Friday 5 June 2009

Community radio conference: Rooting for radical radio

Community radio conference
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Rooting for radical radio
Stefan Christoff
http://www.hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=17473
 


David Barsamian, founder of Alternative Radio

Amidst the current global crisis facing major media organizations, with newspaper and magazine offices closing within the larger global financial storm, alternative media projects on the radio and online are alive and flourishing, with increasing numbers of people turning to such outlets for their news on the world.

The National Campus and Community Radio Conference (NCRC), taking place here June 7-13, focuses on the current state of independent media, especially community/campus radio, and brings community radio delegates from across the country into an open discussion.

Dating back to the 1980s, Alternative Radio, founded by Armenian-American journalist and author David Barsamian, has been a shining example of an independent media initiative that wields international scope while maintaining fierce independence and strong ties to social movements. Barsamian is the keynote speaker at the NCRC, offering a historical perspective on the current state of independent media.

"Radio is uniquely positioned to deliver intellectual content, particularly because a listener is not distracted by the image, as in TV or the Internet," says Barsamian. "I think that for ideas and serious talk, radio is the singular medium that can offer a real ability for listeners to really delve into the profound issues of our time."

The NCRC is the largest gathering of community and campus radio workers in the country. In recent years, it has seen the development of Groundwire, the first national grassroots news program

broadcasting on community radio across Canada.

"Viewers of television and readers of print media have been disappearing in droves in recent years, and their advertising dollars with them," outlines Barsamian. "People are turning to alternative media in increasing numbers - particularly among young people there is a real disgust towards corporate media, and many of the most popular new media projects are created by young people who are inventing new media languages."

National Campus and Community Radio Conference (NCRC)
June 7-13
For full schedule and registration details, see www.ckut.ca/ncrc

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