[cr-india] Radio Asia 2010: Community radio dissected

[sajan venniyoor]

Radio Asia 2010: Community radio dissected
Nitin Pandey, 24 Feb 2010, exchange4media
http://www.exchange4media.com/e4m/radio/radionews.asp?Section_id=7&News_id=37336&Tag=2648

Day Two of Radio Asia 2010 delved upon the various dimensions of the radio
industry, including community radio – the opportunities and challenges for
community radio in India and the different models are being used all over
the world. Use of rapid response radio, which can help during the time of
disasters, was also a point of interest during the discussions.

The session was moderated by Louie Tabing, Tambuli Community Radio, the
Philippines.

Commenting on the Indian community radio scenario, R Sreedher, Director,
Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia, said, “In the 80s, for the
first time science and knowledge-based programmes started in the country
through various local radio stations of All India Radio (AIR). The birth of
Gyan Vani put forward the concept of the educational radio, although Gyan
Vani had shown a slow rise. Today, AIR has got enough local radio stations,
but with time they are dying. There are over 750 applications for community
radio stations and only 51 stations are operational. Among them, 43 are run
by educational institutions and eight by NGOs. The target is to have 4,000
such community radio stations.”

Talking about the reasons of slow growth of community radio in India,
Sreedher noted that there could be various reasons behind the slow growth,
and a primary reason was that it took a long time to get a license for this.
“Also, there is no viable model available for community radio stations.
Community radio requires authentic radio ratings measurement, and a strong
exit policy can help in the growth of the community radio,” he noted.

To highlight further on Indian community radio development, Ishwar Singh
Mehla, Director, BECIL, India, said, “Community radio can be for a limited
area and community only. The most important thing for a community radio is
relevant and informative programmes. The right of owning a community radio
station was given to educational institutions in 2002, but in the year 2006,
it was extended to NGOs and non-profit organisations. Community radio
operates in a radius of 5-10 km only. Advertisement of local events and
banners can be the source of revenue for community radio.”

On how radio could help during times of disasters, Mike Adams, Rapid
Response Radio Unit, UK, said, “The tsunami changed my life a few years
back. I realised the role of radio during such a difficult time. During the
time of such a disaster, radio can help the survivors by spreading
information regarding shelter, food, medicine or any other help. Rapid
Response Radio Unit, which carries its radio station in two suitcases,
serves the affected community. Ideally, any such radio station should start
functioning within 72 hours, but for that we need to be well prepared before
any disaster.”

Kalinga Seneviratne, AMIC, Singapore, described his country’s progress in
the community radio domain. He stated, “In the past one decade, we have seen
25 per cent increase in radio stations. Most of the community radios are
operating on low power and without license. In some provinces, the local
government runs community radio models. There are mostly three community
radio models – Tambuli, totally driven by volunteers; Catholic Media
Networks, Genpeace (which stands for gender and culture of peace); and Radyo
Natin, the largest network of community radio stations in the Philippines.”

Citing an example of community radio programming content, P Pavitharan,
Kothmale Community Radio, Sri Lanka, said, “In our state, we ask the
community to decide on all the programmes that they want to listen.
Community radio should be interactive and the radio mike should go to the
community only.”
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