Thesis (M.A) (Media Studies)--University of Limpopo,2009. / This is a qualitative comparative study on sustainability challenges facing the community radio sector in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study explores and determines community radio’s social acceptance to target communities, identifies its fundraising and marketing strategies, and evaluates its governance and management policies. The research draws from theories of community development and mass communication, namely: development theory and participant media theory. Detailed literature review, focus group discussion, in-depth interviews, and analyses of archival records and institutional documents were used as research methods. The case study purports that the quality of a community radio service is often a product of its resources. Furthermore, it appreciates the open access approach to broadcasting as fulfilling the original and moral imperative of community radio. However, it views sustainability issues, more specifically financial resources, as having far reaching effects on the sector’s independence and the ability to fulfill its functions. Often in community radio, the concept of sustainability tends to be narrowly used to refer to financial sustainability alone. The conclusions drawn from the comparative study of three community radio stations, namely: Botlokwa, Mohodi and Radio Turf reveal that a comprehensive approach to sustainability should recognise the role of social, organisational and financial aspects of the medium. Despite marked progress with respect to social acceptance, more innovative marketing and fundraising strategies, appropriate organisational and management policies in the sector are essential. In their absence, community radio continues to lack access to a fair share of resources and can barely raise funds to meet its obligations. Consequently, poor performance in community radio is largely attributable to sustainability challenges, particularly in rural communities where resources are often scarce as compared to urban centres. / Not listed

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:29:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 OrlandoMCB part-1.pdf: 961525 bytes, checksum: 6ca0c5d777fbd5f567f44c1e40cb92ce (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-04-02 / The thesis covers the communication processes used by community radio stations in the northeastern backlands of Brazil that are present on the internet. Its aims are: to understand theoretically and empirically how those processes develop inside the radio stations and explore their particularities; to understand the structures, radio formats, teams, income sources and the development of their digital involvement; to understand the processes of stimuli, broadcasting, and interaction, in terms of citizenship; to understand what s behind the new ways of communicating, both territorial and on the Internet; to understand how the internet user participates; and to make a list of those community radio stations, including the self-labeled backlands radio stations, reviewing the particularities in their programming formats, as well as the differences between each other regarding both territorial and non-territorial (Internet) broadcasting. The methodology applied consists of a bibliographic and documental research, of a previously made listing of those broadcasting stations, as well as field research consisting of in loco visits and semi-structured interviews, in order to obtain a better understanding of the broadcasting stations in the eight northeastern backlands states (Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe). The broadcasting stations presence on the internet was also monitored both on their websites and on social networks. Based on theoretical parameters, we can classify the community radio stations in three types, regarding their Internet presence: off-line (those which have some Internet presence but do not broadcast online), institutionally online (those which simultaneously broadcast online the same content provided over the radio) and the dynamic online (those which broadcast a distinct content online and promote interactivity). By broadcasting online, the backlands community radio stations improve their capability of promoting listener participation, interaction and interactivity because a new type of community radio communication feedback is born, promoted by the resulting deterritorialization, which is the biggest challenge for these radio stations which operate in the poorest region of the country, where the most popular radio stations still serve the interests of influential people. / A tese aborda os processos comunicacionais nas rádios comunitárias do Sertão do Nordeste do Brasil que estão na Internet. Objetiva-se entender teórica e empiricamente como ocorrem esses processos nestas emissoras e explorar suas especificidades; compreender as estruturas, programações, equipes, financiamentos e históricos de inserção digital; entender os processos de estímulo, emissão e interação, em termos de cidadania; compreender como se dão as novas vozes, territoriais e na Internet; entender como se dá a participação do usuário (internauta); e listar as rádios comunitárias ou que se assumem comunitárias sertanejas, entendendo suas peculiaridades de programação, diferencial em termos de emissão territorial e não territorial (via Internet). A metodologia empregada consiste em pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, em mapeamento prévio das emissoras, bem como de pesquisa de campo por meio visitas in loco e de entrevistas semiestruturadas para entender-se as emissoras nos oito Estados sertanejos nordestinos (Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte e Sergipe). Acompanhou-se também o trabalho das emissoras na Internet, tanto em seus sites quanto a presença em redes sociais. Constata-se, com base em parâmetros teóricos, a existência de três tipos de emissoras de rádio comunitária na Internet: as off-line (que apenas têm espaço na Internet, mas não há transmissão simultânea), as online institucionais (que apenas transmitem simultaneamente a programação no dial) e as online dinâmicas (que têm conteúdo diferencial da emissora no dial e promovem interação e interatividade). O fato de estar na Internet faz com que as emissoras de rádio comunitária sertanejas aumentem sua capacidade de promover a participação, a interação e a interatividade, pois ocorre a retroalimentação da comunicação comunitária radiofônica com um novo tipo movido pela desterritorialização, que é o maior desafio dessas emissoras em lugares de baixo poder aquisitivo e comunicacional onde a presença do coronelismo eletrônico ainda persiste.