This research analyzes Guatemala’s 1996 telecommunications reform, with an emphasis on how the introduction of private property rights in the electromagnetic spectrum has affected provision of, and access to, non-profit community radio, a critical media for the country’s indigenous Maya. The Guatemalan ‘experiment’ is the first applied test of Ronald Coase’s 1959 call for property rights in radio spectrum. To date, spectrum liberalization in most countries, including Canada, has upheld a model of resource stewardship in which the state retains ownership of the spectrum and a measure of control over frequency allocations. In Guatemala, by contrast, the state has ceded spectrum control to the private sector by auctioning off legal title to electromagnetic frequencies and allowing secondary markets in spectrum trading to develop. Formerly free under license to Guatemalan nationals only, FM frequencies sold with title under Guatemala’s revamped telecommunications law fetch as much as US$750,000 at auction. Broadcasting rights have disproportionately accrued to foreign nationals and commercial operators, while community broadcasters operating without title are accused of ‘stealing’ spectrum resources (causing interference on titled bandwidth), for which they face fines of between US$10,001 and $100,000 and up to six years in prison. Scholar-advocates and industry lobbyists credit Guatemala’s propertization regime with maximizing resource efficiency, institutionalizing justice, and offering rich and poor countries alike a practical model for spectrum reform. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and other critics, however, argue that the regime discriminates against those who lack the financial resources to purchase spectrum title and effectively bars non-profit community radio stations from legal access to the airwaves. This study traces the intellectual roots of (neo)liberal reform and examines parallels between geographies of inequality in Guatemala’s landscape and soundscape in order to demonstrate that the costs of enclosing and commodifying resources once held in common has consistently and disproportionately fallen on Guatemala’s indigenous population. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-26 09:24:05.497

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 331-346). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Includes bibliographic references (p. 234-238).

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-11T13:40:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda Lucia Pereira Costa.pdf: 2035328 bytes, checksum: daf1cc3c40b8c916bee242f4bd060af4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-07-05 / This study aimed to analyze the meaning of the work done within a community radio station in Manaus / AM, the radio "Voice of the Communities" for being the first community radio legally recognized in Brazil. The study was conducted through interviews, archival research and participant observation with the intention of understanding the reality experienced by the participants of the radio toward an understanding of the psychosocial aspects that relate to the social representation of the radio and permeate the relationship between paid and unpaid work in capitalist world. Therefore, the socioeconomic survey and how the participants establish their relations in the context of that community radio, was made necessary. It was also necessary to seek the understanding of the motivational factors that allow unpaid work in a public space. The community radio station run by voluntary participation of its members and is linked to the Community Movement for Citizenship (MOCOCA), non-governmental organization created at the instigation of the Catholic Church. As a "private apparatus of hegemony," ie, producing institution of culture and ideologies that are part of social construction. Thus, as a radio project of civil society is represented socially as a result of winning the struggle for democratization of communication and maintenance of alternative spaces. But even as a conquest, the survey data revealed that there are dilemmas that characterize the functioning of the radio, mainly due to the rotation of its participants. They also revealed that activities in the context of radio are representative of political actions meant the condition of "appearance" in the social sphere. Although the meanings of work in community radio are associated with positive representational content, we find that radio remains little known by the residents of their area. But on the other hand, the social place ever won by radio represented through its programs and consequently, participants reinforced the foundations of the existence of community radio stations, these being: a guide to political action, social solidarity and dissemination of culture / Essa pesquisa buscou analisar os sentidos do trabalho realizado no espaço de uma rádio comunitária na cidade de Manaus/AM, a rádio A Voz das Comunidades , por ser a primeira rádio comunitária reconhecida legalmente no Brasil. O estudo foi realizado a partir de entrevistas, pesquisa documental e observação participante com a pretensão de compreender a realidade vivenciada pelos participantes da rádio visando o entendimento de aspectos psicossociais que remetem às Representações Sociais da rádio e perpassam a relação entre trabalho remunerado e o não remunerado no mundo capitalista e globalizado. Portanto, o levantamento de aspectos socioeconômicos e do modo como os participantes estabelecem suas relações no contexto da referida rádio comunitária, se fizeram necessários. Foi necessário, também, a busca do entendimento dos elementos motivacionais que permitem o trabalho não remunerado em um espaço público. A rádio comunitária funciona pela participação voluntária de seus membros e está vinculada ao Movimento Comunitário pela Cidadania (MOCOCI), organização não governamental, criada por incentivo da Igreja Católica. Enquanto um aparelho privado de hegemonia , isto é, instituição produtora de cultura e de ideologias que fazem parte da construção social. Sendo, portanto, a rádio um projeto da sociedade civil, é representada socialmente como uma conquista decorrente da luta pela democratização da comunicação e manutenção de espaços alternativos. Mas, mesmo sendo uma conquista, os dados da pesquisa revelaram que há dilemas que marcam o funcionamento da rádio, principalmente, em função da rotatividade dos seus participantes. Revelaram também que as atividades realizadas no contexto da rádio são representativas de ações políticas significadas na condição de aparecimento na esfera social. Apesar dos sentidos do trabalho na rádio comunitária estarem associados a conteúdos representacionais positivos, verificamos que a rádio continua sendo pouco conhecida pelos moradores de sua área de abrangência. Mas, por outro lado, o lugar social já conquistado pela rádio representado através dos seus programas e consequentemente dos seus participantes, reforça os fundamentos da existência das rádios comunitárias, sendo esses: a orientação à ação política, a solidariedade social e a divulgação da cultura

