Gaynor, Niamh and O'Brien, Anne
(2012)
Because it all begins with talk: Community radio as a vital element in
community development.
Community Development Journal, 47 (3).
pp. 436-447.
ISSN 0010-3802
Abstract
With a similar set of principles underpinning the ethos and practice of
both community development and community radio, we might expect
to find close linkages between community development projects and
their local community stations. This article explores this supposition
in the context of community radio stations and community
development projects in four regions in Ireland and finds, contrary to
expectations, linkages between both sectors to be relatively weak.
Exploring the reasons for this, we argue that the increased and
extensive incursion of the state into the community sphere has
resulted in both a sectoralization of community institutions and the
hegemonization of a service ethos where, in a move away from the
core principles of community development, the emphasis has moved
to working ‘for’ and not ‘with’ communities. Paradoxically, we find
that the state plays a positive role in its regulatory function within
community stations, opening the space for real and effective
community management and control of local public spheres. In the
context of the profound marginalization of local communities from
mainstream public discourse, we urge community activists to seize the
opportunities presented by local stations to open the space for
community debate, deliberation and resistance, re-animating and
revitalizing local public spheres.
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