Involvement of Politicians in Community Radio

BOX 5: Involvement of Politicians in Community Radio

CHOOSING A MODEL Most community radios aspire to

having their own broadcasting facilities and frequency, but this is not always possible due to the prevailing legislation or to a lack of economic resources. The alterna- tives, at least initially, are:

• To obtain airtime for community programmes from an existing government or commercial sta- tion that covers the area;

• Rent an existing frequency, but this solution is normally confined to urban areas;

• To install a ‘community radio’ sys- tem that uses loudspeakers connected to the studio and situa- ted to cover the community, rather than broadcasting by a transmitter.

Whatever model is used, it is generally a good idea to start with only a limited number of hours a week of broadcasting and then to build up slowly. In this way, there will be time to plan and prepare the broadcasts properly. As experience is gained, and as the programme producers and other staff become accustomed to their roles, the hours of broadcasting can be expanded.

Loudspeaker Systems

Community radios often begin by using loudspeakers, and some even remain with that system because of unfavourable legislation. Loudspeaker systems have two drawbacks: firstly the sound quality is not good, and secondly, people are compelled to listen whether they want to or not. This can produce tensions in the community.

Part-Time Broadcasting

“It is usually thought that radio must operate on a daily basis, but this is purely a presumption derived from mainstream media. Given the usual staffing and resource problems of daily operations in a rural community, it could be more effective for its radio service to operate on a limited but regular basis. Historically, the socio-political programming of alternative media has not been continuous. Regular intervals between programming increase audience loyalty and attention. They also give broadcasters the time they need to plan and produce more relevant programmes.” 5

One good strategy for the start-up period is to broadcast at weekends only. This will make it easier to find volunteers who have weekend time available. However, the audience must be informed and reminded that the station will be on air only each weekend. This should be done through weekly publicity efforts using means such as a mobile loudspeaker, announce- ments by the religious establish- ment, posters, etc.

POWER OF THE TRANSMITTER

A broadcast pattern that covers too wide a physical area compli- cates the operations of a commu- nity radio and may make it difficult to concentrate on the immediate community that is to be served. Given that community radio depends to a large extent on volunteer participation, a large target area may result in work loads that are difficult to maintain. ‘Small is beautiful’ in community radio too, and it is often better to have more small transmitters covering specific communities than one more powerful one that spreads its signal widely.

In rural areas, a 20-watt transmit- ter should normally provide suffi-

cient power, but there may be jus- tification for an amplifier to boost the output to 100 watts. In a city, where there is competition from other stations, transmitters may go up to 300-500 watts.

It is important to ensure that the broadcast pattern covers a com- munity having between 5,000 and 25,000 potential listeners. To be successful, a community radio must be able to rely on various forms of support from its listeners: less than 5,000 may not provide the critical mass that will allow the radio to sustain itself; and much more than 25,000 means that the radio begins to become imperson- al and difficult to manage, with a resultant loss in the community character of the service.

OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

These are crucial issues that need careful thought. Even if the overall concept is that the community owns the radio, there usually needs to be some body, such as a foundation or association, which represents the community’s inter- ests and also provides the juridical entity to apply for the licence and to hold it. In some cases, it may be possible to plan for a community

media cooperative. This could allow each member of the com- munity to buy a share.

With regard to management, the concept of community radio is that the community itself should

be in overall control. Obviously, however the whole community cannot be involved all the time, and therefore some sort of manage- ment body needs to be formed that represents the different sec- tors in the community. In many cases, a community media com- mittee is created to assume the management role. Whatever the body is called, its members must realize that they are accountable to the community at large and to the particular sector they repre- sent. Their decisions regarding the running of the station and its programming must be democratic and transparent.

PROGRAMMING Programming policies are covered

in the next chapter. However, anyone planning a community radio should give early thought to programming issues, especially with regard to mechanisms that will ensure the maximum possible com- munity access and participation.

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C ommunity

R adio

Reach of the Station

“How far the station reaches is less important than where the station reaches. A station with a transmitter that has a long reach may be situated in

a sparsely populated region, whereas a station situated in a densely populated region may have a transmitter that doesn't reach very far.” 6

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As a tactic for starting community radio programming, it is useful to find out what people enjoy and appreciate about other radio pro- grammes they listen to, and why they like them. Focus Group Discussions would be an ideal method for obtaining this qualitative information.