The changing context of community radio

Abstract

The modern-day concept of community radio, as a subset of wider community media (sometimes referred to as alternative media) , relates to an international phenomenon with roots dating back to the immediate post-war period. Over time, its objectives and defining characteristics have evolved through practice and have gradually come to be codified though the work of a combination of practitioners, academics and regulators. Predating the digital and social media era (see Lewis 1984) , community radio, particularly in the twenty-first century, has witnessed not only a variety of evolving challenges, but also a range of emerging opportunities within a changing media landscape. Here, the inter-relationships between community radio and society are considered, particularly in relation to how community services can justify their existence through the provision of a broad range of community benefits. This chapter also considers the relationship between community radio and other forms of broadcast radio.