Community Radio Around the World

Sunday, 6 December 2009

[creative-radio] Special Coverage of COP 15 by Panos South Asia

Dear colleagues,

Please be kindly informed that Panos South Asia is doing a special online coverage of COP 15 from 7-18 December 2009 from Copenhagen.

The text, radio and video coverage of COP 15 is available online at

http://www.panosradiosouthasia.org/

We hope it will be useful for you and appreciate your feedback.

Best regards,

Kishor Pradhan
Deputy Director, Panos South Asia
Country Representative, Panos Nepal
Sri Durbar Tole, Patan, Lalitpur
GPO Box 13651, Kathmandu, Nepal

Tel: 977-1-5521889/5531447 (Off), Fax: 977-1-5544641
E-mail: kishor@panossouthasia.org
Cell: 977-9851040564

Website: www.panossouthasia.org

Listen online to Panos Radio South Asia at www.panosradiosouthasia.org

Personal Weblog: http://kishorpradhan.wordpress.com

"Panos South Asia's vision is to make our societies inclusive, democratic
and just. We seek to renegotiate power through the media by enabling diverse
opinions, ideas and theories to be included in the debate on governance and
development".

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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[creative-radio] Gorkhas's last battle | PANOS RADIO SOUTH ASIA's Latest Panoscope Issue, 5 December 2009

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Panos Radio South Asia | Latest Panoscope issue, 5 December 2009
www.panosradiosouthasia.org
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gorkhas's last battle

In late 2007, the hills of Darjeeling in India renewed their demand for a separate statehood of Gorkhaland with a movement led by Bimal Gurung under the banner of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha or G-J-M-M. The demand for a separate homeland for the Nepali-speaking people of the region is over a century old, first articulated around 1907. Since then, the movement then led by Gorkha National Liberation Front or G-N-L-F turned widely violent in the 1980-ies and managed to earn a semi-autonomous administrative arrangement called the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council or D-G-H-C within the West Bengal government of India. But the G-N-L-F later started loosing its support base with its leader being charged of compromising its demand for a separate statehood. Today, the political opposition in the hills is almost non existent and there is widespread support for the G-J-M-M with power base shifting from the G-N-L-F to Bimal Gurung's G-J-M-M. This is often being referred to by the current leadership as the "final battle for Gorkhaland".

Country: India

Upload Date: 5/12/2009
Duration: 15:00

File Size: 3.1 MB

http://www.panosradiosouthasia.org/prsa/prsaarchives.php?id=80

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Panoscope is an independent production of Panos Radio South Asia. We're committed to providing a forum for voices, views, and issues not often heard in the mainstream media. Non-profit media, development and other organizations can download Panoscope radio magazine free of cost for air or online use. Credit should be given to Panos Radio South Asia (PRSA) an undertaking of Panos South Asia. If you have suggestions for future programs please contact us at:

Panos Radio South Asia
GPO Box 13651
Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel.: 977-1-5521889/5531447
E-mail: prsa@panosradiosouthasia.org
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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[creative-radio] El Salvador - Radio Bálsamo Censored

Radio Bálsamo Censored

"SIGET ordered that transmissions from 90.5 FM be shut down due to legal
proceedings against the community radio station"

By http://radiobalsamo.net
Press Release

December 2, 2009

http://www.narconews.com/Issue62/article3962.html

[excerpt]

Radio Bálsamo has been off the air since this past Friday, November 27.
The Salvadoran Department of Electricity and Telecommunications (SIGET)
ordered that transmissions from 90.5 FM be shut down due to legal
proceedings against the community radio station located in the La Libertad
department.

The complainant, Rubén González, who was awarded the right to use the 90.5
FM frequency in the Zaragoza zone, signed a contract with the legal
representatives of Radio Bálsamo in 2005, "authorizing them to transmit
for ten years over said frequency. However, this same person gave the
[right to use] the frequency to a local religious sect this year, and
discredited [Radio Bálsamo] before the SIGET," said Geovani Montalvo, a
journalist with the radio.

