Community Media - Historical Context

Historical Context

The nascent impetus for community media analysis stemmed from the efforts to "democratize" the media (Rennie, 2006, p. 17). The corporate controlled media and its adjacent interests were as much of an issue in the late 60s and 70s as they are today. The actual realization of community media outlets was hindered by clashes with both private and governmental sectors. The potential empowerment in the hands of local citizens and the possibilities to effect change became embedded in the social fabric and has been fought for ever since. Rennie (2006) describes how the birth of community television and radio in the United States made the concept of community media synonymous with the principle of free speech (p. 48). It is important to frame the historical development of community media around cable TV Public-access television and community radio (although print was certainly a widespread means of community communication) in the United States and Canada. Radio, in fact, has a long and significant history especially in the United States. Community radio, however, has had to strategize differently than Public-access television since radio spectrum is licensed at the federal level by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) rather than through municipal franchise agreements.

The first Public-access television station in the United States considered to be community media was set up in 1968 in Dale City, Virginia. It was managed by the city's Junior Chamber of Commerce and ran programming for two years without advertising. It closed due to lack of financing, equipment, and infrastructure. (p. 5). Another early example of community media is found in the counter-culture video collectives of the 1960s and 1970s.

Videofreex, Video Free America, and Global Village used new technologies to the benefit of community interests. In addition, the Raindance Corporation founded by Michael Shamberg, Paul Ryan, and others became known as "guerrilla television." The premise of guerrilla television was to non-violently blaze a new trail for the creation of media as an alternative to broadcast television. This initial activity was made possible by Sony's introduction of the video Porta-Pak (Olson, 2000, p. 6).

In New York City in 1970 two cable companies agreed to franchises in the borough of Manhattan. The two Public-access television channels were soon cablecasting 200 hours of programming per week to a potential audience of 80,000 subscribers.

Canada also has a central role in the development of community media and is by many considered the birthplace of community broadcasting (Rennie, 2006, p. 48). In the 1960s, the National Film Board of Canada set up a project called Challenge for Change which was a series of documentary films addressing socio-economic issues. Once again Sony's Porta-Pak proved revolutionary in Canada as well. In 1968, filmmakers Bonny Klein and Dorothy He`naut persuaded Challenge for Change to take on more local community issues. During the same year they trained members of the St. Jacques Citizens' Committee in video production. The committee went into the Montreal slums and captured interview footage with poor people and then presented the video in public meetings for discussion (Olson, 2000, p. 4).

Community radio also has a pivotal role historically as a community media outlet. Its history dates back to amateur radio organizations that formed in 1906 (Rennie, 2006, p. 62). From a historical perspective, the seminal example of community radio is Lewis Hill's Pacifica Radio. KPFA in Berkeley, California began broadcasting in 1949 after acquiring an FCC license for FM spectrum. This first Pacifica station was funded through listener support and philanthropic foundations. Pacifica's mandate, that Hill expressed as "to engage in any activity that shall contribute to the lasting understanding between nations and between the individuals of all nations, races, creeds, and colors," has served to frame the community media movement through its historical and technological development (Rennie, 2006 p. 64).

The historical context of community media which focuses on Public-access television and community radio in the United States and Canada also extends to other models all over the world. England, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, just to name a few, all have particular models community media platforms. The context for the development of community media in Europe, however, is different than North America. Kleinsteuber and Sonnenberg (1990) point out that community television and radio in Europe arose "from criticism of a monopolistic public service system that was considered out of touch (as cited in Rennie, 2006, p. 78). The two main themes that were the driving force of community media in Europe were the breakdown and decentralization of this monopoly structure and the threat of amateur media to the public service monolith. The experimental period of community media expression in Europe began in the 1970s after North American Public-access television was underway. It was therefore seen as a model but also understood that the media environments were structurally different (Rennie, 2006, p. 82).

A powerful community media example external to both North America and Europe is the Bolivian Miners' Radio of the 1940s. The station was established by the local miner's union and became an important tool for communication, resistance, and educational and cultural expression (Rennie, 2006, p. 17).

People are constantly making community media if one broadens the conceptualization of the term.

Community media is particularly evident when individuals face circumstances that test the human capacity to bond and connect. The organizational structures are different but the intent to get an idea out is exactly the same in all cases. Regardless of the issue and politics, citizens want to have an arena to express their ideas to others. This is the essence of a democratic society and the basis for the existence of community media in all its current forms.