The purpose of this treatise is a development of a suitable model for a community radio station which would lead to operational effectiveness and ensure sustainability. The treatise has three phases namely a theoretical phase, a narration phase and an integration phase. Firstly, in the theoretical phase the research study investigates what the literature review reveals about community radio stations and business models. This treatise argues that a total dependency of community radio stations on donor funding leads to operational ineffectiveness which threatens their sustainability. The treatise also argues that a business model could be adapted for a community radio station by identifying the business issues which the literature review revealed, and use these to deconstruct a theoretical business model. Secondly, in the narrative phase the research study investigates the important business issues for a selected community radio station. The treatise argues the board and management of this selected community radio station revealed additional business issues of operations and gave different ratings to business issues which are important in their operations. Thirdly, in the integration phase, the theoretical model deconstructed in the theoretical phase, was revised by including additional business issues of operations revealed in the narrative phase. The research study concludes that this revised model is a suitable business model for a community radio station and can lead to operational effectiveness and ensure sustainability.

This research project was aimed at assessing whether community radio stations are indeed the voice of the community or are set out to fulfil their own agenda. This study therefore looked at three different categories of community radio stations, namely the faith-based radio (Kingfisher FM), geographic community radio (Radio Grahamstown) and institutional community radio (Forte FM) with the aim of studying their activities and comparing the three. Relevant literature has been reviewed and data have been collected using both quantitative and qualitative methods through questionnaires, personal interviews and focus group interviews. The study however leans more on the qualitative approach and a quantitative approach has merely been used to identify the trends of the views of the participants. The analysis of data highlights the views of the respondents about these radio stations as the voice of the community. The views of the respondents from the three radio stations showed that these stations enjoy a very good patronage from the listeners in Port Elizabeth (Kingfisher FM), Grahamstown (Radio Grahamstown) and Alice (Forte FM), respectively. The results and discussions confirm that these radio stations meet their various individual needs of the listeners and that of the community at large. In addition, the fact that participants of the focus groups and survey respondents for these three selected radio stations reported that the Station regularly fulfils the major functions of a radio station, which is to inform, educate and entertain them, showed that these radio stations are acting socially responsible as well. This study was also able to confirm that these community radio stations do give opportunities to listeners to contribute to programme content development, which shows the willingness of these stations to give voice to the listeners and allow them to be part of their own personal development and that of the community at large.

