Community media
Community media ''' refers to media organizations that are owned, controlled, and operated by and for a community, serving its specific interests. These media outlets can take various forms, including print, broadcast, and online platforms, and typically operate on a non-profit basis. Community media are characterized by four core principles: community ownership and control, community service, community participation, and a non-profit model.
They often publish in local languages and rely on volunteer contributions, making them affordable and accessible. While traditionally associated with geographical areas, the concept of “community” has expanded to include communities of interest, such as women, LGBTQ+ groups, religious communities, and people with disabilities. This is especially evident in countries like South Africa and the Solomon Islands, where community media serve marginalized voices. Furthermore, virtual communities formed through social media platforms are increasingly seen as part of the community media landscape, provided they align with the core principles.
Community media play a crucial role in fostering media pluralism and supporting democratic functions such as voter education, particularly in reaching audiences that mainstream media may overlook. However, community broadcasting is often subject to regulations that prohibit political campaigning, necessitating careful oversight during election periods.
Definition
Community media are any form of media that function in service of or by a community. It is the rise of all kinds of alternative, oppositional, participatory and collaborative media practices that have developed in the journalistic context of ‘community media,’ ‘we media,’ ‘citizens media,’ ‘grassroot journalism’ or any radical alternative to on and offline mainstream journalistic practices. In other words, it is having access to or creating local alternatives to mainstream broadcasting, like local community newspapers, radio stations, or magazines. Community Media aids in the process of building citizenship and raising social awareness. "Participation" and "access" are a large aspect in the rise of community media. Those who create media are being encouraged to involve themselves in providing a platform for others to express views. Community media is often given parameters when being defined by groups, but often challenges these boundaries with its broad yet narrow structure.Community media are generally defined as a distinct sector of the media for their independence, base in civil society and provision of a social service as opposed to seeking profits. They serve as a third sector of the media apart from private and public media and are important in giving communities a platform to express their concerns for local issues, engaging in democratic debate and deliver a reliable access to information. However, there is no consensus on a definition as each region displays unique forms of community media. However community media is also mass media but it aims to a much smaller population unlike mainstream media.
Modes of community media
Community media can take all the forms of other conventional media, such as print, radio, television, Web-based and mixed media.Community radio is particularly widespread around the world with radio stations being founded to inform their listeners on issues important to the community.
Community television is a form of mass media in which a television station is owned, operated or programmed by a community group to provide television programs of local interest known as local programming.
Grassroots media
media is focused more specifically on media making by and for the local community that it serves making the discussion more narrow and precise. It is essentially a subset focusing on small scale media projects which aim to bring different visions and perspectives to the "codes", that are so easily embedded in the social psyche.Challenges
Despite the social service they provide through their focus on local issues, community media often face a number of challenges, including unfavourable regulation, censorship, unfair licensing processes, inequitable access to the frequency spectrum, lack of formal recognition, low funding, lack of skilled journalists and media professionals, and competition from private and state broadcasters.By region
United States
The first Public-access television station in the United States considered to be community media was set up in 1968 in Dale City, Virginia. It was managed by the city's Junior Chamber of Commerce and ran programming for two years without advertising. It closed due to lack of financing, equipment, and infrastructure. Another early example of community media is found in the counter-culture video collectives of the 1960s and 1970s.Videofreex, Video Free America, and Global Village used new technologies to the benefit of community interests. In addition, the Raindance Corporation founded by Michael Shamberg, Paul Ryan, and others became known as "guerrilla television." The premise of guerrilla television was to non-violently blaze a new trail for the creation of media as an alternative to broadcast television. This initial activity was made possible by Sony's introduction of the video Porta-Pak.
Current status
Community media in the US does have some lobbying efforts. One of these is the Alliance for Community Media, which "works to protect the interests of ". They do not provide technical training for running multimedia operations rather, they work to support these centers through advocacy and education about what community media is. A major resource for those seeking access to community media in the United States was the Community Media Database. The Community Media Database acted as a directory for the community media companies located around the United States. Here, users could use the interactive map to find community media access in their area, as well as other resources on organizations whose focus is to advance the cause of community media within the country. The CMD appears to now be defunct. The Alliance for Community Media also represents local community groups, public schools, religious institutions, colleges and universities, government officials, second language communities, and national institutions.To become a single member of the alliance one must pay a fee of $200. This fee is for those who work for the cause of Community Media and the ACM. Supporters can pay a fee of only $50 and get membership to the regional group, single access to the ACM listserv, and discounted rates to ACM and Regional conferences and educational events. Examples of people who would get the supporter members are volunteers, students, and retirees. However anyone can sign up to get updates and newsletters from the ACM for free. An example of Community Media can be found in Washington, D.C., with a focus on the fight to gain statehood for D.C. One site for community media include the DCi Reporter which is an online website reporting D.C. area news and statehood news. Another is the public access, DCTV which has a wide variety of programming for D.C. residents, and also reports on D.C. statehood news.The Benton Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Charles Benton in 1981 to ensure that media "serves the public interest and enhances democracy". The foundation seeks to raise awareness and accessibility to community within the United States. They also have a strong focus on ensuring that media contents responsive and centralized to local communities.
Canada
Canada also has a central role in the development of community media and is by many considered the birthplace of community broadcasting. In the 1960s, the National Film Board of Canada set up a project called Challenge for Change which was a series of documentary films addressing socio-economic issues. Once again Sony's Porta-Pak proved revolutionary in Canada as well. In 1968, filmmakers Bonny Klein and Dorothy He`naut persuaded Challenge for Change to take on more local community issues. During the same year they trained members of the St. Jacques Citizens' Committee in video production. The committee went into the Montreal slums and captured interview footage with poor people and then presented the video in public meetings for discussion.The history of community radio dates back to amateur radio organizations that formed in 1906. From a historical perspective, the seminal example of community radio is Lewis Hill's Pacifica Radio. KPFA in Berkeley, California began broadcasting in 1949 after acquiring an FCC license for FM spectrum. This first Pacifica station was funded through listener support and philanthropic foundations. Pacifica's mandate, that Hill expressed as "to engage in any activity that shall contribute to the lasting understanding between nations and between the individuals of all nations, races, creeds, and colors," has served to frame the community media movement through its historical and technological development.
China
Community media in China serves as a tool for the propaganda department to promote its ideologies. It is a strictly government operated media includes television, radio and newspaper. This refers to the unique historical condition of a wealthy and powerful Communist Party-governed state that lacks democracy. The Communist Party governs everything and everyone, and answers to thing but itself. It stands above the law. WeChat has all the features of Facebook Messenger, the usefulness of Venmo and PayPal. Users can post Moments on their walls, order taxi service or movie tickets, and in general utilize the app not just for communication but for daily services. Anything that is posted on or is sent out to friends on WeChat are being monitored by the Chinese government."Sina weibo" is like a Chinese microblog. There are almost 540 million people are users of Sina weibo. It is a stage for people to post their comments, pictures, videos, articles and advertisements. Now, there are many celebrities using this stage to post advertisement and get more attention from people, not only the Chinese celebrities are using Sina weibo, there are some Korean, Hollywood celebrities are communicating with their followers through this special community media. Anyone can register an account and it has to be verified by the real ID. But people do not have to use their real information after resisting, and they are free to talk about their own life but if there are some information that against the political policy, then it will be deleted.