Community radio, in essence is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a certain area, broadcasting material that is popular to a local audience through participatory based knowledge sharing. In a pluralistic society, like India, it encourages the specific community’s social, cultural and political identity by operating with the community and for the community’s welfare.
Supplementing
Social Change
- § Community radio is not-for-profit. This does not mean that community radio can not engage in revenue generating activities, which tends to be vital for survival and sustainability. This means its main objective is not revenue generation like commercial radio.
- § Community radio incorporates open access in some form. In some stations, all broadcasters are volunteers while at some other it is a mix of volunteers and paid staff. Communities are involved in active ownership of the station. This is done by the electing a management committee for the station.
- § The main difference between community radio and state-owned radio is the concept of community ownership. This empowers the community to use this radio for community benefits like, poverty eradication, reducing gender disparities, health, hygiene etc. Programming is community specific and hence of direct relevance.
Representing Rural India
The community
radio concept has no repressive one-way communication, but a two-way communication which provides
interactivity among the members of the rural community. The concept is
truly from the people, by the people, and for the people. Quality control might be conducted collectively by the community.
The concept will be more interesting if a community radio network could be established. This bottoms-up concept from community based development approach meets
the development in an independent and sustainable way. Here people in the
remote village will be empowered through information or knowledge by the
community radio concept.
The time has come that the potential of this popular,
accessible, low-cost, medium of communication should be linked with the
national development objectives. Since the total process lies on a horizontal mechanism, then the
participation must be ensured at every level in production and management of
their packages. There is also need to create farm broadcasting units at common gathering in the village (choupals)
where important issues can be discussed for the content of the community
broadcasting. Broadcasting experts, extension workers, Local panchayat members
and the villagers as a whole can meet and share their ideas and opinions. These
units would then distribute the content to the community stations to reach finally
to the end users.
