tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/community-radio-4979/articlesCommunity radio – The Conversation2023-10-22T10:44:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2049582023-10-22T10:44:23Z2023-10-22T10:44:23ZCommunity radio: young South Africans are helping shape the news through social media<p>The number of South African internet users has <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/462958/internet-users-south-africa">nearly doubled</a> in the past decade. One <a href="https://www.electronicshub.org/the-average-screen-time-and-usage-by-country/">2023 study</a> of 45 developed countries suggests that South Africans even lead the world when it comes to the amount of time spent in front of screens, at 58.2% of the day.</p>
<p>This digital transformation has significant implications for the country’s media. Particularly for newsrooms that want to engage online audiences in a time when news production has evolved towards <a href="https://ict4peace.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/we_media.pdf">greater participation</a> of citizens and civil society. More and more, listeners are <a href="https://ict4peace.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/we_media.pdf">contributing</a> to media processes. </p>
<p>During protests, for example, news outlets often invite people at the scene to use WhatsApp groups to share firsthand observations, images or videos. These are verified and incorporated into news coverage. (Indeed, WhatsApp emerged as South Africa’s <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1189958/penetration-rate-of-social-media-in-south-africa/">most popular</a> social media platform in 2022.)</p>
<p>This shift is at the heart of our recent broadcast and community media <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-19417-7_8">study</a>. We examined two community radio stations – Zibonele FM and Bush Radio – in South Africa’s Western Cape province. We wanted to know how social media platforms like Facebook and X are shaping the way that young people interact with the stations, and how radio is adapting to meet them online.</p>
<p>We found the stations have embraced social media apps and are actively using them to shape content. Young people are increasingly participating in citizen journalism to influence this content. </p>
<p>This could keep community radio relevant – and that matters. South Africa is home to over 290 community radio stations, <a href="https://brcsa.org.za/rams-amplify-radio-listenership-report-jul22-jun23/">far outnumbering</a> the 41 commercial and public service stations. Community radio emerged with democracy in South Africa in the 1990s, providing a <a href="https://www.amazon.co.jp/100-Years-Radio-South-Africa/dp/3031407059">platform</a> for alternative voices and grassroots organisations. It’s able to address issues often overlooked by mainstream media.</p>
<h2>The stations</h2>
<p><a href="https://zibonelefm.co.za">Zibonele FM</a> and <a href="https://bushradio.wordpress.com">Bush Radio</a> stood out for us. This is because of their youth-focused content, multilingual broadcasts, diverse audience segments and robust use of digital technologies in news production and programming. </p>
<p>Zibonele FM is based in Khayelitsha, a vast township (black residential area) on the outskirts of Cape Town. The station broadcasts mainly in the local Xhosa language. </p>
<p>Bush Radio is one of the country’s <a href="https://bushradio.wordpress.com/about/">oldest</a> and most influential community stations. Founded in 1992, it has played a role in shaping post-apartheid life in Cape Town. <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">Apartheid</a> was a system of white minority rule that suppressed black voices. Bush Radio provided a platform for voices and perspectives that were often marginalised in mainstream media. </p>
<p>June 2023 <a href="https://brcsa.org.za/rams-amplify-radio-listenership-report-jul22-jun23/">data</a> puts listenership figures of Zibonele FM at 182,000 a day. Bush Radio attracts 49,000 listeners. The average daily listenership of community stations in the Western Cape is 29,000.</p>
<h2>The study</h2>
<p>We conducted in-depth interviews with station managers, producers and journalists at these two stations. Alongside this we studied social media posts from the stations’ X and Facebook accounts and we analysed their on-air content.</p>
<p>We wanted to see if social media shaped youth-oriented programming at Zibonele FM and Bush Radio. While the study’s scope remains small, it provides valuable insights into the digital transformation of news production in South African community radio.</p>
<p>Young Zibonele FM and Bush Radio listeners, we found, were actively participating in the news processes at the radio stations. Especially when the stations tailored their news to draw in these communities. A station manager explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’ve gained a lot of followers, showing that people are drawn to the station’s young presenters on social media. Many engage with our live videos and interactive content, validating their active involvement in shaping news production and content direction. This reinforces our roles as central community hubs. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our data analysis revealed that young audiences on X and Facebook used these platforms to hold journalists accountable, forcing them to reevaluate their reporting. One producer said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Any mistake leads to immediate corrections. This caution improves our content quality and accuracy, benefiting from feedback from our social media followers. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The participants in our study stressed the importance of WhatsApp voice notes as a feature of social media that enabled greater engagement from youth audiences. Young listeners are actively shaping the content production process by sending questions as voice notes. This shift diminishes the power traditionally held by presenters and producers. One producer elaborated:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When we interview guests, we inform our audiences that we have a question, and they actively engage with it. During interviews, we encourage young people to post voice notes, which the interviewees respond to. This practice enables us to incorporate diverse voices on air, as people often prefer sending voice notes, sometimes in the form of questions.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our research underscores how Zibonele FM and Bush Radio have empowered young listeners to engage with journalists actively. This allows them to question and challenge news content. </p>
<p>Station managers reported increased engagement on social media, reinforcing the effectiveness of these strategies in expanding reach and enhancing audience participation. Young audiences, for their part, also used social media to hold journalists accountable, fostering a culture of transparency and trust.</p>
<h2>Why this matters</h2>
<p>The challenges faced by South African community radio, such as limited reach and resources, are <a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/29780/#:%7E:text=These%20were%20attributed%20to%20high,and%20adapting%20to%20technological%20advancement">well documented</a>. </p>
<p>For a long time academics have <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/making-publics-making-places/social-media-and-news-media-building-new-publics-or-fragmenting-audiences/F356F7A3AD7B9AD8444557211EEBD10E">observed</a> that journalism is undergoing changes because of social media. </p>
<p>Social media, as seen in our study, can have a significant impact on the future of radio programming and news. It could lead to a dynamic shift towards more interactive and community-driven programming. This would sustain community radio and enhance its role as a vital source of alternative voices, diverse perspectives and local engagement.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=John+Bulani&btnG=">John Bulani</a> was a co-author of this study.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204958/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sisanda Nkoala has previously received funding from the National Research Foundation and the AW Mellon Foundation. For this study, however, there are no funders to disclose.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Blessing Makwambeni and Trust Matsilele do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Social media is a lifeline for community radio, helping it grow by being shaped by young listeners.Sisanda Nkoala, Senior Lecturer, University of South AfricaBlessing Makwambeni, Senior Lecturer in Communication Science, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyTrust Matsilele, Lecturer in Journalism, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1976792023-01-16T19:04:43Z2023-01-16T19:04:43ZAt Fitzroy Crossing and around Australia, community radio empowers local responses to climate impacts<p>As rain poured down and rivers rose, the radio buzzed with static where you’d usually find Fitzroy Crossing’s community radio station, <a href="http://www.wangki.org.au/">Wangki Yupurnanupurru Radio</a>. The station was off air, but not offline. When they couldn’t broadcast, the Wangki team turned to Facebook to share emergency information. </p>
