Social Integration of Bristol Community Radio - Case Study Example

ANALYSIS OF A COMMUNITY RADIO: BRISTOL COMMUNITY FM Introduction The advent of community radio service was ushered in by the need experienced in many localities for providing a venue for expression, for forging stronger communal ties, and creating a channel for education and skills training opportunities. A form of mass communication pertaining to citizens within a relatively localized area became the apparent solution, for which a series of radio projects over a number of years helped form the foundation for the establishment of what are now called community radio stations. This paper shall examine one such station, the Bristol Community FM, and how it fulfils the mandate of community radio as an instrument for community development and empowerment. Definition of community radio According to the UK Government’s proposed definition as embodied in its draft Community Radio Order (Ofcom, 2004), community radio is defined by the core elements that comprise it, as its actual definition differs from place to place. Based on its key elements, community radio: “is primarily for the good of members of the public or of a particular community and in order to deliver social gain, rather than for commercial reasons. “is intended primarily to serve a particular community (either people who live or work or undergo education or training in a particular area or locality…’neighborhood’, or people who have one or more interests or characteristics in common… ‘community of interest’) “is not provided in order to make a financial profit, and uses any profit produced to secure or improve the service or for the delivery of social gain to members of the public or the target community; and “offers members of the target community opportunities to participate in the operation of the service.” (Ofcom, 2004) These elements that comprise community radio render this service especially positioned to create unique benefits to the community, which have been recognized in Parliament during deliberations on the Communications Bill (Ofcom, 2004). These benefits include: training and work opportunities for the locality, contribution to local education, advancement of social cohesion, service to neighbourhood or interest groups, dissemination of knowledge about local authority and other services, establishment of access of local people to the project. These, in turn, foster a sense of truly belonging to a tangible community, imbibing residents in the locality with a sense of self-esteem, confidence and community pride. Invaluable is the exchange of ideas and the creation of a venue for voices to be heard, particularly those belonging to minority groups, who would usually have limited or no access at all to media (Günnel, 2008, p. 87). While seen as competitors of each other because of overlapping citizenship, commercial radio differs essentially from community radio in many ways. Commercial radio is challenged by the need to maintain audience share vis-à-vis other media, meet demands for targeted audiences, and simultaneously provide sufficiently mainstream content in order to survive financially. Ultimately, the commercial aims of radio broadcasting in tending to preserve this mainstream appeal is to ignore the pluralism of voices and interests that is crucial to a democracy, and in the process isolate and disempower special interest and minority groups (Irvine, 2002, p. 43). On the other hand, community radio stations are non-profit, community-sustained, and extremely flexible. They are largely defined by the characteristics and needs of the local citizens, not mainstream tastes and preferences. There is a symbiotic relationship created between the radio station and its listeners; “the stations provides something to the community, but requires the community to give back to the station to sustain it” (Keough, 2010, p. 81). In the assessment of the performance of the subject community radio in the case study, the existence of these elements and their attendant benefits shall be assessed. The degree to which these aims are complied with shall form the basis of determining whether the community radio station has performed the purposes for which it had been created. Case Study: BCFM Community Radio for Bristol The community radio station chosen for this study is BCFM (2010). Considered as the first community radio station in Bristol, the station commenced operations on 26 March 2007, over 93.2 FM. It is the culmination of the various community development and radio projects over the past many years. The radio projects that preceded BCFM are Radio 19 (The New Deal for Communities, or NDC), Commonwealth fm, and B200FM (Celebration of Brunel’s life). The aim was to create greater cohesiveness among these communities and to address issues that contributed to education and communication barriers, cultural tensions, and an underlying lack of unity (Creating Excellence, 2010). Living up to its slogan “Your choice, your voice!” BCFM offers the local citizens access to air time, direct involvement in community affairs, training and education. “BCFM gives the city of Bristol the choice and the voice to get involved and make a difference” (BCFM, 2010). The radio station takes its mandate seriously as a community radio station, and invites anybody to participate who is interested in sharing some community-based information on topics of interest to the local citizen. In its regular programming, the station offers 45 different programmes, broadcasted by many different types of people representative of an area, age, religion, agency, or even their own selves. True