"This research explores the significance of local radio in preserving and assisting indigenous communities and languages in the tribal region of Jharkhand, India. The study highlights the involvement and engagements of “Asur Radio,” a community radio in the interest of the tribal community named
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– Asur. This study further explores how a community radio started by a primitive vulnerable tribe has kept the community together. The study employs a qualitative research technique using in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions with people closely connected to Asur Radio, including the Asur community. The findings through focus group discussions and in-depth exploration revealed that this newly launched community radio has a deep impression on community engagement and participation among the tribes benefitting the community and making the community radio more viable and justifiable." (Abstract)
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"The Zimbabwean government has been criticized across scholarship for its lack of sincerity in ensuring media plurality, especially in the radio broadcasting sector. In 2020, when community radio stations were granted licenses for the first-time in the post-Mugabe era, the Mnangagwa-led government w
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as hailed for ushering a “new dispensation” in broadcasting. The licensing of community radio stations can be seen as initial steps to the democratization of the airwaves as well as the realization of a three-tier model of public, commercial, and more recently community broadcasting. The actual community radio broadcasting activities are off to a promising start. Although the community radio initiatives are facing several technical and financial challenges, they are taking important steps toward getting their operations underway. Through qualitative focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with some of the licensed players and policy stakeholders, this study discusses structural and sustainability issues that are albatross to the operations of newly licensed community radio stations in Zimbabwe." (Abstract)
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"The main objective of this research action is to highlight the process of adaptation, validation, and administration of the Indicator of social profitability in communication (Irscom, Indicador de rentabilidad social en comunicación) for the community and indigenous radio sector of Colombia, a cou
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ntry with over 700 community radio stations nationwide, and the first in Latin America/Abya Yala to legalize them. The Irscom, a registered trademark, was created by the LabComAndalucía group of the University of Malaga in 2012. Employing six categories and 33 variables, it reflects the working practice and dynamics of radio stations to achieve their objectives, awarding points subject to weightings and criteria linked to pertinence. A compendium of quantitative (questionnaire, weighting, and rankings) and qualitative methods (focus groups and semi-structured interviews) were applied in its development and administration. The sample for this pilot project (from the Ministry of Culture of Colombia, the Faculty of Communications of the University Minuto de Dios, Bogotá, and LabComAndalucía) consisted of 11 community radio stations, an indigenous community radio station declared to be of public interest, and four community radio networks within the country. The results confirmed that Irscom is an organic tool that, without substantial modifications to the original framework, and although designed for Spain, can be adapted to other international contexts so that different broadcasters may appreciate their strengths and weaknesses. It contributes to holistic reflection on the social profitability of these media within their broadcasting areas. In the short term, Irscom may be extended to other community radio stations in the country. In the medium term, this indicator can help the community and the indigenous sound sector to improve their social profitability and validate their activities with government and institutional agencies to defend their important work of social cohesion and the need for solid sources of financing. It can also contribute to better collective organization by joining interests, with the awarding of the Irscom seal of quality as an endorsement of its implementation and improvements." (Abstract)
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"This study aims to explore the policies and practices of Radio Cutivalú in the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment within the context of the prevailing patriarchal structures in Peruvian society. For this purpose, the following research question is formulated: Does Radio Cutival
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ú have a gender policy and if so, how does it manifest? To answer the research question, a qualitative analysis of four internal documents and 11 interviewees with employees was conducted. The study reveals that while Radio Cutivalú does not possess an explicit, written gender policy, gender equality is considered a central guiding principle in the radio’s operations. Its activities align with the objectives of international policies, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – Section J, AMARC-WIN’s Gender Policy for Community Radio, and UNESCO’s Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media. Thus, Radio Cutivalú serves as a powerful platform for addressing gender issues." (Abstract)
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"Although it is a community broadcasting station with a small radius, Koch FM conceptualises itself as part of a national and global civil society network and acts as such. Specifcally, it sees its role as promoting democracy and Good Governance. The station has consequently decided to stay away fro
