edition-dw-akademie-in-the-service-of-the-public-functions-and-transformation-of-media-in-developing-countries-pdf

ening of identity, cultural cohesion and expression. But theymay offer their services to citizens in just one part of a country.They do not usually have a governing board, as would aPSM, which represents different parts of society. But they havea clear and institutional commitment to professional journalismstandards and to servicing a broader public. They may takeover roles as neutral and independent actors in society whilestill pursuing specific community radio agendas or commercialinterests in other parts.Especially in countries with no public service tradition theAPSM deliver a major contribution to society. They create apublic sphere and support integration. Because they are oftendriven by idealism and a sense of responsibility for the population,especially in times of crisis, they certainly deserve internationalsupport.How do community media fit into this picture? They differ inorigin and purpose, organizational structure and content fromPSM and private commercial media (See Box p. 16, Chapter 1.3).In chapter 12 we have already discussed the importance and potentialof this third media sector for the good of civil society,minorities, and the public discussion of pressing problems.But beyond this our research shows that it is possible thatcommunity media also fulfill broader public service functions.Among our case studies are community media outlets whichdeliver, in the absence of PSM, a broad spectrum of services.Radio Sagarmatha in Nepal is one of these exceptional communityradio stations, and it is instructive to look at it froma public service perspective. Its strong points with regard tothe general function of creating a public sphere are that thebroadcaster is independent and it facilitates debate, it letsall political parties speak and yet it dares to voice critique. Itoccasionally even sets the agenda with cases of investigativereporting. On the other hand, Radio Sagamartha primarilyserves the population in the Kathmandu Valley and its newscontent is focused on the events and the people in this region.Regarding the general function of supporting integration thesituation is similar. Radio Sagamartha offers services in threelanguages and enables cultural expression and education andit is innovative in using Facebook to distribute its content toa wider audience. Nevertheless, the outlet’s contribution tostrengthening identity and cohesion is limited to the peoplein the Kathmandu Valley.To explore this issue further, it might be useful here to lookat the cases from Latin America.Radio Pio XII, which is officially a private station but operatesas a community outlet, has some similarities with RadioSagamartha. It fulfills most of the PSM functions: It facilitatesdebate and offers a good spectrum of orientation on local issues.It broadcasts national news from the Erbol network, ofwhich it is a member. It runs a well-established internet platformwith numerous sections, including social media. Therange of journalistic forms, however, is somewhat limited andthe in-depth research could be improved. An indicator for theprofessional character of this organization is the fact that it isinvolved in the vocational training for young journalists offeredby the Erbol network.Meanwhile the young urban community radio station Vokaribe(Colombia) and the community- and environmentorientedRadio Intag (Ecuador) chiefly pursue specific agendasand exchanges within their communities. Comprehensive orobjective news are not necessarily among the first priorities.Nor are neutral facilitation of public debate and a broad socialorientation of their listeners as important to them as they areto PSM. All three Latin American community radio stationsare strong on the integration of society – in their specific regionor community.So overall we can see a certain overlap here between theservices community media can deliver and what is expectedof a PSM. Radio Sagarmatha and Radio Pio XII are first of allcommunity media – but they can also be called APSM. A largeportion of their content could have been broadcast by a PSM,too. In certain parts of their programming they take over rolesas neutral and independent actors in society (while still pursuingspecific community radio agendas in other parts). Theyhave professionalized their work and the structure of their organization.Their main difference to PSM is that they may offerservices with respect to public sphere and integration only toa small segment of the population of their country. And whilePSM are controlled through multi-stakeholder governingboards, Radio Sagarmatha is run by an NGO and Radio Pio XIIis controlled by representatives of the Catholic church. So, likethe private stations B92 and Freedom Radio discussed above,they are only controlled by a small group and not by representativesfrom different parts of society.In a nutshell, APSM – i.e., exceptional private commercialmedia as well as exceptional community media – deliverconsiderable public services to the broader public. They dothis along with their primary objectives, namely, competingsuccessfully on the commercial media markets (private media)and offering their specific forms of social participationand advocacy to smaller sectors of the population (communitymedia).APSM are able to fulfill a large portion – but not all – of thepublic service functions in question here. The capacity and themore cost-intensive forms of journalism are often particularlydifficult for them, as is the combination of diversity and distinction.The private commercial organizations may emphasizethe integrative functions a little less while the communityoutlets address a specific part of the population only. Butmany PSM and former state media have difficulty deliveringthese functions, too.For media development the support of APSM is certainly ofparticular importance. Depending on the situation of a particularmedia landscape, APSM can be considered as an alternativeto state broadcaster transformation.Two general cases can be differentiated here: Firstly, ifthere is no political will for a reform of state media or evenan authoritarian regime is in place, it may be a good choice to284