Since then, the radio has been accused of misuse of the frequency, because
according to the plaintiffs, Radio Bálsamo is not authorized to transmit
on said frequency.

The Radio Bálsamo collective has manifested its concern regarding this
situation and states that "to resolve the situation, those of us who are
obligated to participate are those who were signers of the legal
agreement—that is, Radio Bálsamo's legal representation and Ruben
Gonzalez, who has ceded the right to use the frequency to another group."

The Union of Journalists of El Salvador (SINPESS) expressed its concern
over the temporary closure of this alternative news outlet and points out
that this is the first case in the SIGET has brought against a news outlet
during the current administration. For this reason, it requests public
explanations from the authorities.

The Latin American Association of Radiophonic Education (ALER) has
expressed its concern regarding the news and laments "legal problems are
depriving the towns of the accompaniment that Radio Bálsamo offered them
with its regular transmissions." Likewise, it is confident that "the
pertinent authorities will promptly facilitate a solution to the problem
and that Radio Bálsamo will once again transmit its regular programming."

For its part, the Roque Dalton Collective of Communicators and Students
(CERD) believes that the issue of the closure of the radio "is more than
just a legal conflict. The closure is a right denied to a population that
demands information as a public asset, information that serves to
transform the people."

[...]

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[creative-radio] Community Radio Madanpokhara, Nepal

Community Radio Madanpokhara (CRM)

Community Radio Madanpokhara (CRM) developed out of a community audio
tower project run by local women. Members of the community participate
through a wide range of different forums, organizing themselves each month
to decide on radio programmes based on the needs of their community. There
is a network of 95 listener clubs and centres with strong participation
from women, farmers and youth, which makes an annual action plan to
stimulate creative and sustainable development work in their locality.

Madanpokhara -9, Palpa
Tel/Fax: 075-521405, 520655

E-mail: crm_plp@hons.com.np

http://www.community-radio-madanpokhara.org/index.htm

CRM in a Nutshell

The first rural based community radio station in south Asia.

· Vision : To transform the community into well informed community
· First Attempt start - 1996 A. D
· Audio tower (Run by women) - 1997
· License issued - January 3rd 1999.
· Broadcasting - April 5th 2000.

Owner : Locally Elected representative Body : Madanpokhara V.D.C
Management : 17 member broad elected and selected by VDC Council and civil
society organizations of the District.
Transmitting Power - 100 watts.
Broadcasting hours - 12.5 hours.
Coverage - 8 districts.
Listeners - about 0.8 million.
Language - Nepali & local.

CRM is the prime source for practical knowledge, accurate information and
healthy entertainment. The programs are produced in Nepali and local
language. Mainly the programs are about women issues marginalised people
(disadvantaged class) Children, youth, gender equity, old, small business,
income generation activities, mainly economic and social programs,
conflict, human right, democracy, good governance and disabled. Notice of
formal program in coverage area, weather forecast. Broadcasts price of
fruits and vegetables. Time table of long distance & local bus
transportation Live broadcast of the special programs.

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[creative-radio] The Value of News: A Lesson from Nepalese community radio

The Value of News: A Lesson from Nepalese community radio
http://ow.ly/JnFx

[excerpt]

"...Som Nath Aryal is a radio journalist in Madanpokhara, in Nepal's Palpa
districtl. He has built Radio Madanpokhara, a station that serves 37 rural
communities. Here's how it works, and why it strikes me as so powerful.

Som Nath travels constantly from village to village in his region. At
first, he was pitching the idea of a community radio station, a source for
non-commercial news, entertainment, public-service information tailored to
the area. Soon, his sell evolved: This station, he told villagers, is
yours. Communities were encouraged to elect representatives who would
serve as their radio reporters, accountable to their local development
committees. Later, Som Nath recruited "radio sanghi samuha," youth
listener clubs that formed the foundation of Radio Madanpokhara's social
network: They acted as Som Nath's eyes and ears, collecting news, scouting
out wrongdoing, doing what amounts to education outreach, and, not least,
raising money.

