P Krishnamurthi1
AMARC, the World Association of Community Broadcasters, describes community radio
as follows:
When radio fosters the participation of citizens and defends their interests; when
it reflects the tastes of the majority and makes good humour and hope its main
purpose; when it truly informs; when it helps resolve the thousand and one
problems of daily life; when all ideas are debated in its programs and all opinions
are respected; when cultural diversity is stimulated over commercial
homogeneity; when women are main players in communication and not simply a
pretty voice or a publicity gimmick; when no type of dictatorship is tolerated, not
even the musical dictatorship of the big recording studios; when everyone's words
fly without discrimination or censorship, that is community radio.
DHAN Foundation believes that the Community radio can perform as an enabling tool for
poverty reduction, when it is truly owned and managed by the community, particularly
the Peoples Organisations promoted by the poor women, small and marginal farmers
and fishermen. Promoting mutuality, self help and self reliance for achieving poverty
reduction should form foundation for the Community Radios. DHAN perceives that the
main commitment and mandate for community radio promoted or supported by it should
be committed to produce programming on themes that will contribute to the
development of the communities that they serve.
Enabling Environment
Fig 1
The enabling approach forms the basis of all the designs and strategies of building
people and institutions for poverty reduction. It is the basic approach to processes and
deriving from that, institutions, knowledge systems and styles of functioning. This is the
enveloping function or approach to the above triad (fig 1). Also, it is important to note
that common property approaches to praxis lead to governance and collective
empowerment. In the former, placing all the issues, conflicts, and decision-making
processes, and so on, in the public space, leads to collective empowerment. Nothing is
kept confined to a few individuals.
The information and communication technologies should be viewed as enabling inputs for
development. The content that the Community Radio Stations develop within and across
the communities should be grounded in the following Basics of Development.
Quality of life: How do we assist persons to determine and develop the meaning of
their lives, their identities, and their life styles?
Change as a constant: How do we deal with the causes and effects of change
within and upon individuals, institutions and societies?
DHAN has launched Kalanjiam Samuga Vanoli (Kalanjiam Community Radio) with a
vision of creating a Community Media Centre with mixed media model, combining radio
with video and web based technologies. United Nations Development Programme
supported this initiative. The Station has started to function from October 2006.
The Station is equipped with audio production infrastructure. A team of trained
Volunteers from the local community are involved in programme production. The station
is connected with the VICs set up by DHAN in the villages through Local Area Network.
These VICs narrow cast the programmes produced and sent by the Station through the
Public Address Systems fixed over towers. Presently programmes of one hour duration
are presented daily. Also the Station broadcasts selected programmes once in a week for
fifteen minutes through the AIR - Karaikal FM Station to.
With the experience gained from Nagapattinam, DHAN supports of the Peoples
Organisations promoted by it with the farmers dependent on traditional water harvesting
structures called Kanmoi, in Kottampatty block of Madurai district to launch Vayalagam
Samuga Vanoli (Vayalagam Community Radio). Similarly, the Farmers Federation
promoted by it in Punganur Mandal of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh is getting
prepared to launch a community radio station dedicated for livelihoods development.
Details of the CRS are in table 1
Table 1: CRS in various contexts
CRS
Location
Anchored by
Context
Major
stakeholders
Focus
Kalanjiam
Samuga
Vanoli
Vizhunthamavadi,
Nagapttinam
DHAN
Foundation
Coastal
Fishermen,
women and
farmers
Disaster
preparedness
and livelihoods
Vayalagam
Samuga
Vanoli
Kottampatti,
Madurai
Madurai
District Tank
Farmers
Federation
Rural
Farmers and
women
Disaster
preparedness
and livelihoods
Community
Radio
Punganur,
Chittoor, AP
Punganur
Mandala
Vayalaga
Rythula
Samakya
Rural
Farmers
Livelihoods and
conservation
young men and women) and the staff. In our experience following variety of presentation
formats were followed buy the CRS in Kottampatty as well as Nagapattinam.
Features
Interviews
Reporting events and cases
Stories and experiences
Readings
Local announcements
Discussions and debates
Radio drama
Talks / narratives
Local music and songs
Jingles
Producing Content
Production is done in three methods depending on the availability of equipment, distance
from the production centre and financial resources available for production.
Method 1:
A well equipped audio production theatre established in Kottampatty, a block town where
the people have easy access to travel. Most of the arranged programmes such as talks,
interviews, songs, music and readings are made in the theatre.
Method 2:
Each VIC has a provision of a mini mixer and a microphone connected with a computer
and an amplifier. The VICs which are primarily meant for offering internet based services
are also used as production facility, wherein the people/producers are invited to the
centre for recording. Live announcements are done there itself. Some of the programmes
are recorded and transferred to the main studio in Kottampatty after a first level editing
for further editing.
Method 3:
Field recording is done using voice recorders in the areas where there is a difficulty in
bringing producers to the VIC or theatre at Kottampatty. Mostly event coverages, spot
commentaries and interviews are done in this method.
Disseminating Content
In Kottampatty, programmes are narrowcasted through the public address systems fixed
over Village Information Centres in 20 villages covering about 10,000 populations.
Flexible timings of narrowcasting is decided after consulting the villagers for avoiding
disturbances to their other works (e.g. school and exam times). A typical scheme of
narrowcasting is given in the table 2.
5 PM
6 PM
Content / format
Thirukural with explanation by VIC operators
Live announcements
Village events and meetings
Birth day wishes, Wedding wishes
PDS announcement
Panchayat announcements
Announcements for SHG, Farmers groups
Weather information
Pre recorded programme
Speeches and debates,
Agriculture and animal husbandry
Stories,
Health information,
Tips for students, youth etc.
