Promoting social cohesion: the role of community media - amarc

Executive summary1. The report was commissioned bythe Group of Specialists onMedia Diversity (MC-S-MD) to:• identify the most importantissues concerning the relationshipbetween media and socialcohesion;• summarise existing definitionsof “third sector media” and classifythe sector according toaspects such as ownership,structure, funding, content/programming,audience involvementand different platforms,including new media;• discuss the positive and negativeeffects of third sector media withregard to social cohesion;• describe existing measures tosupport third sector media.2. The report draws on academicstudies and reports fromUNESCO, AMARC (the WorldAssociation of Community RadioBroadcasters) and other NGOsand begins with a summary ofsome of the relevant theoreticalconcepts that relate to socialcohesion, such as identity, communityand citizenship.3. Citing a claim that Europe is currently,as a result of migration,witnessing “a change in thenature of national cultures andtheir capacity to sustain traditionalboundaries and identities”,the report argues that the inability,for various reasons, of publicservice and commercial broadcastingto meet the needs ofmarginalised and disadvantagedsocial groups means that thirdsector media are becoming thefocus of official attention.4. The report opts to use “communityradio” and “communitymedia” as terms in use byUNESCO and AMARC, while discussingthe connotations ofother descriptive labels.AMARC’s Community RadioCharter for Europe is provided asAnnex 1, and the organisation’ssummary definition of communityradio is cited. Communityradio:should not be run for profit but forsocial gain and community benefit;it should be owned by and accountableto the community that it seeksto serve; and it should provide forparticipation by the community inprogramme making and in management.5. Characteristics of communitymedia are discussed in turn, themost important being enablinglegislation, regulation and policies.A table of 22 Europeancountries shows the size of thesector, its legal status, whetherthere is funding and the presenceor not of a national associationrepresentative of the sector.There follow sections on ownership,content, funding sourcesfor local projects, audienceinvolvement and audienceresearch, the public profile of thesector, training, and some examplesof multiplatform initiatives.Examples are drawn mainlyfrom Europe but also from India(whose policy guidelines for settingup community radio stationsconstitutes Annex 2), theUSA, Canada and, in particular,from Australia, where recentresearch into community audiencesprovides a model ofmethod and some findings relevantto the European context.6. On the question of whether thirdsector media contribute to socialcohesion or threaten it, the evidencepoints to the sector beingan important factor in socialcohesion and citizenship, particularlyfor minority ethnic communitiesand refugee andmigrant communities. The discussiondraws on examples ofmulticultural programming bythe Intermedia project and practicein Europe and Australia andunderlines the importance ofmusic and news in connectingnewly arrived communities totheir original cultural capital aswell as drawing in the nativecommunities.7. Measures to support third sectormedia suggested by AMARC,the Community Forum for Europe(CMFE) and the Culture andEducation Committee of theEuropean Parliament are summarisedand it is suggested thatthe Council of Europe shouldencourage member states to:• create legislative infrastructure,without which communitymedia cannot develop;• preserve analogue frequenciesthat may in some countries continueto be needed after the digitalswitchover, and to ensurethat community media are notdisadvantaged in the digitalenvironment;• recognise the social value ofcommunity media and its role asa form of local public service byExecutive summary 5