<p>They even put together audio updates in Kriol and other local languages. This was a community radio station making sure everyone in their community had access to information they needed. The broadcaster’s efforts are remarkable, but not unusual in Australia’s community radio sector. </p>
<p>In Mallacoota, Victoria, <a href="https://www.3mgb.org.au/about/history/">3MGB</a> broadcast life-saving information while the streets around them burned in the Black Summer fires. The <a href="https://www.cbaa.org.au/article/nsw-inquiry-flooding-recognises-bay-fm-important-role-it-played-keeping-communities-safe">Bay FM newsroom in Byron Bay</a> provided constant updates during the Northern Rivers floods. As cyclone season bears down, Townsville’s Triple T FM is broadcasting disaster preparation messages. </p>
<p>These are just a few stories of how community radio stations support their communities through the most extreme impacts of climate change.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1611231394197569537"}"></div></p>
<h2>Complex, diverse and more popular than you might think</h2>
<p>Australia is home to a vibrant and well-established community radio sector. An estimated <a href="https://www.cbaa.org.au/sites/default/files/media/State%20of%20the%20sector%202020_final_published_June21.pdf">one in five Australians</a> tune in to more than 450 community radio services each week. There are stations focused on their local area, stations serving communities of different lived experiences and interests, and stations catering to particular cultural and linguistic communities. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, then, programming is diverse. There are shows about the <a href="https://prisonerradio.org/radio-seeds/">experience of prison</a>, about being <a href="https://www.2dryfm.com/shows/out-in-the-outback/">“out” in the Outback</a>, about gardening, politics, books, bicycles, unions – just about anything you can think of. </p>
<p>No two communities are alike, neither are their community radio stations. Therein lies the promise of community radio for climate change communication.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/getting-ready-for-climate-change-is-about-people-not-spreadsheets-lets-use-our-imaginations-160706">Getting ready for climate change is about people, not spreadsheets. Let's use our imaginations</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>But why talk about climate change on community radio?</h2>
<p>Our research project, <a href="https://www.cbaa.org.au/sector-leadership/research/warming-partnership-griffith-university-addressing-climate-change">Warming Up</a>, is exploring the role of community radio in supporting community resilience to climate change. We interviewed station managers and presenters at 12 stations across <a href="https://enlighten.griffith.edu.au/covid-climate-change-and-australias-community-radio-sector/">New South Wales</a> and Victoria. </p>
<p><a href="https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/joacm_00105_1">What we found</a> has been impressive. Running on the smell of an oily rag, or as one interviewee put it, “lots and lots of gaffer tape”, community radio stations are playing a huge role in preparing communities for a climate-altered world. </p>
<p>But why is community radio such a valuable tool? We identified the following reasons.</p>
<h2>Climate change is local and community radio knows local</h2>
<p>Climate change is often talked about as a global issue – ocean temperatures, melting glaciers, world leaders negotiating or appearing to. While that’s true, the impacts will be felt most acutely in our own backyards. When a new type of pest infests our veggie garden. When our walk on the beach involves navigating eroded sand cliffs and exposed rock walls. When the rain gets heavier, for longer, and mould blooms in corners and cupboards. </p>
<p>While times of disaster are what immediately come to mind, the everyday impacts are also the reality of a climate-altered world. It takes local experiences and responses to find local ways of adapting to and mitigating these impacts. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1610668122427752450"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/even-if-we-halt-global-warming-local-climates-will-change-and-we-need-new-experiments-to-understand-how-172482">Even if we halt global warming, local climates will change – and we need new experiments to understand how</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Diverse communities have diverse experiences</h2>
<p>Climate change is not experienced evenly. Those least responsible bear the brunt of impacts; that’s part of the <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674072343">slow violence</a> of climate change. </p>
<p>Community radio is <a href="https://www.cbaa.org.au/about/about-community-broadcasting">needed</a> to serve communities under-represented in the mainstream media. They include First Nations people, the LGBTIQ+ community, older people, young people, people affected by disability, and multicultural and multilingual groups. </p>
<p>These groups have <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-14-550">unique communication needs</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09603123.2020.1777948?journalCode=cije20#:%7E:text=Human%20health%20is%20affected%20by,and%20damage%20to%20housing%20and">vulnerabilities</a> when it comes to climate change. For example, one of our interviewees talked about the importance of community members sharing information – for this particular multicultural group, a trusted, familiar voice carried more weight than an unknown official. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ethnic-media-are-essential-for-new-migrants-and-should-be-better-funded-115233">Ethnic media are essential for new migrants and should be better funded</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For other groups, language was important. One of the Aboriginal broadcasters we spoke to told us that while climate change was not specifically discussed, there were constant discussions about how to best care for Country. </p>
<p>Subtleties like these make all the difference when it comes to meaningful discussions about climate change. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1581568559129407488"}"></div></p>
<h2>It’s a way to empower everyday people</h2>
<p>Climate change is a source of <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/1538304/Climate-Action-Survey-Summary-for-Policy-and-Decision-Making.pdf">concern</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618520300773?casa_token=HCuxiiUiPxoAAAAA:bDwekUzVY1hE1770lTSWkZI1AGHiQphk9AmqdpqcZOBLef28davIu9YbYzpsTjFWpwyN67Ioig#bib0315">anxiety</a> for many Australians. While many community radio stations are stuck in a deficit approach – concerned they don’t know enough or can’t do enough – others take a more empowering approach. </p>
<p>Many stations do this by leading by example: moving to solar power, composting in the station kitchen, and even making their own sanitising wipes. Another station had a project highlighting the efforts of everyday people in their community to adapt to and mitigate climate change impacts. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-tools-help-communities-measure-and-reduce-their-emissions-locally-128627">New tools help communities measure and reduce their emissions locally</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It doesn’t necessarily take a panel of scientists (or academics!) to enable these actions. Instead, reframing who is an “expert” can be a valuable and empowering approach when talking about local climate change impacts. </p>