to being representative of the various residents in its coverage area, BCFM broadcasts in nine different languages, each of which is spoken by the corresponding ethnic group within the area. Local music also plays a big part of regular programming. Character of Service and Programming: An expression of intention BCFM’s key commitments include a statement of its character of service and programming policies. In its formulated statement of character of service, BCFM commits to perform as “BCFM will be a non-profit distributing service aiming to advance the social cohesion of the community by providing an engaging and challenging radio experience to the City of Bristol and to promote the physical, emotional and mental well-being of the diverse communities within. Education will be a central principle in the project and will provide training opportunities tailored to the learning needs of those taking part” (BCFM Key Commitments, 2007, p. 1). The stated character of service falls foursquare with the nature of a community radio station, as that of being a non-profit, community-led and supported communication facility that brings together all members of the community, provides them a voice, and aim to foster understanding and education. By its non-profit nature, all returns realized by the station goes to defray its costs of operations and further improving its facilities through necessary capital acquisitions. The station also stated its commitment as to programming content, which is to be “a mix of speech based and music interest/genre shows” (BCFM Key Commitments, 2007, p. 1). It is intended that 70% of output is comprised of music, while the remaining 30% of output is comprised of speech (which explicitly excludes advertising, programme and promotional trails, and sponsor credits). Approximately half of the music output will consist of rock and pop, a quarter will be world music, and the remainder will consist of other genres such as easy listening, dance, gospel, new and local music (BCFM Key Commitments, 2007, p. 1). On the other hand, speech output will comprise of programmes that provide useful information. Examples of theses shall be community-group led shows, education (e.g. history and current affairs), entertainment (radio drama and fun talk shows), and news programmes (both general and special interest news). Occasionally coverage of special events of interest shall be featured, such as cultural and religious festivals, local sporting events, and carnivals. While outside broadcasts form part of featured programming, these shall comprise subjects that are of great interest to a good proportion of the community audience, and not merely for sensationalism in order to sell air time. Understandably, the general medium will be in English, but a good number of programmes will also be delivered in the other community languages and dialects as may be appropriate. These shall include Portugese, Chinese, Arabic, Sudanese and Somali. The choice of community language output which may be programmed will be driven by volunteer input and the prevailing demand in the community, and will therefore be adjusted from time to time depending on these changing factors (BCFM Key Commitments, 2007, p. 1). Over a 24-hour broadcast schedule, live content shall be aired over 12 hours every day, and repeated for the following 12 hours. Live programming may include inserts or pre-recorded portions as may be appropriate. And while external-content material of interest to the community are allowed, it is specified that majority of output shall be produced locally. Radio Programming and Events The foregoing commitments were expressed in the Community Radio Licence that had been approved for the station. Expression of intention is one thing, however, while actualization is another. In this section, at attempt will be made, through an examination of actual radio content and a description of broadcasting shows listened to, to determine whether the BCFM is able to successfully carry out its mandate of community-based programming. In Appendix A of this paper, the weekly programme schedule of BCFM radio has been attached as basis for determining the quality and content of the programmes aired by the station. The programme material and information in BCFM’s official website shall be assessed based on the goals that community radio programming is intended to addressed, as contained in the four statements of Community Radio Order 2004 (BCFM Key Commitments, 2007, pp. 2-3): “(a) the provision of sound broadcasting services to individuals who are otherwise underserved” Before programs could be designed for underserved groups of individuals, it is important to identify who the underserved individuals are. This had been done by BCFM via surveys and consultations through Outreach Workers, which information is relayed to the steering group. Consultation and collaboration with other agencies such as Bristol Race Equality Council (BREC), Black Development Authority (BDA), and Community at Heart, together with their networks of associated groups. Invaluable information solicited through these groups as well as other sources have helped in the launching of programs such as the “Asian show”, “Somali show”, “Voice of Sudan”, and “Arabian Nights”. “(b) the facilitation of discussion and the expression of opinion” It is noticeable in the program lineup of BCFM that programs aimed at conveying information and exchange of opinion abound. These include Radio recovery, which I have listened to: for this week, the topic had been “WAR”, and a number of talk show guests were present for a focused interview and discussion of the