[cr-india] CR NEWS: JUNE-SEPTEMBER 2012

[vasuki belavadi]

Dear Friend,

The recently established *UNESCO Chair on Community
Media<http://www.uccommedia.in>
* at the Department of Communication, University of Hyderabad is pleased to
bring to you the latest edition of *CR NEWS: tracking community radio in
India.*
Please feel free to share this mail with your friends. Also feel free to
translate it into any language. We only request you to acknowledge the
Chair.
Happy reading & please post your feedback to: crnews2010 at gmail.com.
A downloadable low resolution pdf version will be available on *Community
Radio India* <http://www.communityradioindia.org>.
Please visit our *BLOG <http://blog.uccommedia.in>* & post your comments.
===================================================================
*CR NEWS: JUNE-SEPTEMBER, 2012*
===================================================================
*LEAD STORY*
*Civil society protests CR spectrum fee hike<http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=180>
*

The recent notification from Ministry of Communications and IT (MoCIT)
announcing a five-fold hike in the spectrum fee for Community Radio
broadcasters in the country heated things up, this summer. According to the
Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) wing of … Continue reading
→<http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=180>

*EDITORIAL*
*Who cares about Community Radio? <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=177>*
 <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?author=1>

A historian, attempting to cover the course of community radio policy in
India, might be prompted to describe the first couple of decades as
throwing up a series of uneasy questions and- at best – piecemeal answers:
Between 1996 (in the … Continue reading → <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=177>
*
OPINION*
 A blow to voices of the poor <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=174>
 <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?author=1>

I often urge my students of journalism to do a small experiment. I say
“Connect your TV to a video recorder. Take a remote in your hand. Select a
channel. Never mind what it is. Start your recorder. Use your … Continue
reading → <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=174>
 *
ANALYSIS*
 From opportunity to aspiration… to
frustration<http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=171>
 <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?author=1>

It is close to 10 years since a putative community radio policy was
announced by the Government of India, allowing ‘established educational
institutions’ to apply for a license to broadcast over a limited-power FM
frequency. Before we rush into a … Continue reading
→<http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=171>
 Spectrum: Its Price, Value & Meaning <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=168>
 <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?author=1>

What we call the ‘spectrum’ is actually a whole range of frequencies, from
high-frequency gamma and x-rays at one end, all the way to low frequency
waves used for TV, mobile phones and radio at the other. It also
includes … Continue
reading → <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=168>
*

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES*
 “It’s a violation of right to free speech”<http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=165>
 <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?author=1>

The unreasonable hike in the spectrum fees is a retrograde move with
serious implications for access and freedom of speech and expression. The
government in recent years seems to conflate large and powerful telecom
corporations and CR stations. The ‘UNMDG’ … Continue reading
→<http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=165>

 <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=165>
AMARC Asia-Pacific urges roll-back <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=161>
 <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?author=1>

The Asia Pacific Board of the World Association of Community Radio
Broadcasters (AMARC) is deeply concerned at the recent spectrum fee hike
imposed by the Government of India. One of the milestones of the Community
Radio Guidelines of 2006 was … Continue reading
→<http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=161>
 An unaffordable threshold frustrates right to
communicate<http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=159>
 <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?author=1>

This topic recognizes the Principles published in the declaration on
diversity in broadcasting by the Four UN Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of
Opinion and Expression. “Community broadcasting should be explicitly
recognised in law as a distinct form of broadcasting (and) … Continue
reading → <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=159>
Australia provides spectrum access to CRs free of
charge<http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=157>
 <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?author=1>

According to the Radio Communications Act, the first and overarching
imperative of regulating access to this resource is to “maximise … the
overall public benefit derived from using the radiofrequency spectrum”.
Furthermore, it provides for an “efficient, equitable and transparent
… Continue
reading → <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=157>
*
ARTICLE*
 “Spectrum fee is against TRAI’s
recommendations”<http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=163>
 <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?author=1>

Spectrum is public property and must be used for public good as articulated
by Supreme Court judge P B Sawant. Even though spectrum is public property,
the government is a caretaker since it is a scarce and natural resource,
AND … Continue reading → <http://blog.uccommedia.in/?p=163>
Thanks and warm regards
CR NEWS team

-- 
*VASUKI BELAVADI*
*Associate Professor & Faculty Fellow, Unesco Chair on Community
Media<http://snscomm.uohyd.ernet.in/uccommedia/>
,
Department of Communication <http://snscomm.uohyd.ernet.in/comm/>,  University
of Hyderabad <http://www.uohyd.ac.in/>, Gachibowli, Hyderabad-500046,
Andhra Pradesh, India
Phone (Off): +91 40 23135505,  Email:  mailme at vasukibelavadi.com  /
**Skype: vbelavadi,
Linkedin: vasuki belavadi
Extensions <http://blog.vasukibelavadi.com>/
Website<http://www.vasukibelavadi.com>
/  Bol Hyderabad 90.4 fm <http://snscomm.uohyd.ernet.in/bolhyd/>*
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