Community Radio By Arpita Sharma

                                         Community Radio for Rural Development
                                                                                        Arpita Sharma

COMMUNITY radio station is one that is  operated  in the community, for the
community, is about the community and by the community. The community can
be territorial or geographical -a township, village, district or island. It can also be a group of
people with common interests, who are not necessarily living in  one  defined  territory.
Consequently, community radio can be managed or controlled by one group, by combined
groups, or of people such as women, children, farmers, fisher folk, ethnic groups, or senior
citizens.  What distinguishes community radio from other media is the high level of
people’s participation, both in management and program production aspects. Furthermore,
individual community members and local institutions are the principal sources of support for
its operation. Characteristics of Community Radio Following are the characteristics
of community radio:
• It serves a recognizable community.
• It encourages participatory democracy.
• It offers the opportunity to any member of the community to initiate communication and
participate in program making, management and ownership of the station.
• It uses technology appropriate to the economic capability of the people,
• It is motivated by community well being, not commercial considerations.
• It promotes and improves problem solving.
why Community Radio?

Community   radio  gives community members access to means of communication and
therefore, access to information. Important local issues are aired, a free market place of ideas
and opinions is opened up and people are given the opportunity to express themselves socially,
p o l i t i c a l l y  a n d  c u l t u r a l l y. Community radio helps to put the community members in charge
of their own affairs. Unlike the state / privately owned radio channels, community radio is
community owned, functionally autonomous, preserves local identity and promotes two
way communication. Whereas radio on an individual level can provide one with entertainment,
information, awareness etc. , community radio does this for the entire community and acts as
a catalyst for change.  It serves as a watchdog for power holders, affording active relationships
between leaders and the citizens, helps to develop common objectives by providing debates on issues,
exposes options for community action, preserves culture, helps disseminate new ideas, reinforces
values, helps maintain social order, offers chance for individuals and groups to speak to each other, thus
developing awareness of a common membership of community, and finally, mobilizes both private and
collective resources for personal or community needs. It is for these reasons that community radio is
emerging as a powerful tool for rural development. The concept of Community Radio has been perceived
differently by different nations. As per UNESCO,  community radio aims to fulfill the following functions:
Reflect and Promote Local identity, Character, and Culture: Community radio provides
programming that is particular to its community’s identity and character. There are some 6,700
languages in the world and 63 percent of these are in Africa and Asia. National broadcasting and
media globalization, combined with other factors such as urban migration, threaten half of the
world’s languages with extinction during the next generation. And with them will go their cultures.
Community radio is a prime defence against this Create a Diversity of Voices and Opinions : This emerges from the fact that anybody from the community can participate. Programmes and Content:
Community radio provides a diversity of programmes in a variety of formats and styles. For
example, roundtable discussions, reportage, talks, interviews, call-in programmes, live broadcasts of
meetings in the community, etc. Audience preferences are taken into account in deciding both content
and  formats . Encourage Open Dialogue and Democratic Process:  It is the function of community radio to
provide an independent platform for interactive discussion about matters and decisions of importance
to its community.. Promote Development and Social Change: Community radio provides the perfect platform
for internal discussions and for reaching a collective perception of the situation. Specific problems can
be analyzed, remedies discussed, and those most affected- or who can help with the solution – mobilized
to collective action.
P ro m o t e  C i v i l  S o c i e t y :
Community radio focuses on explaining the implications of democracy and civil society, raising
awareness about people’s rights, and also about their obligations. Promote Good Governance:
Community radio helps people to obtain their just rights by giving them a platform to air their
grievances. And through playing the community watchdog role, it makes local authorities and
politicians more conscious of their public responsibilities. Encourage Participation, Sharing of Information and
Innovation, by providing a platform for debate, analysis, and the exchange of ideas and opinions. In
addition, community radio allows for the sharing of information and innovation.
Give Voices to the Voiceless: in many traditional societies, women and youth and ethnic and linguistic
minorities are virtually ignored in community affairs.  radio gives voice to such voiceless people in the community. Replacement for the Telephone: In the poor rural areas, community radio replaces telephones to an important extent by broadcasting messages.
Contribute to Diversity in Broadcasting Ownership:
community, commercial, and national or state broadcasting all have roles in society, though
community broadcasting is the one that has generally lagged behind the others. Community radio helps
to redress this, and provides the balance of broadcast information sources needed by democratic
societies for their advancement. Status of Community Radio in India According to R. Sreedher,
