"This book tells the story of community radio in four South Asian countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The three parts of the book focus on policy (discussed country by country), issues in practice, and case studies. In effect, however, each of the chapters touches on these topics to
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one degree or another. The first section presents very helpful background on the introduction of community radio in the four countries, focusing not only on policy issues but also on the history of setting up the stations. The second section calls attention to particular challenges such as the role of NGOs, radio spectrum management, the introduction of somewhat advanced technologies into rural communities, the role of women, the possibilities of community radio for disaster response, and issues of sustainability. The third section (the case studies) offers a good deal of practical suggestions to address challenges such as conflicts in the communities, assessment of the stations, and the practices of democracy." (Review in "Religion and Social Communication", vol. 20:2, 2022, page 418-421, https://www.asianresearchcenter.org)
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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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"According to the foreword, 'this manual is designed to accompany you in the demystification of each piece of equipment usually found in community radio stations'. This is exactly what the guide does. The first section provides an overview of all relevant technical questions to non-technicians, incl
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uding the functioning of radio waves, the setting up of a studio space, studio equipment, field recording equipment, transmission equipment, telecommunications and maintenance. The second section offers insights into the technical details of any kind of equipment by explaining the technical terms and concepts in an easy-to-understand language. Originally conceived for the specific context of India, this publication nevertheless serves as a helpful primer for local radio stations elsewhere." (CAMECO Update 2-2008)
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