<p>Community radio has a lot of potential to play a lead role in supporting community resilience to climate change. While great work is already being done at stations across the country, many stations lack the confidence and resources to do more. Further work and investment in this area will create a wealth of opportunities for local communities to voice their own stories of climate action that point to hope, empowerment and possibility.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197679/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bridget Backhaus received funding for part of this research from the Melbourne Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund alongside the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kerrie Foxwell-Norton received funding for part of this research from the Melbourne Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund alongside the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia. She has received funding from the Australian Research Council on projects relating to community media.</span></em></p>Both when disaster strikes and when climate change has more everyday impacts, community radio stations play a leading role in helping locals understand and adapt to the challenges they face.Bridget Backhaus, Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Media Studies, Griffith UniversityKerrie Foxwell-Norton, Associate Professor in Journalism, Media and Communication, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1436112020-08-02T08:34:04Z2020-08-02T08:34:04ZHow apps on mobile phones are changing Zimbabwe’s talk radio<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350380/original/file-20200730-17-1ol2tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Artist Kudakwashe Chigodo poses for a portrait with his smartphone in Harare.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jekesai Njikizana/AFP/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Africa, radio still has wider geographical <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/worldradioday-why-radio-is-still-going-strong-in-africa/a-52355828">reach</a> and higher audiences than any other information and communication technology, including television and newspapers. </p>
<p>Like the rest of the world, African radio is breaking away from being an analogue communication tool that relies on top down information flows to one that relies on multiple feedback loops. The main driver of this is digital media technologies.</p>
<p>It’s a trend I examine in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13696815.2018.1551125?journalCode=cjac20">a paper</a> called Mobile Phones and a Million Chatter: Performed Inclusivity and Silenced Voices in Zimbabwean Talk Radio. I wanted to observe what is really happening at the convergence between radio, smartphones and related mobile-based applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. </p>
<p>I found that apps like WhatsApp have indeed grown public discourse by connecting more voices to participate in live talkback radio – but this came with new challenges as newsrooms experience an oversupply of digital information from audiences.</p>
<h2>A radio station in Harare</h2>
<p>I set out to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13696815.2018.1551125?journalCode=cjac20">study</a> a local radio station in Harare, the capital of <a href="https://en.unesco.org/news/world-radio-day-2020-radio-and-diversity">Zimbabwe</a> through live studio ethnography and sustained interviews with radio producers and 21 audience members, the latter largely working class Harare residents. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, both producers and audiences found the convergence between radio and mobile phones is stretching out the communicative space. It allows more inclusive, seamless and real time debate between radio hosts and audiences. There was a strong feeling that radio continues to inculcate a sense of imagined community. One producer said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Because we have a dedicated mobile line for WhatsApp, our programme has grown a bit in popularity and we know some of our listeners in person. Some of them visit us during the day just to explain a point discussed in the previous show or even to give us story leads.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And one of the listeners told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I tune in to radio through my mobile phone while I am selling vegetables on the market. I know that my neighbour is listening to this show also.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Apps like WhatsApp have become so pervasive and immersed in our everyday lives that many more people can now easily communicate with larger numbers of contacts than before. In the context of live talk radio, mobile phones are allowing more people to cheaply and conveniently access studio debates.</p>
<p>Prior to the emergence of digital media technologies, land lines were expensive and not nearly as widely domesticated as mobile phones are today. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/radio-in-ghana-from-mouthpiece-of-coup-plotters-to-giving-voice-to-the-people-131709">Radio in Ghana: from mouthpiece of coup plotters to giving voice to the people</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>By 2017, WhatApp was already by far the <a href="https://qz.com/africa/1114551/in-zimbabwe-whatsapp-takes-nearly-half-of-all-internet-traffic/">most popular</a> app in Zimbabwe. It accounts for up to 44% of all mobile internet usage in a country where 98% of all internet usage is mobile. According to Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, promotional WhatsApp and Facebook <a href="https://www.techzim.co.zw/2017/01/econet-wireless-zimbabwes-new-data-whatsapp-facebook-bundles-prices/">access bundles</a>, marketed by the country’s mobile operators, are helping drive up use of these platforms.</p>
<h2>The digital downside</h2>
<p>However, there’s also a downside to the advent of digital media technologies and digitalised newsrooms. Observing live studio shows I witnessed a number of structural constraints.</p>
<p>For example, while radio audiences may celebrate the possibilities of easily sending critical questions via WhatsApp to studio hosts, an apparently unintended consequence was that the journalist managing live studio debates struggled to read out all the messages received. The studio WhatsApp number commonly becomes congested. </p>
<p>Some messages and comments are left unread and get buried under an avalanche of newer ones popping up on the screen, in turn buried under even newer ones. Once this happens, it’s hard to tell how many quality contributions have been lost by not being read. So not all voices reaching the studio get a fair chance of being heard. </p>
<p>I call these unintended constraints, though, because they are not necessarily a result of failure by journalists and producers. They are more a technical setback in which an oversupply of information via dedicated WhatsApp lines eluded even the most astute radio presenter.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-community-radio-has-contributed-to-building-peace-a-kenyan-case-study-141622">How community radio has contributed to building peace: a Kenyan case study</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In addition, some messages reaching the studio WhatsApp channel were so badly typed that they would be set aside, the journalist preferring to read out only well-typed messages. Newsroom pressures and deadlines associated with broadcast media mean that there isn’t the luxury of spending too much time on one question. </p>
<p>In mass communication studies, these are seen as exclusionary practices in live radio talkback shows.</p>
<h2>Democratising the airwaves</h2>
<p>Democracy is normatively seen as thriving in environments where all voices, opinions and views across <a href="https://medium.com/center-for-media-data-and-society/radio-gains-in-diversity-in-most-of-africa-fdeb03669d08">diverse</a> population profiles are respected and given a fair chance of representation.</p>
<p>My study showed that, at least in terms of volume, the convergence between radio and mobile phones is stretching out the public sphere to accommodate more voices. </p>
