[CMA_Radioforum] Form mary -community v access

[Nicky Edmonds]

(forwarded from Mary Dowson)


Hi everyone,  
How's it going? I know you are all busy preparing submissions to Anthony
Everitt and in this context I would like you to consider lobbying for
the term Community Radio rather than Access Radio. We are all
accommodating this term 'Access' but this is our opportunity to try and
persuade Anthony to put 'Community' into his report and reclaim the term
Community Radio. I'm sure his recommendations will influence the DCMS
and so far he is saying it should be called Access Radio. So speak up
now if you want to! 

Below are a few thoughts for you to consider:

Best wishes to you all

Mary Dowson


What's in a name...Community v Access:

- "community radio" is a strong brand, widely recognised and which
implies 
"social purpose", "community-based", "social enterprise", "community
arts".

- "access radio" is a weak brand, poorly understood, requires
explaining, 
can mean different things to different people and is confusing. It
implies 
"limited concession", "not a right but a privilege", "access without
purpose".

- "community radio" and "community media" are now widely understood by 
public and private funding agencies and regeneration organisations. The
use 
of the term "community radio" in licensing will have a direct beneficial

economic effect on the success of the sector by ensuring that it is easy
to 
explain to funders and policy makers. The term "access radio" has
already 
had and will have detrimental effect.

- as the concepts of "community radio" and "community media" enter the 
mainstream, other organisations are seeking to stake a claim that they
are 
involved in "community media/radio" where previously they had shown no 
interest (eg BBC). This poses a direct economic threat to community
radio 
organisations through competition for funds, especially from public
funding 
sources.

- the term "access radio" was brought into use as a face-saving device
to 
enable acceptance of the case for community radio without acknowledging 
having done so. It was described as being distinctly different from 
community radio yet it has been (in all but name) precisely what 
campaigners for community radio sought.

- the campaign for "community radio" in the UK dates back to the early 
eighties when government first acknowledged there was demand for the 
sector. It is perverse to finally meet that demand but to call it
something 
different and to give no historical acknowledgement to thousands of 
community radio pioneers.

- Community Radio is a globally understood term in public discourse, in 
policy and in academia. Many books have been written about it and it 
appears in official policy documents of multilateral institutions such
as 
the World Bank and UNESCO

- an Internet search throws up 10 times as many entries for "community 
radio" compared to "access radio" and most of the latter are accidental 
combinations like "if you want access, radio will not always give you
it".

- The only English language speaking country, that uses the term "access

radio" is New Zealand. "Community radio" is used in law and/or
regulation 
in Canada, USA, Ireland, South Africa and Australia and is widely used
in 
the english speaking countries of Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the
Caribbean.

- although there are some variances in the precise legal wording of 
definitions of "community radio", the main characteristics (community
led, 
not-for-profit, social purpose, community access) are commonly held and 
widely understood.




Visit the Community Media Association!
        http://www.commedia.org.uk

Telephone 0114  279 5219
Email nicky at commedia.org.uk

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