie setzen den legalen Einschränkungen ihres Medienmachens deshalb ein wirkmächtiges Konzept entge
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gen, nämlich das medialer Legitimation. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeichnet diese Strategien und ihre spezifischen Akteur_innen auf interdisziplinärem Terrain nach. Mithilfe eines explorativen mapping des brasilianischen Radionarrativs zeigt sie, wie etablierter Akteur_innen in ihrer Monopolstellung herausgefordert werden, welche spezifischen Vorschläge eines »anderen« Radiomachens gegenüber dem staatlichen script von Community Radio formuliert werden und schließlich, anhand von 17 Fallbeispielen, wie Sendekollektive sich situativ zu legitimieren suchen. Dabei wird ein zentrales Dilemma sichtbar: Es gibt in Brasililien derzeit keinen Ort, an dem alle relevanten Akteur_innen zusammentreffen, um eine konsensuelle (Neu)Bestimmung von »Rundfunk« vorzunehmen zu können. Auf theoretischer Ebene leistet die Arbeit einen Beitrag zu medienpolitischen Debatten in Brasilien und Lateinamerika. Sie fokussiert dabei auf die Frage medialer Legitimation und zeigt, wie unterschiedliche gesellschaftliche Akteur_innen sich dieses Konzept aneignen. Der Ansatz der Akteur-innen-Netzwerk-Theorie im Rahmen einer (multi- sited) Medienethnografie trägt dazu bei, statische Definitionen und Kategorisierungen des Rundfunks zu überwinden, die einer breiten gesellschaftlichen Aushandlung und Aneignung des Mediums abträglich sind." (Zusammenfassung)
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"Community radio is a third tier broadcasting along with public and private radio broadcasting. Community radio is managed, run, controlled and owned by a community for the benefit of the community and serves the needs, interests and aspirations of a community. CR (Community Radio) gives marginalise
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d communities where their voice is not heard an opportunity to express their views where in the mainstream media these voices are not provided any space or time. Voluntary organizations, civic groups, NGOs, Women’s groups/organizations, etc. are now entering into broadcasting to share, express, empower, give voice, to many communities to benefit them with the broadcast. In community radio the public are voluntarily participating and producing programmes for themselves for their own benefit. CR plays an important role in the lives of women as it creates awareness, provides information and education, improves their skills and on the whole it promotes social, cultural, political and economic development or empowerment of women. Many studies have proved that community radio is an instrument of power in changing the lives of women." (Abstract)
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"This paper focuses on the contribution of a community radio (Serian Radio) to community empowerment of women among pastoralist communities in Northern Kenya. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 4 divisions for the study. Data was gathered to determine the extent to which women parti
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cipate in Serian FM programmes, productions that address the various issues facing Samburu women and the challenges faced by Serian FM in addressing various issues facing Samburu women. The paper established that Serian radio has worked to improve awareness and knowledge to solutions of community challenges and women issues in particular. The station has proved to be appropriate medium that has facilitated an interface It is recommended that regular feedback from the listening public is essential in identifying listeners’ preferences and the taste of various listeners segments (youth, women, men, aged, etc) and to avoid politics and religion." (Abstract)
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