<p>Digital technologies are allowing for new participants to engage actively with radio.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143611/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stanley Tsarwe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Apps like WhatsApp have connected more voices to participate in live talk radio - but this comes with new challenges.Stanley Tsarwe, Journalism Lecturer, University of ZimbabweLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1165432019-05-06T14:04:57Z2019-05-06T14:04:57ZLocal radio is plugging gaps in South Africa’s mainstream media coverage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272748/original/file-20190506-103045-nwynul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Local communities have taken advantage of campaign trail visits by leaders such as President Cyril Ramaphosa.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Epa/Kim Ludbrook</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Beyond the choreographed photo opportunities and big rallies, there is a local dimension to South Africa’s election campaign that is going largely unnoticed by the national media. As a result, important insights into political dynamics are being missed.</p>
<p>Media coverage is dominated by the speeches and activities of the national party leaders, analysts’ commentary and opinion polls. If communities appear, it is when violent protests erupt as did in <a href="https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-04-08-support-and-sympathy-for-alex-residents-as-protests-continue/">Alexandra</a>, near Johannesburg. They also appear in carefully scripted events designed to show that leaders are in tune with the electorate: Mmusi Maimane of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) poses <a href="https://ewn.co.za/2019/05/02/maimane-on-campaign-trail-in-stanger">outside a shack</a>, the governing African National Congress’s Ace Magashule peers into somebody’s fridge. <a href="https://www.news24.com/Columnists/Redi_Tlhabi/redi-tlhabi-ancs-poverty-porn-parade-a-reflection-of-its-detachment-from-the-people-20190113">A poverty porn parade,</a> one commentator has called it.</p>
<p>And yet after the big party roadshow has moved on, the election campaign continues at community level. Inevitably, as local politicians weigh in to rally support for their parties, they have to address local issues.</p>
<p>Research has shown that the mainstream media have a blind spot when it comes to community perspectives. Leading academic <a href="https://www.biznews.com/briefs/2012/10/14/miners-voices-absent-from-initial-marikana-coverage-analysis-by-jane-duncan">Jane Duncan’s well known research</a> into coverage of the 2012 <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/marikana-massacre-16-august-2012">Marikana massacre</a> in which police shot 34 striking miners dead, showed how the media ignored the voices of the striking miners. This led to a serious distortion of initial reporting. <a href="https://theconversation.com/voices-of-the-poor-are-missing-from-south-africas-media-53068">Other research </a>has focused on the wider absence of poor people’s voices from media coverage.</p>
<p>A new initiative hosted by the <a href="http://wits.journalism.co.za/wits-radio-academy/">Wits Radio Academy</a> seeks to draw on community radio reporting to help fill the gap. The <a href="https://localvoices.co.za/">LocalVoices</a> initiative supports community radio reporters by publishing their stories on its website and associated social media to give them a wider platform. This means these reports can be read by a wider audience and are available for reuse by participating radio stations.</p>
<p>The project was launched in collaboration with the <a href="https://www.childrensradiofoundation.org/">Children’s Radio Foundation</a>, <a href="https://africacheck.org/">Africa Check</a>, the Media Development and Diversity <a href="https://www.mdda.org.za/">Agency</a> and the <a href="https://www.osf.org.za/">Open Society Foundation</a>.</p>
<h2>Community radio in South Africa</h2>
<p>South Africa’s community radio sector is large, with well over 200 stations and a weekly listenership of around <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://brcsa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/BRC-RAM-Release-Presentation_February-2019-FINAL.pdf&hl=en">8.3m people </a> -– 25% of the regular adult audience. Despite their significant reach, a lack of resources and skills have fuelled chronic instability in many.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the LocalVoices project has shown that the stations have thrown themselves into the political discussion with gusto. Many host political debates between parties and the communities whose votes they seek.</p>
<p>Local events have also given smaller political parties the opportunity to be heard. There are a record 48 parties on the ballot and many of the smaller parties haven’t commanded much national attention. </p>
<p>Sometimes, the topics have been surprising. For instance, Durban’s Vibe FM hosted an election debate on <a href="https://localvoices.co.za/2019/04/09/local-arts-finance-becomes-election-issue/">local arts funding</a>.</p>
<p>But community engagement with the political process goes beyond debates, using the opportunity to press for local issues to be addressed. Clearly, disaffection runs very deep, and a wide range of issues regarding the poor provision of basic services - from roads to schools. For example, issues around water have been prominent.</p>
<p>Water shortages were central to a party debate hosted on <a href="https://localvoices.co.za/2019/04/12/water-shortages-take-centre-stage-at-the-sekhukhune-elections-debate-2/">Sekhukhune Community Radio</a> in Limpopo, and <a href="https://localvoices.co.za/2019/04/24/indwedwe-municipality-accused-of-sabotaging-water-supply/">Ndwedwe</a>, outside Durban.</p>
<p>Even though it’s clearly a major concern in many communities, the issue of water hasn’t been highlighted by political parties.</p>
<h2>Tactics</h2>
<p>Of significance also are the tactics being used by communities to gain politicians’ attention.</p>
<p><a href="https://localvoices.co.za/2019/03/22/ekuvukeni-community-in-ladysmith-abandon-meeting-with-mec-kaunda/">Nqubeko FM in Ladysmith has reported</a> how the community of Ekuvukeni demanded that President Cyril Ramaphosa should intervene over a series of local demands, including broken sewage pipes and water supply. They made the demand after refusing to listen to the provincial minister for community safety. </p>
<p>When Ramaphosa later visited a small coal mining town, Dannhauser, 75 km away, a delegation from Ekuvukeni hopped onto a bus to <a href="https://localvoices.co.za/2019/04/18/residents-crash-school-opening-to-question-ramaphosa/">put their concerns to him</a>. They failed to address him on that day, but Ramaphosa did later <a href="https://localvoices.co.za/2019/04/23/ramaphosa-visits-ladysmith/">visit Ekuvukeni</a>, and promised to attend to their problems.</p>
<p>Similarly, a community called Marikana, outside Potchefstroom in the North West Province, refused to let the mayor hold an election debate, insisting he come and listen to them at a community meeting instead. <a href="https://localvoices.co.za/2019/04/10/marikana-communitys-election-tactic-to-get-housing/">According to Aganang FM</a>, he came and promised to address their housing needs. He even promised to start taking action before the election.</p>
<h2>Doing democracy differently</h2>
<p>The strong <a href="https://www.municipaliq.co.za/">upsurge</a> in community protests in the first months of the year has been widely noted by the national media. But local radio reports have shed light on the fact that it’s been incorrect to assume that protests are always violent.</p>
<p>Instead, it becomes clear that communities are using a wide range of tactics to draw attention to their issues. The opportunity is clear: usually aloof politicians are on the ground, appealing for votes, and this presents a chance to hold them to account. Time and again, one sees communities threatening to withhold their votes.</p>
<p>In other words, communities are using the election to “do democracy” in a different form, beyond exercising the vote.</p>
<p>The LocalVoices project shows up the weaknesses of mainstream media coverage, which focuses too strongly on the big names, the major drama and the grand narrative. Individually, the radio stories have mainly local significance. But, read together, new nuance and important patterns and dynamics emerge.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116543/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Franz Krüger is Director of the Wits Radio Academy, which initiated the project discussed. The Wits Radio Academy received funding from the Open Society Foundation for the project. </span></em></p>Community radio stations have thrown themselves into the political discussion with gusto.Franz Krüger, Adjunct Professor of Journalism and Director of the Wits Radio Academy, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1152332019-04-23T04:33:55Z2019-04-23T04:33:55ZEthnic media are essential for new migrants and should be better funded<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270324/original/file-20190423-15194-mjo8lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An annual indexation freeze in funding introduced by the Liberal government in 2013 has cost the sector almost A$1 million.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/498395695?size=huge_jpg">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The fact that the community ethnic and multicultural broadcasting sector didn’t receive additional funding in the latest budget reflects a misunderstanding of the important role of ethnic media in Australian society.</p>
