[cma-l] Uruguay: Senate passes Community Broadcasting Bill

[Salvatore Scifo]

URUGUAY: SENATE PASSES COMMUNITY BROADCASTING BILL

In what the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)
calls a "groundbreaking move for freedom of expression in Latin America,"
the Uruguayan Senate approved a Community Broadcasting Bill that
recognises community broadcasting in its own right and says television and
radio frequencies should be more equitably distributed.

The bill acknowledges the importance of this "third" broadcasting sector
alongside the state and private sectors, and stipulates that one third of
the AM and FM radio airwaves and television broadband will be reserved for
community-based media outlets, which AMARC says ensures greater diversity
of media ownership.

A new council, made up of government, media, university and free
expression representatives, will play a part in granting and renewing
frequencies and ensuring that the government does not use frequency
allocation to indirectly censor broadcasts.

According to AMARC, the bill does not impose limits on the geographical
range and signal strength of community media outlets, unlike laws in
Brazil and Chile. Instead, the bill says the range of coverage will depend
on the outlet's purpose and the audience it is trying to reach.

Community broadcasters will also have the right to secure financing
through donations, advertising and government grants.

AMARC and other free expression organisations, including IFEX members
ARTICLE 19 and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF),
have been closely following this development as it sets a crucial
precedent for the region. AMARC was also involved in drafting the bill.
"This is the first time that transparent and non-discriminatory processes
for the allocation of radio and television frequencies have been
explicitly laid out in Uruguayan legislation," says AMARC.

The bill now goes to the House of Representatives to approve some
amendments made by the Senate. According to government officials, the law
will be passed by the end of the year.

Visit these links:
- AMARC: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/87839/
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=22492
- ARTICLE 19: http://tinyurl.com/22xkhs
- "IFEX Communiqué" on passage of bill in House of Representatives:
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/84084/

(27 November 2007)
Copyright mediaforfreedom.com
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-- 
Salvatore Scifo,
Lecturer in Community Media
Media Information & Communication
Department of Applied Social Sciences
London Metropolitan University
Ladbroke House, Room LH 326
62-66 Highbury Grove
London N5 2AD

W: www.communitymedia.eu

Profile: http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/depts/dass/staff/salvatorescifo/




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