[cma-l] CMA Council - CR Fund priority

[Steve Buckley]

Dear Phil and all

I want to share a few thoughts with you and CMA Council regarding the 
CR Fund and following the response from the government to the 
petition that I initiated last year.

First, in reading the government statement, while I am sceptical of 
DCMS commitment or ability to progress in raising funds from other 
departments, it does seem to me there are some significant positives: 
(1) that, despite the change of government, it is consistent with 
previous (Labour) government statements recognising the value of the 
sector and accepting that there is merit in finding additional 
funding from other government departments to support CR social 
benefit; (2) it also reinforces the DCMS policy of funding the CMA.

On the other hand it is clear that in the present climate even the 
existing meagre level of the Fund is not guaranteed to continue after 
the completion of the Comprehensive Spending Review. In this context 
it seems to me there should be three broad lines of response:

1. We (the sector itself, the CMA and our allies) need to vigorously 
not only defend the Fund's existence but to continue to call for its 
increase from 2005 levels to a level commensurate with the Everitt 
Report and the present and future scale of the sector.

2. The campaign needs to build significant grassroots mobilisation, 
that articulates with the CMA's efforts but is not dependent on the 
CMA's core resources. Its should be in parallel to and reinforce the 
policy dialogue with DCMS. This might take the form of a CR Fund 
action group/network that involves people from both within and 
outside CMA staff and Council.

3. There is a need also to inject some fresh thinking into the 
development of the Fund. In the long term of course it should be 
extended to other community media. In the medium term it could be 
better taken out of Ofcom and established as a 'co-regulatory' entity 
with an objective to lead in raising funds from other sources in 
addition to the DCMS support. The Canadian experience is instructive 
in this respect - where the fund was set up by a group of CR sector 
activists. Initial funding came from the private sector with CRTC cash later.

I'd welcome feedback from the CMA Council and others on these suggestions.

Best wishes

Steve Buckley
Sheffield Live! 93.2 FM
www.sheffieldlive.org


At 17:17 29/07/2010, you wrote:
>Dear Members and friends
>
>Just to say that the Council of the CMA are due to meet in London this
>Saturday and although we have a full agenda of important issues facing the
>organisation and the wider sector I wanted to let you know it was happening
>and to ask that if there are any burning issues you would like to flag up
>for our attention please let me know via this list.   I cannot guarantee
>they will be discussed in detail this weekend but can guarantee as always
>that they will not be ignored, that they will inform our thinking and be
>responded to as soon as practically possible.
>
>Best wishes
>
>Phil
>
>Phil Shepherd
>Chair of Council
>Community Media Association
>c/o Engine Room
>52 High Street
>Bridgwater
>Somerset TA6 3BL
>
>philshep.wordpress.com
>
>
>
>
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