[cma-l] Happy Christmas and future thoughts for CMA

[Phil Shepherd]

Hi members and friends

Happy Christmas and a great New Year to all!

This has been a challenging year for most of us in different ways and the
signs are that it won't get much easier anytime soon.   However the good
news is that thanks to the hard work of our great staff and the support of
members, CMA is holding its own and continuing to punch above its weight on
many fronts.    

We are far from complacent however and right now Council is looking at the
best ways forward for the organisation into 2011-12 and beyond.  We need
your input into this debate.

* Three of the main questions are:   what are the key characteristics of our
sector? what does the sector need? - and - what can the CMA feasibly offer?

Some of the answers to these questions are obvious of course - like lots of
us (but by no means all) run radio stations, like we need more money and
higher profile for example!  Others may not be so clear.

We've found it useful to go back to our Charter and to ask if it remains fit
for purpose.  The answer in our view is primarily 'yes, the Charter
continues to eloquently express what we mean by community media and what the
important principles are that inform our practice'.    I'm adding the
wording of the Charter in full to the foot of this posting for you to
review.    We feel there are some details which could do with updating but
only minor revisions needed.    What do you think?

Does everyone read and digest the charter when they sign up to the CMA?  Do
we all adhere to these principles in our activities?   We feel it's
important to go back to first principles in this way, to try and identify
our USP and our collective commitment to it.  We are entering an ever more
complex multi platform environment in which it will be increasingly
difficult to discern the provenance and intention of content.  CMA and the
community media sector has a stated common purpose  and we need to be clear
we are all signed up to the same starting point.   There may well be other
organisations who would also subscribe to the Charter - they are our
potential partners as we seek to sustain accessible platforms for the UK's
rich diversity of voices to be heard without fear or prejudice.

Once we all confirm that we have the starting point right (and I know this
was done years back but a review process is always healthy) then there are
important questions to ask about structure and strategy.   Council is
looking at these issues too.

Our next meeting is on 29 January.  I will post a weekly update on our
debate through January and look forward to hearing your views as we move
forward.  We need your input so please give it some thought.  First off,
thoughts about the Charter and whether we can reference it as a kite-mark
for content.  A bit like Fair Trade for example.  There are pros and cons
for this argument but let's hear your thoughts.  Many thanks.

In the meantime, here's to a good festive season for all.

Best wishes

Phil

Phil Shepherd      
Chair of Council
Community Media Association

philshep.wordpress.com

 **********************
 
THE COMMUNITY MEDIA CHARTER
 
Recognising that Community Media fosters the freedom of expression and
information, the development of culture, the freedom to form and confront
opinions and active participation in local life; noting that different
cultures and communities lead to a diversity of forms of Community Media;
this Charter identifies objectives which Community Media share and should
strive to achieve: 
 
1. To promote the right to communicate, to assist the free flow of
information and opinions, to encourage creative expression and to contribute
to the democratic process and a pluralist society;
2. To provide access to training, production and distribution facilities, to
encourage local creative talent, to foster local traditions, and to provide
services for the benefit, entertainment, education and development of their
audience; 
3. To seek to have their ownership representative of local geographically
recognisable communities or of communities of common interest;
4. To be editorially independent of the government, commercial and religious
institutions and political parties in determining their programming policy;
5. To provide a right of access to minority and marginalised groups and to
promote and protect cultural and linguistic diversity;
6. To honestly inform their audience on the basis of information drawn from
a variety of sources and to provide a right of reply to any person or
organisation subject to serious misrepresentation;
7. To be established as organisations which are not run with a view to
profit and to ensure their independence by being financed from a variety of
sources; 
8. To recognise and respect the contribution of volunteers, to recognise the
right of paid workers to join their trade unions and provide satisfactory
working conditions for both;
9. To operate management, programming and employment practices which oppose
discrimination and which are open and accountable to all supporters, staff
and volunteers; 
10. To foster exchange between Community Media practitioners using
communications to develop greater understanding in support of peace,
tolerance, democracy and development.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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