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m government funding. However, despite an assumed freedom from government and commercial infuence, the station is subject to implicit infuence by its donor(s) as far as setting the agenda is concerned. In the case of Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), while climate change issues are not negative, this relationship of “gentle pressure” to move in one direction and not the other illustrates the infuence that comes with financing from sources outside the community, even when legally speaking, community representatives own the station. For a community station, reliance on a single donor comes with the challenge of dependence on them. This dependence could be reduced if stations explored more diverse funding models including community contributions or subscriptions, and through capping the percentage of total funding that a single external donor can provide. Although Kenyan legislation does not address the issue of ownership of community broadcasters, station ownership and control by communities may be gauged by their formal and informal participation in the life of the station. Much as a grassroots community like that around Koch FM does not contribute substantial fnances to the station, it expresses a sense of ownership and control through informal interactions with the station. It wields infuence through contributing to the station’s content and content management agenda and sometimes, resisting pressure from the station staf to participate in particular ways and not others. Thus, ownership and control are not dependent solely on who has the fnancial clout. Rather, they are the subject of constant negotiation, both formally and informally." (Conclusion)
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"This is the first time that we have attempted to put together an overall picture of the community broadcasting sector of the Asia-Pacific region into one publication. I hope you – as a community broadcaster, advocate, teacher, and student of community radio, will find it interesting and useful. T
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he publication is primarily based on information collected through two methods. A comprehensive survey was conducted in ten countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The survey sought to collect general information about community radios in terms of location, transmission capacity, staff situation, involvement of volunteers, broadcasting languages and formats, content types, and ownership model. The survey also included questions about gender and social inclusion, disaster preparedness of radio stations, and involvement of indigenous communities, Dalits, and family (small) farming communities in community broadcasting. Surveys were conducted in Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, and Timor Leste." (Introduction and methodology, page 5)
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"This article investigates the role of community radio in fostering good governance at the local level in the setting of Indonesia. Using the example of PASS FM Radio, this article demonstrates how community radio has fulfilled the purpose and function of media as a public sphere. As a community rad
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io station, PASS FM has not only succeeded in breaking down communication barriers between citizens and the local administration, but it has also presented solutions for optimising local potential. PASS FM Radio has also succeeded in partnering with the government to jointly serve the public interest and support the ideals of good governance, with the main features of transparency and public participation." (Abstract)
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"The paper’s aim is to demonstrate the relevance of applying the core principles of Community radio (CR) as a basis for CR’s drive for a democratically participant approach of communication, which can facilitate development communication. In a democratic society, the participation of people in d
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ecision-making processes is important. However, in Ghana people’s participation in decision-making processes seems inadequate. Community participation in the management of resources and discourses about people’s general well-being can be more meaningful if people are empowered to communicate. Since the wind of democratization blew across Africa in 1990s, government monopoly over the media is somewhat relaxed. In this context, the emergence of CR movement in Ghana is important. However, until identified gaps in efforts geared towards making CR an enabler for communities to participate in development in collaboration with stakeholders are plugged, the power of CR to engender community development would seem intangible. In this regard, a critical review of documents on CR’s contributions to development is relevant. This paper’s general contention is that despite the over two decades of the presence of CR in Ghana, some fundamental principles of CR are hardly applied to enable CR facilitate participatory communication in Ghana. This has implications for the realization of the rationale for which community radio stations are established." (Abstract)
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"Memorias de un vinilo explora los surcos, las materialidades, los sonidos, las huellas, las voces, las melodías, las letras que se producen en torno al componente educativo de una experiencia comunicativa, comunitaria, organizativa denominada Vokaribe en la ciudad de Barranquilla (Colombia). Aunqu
