How can community radios/media be of relevancy to publics/communities with in their reach?

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Permalink Reply by Balaba Peter on May 6, 2009 at 3:07pm

Yes I agree with you Sandra, and I would like to Inform our colleagues who would wish to start a Community Radio .

It is very easy to run a Community Radio if the following aspects are properly planned for during and after a pilot phase;
Staffing you can only have 2-3 (three) staff with multiple skills and a support from a minimum number of volunteers ( eg 10). however, the biggest challenge here is the desire for some staff to leave to other stations with good pays especially on commercial Radios.
Equipment you can start with a simple transmitter of like 100 Wts and an amplified console
Software this is very important because it saves a lot on the staffing side once you have a good Studio software eg Cool Edit, Zara- radio etc you can program the Studio very well, thus reducing the hours one has to spend in the studio. it also creates more room for developing Radio Scripts that suits the need of your audience on play back system.
A community Radio may not necessarily have to develop it own content because staff may not have the capacity to do so especially when it comes to sensitive and technical area eg HIV /AIDS, Agriculture etc so the best solution here is to open up your networks with NGOs, CBS, and experts who can freely share their content on the Radio without any cost charged.
Political environment also has to be planned in advance because it may cripple the performance of a Community Radio. some times political leaders are working hard to fail the CR simply because they expect some material gains from the Center.
Government policy some times in different countries CR are not granted the freedom of operation they are charged high fees and given limited coverage.
Power some Community radio are facing this problem especially in African Countries where the liability of power is unpredictable and the cost of running a generator is quit high. on such a problem I recommend the use of a solar power energy other than running a generator.
therefore, if such environment is properly set at the inception we should not be worried of the future sustainability of a Community Radios .
Capacity Building it is very rear to have staff with all the necessary skills to manage a Community Radio. therefore, CR should always give opportunities to its staff/ Volunteers to acquire more skills.

This is the little I can share with you for now and I don' know t what others have to say on this.
However, I come to discover that most of the challenges that are facing CMCs now are as a result of poor planning at the inception by the executing agencies . am sorry those who are in this category.

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Permalink Reply by Christian Cowley on May 4, 2009 at 5:39pm

Sandra,
Thank you for raising the topic.
There are many comments below that allude to high costs. My understanding now is that small scale, limited broadcast area radio stations can be created for very little money: about $5,000-$10,000 (Canadian). Here, the largest cost is the salary of a station manager to coordinate volunteers. Perhaps, the structure of costs is different elsewhere.
One can create a station with one or two computers, some software, a converter box, an antenna on the roof and a small sound booth big enough for a desk. This means that CR stations are within the grasp of many telecentres, which already have some of these components.
And in the right hands, radio is just another tool to empower and engage the local community.
In my context, I see it as a means of creating more connectedness in the community, which creates a healthier community.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Nassali on May 5, 2009 at 2:47am

Thank you so much Christian, you contribution will answer many questions about costs involved in starting up a community radio station that have been revolving on this site. Roger Harris is one of those that had raised a question about this, hope your answer will be of help to him and to all those who had the interest of finding out.

Regards,

Sandra

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Permalink Reply by Roger Harris on May 4, 2009 at 8:41pm

Lot of very useful material for strategic thinking here, but can anyone recommend specific products for setting up a community radio station; manufacturers, models, brands, etc. Where can I learn about the technology to get started?

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Nassali on May 5, 2009 at 2:53am

Hello Harris, did you read Christian Cowley's contribution? Please do, as it answers some of your key questions. May be you should also get in touch with him on a one-on-one basis as it seems he has profound knowledge about setting up community radios. Also, i think in the due course of the discussion, some of the key points you tried to rise will be tackled; so lets watch the space!!

Cheers,

Sandra

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Permalink Reply by Shipra Sharma on May 5, 2009 at 3:09am

Hi Roger,
Here I am sharing what I learnt about low cost broadcasting during GK3 at Kuala Lampur, Malaysia (December 2007). One of the presentations made in the telecentre village area by UNESCO talked about "Radio in a box", an instant broadcasting system specially made for disaster prone areas. But I think it will work in normal conditions as well. I was able to search for some more informations about it, which are available at: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=21931&URL_DO=DO_TO.... Hope this will be of some use to you.
By the way, I really enjoy reading your writings on telecentres and telecentre 2.0.