Vayalagam Vanoli Programme made
by/with communities
Best practices by farmers, entrepreneurs
New initiatives
Traditional practices
Folk music, songs and stories
Festivals, celebrations
Women and children
Health and education etc.
Duration
15 Min
15 Min
30 Min
60 Min
Exchanging Content
While the Community Radios offer ample opportunity for making localised contents that
suits the social, cultural and linguistic characteristics of the defined geography, there
exists opportunities for the two or more CRSs to exchange their contents. In the context
of globalizing media, among the communities who live similar lives and have similar
issues can very well connect with each other to share their content, expertise and
experiences. There are initiatives by national and international networks that are
promoting such exchanges. In our case the Kalanjiam Community Radio in Nagapattinam
and the Vayalagam Community Radio in Kottampatty, Madurai, both are sharing the
same context of disaster vulnerability. The former could share many of their audio
content except a few areas that are related to marine ecosystem to the latter.
However while exchanging contents care needs to be taken to ensure that they share
similar contexts, culture, and language, and moreover relevant to the purpose for which
it was made. By sharing content, CRSs can increase the impact of their work and reach
new audiences, collaborate with each other for joint productions, learn new formats, and
bring diversity to the programmes.
Sl
N
o
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
No. of
Programmes
Content
Thirukural
Health
Agriculture
Children
Women & SHG
Disaster Mitigation
Governance
Livelihoods
Education
Culture
Awareness
General
Folks & Songs
Total production
376
433
164
533
97
32
27
49
70
29
33
353
221
2417
Duratio
n
3:21:23
20:01:24
18:11:57
25:45:26
9:51:37
4:36:40
5:54:49
6:28:45
7:44:23
5:22:46
3:44:26
15:18:52
8:45:08
135:07:36
Kural
Health
Fig 3. Typology of Programmes
6% 2%
11%
Agriculture
16%
Children
Women & SHG
3%
Disaster Mitigation
4%
13%
6%
Governance
Livelihoods
Education
5%
Culture
4%
3%
7%
20%
Awareness
General
Folks & Songs
The Chart (Fig 3) shows that women, agriculture and health are the major areas of
programming, which is more of best practices in existing sea and land based livelihoods.
Similarly programming for Children was 20 percent of the total duration of programmes
produced. Traditional health practices, local culture and folk songs were the major areas
of programming to fulfill the demands of the communities generated during need
assessment.
Passive
Listeners
Active Contributors
Owners
In order to create change, the CRS should assume certain roles and take up certain
responsibilities so as to create change in the individuals and societies. These 3Rs should
be built around the values of self governance and self management.
Roles
Self governance
Media literacy
Accelerating development
Redefining and ensuring entitlements
Rights
Freedom of Expression
Responsibilities
Collective ownership
Self Management
Access and Control over ICT
Self Regulation
Entitlements over social, economic, cultural and political rights
Accountability
Transparency
Challenges
No doubt, the Community Radios have the potential to create conditions that provide
people with access to useful information, and ways for people to express their
sentiments, opinions, views, aspirations, strengths and their ideas for development. It
can support the communities to build consensus on their development priorities.
However there are few challenges to facilitate the communities to move from producers
to owners of the Community Radio.
Ensuring a strong focus on "local" news, music, events, people and issuesespecially
coupled with "global" relevance.
Exploring, identifying and cultivating new talents and building capacity of the local
communities and volunteers to enhance their ability to adapt, getting acquainted with
the tools and technology that are available at free or affordable costs.
Building institutionalised linkages with the mainstream agencies that are involved in
disaster management, to provide legitimate and localised information on disasters.
Meetings costs of content production and capacity building for the staff, volunteers
and communities is a major challenge in the initial phase, while the CRS is still
working towards meeting running costs. A proven model needs to emerge to meet
this challenge.
Access and use of materials that are copy righted. The CRS stands for non
commercial broadcasting may not be able to afford to the royalties to be paid for the
copyrighted materials. Content exchange among the non-commercial broadcasters
needs more focus.
Community
to preserve
talents
her family. SheRadio
was working
in a textilelocal
showroom
in Nagapattinam as a sales girl. When contacted
The boy stretches his neck to reach the microphone that dangles in front
by her friend Padma who is working in the Kalanjiam Samuga Vanoli, she reluctantly agreed to
of him. But that does not break the enthusiasm. He eagerly narrates the
become a community radio volunteer. Her association in the Community Radio transformed her
story of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. This young storyteller comes from a
outlook not only about herself, but also on the village she lives. She is the one who has made the
rural village near Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. He is one of the many
highest number of programmes among other volunteers and she feels proud about it. She says I
talents, staff and volunteers, who help in creating a very unusual radio
am respected in my village now and happy about listening their feedbacks. Now I could feel
programme for an unusual radio station Kalanjiam Samuga Vanoli. He was
importance of my work and I am getting excitement every day by doing new work and meeting
brought to the station by Porkodi, a Radio Volunteer. She and her
new people.
colleagues know how to spot interesting topics, to do interviews, to edit and also how to narrate a
programme. Every day they go out on field assignments to collect new audio material. The topics
range from agriculture, health, education, issues around Self Help Groups, events around festivals
up to disaster preparedness
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Manoj Prabakars radio address on water management is delivered flawlessly, and when he steps out
of the studio, he is congratulated warmlyespecially by his grandmother, who puts her arms around
him.
Manoj is 13, and his audience is the village of Mangalamapatti, India. The studio is an information
centera single room that serves about a hundred purposes for five communities, and the machine
used for sound editing is the only computer in town.
This is community radio, where a village fashions the programs it wants and needs, and fast-talking
DJs and advertisers need not apply.
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poorest villages of Tamil Nadu theyre not as practical as radios in that you have to stop what
youre doing to watch TV.
With radio, says Sethurajan, we can keep on working.
***
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