Thesis (M.A.(Media Studies)) --University of the North, 2002 / This research report looks at Radio Turf as a radio station serving the university community as well af the neighbouring communities. It seeks to establish whether Radio Turf is indeed an empowering tool to the community it serves, looking at language usage, skills development, promotion of local music, gender issues and education. It further seeks to establish whether it is indeed a community radio station in the true sense of the word. The research report lso looks at ways and means of improving community radio stations in general as a way of empowering the communities they serve through participation and involvement. The report could be of assistance to the radio station in as far as knowing its weaknesses and strong points as a way of improving its service to the community it serves

This thesis is an investigation of campus/community radio in Canada and an exploration of its motivations and methods of using social media as a tool to interact with listeners. It develops and applies a methodology referred to as S.M.I.L.E.S., a methodology to create triangulation and validate results when researching in areas involving social media and minimal previous literature available. Radio station staff and volunteer programmers use social media, traditional digital and non-digital methods to gather feedback about the show and/or station, promote the show and/or station, provide additional content to the listener off-air, communicate about the station itself, and achieve personal, station, and community growth. Results suggest that campus/community radio members use social media very differently than commercial or public radio station. As a whole, the campus/community radio sector is generally slow in providing support and policy when facilitating technological change, which has resulted in tentative use and lack of support for social media. Geographical location is also irrelevant as regards the utilization of social media. Also, programmers must be careful in identity management when engaging in online communication, as well as using social media as a fundraising tool and forum for information dissemination. Finally, stations need to consider implementing policy surrounding social media in order to facilitate growth within the industry. / Generously funded in part by the Snowden Program, at the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph.

Community radio typically relies on volunteers to produce and present stations’ programming. Volunteers are generally drawn from stations’ target communities and are seen as “representatives” of those communities. It is with such volunteers and their role as representatives of stations’ target communities that this study is concerned. It poses the question: “what are the central concepts that typically inform volunteers’ knowledge of their target community, and how do these concepts impact on their perception of how they have gained this knowledge, and how they justify their role as representatives of this community?” The dissertation teases out the implications of these conceptualisations for a volunteer team’s ability to contribute to the establishment of a media environment that operates as a Habermasian ‘critical public sphere’. It argues that this can only be achieved if volunteers have detailed and in-depth knowledge of their target community. In order to acquire this knowledge, volunteers should make use of systematic ways of learning about the community, rather than relying solely on knowledge obtained by living there. In a case study of Katutura Community Radio (KCR), one of the bestknown community radio stations in Namibia, the study identifies key differences in the way in which different groups of volunteers conceptualise “the community”. The study focuses, in particular, on such difference as it applies to those who are volunteers in their personal capacity and those who represent non-governmental and community-based organisations at the station. It is argued that two strategies would lead to significant improvement in such a station’s ability to serve as a public sphere. Firstly, the station would benefit from an approach in which different sections of the volunteer team share knowledge of the target community with each other. Secondly, volunteers should undertake further systematic research into their target community. It is also argued that in order to facilitate such processes, radio stations such as KCR should recognise the inevitability of differences between different versions of “community knowledge”.

This study is concerned with the potential of a community radio station under the ownership of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in being a facilitator and social actor of community-based development. XK fm is a radio station run by members of the !Xun and Khwe (two ethnic San communities), but owned and governed by the SABC. It was established to preserve and protect the cultures, languages and histories of the two communities as well acting as a facilitating and promoter of development. The focus of this research is on the examination of the station‘s day-to-day development programmes, the processes involved in operation, production and transmission of these programmes and the outcomes of these processes in the reception of the programmes among the two communities. As a means of critically analyzing the multi-layered aspects of operations within the radio station and the listening habits of its audiences as a whole, this study is situated within a Circuit of Culture (du Gay et al, 1997) framework of theory. It is also based on a case study approach of methodology that utilizes ethnographic methods of data collection from semi-structured and in-depths interviews to passive and participant observations that have been recorded on video. Based on the principles of both forms of development radio broadcasting, this study concludes that XK fm has been successful in utilizing indigenous knowledge and culture to produce radio programming that is sensitive to the development needs of the !Xun and Khwe communities. It has created awareness of development issues through both its cultural programmes and it informational programmes, and through the SABC has been enabled to be productively sustainable, technically advanced and participatory in nature. However, the SABC‘s control over the station does limit the two communities‘ ownership of the station and participation in policy construction, thus constraining the station in more effectively acting as a community radio station. It suggests that XK fm cannot act alone as the sole facilitator of development and needs other mechanisms to enhance participation and effective dialectical information exchange such as radio listening clubs. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.