Community media

Community media is any form of media that is created and controlled by a community, either a geographic community or a community of identity or interest. Community media is separate from commercial media, state run media, or public broadcasting.

Definition and function

Community media has been described, in a broad sense, as "community communication"

The International Association of Media and Communication Research states that community media "originates, circulates, and resonates from the sphere of civil society". As media created by civil society, there is an implied component of civic engagement in the production of community media.

The nascent impetus for community media analysis stemmed from the efforts to "democratize" the media. and civil society requires communication platforms.

Commercial influences

Although there is a clear aversion to engage with commercial forces in the production of community media, there may be times when some market interaction is desirable.

Grassroots media

Grassroots media is focused more specifically on media making by and for the local community that it serves making the discussion more narrow and precise. It is essentially a subset focusing on small scale media projects which aim to bring different visions and perspectives to the "codes" that are so easily embedded in the social psyche.

History in the USA

The first Public-access television station in the United States considered to be community media was set up in 1968 in Dale City, Virginia. It was managed by the city's Junior Chamber of Commerce and ran programming for two years without advertising. It closed due to lack of financing, equipment, and infrastructure. Another early example of community media is found in the counter-culture video collectives of the 1960s and 1970s.

Videofreex, Video Free America, and Global Village used new technologies to the benefit of community interests. In addition, the Raindance Corporation founded by Michael Shamberg, Paul Ryan, and others became known as "guerrilla television." The premise of guerrilla television was to non-violently blaze a new trail for the creation of media as an alternative to broadcast television. This initial activity was made possible by Sony's introduction of the video Porta-Pak.

History in Canada

Canada also has a central role in the development of community media and is by many considered the birthplace of community broadcasting. In the 1960s, the National Film Board of Canada set up a project called Challenge for Change which was a series of documentary films addressing socio-economic issues. Once again Sony's Porta-Pak proved revolutionary in Canada as well. In 1968, filmmakers Bonny Klein and Dorothy He`naut persuaded Challenge for Change to take on more local community issues. During the same year they trained members of the St. Jacques Citizens' Committee in video production. The committee went into the Montreal slums and captured interview footage with poor people and then presented the video in public meetings for discussion.

The history of community radio dates back to amateur radio organizations that formed in 1906. From a historical perspective, the seminal example of community radio is Lewis Hill's Pacifica Radio. KPFA in Berkeley, California began broadcasting in 1949 after acquiring an FCC license for FM spectrum. This first Pacifica station was funded through listener support and philanthropic foundations. Pacifica's mandate, that Hill expressed as "to engage in any activity that shall contribute to the lasting understanding between nations and between the individuals of all nations, races, creeds, and colors," has served to frame the community media movement through its historical and technological development.

History in Europe

Community television and radio in Europe arose "from criticism of a monopolistic public service system that was considered out of touch". The experimental period of community media expression in Europe began in the 1970s after North American Public-access television was underway. It was therefore seen as a model but also understood that the media environments were structurally different.

A powerful community media example external to both North America and Europe is the Bolivian Miners' Radio of the 1940s. The station was established by the local miner's union and became an important tool for communication, resistance, and educational and cultural expression.

Modes of community media

Radio is the most widespread electronic communications device in the world and community radio is a practical and cost-effective means of reaching and connecting the world's poorest communities.

The initial discourse around Internet technology emphasized the important potential for democracy and participation within global and real-time contexts. This "cyberdemocracy" was premised on the direct relationship between technology and the growth of civil society.

See also

• Alliance for Community Media
• Documentary Practice
• Community film

Bibliography

• Wilson C.(2007) Role and effectiveness of conservation boards as a community voice in conservation management. Science for Conservation 273. p 34. Department of Conservation, New Zealand. [1]
• Nigg, Heinz and Graham Wade (1980) Community Media. Zurich: Regenbogen Verlag. Free download: http://independent.academia.edu/HeinzNigg/Books/1157940/Community_Media._Video_local_TV_film_and_photography_as_tools_for_community_communication._A_documentary_report_on_six_groups
• Kern European Affairs (KEA)(2007) The State Of Community Media In The European Union (Study). Directorate General Internal Policies of the Union, Policy Department Structural and Cohesion Policies, Culture and Education. [2]
• Buckley, S. (2011) Community media: a good practice handbook. Paris, UNESCO, 2011, ISBN: 978-92-3-104210-2 [3]
• Hughes, Stella; Eashwar, Sucharita; Jennings, Venus Easwaran (2004; 2006) How to get started and keep going: a guide to Community Multimedia Centres. UNESCO Document, ISBN ISSN: 92-990029-0-8 (Fre); 92-9089-092-4 (Spa); 5-7712-0351-3 (Rus)
• Carpentier N., Salvatore S. (2010) Community media’s long march, Telematics and Informatics, Volume 27, Issue 2, May 2010, Pages 115-118
• Howley. K. (2012) Understanding Community Media, SAGE Publications, Inc, Paperback ISBN: 9781412959056, Hardcover ISBN: 9781412959049
• Fuller, L. (ed.) (2007), Community Media - International Perspectives, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 9781403977946

External links

• UNESCO Chair on Community Media
• European Parliament resolution of 25 September 2008 on Community Media in Europe
• Council Of Europe. Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on the role of community media in promoting social cohesion and intercultural dialogue. (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 11 February 2009 at the 1048th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)
• Community Media Forum Europe
• Community Media Association (UK based)
• Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and communication
• EK duniya anEK awaaz, An audio content and resource exchange platform for Community Media producers in South Asia
• "A Potential Untapped: Media Working Together across the Divide in Cyprus" Collaborative Media Initiative (CMI) Report, Cyprus Community Media Center, 4/2012
• Alliance for Community Media, an educational, advocacy and lobbying organization in the United States which represents over 3,000 Public, Educational and Governmental access (PEG) cable TV organizations and community media centers.