Community, Development, and Broadcast Media

Anthropology of Media ANTH 2301 Community, Development, and Broadcast Media The famous phrase "the medium is the message" (1964, 23) is attributed to media theorist Marshall McLuhan. He was saying that every media genre has a unique set of characteristics that point to potential applications and types of content. Radio, as opposed to print media, enables both music and real-time conversation and discussion. Radio attracts listeners who may be too busy to read or who have not had access to formal education, reaching a larger audience than the devoted readers who have the time to concentrate on text. Radio is an oral medium that is more receptive to language variation. In multilingual settings, the official language is frequently the only one that is written down and is exclusively used for verbal communication. Therefore, print media could only be available in the languages that are most common, whereas radio, being an oral medium, can offer material in several languages or even alternative languages. Lastly, listening to the radio offers a communal and boisterous experience, whereas reading print media is mostly a lonely and silent one. This is demonstrated by a personal story that Jennifer Hasty recounted. I could almost always hear someone's radio blasting from their car, kiosk, or property when I was in Ghana. The radio was ingrained in daily life, serving as a kind of aural background for both work and play. Every morning, talk programmes would read out the news headlines, sparking conversations in homes and on buses as individuals commuted to work. Ghanaians from all walks of life called in to prominent radio talk shows to share their opinions on current events. Listeners engaged with sincere pleas for friends, lovers, and family members even throughout the music performances. Due to its unique characteristics, radio is not as restricted in its concentration on political economic subjects like nationalism and democracy as print media is. Radio usually offers listeners a greater range of entertainment, including music, discussion programmes, drama, quiz shows, and attention to current events. Local radio stations tailor their programming to the interests and concerns of specific communities in an attempt to deliver pertinent information to the widest range of listeners in the region. Print media does, of course, accomplish this to some extent, but its readership is more limited in the community. Radio makes an effort to reach out to the entire community. In most nations, commercial and state radio have a strong position in the media landscape. However, community radio has emerged as a viable alternative and has experienced significant growth in the last few years. Radio stations that are owned and run by the community and are staffed by volunteer and professional teams are referred to as community radio. The community may participate in production, on-air performances, and programming because of the work of local volunteers. Local current affairs, educational activities, and development projects are frequently the emphasis of community radio stations. They are usually nonprofit due to their low power and short range. Together with community organisations, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and development organisations have offered help in areas where individuals wish to launch a community radio station but lack the necessary funding and technological know-how. Community radio stations have been able to launch in several nations, such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, because to these partnerships between local organisations and international NGOs. Community radio stations supported by NGOs and/or the government have been utilised all throughout Africa to disseminate public health messages and teach rural populations about farming practices. Since 2001, almost 7,000 independent radio stations have been launched in Thailand, the country that leads the world in community radio. South Asia's first autonomous community radio station was Radio Sagarmatha, a Nepalese station that was founded in 1997. The Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists launched the station in an attempt to challenge the government's radio monopoly and improve coverage of local problems. Radio Sagarmatha is governed by the government and is not permitted to discuss political or economic matters. Instead, the station focuses on community development and offers daily talk shows that cover topics including women's empowerment, public health, education, and labour problems. The station describes itself as the voice of the people and the guardian of democracy and free speech in Nepal, even though it is not overtly political. A 2005 army assault on the studio resulted in the confiscation of equipment and the detention of employees for rebroadcasting a politician's BBC interview. Following the tragedy, the station reappeared and is still broadcasting today. Radio Sagarmatha is one of the biggest and most successful community radio stations in the world, with 2.5 million regular listeners. Similar government restrictions and intimidation have been experienced by community radio stations in Brazil. According to anthropologist Derek Pardue (2011), community radio grew as a result of political liberalisation in the 1980s. In Brazil, there were 4,700 community radio stations in operation as of 2013, a 70% growth from 2002. Furthermore, the government has closed down some 5,000 of these stations, seized their equipment, and charged the managers with felonies. Community radio, linked to political action and freedom of expression, draws participation from counterculture artists and performers, including the hip-hop scenes of impoverished favela neighbourhoods in São Paulo. Local hip-hop artists define their physically marginalised neighbourhoods as politically and economically marginalised periferias (peripheries) by sharing their tales of bravery and adversity on community radio. According to Pardue, community radio provides a forum for hip-hop artists and other community members to showcase their knowledge of facts and social consciousness. They create a far more inclusive public space than commercial media by reporting on normally unreported events and viewpoints such gang activity and police violence through the use of lingo that denotes racial and class identities. Over 400 independent radio stations in 70 community languages are available in Australia. In an effort to preserve their culture and language, Indigenous Australian communities launched a large number of these community radio stations. The use of media by Indigenous communities for activism, cultural representation, and community identity is referred to as indigenous media. Some Indigenous broadcasters learned how to connect community radio stations into larger regional and national networks throughout the 1990s. A person in one village might publicly greet a distant relative with a song dedication thanks to the connection of Indigenous community stations, many of which included call-in request programmes. According to anthropologist Daniel Fisher (2009), radio has evolved into a means for Indigenous Australians to commemorate familial ties in the face of kin dispersal brought on by job, travel, government policy, and incarceration. Indigenous children were taken from their families and placed in foster homes and state institutions throughout the 20th century in an effort to integrate them into the culture of White Australian settlers. Currently, the disproportionate number of young males detained in Australian jails is further straining Indigenous family bonds. Call-in request shows have gained immense popularity on Indigenous radio networks in this setting, as family members call in to dedicate heartfelt songs about love, sorrow, and separation to distant relatives. Instigated by an extensive range of social concerns, community radio is also gaining traction in the US. The US Congress approved the Local Community Radio Act in 2010 as a response to the dominance of huge media corporations in American radio. This act gave the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the authority to grant licences to community radio stations that are low-powered. 2015 saw the licence being given to a group of community organisers in Madrid, New Mexico, which is located just outside of Albuquerque. They then started airing KMRD 96.9. Along with many other community stations, KMRD offers more diversified and locally relevant material as an alternative to commercial radio programming. Local DJs broadcast a wide range of music, including alternative, pop, techno, garage, folk, and western, and conduct call-in shows discussing local topics. The local music scene is stimulated by the regular airing of local acts. The presenter of this chapter's programme, which features African music, is available on Monday nights. If you're not close to the station, you can still listen to KRMD online. The Local Community Radio Act has led to the establishment of more than a thousand new community radio stations.