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Permalink Reply by Roger Harris on May 5, 2009 at 11:45pm

Hi Shipra,
Thanks for this, and your kind comments. I was also at GK3 and I'm following up with the UNESCO product, which seems to have been privatised. I'm still searching for practical advice for newcomers; a kind of "how to step by step" guide to the technology. Having spent more than 10 years working with the community on setting up the telecentre, the strategic aspects are less of a challenge at this stage.

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Permalink Reply by Dean Mulozi on May 5, 2009 at 4:05am

Sandra,
Good inputs so far, quite educative topics.

The issue of Community radios or Communitty Multimedia Centers(CMCs), combination of multiple ICT services such as telecenters and radio to propagate or delivery of social and econmic services to the local people is a one of the ideal development concepts that I support.

The CMCs are becoming relevant to the interests of the local people as it promotes particpation and allows the "voices of the unheard" to be distinguished and be part of the development agenda. CMcs are imporant as most of the communitities in Africa especially in rural areas have limited access to radio as many radio stations are located in Urban areas. The control of content is privalleged to those who control the radio stations in urban areas. This means that participation and control of the media in the hands of the urban folks and thereby affecting development needs and interests of the people living in rural areas.

The combinations of telecenters and radio stations in many communtities makes transfers and participation of the local people and development process easier.

And therefore in order to manage and sustain the operatives of the CMCs, there is a need to instill sound management and technical skills to run the units effetively. No matter the location of the CMC, the skills of the people running the centers are very crucial to their success.
A lot of stories have been told of the staff training of CMCs or telecenters and once the get the skills, the leave and go into towns for greener pastors. The technical and management resources in one of the biggest challenges of the community CMCs or telecenters, more so in rural areas.

There are however, some expriences telecenters one can draw from in some countries where CMCs have been succesful. How they started, management and what activites in place and services being offered.

The above are some of the points of focus as one is looking at intgration community radios in places or telecenters where they are not yet started.

Hope this will open more thoughts............

Dean

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Nassali on May 5, 2009 at 4:36am

Hello Dean, this is a good insert in our discussion..it has a lot we can learn about Community Radio Stations.

Thank you,

Sandra

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Permalink Reply by AHMED IGBAYILOLA AHMED on May 5, 2009 at 4:20am

Radio is a powerful medium that has a deep impact on listeners. Please see the enclosed interesting facts about radio listening that highlight its great impact. This data reflects the general listeners. The interest in KPNP audiences may be more due to language barriers; the Diverse Community does not only know how to read, speak, and write in English but also in their native language
-99% of household’s have at least one radio.
-95% if commuter drivers listen to radio.
-4 out of 5 adults listen to radio every day.

Over 61% of adults have radios at work

-Many commercial establishments & organizations have radios on for their patrons.

-Before 5 PM there are more radio listeners than television viewers.

-The average person listens to radio 3.5 hours per day.

-Radio reaches nearly 94% of all people 12 years and older each week.

-Radio Audience Reach Percent of the population 12 and older, 1998 - 2003

“For the vast majority of listeners, whether the radio signal is captured by the car radio, satellite radio, portable radio or PC, an audio receiver is simply an audio receiver. It is simply there, nearly everywhere. According to Middle town's observational studies, radio ranks second only to television in number of minutes used. And from the time of our report last year, there has been little change in the number of people reached by radio. According to Arbitron's Radio Today Reports, since 1998 radio's reach to people 12 years old and older continues to hold at about 94%”.

It is of special importance to not only the Diverse Community but also to business, political leaders, educational institutions, religious groups, and governmental agency in this beautiful Twin Cities Metro Area region to distribute information that is relevant to the Diverse Community.

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Permalink Reply by Niranjan Meegammana on May 6, 2009 at 12:25pm

Hi All
In countries like Sri Lanka, There are no local radios. It's not simply possible to gete a Lisence for a community radio. I mean FM here. Ransara an ICTA e-SDI project has gone on web to provide a community radio.

I think web is a new paradigm for community radio

more interactive
can reach global audience
cheap (can start with usd 9.95)

what do you think ?

Niranjan Meegammana

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Nassali on May 7, 2009 at 3:03am

Wow Niranjan, this is an eye opener for us all. I think it is really great to have an online community radio especially in areas where freedom of speech is a problem because of all the points you have raised up there. Indeed their reach is big and good point is the cyber world can't be controlled since no one governs it.

Also, if a CR went online, different communities would be in position to learn from each other on how to maximize their resources and passed on knowledge so as to grow socially and economically.

Sandra

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