[cma-l] Fw: Re: comty radio and campaigning

Mon Jan 10 17:38:48 GMT 2011

--- On Mon, 10/1/11, LOL GELLOR <lolgellor at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

From: LOL GELLOR <lolgellor at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Re: [cma-l] comty radio and campaigning
To: "Marilyn Hyndman" <marilyn at northernvisions.org>
Date: Monday, 10 January, 2011, 16:18

I would say -( wouldn't I) given the context of media coverage as a whole and the role of commmunity media as part of that ecology there is a clear mandate to give a voice to those who do not have a voice. The local authority will probably have a publication and a press office to deliver their position without any obligation to give a contrary view. I know I am on record as regarding the main media players as partial, and deluded in any "belief" that they do not mediate a sense of balance within their own specific sensibilities. So perhaps its an opportunity for us- to lead with a slightly more honest approach e.g. "this may not be everyones view but I (individual broadcaster) think such and such policy is awful for the following reasons........., anyone wishing to counter this view is welcome to come forward and contribute to a programme to present their
 view". Sound Radio broadcast with this approach for a number of years, money may have been a problem but this freedom of speech was not (most of the time). 
Be brave, be honest and be smart, otherwise I would have to say what is the point?

This would be a personal view I am happy to consider any contrary responses in a sensible and balanced way (do you get me)

--- On Mon, 10/1/11, Marilyn Hyndman <marilyn at northernvisions.org> wrote:

From: Marilyn Hyndman <marilyn at northernvisions.org>
Subject: Re: [cma-l] comty radio and campaigning
To: "Julian Mellor" <julian at 10radio.org>
Cc: "CMA-L" <cma-l at commedia.org.uk>
Date: Monday, 10 January, 2011, 15:31

.......you can't be expected to have 'balance' in every programme but you can achieve 'balance' across a
 schedule. This need not necessarily be focussed narrowly on an issue like libraries, you could consider broader approaches such as a discussion of local government priorities, residents priorities, national public spending cuts effect on locale. I suspect you will always get into diffs with single issues when those either for or against are poor communicators but you could say on air that an invitation was sent to the local county council and they did not reply, were not available etc.... if a majority of people in your community are opposed to library closures and those carrying out the closures have a poor record of communication, that is not your fault. It is the reality of what is happening in your community and you are reflecting that .....discussing positive ways forward, opening up dialogue and involving the community and its elected representatives should help your listeners to see that you are attempting to be
 impartial....

On 10 Jan 2011, at 14:02, Julian Mellor wrote:
A question for you hive of minds:
Under Ofcom rules we have to show due impartiality, give air to differing opinions etc.
But how does that impact upon how we cover issues and decisions that will detrimentally impact upon the communities we serve?
To illustrate this:  our local county council wants to close 20 or its 34 libraries, including the one in our town.  Via our website we have been very vocal in our opposition to the closures, although on air we are giving coverage to both sides of the argument (although the County are pretty hopeless at coming forth to communicate!)  Some of our Directors are a little bit twitchy about this, thinking that we
 shouldn't come out for one side or the other, whether on air or off air.
Is there a definitive line on what we can / can't do in this multi-platform world?  And what do others do?
Many thanks
Julian
 ................................................................................
10Radio: community radio for the 10 parishes105.3fmhttp://www.10radio.org
West StWiveliscombeSomersetTA4 2JP
JM tel: 01984 623 104Studio and office tel: 01984 624 137
10Radio CIC Registered Office: 1 Croft Cottage, West St, Wiveliscombe, Somerset, TA4 2JPRegistered in England and Wales Number: 6004252 
_______________________________________________

cma-l mailing list - cma-l at commedia.org.uk

Community Media Association - www.commedia.org.uk
_______________________________________________

To manage your mailing list subscription please visit:
http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/cma-l

Marilyn HyndmanNorthern Visions/NvTv23 Donegall StreetBelfastBT1 2FF
Tel: 028 9024 5495 ext 207Fax: 028 9032 6608
NvTv Belfast Community TelevisionFree-to-Air on Channel 62/Freq:799.276MHzLive on line: www.nvtv.co.uk
www.northernvisions.org

-----Inline Attachment Follows-----

_______________________________________________

cma-l mailing list - cma-l at commedia.org.uk

Community Media Association - www.commedia.org.uk
_______________________________________________

To manage your mailing list subscription please visit:
http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/cma-l

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/pipermail/cma-l/attachments/20110110/cb076210/attachment.html>