Community media
Definition and Description
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 increasingly recognized as a crucial element in a vibrant and democratic media system (for example by UNESCO, UNDP, the World Bank, the EC, etc), and can be seen as a forerunner of the dialogical, two-way nature of the ever increasing internet-mediated communication tools and systems.
Community media is the carrier of community communication with a focus on participation, dialogue and community debate. Community media are centrally seen and used as tools for community development, with a focus on community ownership as a basis for a community-defined democratic development including civic engagement and a focus on good governance.
It is increasingly being recognized that the community as well as individual empowerment growing out of such processes – not least among more marginalized groups in the community – has the potential to be the tool to activate people for own development action.
Community media has as a specific media area and media sector grown out of early work with community radio starting in Bolivia (1947) and the US (1949), and the public access television of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, operating primarily in municipalities in the US.
Always including varying aspects of access and participation, a broad definition of ‘community media’ includes other, often more narrowly defined types of media such as ‘grassroots media’, ‘alternative media’ and the more recent ‘citizen media’. All of these signify an increase in media consumers turning producers and thus active citizens through their use of voice, dialogue and the resulting debate. While ‘citizen media’ is more often used in connection with the many new electronic media forms, we will not in this context venture into definitions of the many different media and communication forms covered by the broad term ‘community media’.
Community media in all its various forms is inseparably linked to the enhancement of a civil society and civic participation. The International Association of Mass Communication Research states that community media "originates, circulates, and resonates from the sphere of civil society".
Evaluation and Assessment of Community Media
When evaluating and assessing community media and communication, the areas of focus will depend upon which aspects are of particular interest and who is requesting the evaluation-cum-assessment: is it a national or international organisation wanting to map the sector? Or wanting to further strengthen community development? Is the evaluation based in a sector-specific focus like health, searching for effective communication channels for specific health purposes? Or is it a funding partner wanting to evaluate the outcome of a particular aspect within one or more community media funded?
For the different types of community media – Community Radio, Community Television, Telecentres and Community Multimedia Centres – the most important areas to consider for the overall, broad evaluation and assessment are listed. If assessing for a specific purpose, specific aspects of the focus areas presented and can be singled out for use.
When evaluating and assessing with an overall focus towards needs for a general forward-looking strengthening, it could in the case of community media usually be recommended to carry out a broad-based ‘impact and sustainability assessment’.