topic of warfare. Earlier, the program “Radio recovery” presented snatches of the past week’s program interviewing children of different cultural backgrounds speaking about their varied ways of celebrating Easter based on their culture of origin.” “(c) the provision (whether by means of programmes included in the service or otherwise) or education or training to individuals not employed by the person providing the service” Education is immediately seen as the aim of “Kids on air” and the various discussion shows. As to training offered to individuals, the station has sponsored training for promising individuals in an accredited course provided by the City of Bristol College, on various aspects of broadcasting. “(d) the better understanding of the particular community and the strengthening of the links within it” The BCRM station is run by community residents, the material designed and delivered by residents who volunteer their knowledge, and the topics pertain to the communities special interests. Nine languages of groups within the community are spoken, and religious and cultural material reflective of community life are featured. These all forge a better understanding and inevitably cohesion in the Bristol community. Somali talk show resource residents Conclusion Community radio has been a recent addition in the growing toolkit government and society may use to strengthen communal spirit and bind persons of different races, cultures and creeds together. Bristol’s example is a successful venture into social integration. It would hopefully be the first of many such radio stations in other parts of the UK and in other countries of the world. WORDCOUNT – 2,000 excluding title, bibliography, appendix REFERENCES BCfm Bristol Community fm 93.2 Live Stream 2010 Accessed 9 April 2010 < http://bcfm.org.uk/> BCFM Key Commitments 2007 Community radio licence. Accessed 9 April 2010 Creating Excellence 2010 Community Radio – The voice of a sustainable community. Accessed 8 April 2010 Community Media Association 2010 Accessed 8 April 2010 Günnel, T 2008 ‘The “Dual Role” approach: encouraging access to community radio’, The Radio Journal – International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media, vol. 6, nos. 2 & 3, pp. 87-94 Irvine, N 2000 ‘Commercial Radio: serving UK communities’, Cultural Trends, vol. 40, pp. 36-45 Keough, S B 2010 ‘The importance of place in community radio broadcasting: a case study of WDVX, Knoxville, Tennessee’, Journal of Cultural Geography, vol. 27, no. 1, Feb 2010, pp. 77-98. Office of Communications (Ofcom) 2004 What is community Radio? Accessed 8 April 2010 APPENDIX “A” Monday     12am - 12pm Music mix Zara’s choice 12pm - 2pm Lunctime show Steve Sa-tan 2pm - 3pm Golden Hour Alec Milne 3pm - 4pm Father King’s conversations Father Robert King 4pm - 5pm Kids on air Hamza and Sef 5pm - 7pm Drivetime Tom Bigwood 7pm - 8pm Somali show Somali Ladies 8pm - 9pm Jazz and Blues Michael Clark 9pm - 10pm Chart show Cam Burns 10pm - 12am Music mix Zara’s choice —————-     Tuesday     12am - 12pm Music mix Zara’s choice 12pm - 2pm Lunctime show Steve Sa-tan 2pm - 3pm Golden Hour Anthea Page 3pm - 4pm Music mix Zara’s choice 4pm - 5pm Kids on air Bethany 5pm - 7pm Drivetime Dean and Amy 7pm - 8pm Somali show Achmed 8pm - 9pm Arabian Nights Mohammed and Mohammed 9pm - 10pm Jelli Records Steve Parkhouse and Mari 10pm - 12am Music mix Zara’s choice —————-     Wednesday     12am - 12pm Music mix Zara’s choice 12pm - 1pm Lunctime show Sarah Williams 1pm - 2pm Lunctime show Maff Reed 2pm - 3pm Golden Hour Elaine Shotton 3pm - 4pm 3 Geese show Alivia, Jo and Chrissie 4pm - 5pm Kids on air Olliver Owens 5pm - 7pm Drivetime Ryan Williams 7pm - 8pm Music mix Zara’s choice 8pm - 10pm Bristol Music show Steve, Beth and Basheema 10pm - 12am Music mix Zara’s choice —————-     Thursday     12am - 12pm Music mix Zara’s choice 12pm - 1pm Fini Sitin Hilary Banks 1pm - 2pm typical Tropical Cyrus 2pm - 3pm Golden Hour Perry Guidrey 3pm - 4pm Fun and frolics Richard Seymour 4pm - 5pm Kids on air Fin and Alex 5pm - 7pm Drivetime Phil Gibbons and Vicky 7pm - 8pm Music mix Zara’s choice 8pm - 9pm Alternative country Phil Lyons 9pm - 10pm Rock and Roll Martin Stock 10pm - 12am Music mix Zara’s choice —————-     Friday     12am - 12pm Music mix Zara’s choice 12pm - 1pm Week 1 Katey Brooks 12pm - 1pm Week 2 David Miles 1pm - 2pm Week 1 Andrew Parsonage 1pm - 2pm Week 2 Sam Marais 2pm - 3pm Golden Hour Joan weeks 3pm - 4pm UFO Tony Squires 4pm - 5pm Kids on air Redd and Griff 5pm - 7pm Drivetime Tony Gosling 7pm - 8pm Music mix Zara’s choice 8pm - 9pm Music mix Zara’s choice 9pm - 10pm Fun with Dann Dann Caswell 10pm - 12am Music mix Zara’s choice —————-     Saturday     12am - 10am Music mix Zara’s choice 10am - 12pm Arts show Billy Quain 12pm - 2pm Fun show Ryan Williams 2pm - 3pm Film show Mark LeLeivre 3pm - 4pm Somali show Abdi Dahir 4pm - 6pm Voice of Sudan Mohammed and Mohammed 6pm - 7pm Asian shows various 7pm - 9pm Asian show Mustapha and Zahir 9pm - 12pm Music mix Zara’s choice —————-   Sunday     12am - 9am Music mix Zara’s choice 9am - 10am Let the Bible speak Wesly Graham 10am - 11am BBC Radio Bristol Phil and Joanne 11am - 12pm Radio recovery Terry Clemmett 12pm - 1pm Radio Dialect Bristol Radio Cooperative 1pm - 2pm 3 Geese Alivia, Jo and Chrissie 2pm - 5pm Music mix Zara’s choice 5pm - 6pm Unsigned chart show Junior Saunders 6pm - 7pm Radiowski in English Michael, Magda and Basha 7pm - 8pm Radiowski in Polish Magda Bond 8pm - 9pm Music show Jonny Rydon 9pm - 10pm Christian Music Nick Tarleton 10pm - 12am Rock show Jon wisby       Phil Gibbons and Joanne Schofield Read More