Community Radio stations are relevant media for the generation of Public Value. They are important societal actors in their functions as media and also as organisations and take a prominent place in publicly funded media production. That is due to their duties, both self-defined through their charta as well as prescribed by the legislator, according to the authors Helmut Peissl, Petra Pfisterer, Judith Purkarthofer, and Prof.Brigitta Busch

The research started in winter 2009 and aimed at investigating and documenting the contributions of Community Radio stations to a diverse, multi-perspective, accessible and heteroglossic mediascape and at evaluating the current discussions of Public Value from an Austrian perspective.

A summary of the research, now available in English, presents the results of the quantitative and qualitative research project financed by the Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR).

> English Summary
> Full study (in German)

It was also a follow-up project of two studies published in 2008; one on the effects of Community Radio on plurality and social cohesion, and another one on the legal conditions for the third sector in five European countries.
> Two community media studies published in Austria (18.11.2008)

Two articles about Hungarian community radio case studies will be published shortly – only in Hungarian -  in the next Civil Review issue (CR 26-27 2011/1-2.).

The first article is written by Henrik Hargitai: ‘Common Wavelength News Service: the first short-term licensed community radio’ (Közös hullámhossz hírszolgálat - az els? vészhelyzeti ideiglenes közösségi rádió Magyarországon) will be focusing on the emergency community radio for helping the people affected by the Ajka industrial „red sludge” disaster. (See our previous news: ‘Hungarian free radios contribution in disaster aftermath’ - 20 October 2010.) The station was started by the Hungarian Federation of Free Radios, building on the volunteer work of community radio staff members and university students studying media studies. Locally the station was helped by an online student radio in Ajka (Best FM) and the parish priest of Devecser and Kolontár, Miklós Mód. They were key figures in the story of the station. The first aim of the broadcasting was to provide credible and up to date information about the for disaster response and recovery but later the goal changed: it was to become part of the everyday life of the local community(ies). As volunteer human resources had been worn out, the station had to suspend operation since there was no local who could take its management over. The radio operated between 6 Oct and 21 Dec 2010 in the affected Ajka-Devecser region. This paper deals with the problems of the operation and gives recommendations for a future cooperation between the national Disaster Management and local news media.

The second article, by Gabriella Velics, ‘The voice of the volunteers – community radio broadcasting in Hungary’ (Civilek a mikrofon mögött) is first focusing on the volunteers working in Hungarian community radios, and gives an insight into the motivation factors of them. On the other hand the article examines a question: How important is to boost your skills in a community radio towards of your future career in a public or commercial radio? – as case study Berzsenyi Radio is provided. This radio started in 2005 is for the practical preparation of communication faculty students, and it is becoming the public forum of the University of West Hungary, Campus of Szombathely. The article presents the results of SWOT analysis, made for the purposes of organizational development, by enlightening through this how the university students, who are operating the radio and who are also doing their professional practice there, see the strength of the radio, and what kind of weak points, opportunities, threats do they define.

The Civil Review is a quarterly periodical that started publicatins in Hungary in 2004. The periodical is a real civic initiative: the founder editors – well known and key experts, researchers, NGO leaders – realized that there was a massive demand for the distribution of high quality studies focusing on civil society and NGO sector related issues. Both articles will be available on the website of the Civil Review after the next issue published.

> Visit the Civil Review website (in Hungarian only)

Gabriella Velics, Berzsenyi Radio, Hungary. The author is a member of the CMFE Board.

The general theme for IAMCR’s 2010 conference is 'Communication and  Citizenship: Rethinking Crisis and Change'. The Community  Communication Section is calling for papers that investigate the  relationship between community or alternative media, empowerment, social policy and citizenship.

Community media projects have traditionally sought to provide access  to under-represented groups. Recent research has highlighted that  these practices contest and redefine conventional notions of  ‘citizenship’.

• How successful has this body of work been in influencing social and media policies?
• What does ‘participation’ mean in the context of community and  alternative media and how does it differ from other forms of media  participation (such as social networking)?
• How can the values, methods and structures of community-based and  alternative media production help to create a more open an egalitarian  online media environment? How can their experiences inform debates on  Internet regulation and digital broadcasting?
• What theories and methods are appropriate for investigating the  relationship between community or alternative media and citizenship?