Which they do. Most farming families contribute a handful of rice a year
to the radio station; forest dwellers contribute bundles of tree branches.
Som Nath also sells cassettes of certain programs and hawks badges,
stickers, and t-shirts.

Why is this working? Because Radio Madanpokhara is, in fact, creating
value for its listeners."This is possible only when community people
consider the radio as a part of their life," Som Nath writes. "People
support the community radio because … it speaks the speeches of porters
carrying heavy loads on their back, the sorrows and miseries of women and
the farmers who play in dust or clay everyday. The community radio speaks
the stories of cobblers sewing shoes and tailors stitching textiles and
iron mongers in the hearth. There is always a deep understanding between
the radio and the community. Every programme focuses on local issues.
Thus, if the community radio speaks for people, why they not support
them?"..."

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[creative-radio] Riding a different airwave

Riding a different airwave

http://ow.ly/JnyL

[excerpt]

English-language radio in Israel has never had an easy ride. Mainly due to
licensing difficulties with the Communications Ministry, stations like the
legendary Voice of Peace launched by Abie Nathan on a ship in the
Mediterranean off the coast of Israel, the short-lived, long-lamented
Jerusalem-based Radio West in the 1990s and more recently the
Ramallah-Jerusalem coexistence station RAM FM, all suffered similar fates
of being shut down because they were broadcasting without a
government-issued license - in essence operating as pirate radio station.

Adam Mallerman, a new immigrant from England, has neatly pole-vaulted over
the whole nuisance of proper permits, sanctioned bandwidths and the
bureaucratic black hole that has relegated countless grassroots radio
startups to the broadcasting junk heap. Ironically though, his spunky
radio station can't be tuned into on a radio - Rusty Mike Radio
(http://www.rustymikeradio.com) is an Internet-only station "broadcasting"
from Jerusalem's Talbiyeh neighborhood to Israel and the world beyond.

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[creative-radio] US Low-Power Radio and What the Media Won't Tell You About the Media

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [MRN] Low-Power Radio and What the Media Won't Tell You About the
Media
From: "radtimes" <resist@comcast.net>
Date: Sun, December 6, 2009 15:28
To: Recipient list suppressed:;
----------------------------------------------------------

Low-Power Radio and What the Media Won't Tell You About the Media

http://www.truthout.org/110709E

07 November 2009
by: Amber Sands

There's a classic problem for progressives who want to change the
media: the media doesn't like to cover itself. Especially not when it
comes to issues that challenge the status quo of corporate control.
It's like turning to the military for news about the peace movement,
or asking Big Oil to report on climate change legislation.

So you may not have heard much about the grassroots effort to create
hundreds of new, non-commercial radio stations. Overcoming nine years
of opposition from the broadcasting lobby, the Local Community Radio
Act is on the verge of a vote in the House of Representatives.

The bill would expand low-power FM (LPFM) radio, first introduced by
the Federal Communications Commission in 2000. Media activists and
community groups nationwide demanded this access to the airwaves to
combat the deregulation that concentrated media ownership into fewer
hands. The FCC began licensing low-power stations between the larger
ones on the radio dial, but Congress promptly hobbled the low-power
service with restrictions.

If you're wondering why Congress would step on the toes of the agency
that regulates communications, well, ask the media - they may not
cover media regulation, but they spend millions influencing it.

Fearing competition from stations that would carry original, local
programming, broadcasters claimed that LPFM stations might interfere
with the signals of full-power stations. The broadcasting lobby
demanded that Congress widen the required distance between the radio
frequencies of an existing full-power station and a would-be LPFM.
Congress made the spacing requirements so vast that only rural areas
can meet the criteria for a low-power license.