<p>Ethnic print and broadcasting have a long history in Australia, dating back to at least 1848 with the publication of <a href="http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1475">Die Deutsche Post</a>. </p>
<p>Early foreign language broadcasting featured on <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14443050609388075">commercial radio in the 1930s</a>, and throughout the middle of the 20th century. This was before the boom days of the 1970s, when both the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and community radio were firmly established.</p>
<p>Today, along with SBS, more than 100 community radio stations <a href="https://www.nembc.org.au/about/">feature content in over 100 languages</a>. There are also ethnic media organisations that broadcast or print content in English.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1107592068925276165"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/media-and-social-responsibility-at-a-time-of-radicalisation-45428">Media and social responsibility at a time of radicalisation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How ethnic media are funded</h2>
<p>Much like mainstream print, ethnic newspapers receive little if any direct government funding. They rely on advertising dollars, as well as occasional small grants.</p>
<p>Ethnic broadcasting is primarily funded through two streams:</p>
<ul>
<li>government funding of SBS </li>
<li>funding of community ethnic broadcasters through the Community Broadcasting Foundation (<a href="https://cbf.org.au/">CBF</a>), which is itself funded federally. </li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/budget-leaves-ethnic-community-broadcasting-short-funding">According to</a> the peak body of ethnic community broadcasting in Australia, the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council (<a href="https://www.nembc.org.au/">NEMBC</a>), an annual indexation freeze in funding introduced by the Liberal government in 2013 has cost the sector almost A$1 million. That’s approximately 20% of their total support.</p>
<p>A significant fund of <a href="https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/budget-leaves-ethnic-community-broadcasting-short-funding">A$12 million</a> over four years has been granted to the community broadcasting sector. But this is generalist funding rather than aimed at ethnic broadcasting specifically. It’s directed towards assisting community stations to transition to a digital signal, the production of local news in English, and management training.</p>
<p>The NEMBC is also in its third year of a new <a href="https://www.nembc.org.au/advocacy/concern-for-community-broadcasting-funds/">competitive grants</a> process introduced by the Community Broadcasting Foundation. </p>
<p>According to the NEMBC, many ethnic broadcasters are facing a precarious funding environment. This is due to the lack of specialist funding, the costs associated with transitioning to digital broadcasting, and the complexity of the Community Broadcasting Foundation grants process.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whitewash-thats-not-the-colour-of-the-sbs-charter-40837">Whitewash? That's not the colour of the SBS charter</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why it’s important</h2>
<p>The difficulties facing ethnic broadcasting impact the unique contribution it can make to modern Australia. And it’s a problem that extends beyond policy – media funding for <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-abc-didnt-receive-a-reprieve-in-the-budget-its-still-facing-staggering-cuts-114922">public service</a>, community and ethnic broadcasting is regularly under siege. It’s also a broader social issue. </p>
<p>Ethnic media are often thought of as either quaint services for nostalgic migrants, or as dangerous sources of ethnic segregation. For many, the role of ethnic media rarely, if ever, extends beyond a specific cultural, ethnic or linguistic community.</p>
<p>What’s missing from this image is the role of ethnic media in facilitating successful migrant settlement. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1440783316657430">Research</a> shows that ethnic media can facilitate feelings of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Developing-Dialogues-Indigenous-Community-Broadcasting/dp/1841502758">belonging and social participation</a> among first and subsequent generation migrants. Ethnic media connect migrants and culturally and linguistically diverse Australians with other social groups, as well as with their own local communities.</p>
<p>On a more practical level, ethnic media are important sources of information. When advice is needed on a range of issues, from health care services to migration law, ethnic media play a vital role.</p>
<p>This is not a case of migrants staying in their linguistic “ghettos” and building separate ethnic economies. Rather, it involves seeking sources of relevant, and culturally and linguistically appropriate, information in order to live and thrive in Australian society.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/vIJQ7Asa7R","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>That might be providing advice on voting or taxation to migrants from Sudan. Or informing elderly German migrants of changes to aged care services. Ethnic media provide information that is attuned to the particular needs of their audience.</p>
<p>This is a service that mainstream media are largely unable to provide, with their focus on a broad audience. But without it, migrants potentially miss out on important information.</p>
<p>These are also services that benefit both recent migrant groups, such as those from Africa or the Middle East, and more established communities. For elderly Germans in South Australia, information today comes in the form of German broadcasting in Adelaide, with presenters and producers who understand the needs and histories of their audience.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/debate-on-free-speech-alone-means-little-for-minorities-30397">Debate on free speech alone means little for minorities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Essential sources of vital information</h2>
<p>Ethnic media may also be valuable allies to relevant government departments and settlement service providers. My own ongoing work with ethnic broadcasters and community leaders indicates a level of dissatisfaction with the way government services are communicated to migrant groups from non-English speaking backgrounds.</p>
<p>Ethnic broadcasting is often able to capture the subtleties and nuances that one-size-fits-all government communication campaigns cannot. They are therefore in a unique position to effectively communicate government initiatives at a local, state and national level. </p>
<p>It is no surprise that what would become <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/a-brief-history-of-sbs">SBS Radio</a> was originally designed to inform migrants about the introduction of Medibank health insurance scheme. </p>
<p>It’s important that the services provided by the ethnic media sector, particularly those that cannot be measured in purely economic terms, are understood and supported.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115233/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Budarick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ethnic media outlets provide valuable resources for new migrants settling in Australia, but recent government funding decisions suggest they’re not valued as they should be.John Budarick, Lecturer in Media, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/483822015-10-04T19:20:07Z2015-10-04T19:20:07ZTo save local voices we need a different kind of deregulation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96889/original/image-20151001-5861-1gsdfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As regional television flounders, a new approach to deregulation is needed.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.saveourvoices.com.au/">Save Our Voices</a> campaign was launched in August by the regional TV networks, Prime, WIN, Southern Cross-Austereo and Imparja. Its goal is to reform media laws that “prevent regional broadcasters from competing fairly with big city media and news available online”. </p>