D i r e c t o r,  C o m m o n w e a l t h Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), “Community Radio can be compared to a four year old child who  is trying to understand the system."  Karthik Panchapakesan of Radio Active agrees with this view and says that Community Radio in India is in a state of infancy, but
he adds that it is also delivering and making inroads (in some cases headways) in dissemination and
creating awareness of scientific information and empowerment. According to K. Thangaraj, Chief
Co-ordinator, Kongu Community Radio, "A vast country like India needs several thousand Community
radios [with the permitted antenna height (30 m) and power (50 watts)]. Target has been fixed for
4,000 to 5,000 Community Radios but till now we have realised only 45. Even these 45 stations are on
air only for a few hours. More agencies and institutions must come Radio in the true spirit, and this
could really happen now that the government has come forward to permit limited advertising..." J. Paul
Bhaskar of Pasumai Community Radio, feels that in India, the  Community Radio is still  the lowpowered, small reach radio. Rahul Joshi, Assistant Station Head, Vivek Community Radio feels that procedural and bureaucratic  blocks in the decision making process have to be removed and greater awareness about Community Radio has to be created. Amolina Ray of radio JU (Jadavpur University CR) feels that Community Radio has great potential that is yet to be tapped. It gives a platform to the Community to voice their opinion and can be developed as a medium for community interaction on a one to one basis.
world Experience According to  Alfonso Gumucio, a communications consultant working with community radio networks globally, there are two main models of communications for development -vertical and
participatory. Vertical model evolves from marketing and advertising practices of the industrialized
world and emphasizes behavioral changes. The participatory model is horizontal and calls upon people
to create social change. The participatory model suggests there are structural causes to poverty such
as inequality rather than simply a  lack of information. Vertical model uses mass media which is expensive
and unsustainable. Participatory model is more process oriented and seeks to empower people. The first
is short term, and the other is long term. One emphasizes approaching the individual while the other
reaches for the community. The concept of community radio is 50 years old and had started in Bolivia among the tin mining communities when they needed a format to discuss the issues in their day to day lives. Now the
concept has spread worldwide, though development in different regions remains uneven. In Latin America, there is much diversity in the types of noncommercial radio stations, which may focus on education, indigenous people, gender, rural or urban issues. Community based radio stations spread rapidly in South Africa after the fall of apartheid. More than 100 community stations exist today in Mali. With current trends
toward empowerment and civic participation, the role of community radio is taking on increased
importance, both in the developing and developed worlds. One of the strengths of community radio  is
that the participants do not need to know how to read or write. Legal, regulatory and policy environments
in some countries, however, make community radio difficult for example in Bangladesh. In Africa, radio is a cultural medium. According to Soule Issiaka of the Africa Bureau of Radio Netherlands, this is because
radio here is a product of the local culture. Although Africa has a high percentage of illiteracy , it has an
oral tradition, which has helped this In East Timor training was provided to rural reporters in the
early 2000s to support the national radio system, and acquisition of small scale equipment. Residents
needed an outlet to express themselves. The World Bank launched a project which sought
to promote community radio. Potential radio stations were identified by surveying demand.
Proposals were put together by hopeful recipients. Technical assistance was provided by a
central community radio network.. A bottom-up consultation process with the communities proved
invaluable. Also important was taking advantage of existing networks and infrastructure. The
East Timorese are now using radio to promote reconciliation, solidarity, and local development
planning in the post-conflict period.
Challenges
C o m m u n i t y  r a d i o  f a c e s challenges in effective and quality programme production in terms
of content, production quality and community involvement. The staff lacks journalistic, management  or technical skills, training modules do not address specific needs of the medium,getting people's participation is
very difficult, infrastructure like electricity is very often a major problem, in many countries there
is also a lack of a clear regulatory framework for  Community Radio to operate. Among the various challenges faced by the community radio, the participation from the people is a major one. Concerted efforts
are required in this direction, like involving opinion leaders, elder, religious leaders, women, different
occupational groups like farmers, artisans, fisherman, minority groups etc in  consultation processes ,
group discussions and programme evaluation. This would give a reality check on people's preferences and
priorities, and also encourage their participation. Community Radio can play a very important role in bringing about social change. It is truly a people's radio that perceives listeners not only as receivers and consumers, but also as active participants and creative producers of content. Community Radio covers all developmental and  rights based issues, and can  help sustain the diversity of the local cultures and languages. Community
radio has been used in many countries in various fields of  development like health, nutrition, sanitation, women empowerment and also agriculture. This medium needs to be  supported through legislative, administrative, and financial measures.
(Email : sharmaarpita35@gmail.com)