To put this in context, although 800 LPFMs are already on the air,
only one (in Richmond, Virginia) is licensed in one of the 50 largest
radio markets. These markets are collectively home to more than 160
million people. Under the new bill, Congressional restrictions on
LPFMs would be repealed and the FCC would regain the authority to
regulate the radio spectrum in cities as well as rural areas.

Like so many scientific arguments written by industry lobbyists, the
case against LPFMs doesn't make much sense. A $2.2 million
taxpayer-funded study showed that low-power stations don't cause
harmful interference to full-power stations. And 100-watt LPFMs are
almost identical to the 250-watt mini-stations (called translators)
that full-power stations use to repeat their signals across wide
areas. Translators rely on the same equipment as LPFMs, operating
with higher power levels at distances even closer to full-power
stations. Yet no one's complained about them. The difference is in
the name on the license: Incumbent broadcasters own the translators.
LPFMs are owned by local governments, nonprofit organizations,
churches and schools (in other words, the competition).

Reading the names on licenses is a good way to see the effects of
deregulation on radio. Before 1985, there were simply more names on
the list. An individual or company could own only one AM or FM
station in each market and only seven of each nationally. Several
rounds of deregulation later, a single company can now own up to
eight radio stations per market and any number nationally.

Contrary to the "free market" logic of deregulation, the lifting of
ownership caps has driven prices up. Radio stations that once sold
for between seven and twelve times projected cash flow now cost 20-22
times cash flow, requiring equity that most small businesses don't
have. Ownership is limited to the very largest chains, which can buy
advertising, music and on-air talent at bulk rates - which is why
every station on your dial features the same format and cycles
through the same overplayed pop songs.

The loss of local programming is only one casualty of deregulation.
Media consolidation disproportionately affects women and minority
media owners, for several reasons. Historically, women and people of
color have often been barred from the business. Back when the radio
spectrum was less crowded and commercial licenses were free, only
white men got them. In today's cramped radio market, you must buy an
existing station to get a commercial license, requiring enormous
upfront capital. It's a high barrier to market entry for women and
people of color, who face discrimination when applying for bank loans
and the jobs needed to gain high-level industry experience.

Low-power radio lacks these barriers. The engineering and legal fees
are low, licenses are free and community leadership is more valued
than industry insidership. Unlike the slick but vacuous programming
produced by commercial radio's huge economies of scale, LPFMs are
hyperlocal. With limited resources, they do what big networks won't,
covering city council elections, local musicians and high school football.

That may be why the Prometheus Radio Project's campaign to expand
LPFM (www.expandlpfm.org) has brought together groups with seemingly
little in common besides the need for a locally accountable voice in the
media.

Native American Tribal groups hope to use reservation radio to
revitalize their languages. Mississippi emergency responders want to
broadcast hurricane alerts. Florida's migrant tomato pickers and
Oregon's farmworkers use radio to organize for better wages and
working conditions. And music fans everywhere want to hear
independent musicians who don't have the business ties to get
corporate airtime.

Even in the age of Internet, radio remains a vital resource for
community organizing and expression. This is especially true for the
elderly, speakers of minority languages, and communities with low
literacy rates or limited broadband access. With a range of 3-5
miles, LPFM is well-suited for issues that affect a single
neighborhood, such as organizing around housing rights or building
community gardens.

If the media did cover the fight for low-power radio, the story
shouldn't be about FCC rules, or engineering studies, or even the
Local Community Radio Act's supporters in Congress. The real story is
a national movement of grassroots groups who are claiming the
airwaves - after all, we lease them to broadcasters to serve the
public interest. If they aren't doing the job, we can take the
airwaves back and do it ourselves.
--

Amber Sands works with the Prometheus Radio Project, a Philadelphia
based nonprofit organization that builds, supports and advocates for
participatory radio as a tool for social justice organizing and
community expression.

.

--
GEORGE LESSARD

Information & Media Specialist
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