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e se trata de una historia particular, situada, marcada por las subjetividades de sus protagonistas, esta sistematización hace parte de la historia de tantas experiencias leídas desde el campo de la comunicación educación que es un campo potente y poderoso en nuestro continente. Memorias de un vinilo permite reconocer las formas en las que las personas que deciden emprender caminos para fortalecer vínculos y construir ese “común”, tan esquivo en nuestros días, se terminan inmiscuyendo en dimensiones tan abarcativas de la vida como la educación. El proceso que aquí presentamos constituye el resultado de la sistematización de una experiencia de comunicación comunitaria que en un momento del camino detiene el tornamesa, levanta la aguja, retira el vinilo, lo vuelve a escuchar y observa la forma en que ese objeto ha dejado huella y marca ritmos cotidianos en dimensiones que trascienden sus objetivos inmediatos. Se presenta un relato sobre las formas en que Vokaribe ha producido y produce de forma permanente procesos educativos que son explicitados como un aporte definitivo en la formación de ese Caribe que reconoce como parte y todo de su construcción." (Prefacio)
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"This article examines the sustainability of community radio, the ‘third pillar’ of Indonesia’s democratic media system, after twenty years of government recognition. It focuses particularly on the strategies adopted by the Indonesian Community Radio Network (Jaringan Radio Komunitas Indonesia
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, JRKI) – Indonesia’s largest community radio network – to maintain its survival, with a strong emphasis on funding models. This article is based on a review of relevant documents (reports from local and international agencies) and semi-structured interviews with informants from JRKI’s central board and its partners. It is further enriched with a critical analysis of Indonesian broadcast policies and a review of community radio funding models in developed countries. Through its analysis, this article shows that community radio network in Indonesia is facing a managerial and financial crisis, one that leaves its sustainability in question. It also finds that the sustainability of JRKI and its members depends on the political climate and that the organization requires friendly regulations as well as partnerships with local and national public institutions. The recent trend (2015–21) of establishing partnerships with various government bodies has resulted in the association becoming increasingly state-driven in its management." (Abstract)
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"Der partizipative Ansatz wird als Paradigmenwechsel zu den diffusionisti-schen Konzepten im Rahmen der Kommunikation für sozialen Wandel verstanden (del Valle, 2007, zitiert in Marí Sáez, 2013, Seite 556). Zur Umsetzung des Ansatzes wird in der internationalen Entwick-lungsarbeit insbesondere Co
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mmunity Radio eine zentrale Bedeutung zugeschrieben. Jedoch wird an der praktischen Umsetzung des partizipativen Ansatzes kritisiert, dass die Teilhabe der internen Ak-teure weiterhin durch Interessen externer Akteure beschränkt werde (Jacobson, 2003, Seite 98). Hin-sichtlich der Realisierung von Community Radio wird zunehmend angenommen, dass diffusionisti-sche und partizipative Ansätze in der Praxis miteinander kombiniert werden würden (Backhaus, 2019, Seite 138). Anknüpfend daran analysiert das vorliegende Literature Review 14 empirische Fall-studien zu Community Radio-Projekten aus dem globalen Süden und erörtert, wie die Partizipation der Gemeinschaften innerhalb der Stationen umgesetzt wird. Anknüpfend an die Ergebnisse aus der bestehenden Forschung zur passiven Teilhabe in CR-Stationen ergibt sich aus dem Review, dass der Fokus innerhalb der Projekte auf einer thematischen Ausrichtung an den Interessen der Gemein-schaften und deren Integration als Protagonist:innen der Programme oder in Form von Feedback-Möglichkeiten liegt. Die Teilhabe an Entscheidungen im Rahmen der Konzeption oder des Manage-ments wird durch Umfragen oder Etablierung von Räten eingeschränkt ermöglicht. Ebenso unter-stützen die Ergebnisse im Kontext der theoretischen Konzepte, dass Community Radio als Instru-ment zur Vermittlung von Entwicklungszielen konzipiert und verwendet wird, wobei Partizipation ein Ziel darstellt und durch die Verbreitung von Informationen erreicht werden soll. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen für die weitere Forschung, dass das normative Konzept des partizipativen Ansatzes und die Vorstellungen von ganzheitlicher Partizipation der Gemeinschaften im Rahmen von Community Radio hinsichtlich der Umsetzbarkeit hinterfragt werden sollten." (Zusammenfassung)
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"Dezessete emissoras de rádio comunitárias localizadas em 15 cidades pequenas no entorno de Imperatriz, a segunda cidade mais populosa do estado do Maranhão, são o objeto desta análise. As rádios comunitárias predominam na região Nordeste e, em muitos casos, são a única referência de míd
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ia para a comunidade, o que dá a dimensão dos efeitos da sua proximidade e influência. A maioria das emissoras analisadas está localizada em regiões com densidade demográfica inferior a 50 habitantes por quilômetro quadrado, apresenta Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano Municipal (IDHM) Baixo ou Médio e tem menos de 30 anos. Nesse cenário, os laços políticos, as ligações religiosas, o baixo orçamento e a falta de uma produção verdadeiramente local são os elementos estruturais que fundamentam este artigo." (Resumo)