<p>Backed by Fairfax Media and gilded by the <a href="http://www.saveourvoices.com.au/tim_fischer_lends_his_voice_to_save_our_voices_campaign">recruitment of the former leader of the National Party, Tim Fischer</a>, the campaign is misleading. So too are <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/media-legislation-has-fallen-far-behind-the-times-and-its-time-for-change-20150927-gjvuo7.html">opinion pieces</a> that argue existing rules “squeeze the life out of our regional TV networks”.</p>
<p>Simply put, if their proposed reforms go through, there’s no guarantee local newsrooms – and the jobs of journalists in those newsrooms – will be protected. </p>
<p>If successful, the campaign will remove the “<a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Media-ownership-and-control/Ownership-and-control-rules/statutory-control-rules-media-ownership-control-acma">75% reach rule</a>” and the “<a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Media-ownership-and-control/Ownership-and-control-rules/media-diversity-rules">two out of three</a>” rule, the last vestiges of media regulations introduced between <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s870237.htm">1987 and 1992</a> </p>
<p>The foreign ownership rules, created back then, were <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/media-ownership-shackles-to-end/2006/03/14/1142098443584.html">scrapped in 2006</a>, throwing commercial television into turmoil and bringing Channel Nine to bankruptcy’s door. </p>
<p>These <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/bsa1992214/">two rules</a>
limit any one licensee to owning free-to-air TV stations that cover more than 75% of the population and prevent one media business from controlling more than two of the radio, television or newspapers within a market.</p>
<p>The campaign cites the former Minister for Communications, now Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull’s description of the regulations as “horse-and-buggy legislation in the 21st century”. It’s true that reform is needed. But horse-and-buggy, Prius or Porsche, road rules still apply.</p>
<h2>Declining revenues, declining audiences</h2>
<p>The TV world has changed dramatically since the 1990s. Overseas video-on-demand services such as Netflix, and local competitors like Stan and Presto, have a growing impact on free-to-air, as will Plus7, Seven Network’s online service.</p>
<p>Advertising revenues for free-to-air are <a href="http://www.ventureconsulting.com/assets/Advertising-Update-2013-Report2.pdf">declining</a>. Indeed, based on ABA and ACMA figures, the regionals’ gross revenues for FY 2011-12 were almost exactly the same as 2000-01 in 2014-corrected dollars. </p>
<p>Audiences, too, are declining. Nevertheless more than 90% of Australians still watch TV at home. Penetration by smart phones and other devices is under 10% but growing. Pay TV take-up has stalled below 35% and is unlikely to break out without easing of the sports <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/policy/policy-listing/anti-siphoning">anti-siphoning rules</a>. </p>
<p>The Save Our Voices campaign argues these rules must be dropped but ignores the reasons the rules were imposed: Labor’s belated attempt to support diversity of content, especially news and opinion, and as a barrier to the further concentration of media ownership. </p>
<p>They came in the wake of Labor allowing Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited to take over the <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/cabinet-papers/print-princes-or-screen-queens/story-fnkuhyre-1226792596529">Herald and Weekly Times</a>, so establishing News’ domination of newsprint media in Australia.</p>
<p>Save our Voices makes much of the identity of the regional broadcasters. But in reality, the 75% reach rule actually protects them from being gobbled up by their city affiliates.</p>
<h2>The tough business of regional television</h2>
<p>Neither rule substantially impacts on their profitability. But a key element that does is the usurious affiliation fees demanded by their city affiliates for programming. These fees substantially compromise their ability to deliver local content.</p>
<p>In 2013, WIN Corporation agreed to pay Nine an affiliation fee of 39% of advertising revenue, in a deal ending in December 2015. According to the Australian, Nine now wants <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/nine-network-hits-win-with-50pc-fee-increase/story-fna045gd-1227349517454">an additional A$43 million a year</a>, pushing the fee up 50%. Prime’s city affiliate, Seven, is entitled to 46% of advertising revenues until 2019. </p>
<p>You can run a lot of newsrooms on a fraction of that money. The Save Our Voices website makes no mention of this as a factor affecting the delivery of local news.</p>
<p>For the city networks, this is money for jam. They buy the Australian right to programs in anticipation of on-selling them to their regional affiliates, so the income goes straight to the bottom line at little additional expense.</p>
<p>Now Prime’s participation in the Save Our Voices is starting to <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/seven-media-slams-prime-regional-jobs-cuts/story-e6frg996-1227536058525">worry the Seven Network</a>, as their affiliation agreement guarantees quality local news. Despite record earnings of A$35.5 million for FY2015, Prime has sacked senior journalists in the Wagga Wagga, Tamworth and Canberra. </p>
<p>But regional TV is a tough business. They reach about 35% of Australians but advertising revenues are below 25% of the television spend. In addition, they have far more transmission infrastructure than the city networks.</p>
<p>One option for the regional broadcasters is to follow Seven’s Plus7, if they have digital rights. But to be competitive, they have to have something to offer that the city stations cannot. A good choice is local news. </p>
<p>If the 75% rule is dropped, mergers will inevitably follow. Mergers will largely benefit the city networks at the expense of regional viewers.</p>
<p>At present, there are eight commercial television newsrooms covering Australia, if you regard NBN Newcastle as a separate entity to its owner, the Nine Entertainment Co. With mergers diversity suffers: eight newsrooms becomes five.</p>
<p>In addition, if the 60-year history of television in Australia is any guide, it’s always “Sydney or the Bush”. If economies are to be made then the cuts will fall in regional Australia.</p>
<p>Under the present rules, the regional broadcasters are required to screen minimum amounts of local news and locally significant material, but they are not required to gather it first-hand, nor run it as conventional bulletins.</p>
<p>For example, WIN Mt Gambier buys in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/05/26/4012257.htm">two or three news briefs</a>, one or two sport stories and a weather update from Mt Gambier’s Border Watch newspaper. WIN packages these as news updates without local vision and runs them in schedule breaks.</p>
<p>This re-branding of news seems to skate close to subverting the two out of three rule restricting ownership of radio, television and newspapers within the same market.</p>
<p>There would be financial benefits to the regional broadcaster if the two out of three rule was dropped. But would that deliver any diversity of news and opinion to a community? </p>
<p>Free-to-air television remains the modern market place of ideas. News and opinion, largely conveyed by TV, shape our thoughts, and we, in turn, shape our government and our country. It’s diversity or a slow death to democracy.</p>
<h2>But what is the best way to protect local content?</h2>
<p>This news starvation of regional audiences cannot continue. Senator Fifield could take a real free market approach, rather than appease the existing benign oligarchy. </p>
<p>Drop the “75% rule” but keep the “two out of three”. Outlaw the closed market in TV program rights in regional service areas and let the stations bid competitively. </p>
<p>Free the regional networks to stand as truly independent broadcasters, not country cousins of their city affiliates. Free their identities from the city network branding.</p>
