Community Media - Enabling Environment
Contents |
Definition/Description
In order to evaluate and assess the opportunity of an individual community medium – or a group of those – to become effective in their search for supporting community development and change, the basic legal and regulatory environment in which these media exist is of central importance for understanding issues of sustainability, stability and longer term change and empowerment potentials.
Areas to consider include:
- The legal environment for community media and community ownership (legal recognition, fair licensing)
- National and local relevant policies, development plans and other priorities, including technical and radio spectrum issues
- Supporting media organisations active
- Networks of community media with community development focus
- Availability of potential funding partners and sources
- Other enabling aspects of national, local importance
Indicators
Looking to frameworks emerging in countries where there is a supportive policy, legal and regulatory framework for community radio, some characteristics to map and assess for describing elements of a potentially good enabling environment can be seen as a first set of indicators
• Community radio is recognized in law and regulation
• Community radio has clear social purpose definition
• Radio spectrum at adequate power is reserved
• Licensing procedures are fair and transparent
• Broadcast licence fees are affordable, or there is no fee
• Variety of funding sources are accessible
• Structural economic support (a Fund) is available
[This list of CR prerequesites is from apresentation by Steve Buckleys introduction to an id21 online debate on the issue: http://www.id21.org/communityradio/enabling.html and http://www.id21.org/communityradio/summary1.html]
Methods/Methodologies/Tools to use
Practitioners’ tips
Examples
Resources
Author(s)
Birgitte Jallov
Contributions