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"El estudio ha permitido identificar que la mayoría de los medios comunitarios trabajan en condiciones muy precarias, debido entre otras cosas al contexto de extrema pobreza y aislamiento de las zonas donde operan, lo cual genera falta de ingresos (por publicidad, avisaje) y con pocas condiciones d
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e sostenibilidad económica. Asimismo, que varios de los medios comunitarios no vienen funcionando actualmente. De un total de 35 titulares de medios entrevistados para el presente estudio, solo la mitad de los medios comunitarios trabajan con relativa normalidad, mientras que la otra mitad no sale al aire o funciona parcialmente por horas. Se ha podido constatar también que algunos de los compromisos establecidos en el Proyecto de Comunicación son cumplidos parcialmente por los medios comunitarios y otros no se cumplen (como el hecho de que el responsable del Proyecto de Comunicación o de la Programación del medio comunitario sea un profesional de la comunicación o el periodismo con experiencia). Se observa también que la gran mayoría de los titulares de medios comunitarios entrevistados no son comunicadores ni periodistas de profesión, sino que provienen de otros campos profesionales y en algunos casos han realizado estudios técnicos (ej. locución, manejo de equipos de estudio o cabina), lo que es una limitación para la gestión de un medio de comunicación. Asimismo, en la mayoría de los medios comunitarios participan entre una y dos personas, lo que habla de la debilidad institucional de estos equipos." (Resumen ejecutivo)
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"Community media is widely recognized as a tool to give voice to the voiceless. This study investigates the transformative potential of community media in India as a vehicle for promoting inclusive development and enhancing democracy. The research aims to examine the distinctive ways that community
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media promotes diverse viewpoints, local content, and participatory communication, contributing to social change and community empowerment. It draws on secondary data and case studies of successful community media initiatives in India and other nations with comparable socio-political contexts. A thorough literature review and thematic analysis are used in the study’s qualitative methodology to identify major topics, such as community participation and empowerment, local content and cultural preservation, solving development difficulties, and challenges and opportunities. The results show that community media projects like Radio Namaskar and Radio Mewat effectively foster community ownership, empower marginalized populations, and involve community members in content development and decision-making processes. The findings also emphasize how community media may help with local development challenges and cultural heritage preservation. However, community media initiatives in India encounter several obstacles, such as legal restrictions, a lack of funding, and low media literacy among underprivileged groups. The findings of the study also provide policy recommendations for boosting community media efforts’ efficacy in India, dealing with the problems they encounter, and utilizing the advantages offered by digital technologies and social media platforms. The research adds to the current discussion about the function of community media in advancing democratic ideals, inclusive growth, and social transformation in India and elsewhere." (Abstract)
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"In the discussion of possible solutions to the business crisis facing legacy media, insufficient attention has been paid to existing arrangements that channel public money to media serving marginalised audiences, particularly in Global South countries. Argentina and South Africa are upper middle-in
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come, often turbulent countries that have set up official mechanisms to help fund local and community media. They are here compared with Norway, where such mechanisms are a key, long-standing element in a media system that is often held up as the gold standard of public communication. Three main mechanisms are compared: indirect subsidy, direct subsidy and government advertising. Differences in political and media history and landscape have led to variations in the relative importance of the various mechanisms, the media platforms targeted and the institutional arrangements. It is argued that arrangements for public support must be understood and designed in context, are always politically driven, must be safeguarded against political interference, and should be long-term and redistributive in approach." (Abstract)
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"This article aims to present an emerging perspective for analyzing digital technologies, centering around the concepts of pluriversality and communality, and drawing on the experiences of the Network of Communicators Boca de Polen, a civil organization that has been supporting community and indigen
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ous radios in Chiapas, Mexico for over two decades. Using a Participatory Action Research framework, the study delves into the network’s experiences and those of the radios it has accompanied, revealing a profound interplay of sociotechnical practices deeply rooted in communal experiences. It sheds light on a particular pathway of technology appropriation and resistance and, by shifting the place of enunciation, explores new dimensions of concerns and possibilities enabled by digital technologies. The experiential knowledge gained from Boca de Polen is presented as a tangible manifestation of a pluriversal vision of technology, vital for fostering inclusive critical reflections on the multifaceted implications of digital technologies." (Abstract)
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