<p>In this free market, licence fees would then reflect their advertising revenues, not the city networks’ greed, and the regional broadcaster could exploit their one competitive advantage over other screen media, local content especially news.</p>
<p>That is real deregulation, Minister Fifield.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48382/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vincent O'Donnell owns shares in Fairfax Media.</span></em></p>The Save Our Voices campaign argues that existing media rules are “squeezing the life out of our regional TV networks”. But the real story is more complex. Reform is necessary, but so too is local content.Vincent O'Donnell, Honorary Research Associate of the School of Media and Communication , RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/409702015-05-05T06:20:31Z2015-05-05T06:20:31ZHow the media struggled in Nepal’s earthquake rescue<p>The media in Nepal has been instrumental in keeping people connected and updated about the recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/nepal-earthquake-2015">magnitude 7.8 earthquake</a> that hit the country on Saturday April 25.</p>
<p>However, initially the quake did not create a major reaction, as small scale tremors are not uncommon in the country. The Nepalese people were also unclear about the extent of the disaster as local media struggled to react to the earthquake.</p>
<p>The reality of the scale of the disaster began to sink in when heartbreaking pictures of the damage started emerging. Live footage and pictures from the international media gave some insight into the extent of the devastation in the earthquake ravaged nation.</p>
<p>The time taken by the Nepalese media to respond is not surprising. Our research has found that Nepalese media outlets categorise disasters as current affairs, without a specific accountability for disaster reporting.</p>
<p>On this occasion, the lack of reporting by Nepalese media early on was added to by the damage the earthquake had caused to media infrastructure itself.</p>
<h2>Media coverage</h2>
<p>The role of the media in any disasters is significant. But there has not previously been research into the media’s treatment of disasters in Nepal, or the frameworks or models that might guide the media’s approach.</p>
<p>Our <a href="http://eprints.qut.edu.au/76341/">research</a>, published last year, collected 477 news stories on natural disasters in Nepal over a 12 month period from four sections of Nepalese media: print, on-line, radio and television.</p>
<p>We identified that the principal focus of media attention was on the response phase of disasters and on the human interest aspect. There was limited reporting that encouraged the development of any disaster resilient infrastructure in Nepal.</p>
<p>This is surprising not only given that Nepal is known to be prone to earthquakes, but also given the scale of the media in the country.</p>
<p>Nepal has a population of about 29-million, yet there are approximately 10,000 people involved in different media organisations throughout the country.</p>
<p>The principal source of news for most people in Nepal is community radio. There are approximately 350 radio stations, and most are independent and community owned. <a href="http://radionepal.gov.np/">Radio Nepal</a> is the government controlled national transmission run from Kathmandu and regional transmission centres. </p>
<p>Nepal also has 568 registered daily newspapers among a total of 6,500 newspapers and magazines. Only about a dozen such publications have a wide circulation, such as the government owned Gorkhapatra Daily and the privately run Kantipur Daily and Nagarik Daily.</p>
<p>There are 81 licences issued to run TV stations in Nepal but only about a dozen of TV channels operate regularly.</p>
<h2>Media struggles</h2>
<p>The immediate aftermath of disaster resulted in confusion within the leading media outlets with a lack of coordination by the government of the rescue efforts.</p>
<p>While the government owned Nepal Television (<a href="http://www.ntv.org.np/">NTV</a>) continued transmission, the privately owned <a href="http://kantipurtv.com/">Kantipur TV</a> experienced disruption because of the earthquake.</p>
<p>It only continued transmission by setting up a temporary news desk set in the open in Kathmandu. The station has this week setup transmission from a cafeteria until the safety of the station building can been established.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80274/original/image-20150504-2052-zliu1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80274/original/image-20150504-2052-zliu1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80274/original/image-20150504-2052-zliu1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80274/original/image-20150504-2052-zliu1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80274/original/image-20150504-2052-zliu1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80274/original/image-20150504-2052-zliu1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80274/original/image-20150504-2052-zliu1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80274/original/image-20150504-2052-zliu1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">News reports from Kantipur Television from a makeshift newsroom out in the open.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Surendra Pandey/Kantipur Television</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Radio Nepal continued transmission despite the disruptions but most of the community and privately-owned radio stations were hard hit and are still struggling to resume services.</p>
<p>Nepal is a pioneer in community radio in South Asia. However, few community radio stations were advised to develop any necessary measures to withstand an earthquake.</p>
<p>Most newspapers continued their publication despite damage to their buildings, but distribution was halted so their reporting was not getting out to many people.</p>
<p>This prompted a surge in on-line viewing of newspapers including <a href="http://www.onlinekhabar.com/">Onlinekhabar.com</a> (only online), <a href="http://www.ekantipur.com/">ekantipur.com</a> (online version of Kantipur Daily newspaper), <a href="http://nagariknews.com/">nagariknews.com</a> (online version of Nagarik Daily newspaper), <a href="http://annapurnapost.com/">annapurnapost.com</a> (online version of Annapurna Post daily newspaper) and <a href="http://setopati.com/">setopati.com</a> (a popular digital paper).</p>
<p>Despite the widespread damage it was still possible to maintain access to the internet much of the time.</p>
<h2>Social media</h2>
<p>Social media has also been a powerful tool in ensuring communication, as foreigners and reporters already in Nepal were able to inform the world via Facebook and Twitter.</p>
<p>For example, Nepal’s Prime Minister, Shusil Koirala, first knew about the earthquake from <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Modi-Nepal-PM-learnt-of-quake-from-my-tweet/articleshow/47102377.cms">a Tweet</a> from the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"591857512065814528"}"></div></p>
<p>The proliferation of mobile phones in Nepal also made communications easier. Even in remote villages, people working their farms have their mobiles with them.</p>
<p>After the disaster, though, people could only rely on the mobile phones for a few hours due to disruption of electricity supplies.</p>
<h2>International media coverage</h2>
<p>The massive coverage of the Nepal earthquake by the international media has been instrumental in generating help and resources. People world-wide have been exposed to the crisis.</p>
<p>However, the extent of international interest has its downside, as it creates expectations that may be unrealisable.</p>
<p>For example, some media reports suggested Nepal had <a href="http://www.ekantipur.com/2015/04/28/top-story/govt-rejects-new-zealand-aid/404607.html">refused assistance</a> from countries such as New Zealand and Taiwan. This resulted in media and social media backlash particularly among Nepalese living abroad who were worried about their families and friends in Nepal.</p>
<p>However, the assistance had <a href="http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/nepal-bound-nz-search-and-rescue-team-stood-down-6302698">not been refused</a>, rather Nepal was giving priority to aid from neighbouring countries.</p>
<p>Nepal’s government was <a href="http://www.startribune.com/world/301498711.html">struggling to co-ordinate</a> the rescue and relief operation and the airport capacity was the limiting factor.</p>