Contributions which address the above questions are strongly  encouraged. In addition, we seek as always in-depth and  cutting-edge work on issues of media access, participation and  evaluation of outcomes; theoretically grounded case studies of media  projects undertaken by marginalized and under-represented groups; the  development and support of public and community?based media institutions and infrastructures; the production and distribution of  community and alternative media, their audiences and contents; and methodological, theoretical and historical contributions to the field.

Besides individual papers we call for panel proposals for specific  themes. Highly encouraged are also proposals for innovative session formats, round table discussions and workshops. In addition, we are looking for coordinators for screenings and field-trips.

About the Community Communication Section

IAMCR’s Community Communication section is a major international  forum for community and alternative media studies. This is the place  for research on media practices that differ significantly from  government and market-dominated paradigms. Community and alternative  media originate, circulate and resonate from the sphere of civil  society, yet may interact with both state and market.

Community media  serve specific cultural or geographic communities. The field includes do-it-yourself media, media for social change, and a wide range of  non-government and non-commercial practices using all kinds of  communication technologies, and emphasizes ‘alternative research  methods’.

Guidelines for Participants

• Individual or co-authored papers: Applicants must submit a 500 word abstract that describes the topic of their paper and its significance,  the theoretical framework, and research methods.

• Panel proposals: The panel coordinator must submit a well-defined  statement of purpose, a complete list of panel participants, and full  abstracts for each presentation.

• Other formats (workshops, screenings, field trips, etc.): The  coordinator must submit a well?defined statement of purpose and a  detailed description of activities, as well as any infrastructure  requirements (space, projectors, etc.).

All submissions should include a paper title, as well as authors'  names, institutional affiliations and full contact information  (mailing address, email address, and telephone numbers).  Please  indicate if you would be willing to chair a session.

Submissions in the authors’ native language (French and Spanish) must  also include an English translation. Submissions should not be submitted to more than one IAMCR  division.

Please send abstracts via the IAMCR 2010 conference website.

For further information or assistance, please contact the Community  Communication Section Chair, Per Jauert, on pjauert[at]imv.au.dk

Submitting to the Right Section

Please consider carefully which IAMCR section is most appropriate for  your paper. We cannot guarantee acceptance if your paper has been sent  to the wrong section in the first instance (as places are extremely  limited). Please contact the Community Communication Section committee  well before the deadline if you are unsure.

- Researchers examining community media for development purposes  should apply to the Participatory Communication Research section.

- Researchers studying ethnic community media within a Diaspora framework should apply to the Diaspora and Media working group.

Visit www.iamcr.org for more information about IAMCR sections and working groups.

Deadlines:

• The deadline for the submission of abstracts is January 31, 2010. The submissions or papers will be assessed and provisionally accepted  on the basis of a peer review process.
• Announcement of acceptances: March 15, 2010.
• Deadline for submitting full papers: April 30, 2010.

Several members of CMFE have contributed to the May 2010 issue of "Telematics and Informatics. An interdisciplinary journal on the social impacts of new technologies",  titled Community Media - The Long March.

The contributions presented in this issue present the opportunities and challenges that are characterising the sector at this time, as the switchover to digital broadcasting platforms, and the need of constant presence at the European Union and Council of Europe levels to make sure that community media are considered with equal dignity among other broadcasters in media policy debates.

Practice-based accounts also show the contribution of community media to intercultural dialogue, an impressive range of interactions with civil society organisations present in their communities, and the potential of giving voice to local and diasporic communities through innovative combinations of FM and web-based broadcasting.

The new generation of media technologies and the success of the so-called 'Web 2.0' platforms has put at the centre of academic and industry discussions the participatory potential of internet-based media. 'Old' participatory platforms, alternative and community using traditional broadcasting or print outlets, though, have a long history of close involvement of their audiences in practices that have put communities' communicative needs at the centre of their everyday work and fought for the democratization of media systems. Despite their financial and organisational weaknesses as individual stations or projects, community media are being increasingly recognised as the third and distinct sector of broadcasting by recent policy and regulatory developments in Europe and across the globe.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has recently published the report 'International Approaches to Funding Community & Campus Radio'. The publication provides a summary and analysis of the manner in which community and campus radio undertakings are both regulated and funded within 12 countries (including 9 European profiles): Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States.

In addition to the summary and analysis of approaches to funding community and campus radio in the countries listed above, the Report provides also the total number of community/campus radio stations in each country, the number of those with a presence on the web and related regulatory frameworks; recommendations for further research; and a Summary Grid of its findings.

> Download the report

> Access the report in text format