<p>The international media has also been exploring the damage outside of the capital as well. Agencies such as Australia’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/">ABC</a>, India’s <a href="http://www.zeetv.com/">Zee TV</a> and some other international TV channels have been reporting from the villages surrounding the Gorkha district, which was severely hit by the earthquake.</p>
<p>Some people affected in these areas had not been in touch with the outside world and one ABC reporter, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/samantha-hawley/166938">Samantha Hawley</a>, was among the first outsider they encountered after the disaster.</p>
<p>This has highlighted the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-30/nepal-earthquake-no-food-no-clothes-no-shelter-ghorka-district/6433674">remoteness of the affected areas</a> in Nepal and the difficulties faced by rescue personnel struggling to reach them.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wQr4OQPj8YI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The international media is proving to be very effective in bringing the plights of Nepalese affected by the earthquake and has generated immense interest in the disaster.</p>
<p>The extensive coverage by the international media will be a key factor in the ongoing rescue and relief, and the assistance required to help Nepal along the long road to recovery.</p>
<p>But can this continue when the spotlight has moved on, and when the focus moves to reconstruction and infrastructure development?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nepal has thousands of journalists working in hundreds of media outlets and publications. But getting the story out about the deadly earthquake was no easy task.Gerard Fitzgerald, Professor, School of Public Health, Queensland University of TechnologyApil Gurung, PhD candidate, Queensland University of TechnologyDr Bharat Raj Poudel, PhD candidate on Media Framing of Emergency & Natural Disaster, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/127512013-03-12T23:19:07Z2013-03-12T23:19:07ZIs the switch to digital killing the community radio star?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21128/original/c95xbgfs-1363045316.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Listening to digital radio is the future. But where does that leave small community based radio stations?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Tracey Nearmy</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The future of radio is digital but that future is at risk for community radio because of government funding cuts.</p>
<p>There are <a href="http://committocommunityradio.org.au/about/">37 community radio stations</a> providing on-air services in digital form as part of the first phase of the switchover to digital with new projects and services starting regularly.</p>
<p>But all of this is <a href="http://www.rrr.org.au/whats-going-on/news/the-future-of-free-to-air-broadcasting-is-digital-but-for-community-radio-stations-that-future-is-now-at-risk/">at risk</a>, due to a <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/shortfall-risks-radio-digital-transition/story-e6frg996-1226581374517">funding shortfall</a> in last year’s federal budget of $1.4 million.</p>
<p>In the May 2012 budget the federal government provided four‑year funding, but that was short by around 40% on the basic transmission costs. This funding is critical to meeting the government’s public policy objective for community sector inclusion in digital radio.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.dbcde.gov.au/radio/digital_radio/digital_radio_legislation">digital radio legislation</a> requires broadcasters to share a common transmission facility fed by standardised data and audio encoding equipment. Of course, this means community broadcasters must build systems and incur costs in the same manner as commercial broadcasters. In fact, the legislation specifically prevents community broadcasters establishing transmission facilities in any other way. </p>
<p>According to the CBAA, there are a variety of reasons for the legislation being constructed in this manner but the upshot is that linking, data and transmission costs need to be covered by direct government funding support. Not-for-profit community radio services are unable to cover these costs at this stage of the medium’s development, as well as the content, studio and staffing costs.</p>
<p>It is understood by the CBAA, that the Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has <a href="http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2011/179">made several attempts</a> during 2012 to restore the funding, which is much appreciated by the community sector. Even so, time is now running short and the number and range of current digital services will have to be reduced sometime after June 2013 if the funding shortfall is not addressed in the 2013 Federal budget.</p>
<p>If we have to turn off services to cope with this funding shortfall, will they ever be able to be turned on again? And what about the small stations, or regional stations? If big metropolitan stations, like 2SER, 3RRR, 4MBS, Radio Adelaide or Noongar Radio can’t stay on digital radio, how will the smaller sub metro licensed stations, who often serve a vital community need? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21133/original/q7ff4qmy-1363046728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21133/original/q7ff4qmy-1363046728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21133/original/q7ff4qmy-1363046728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21133/original/q7ff4qmy-1363046728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21133/original/q7ff4qmy-1363046728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21133/original/q7ff4qmy-1363046728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21133/original/q7ff4qmy-1363046728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Communications Minister Stephen Conroy faces a struggle to help community radio stations make the switchover to digital.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Just like digital television, digital radio is clearly the future, and even if there is no policy to turn off FM or AM radio, will you be able to buy an FM receiver in ten or 15 years?</p>
<p>Digital radio is not online broadcasting. It is not streaming or mobile apps. There are issues around social equity as radio is free to receive, once you buy the receiver. It is also the most efficient use of this valuable digital spectrum. Moving to streaming or internet platforms only, would mean drop outs, and huge costs to broadcasters, it would be almost impossible to have all current radio listeners to radio in Sydney or Melbourne, listen at an audio stream at the same time.</p>
<p>Media diversity will suffer if community radio cannot fully make the leap to digital. The community radio sector is made up of stations, serving diverse communities and interests that aren’t catered for by mainstream media, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Ethnic broadcasters; youth; educational, fine music, and religious groups. For many people, community media is the only media that they access, and across Australia, <a href="http://www.cbonline.org.au/about/facts_and_figure/listeners/">4.4 million Australians</a> listen to Community Radio each week according to the <a href="http://www.mcnairingenuity.com/ProductsServices/TheNationalListenerSurvey/tabid/135/Default.aspx">2012 McNair Ingenuity National Listener Survey</a>. </p>
<p>This sector also provides local news and information through sub metro stations, or through regional areas where the community radio station is often the only medium that isn’t syndicated from somewhere else.</p>
<p>It would be a shame to turn off digital radio, not to mention a waste of the resources already invested. Community radio is great at innovation. It takes risks and helps drive the take up of this new medium.</p>
<p>It is vital that community radio be helped make the switch to the digital future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/12751/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Withnall is the Managing Director of 2ser 107.3. She is a board member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia and sits on the Digital Radio Consultative Committee. Melanie also works as a casual tutor at UTS and the AFTRS. 2ser is owned by UTS and Macquarie University. </span></em></p>The future of radio is digital but that future is at risk for community radio because of government funding cuts. There are 37 community radio stations providing on-air services in digital form as part…Melanie Withnall, Managing Director, 2SER 107.3 , University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.