Community Media - Modes of Community Media

Modes of Community Media

Community media is bound only by the limits of creativity and of course accessibility to resources and spectrum. Probably the first mode that is envisioned is content created for television. Public, educational, and government access (PEG) centers are still a viable option that offer an arena for citizens to produce, for example, a documentary or Local programming and disseminate it to the community. PEG centers are provided through Cable television franchise fees paid by cable TV (and more recently telco) companies to local municipalities. Although an accessible resource in terms of equipment, training, and spectrum, Public-access television centers are under attack by the telco and cableco companies to set new standards in cable franchise negotiations.

Satellite television has a long history and the technology has advanced to a point where it provides a residential alternative to cable and broadcasting services. While the services are similar, satellite TV opens up another avenue for community media content and productions. In particular, Free Speech TV offers a variety of programming with direct and tangible community media possibilities.

Radio has a long history in allowing communities to rally around various issues and provide a democratic and participatory platform of news information. Like television, radio is also subject to licensing requirements and spectrum availability. Radio is the most widespread electronic communications device in the world and community radio is a practical and cost-effective means of reaching and connecting the world's poorest communities (Rennie, 2006, p. 4). While many low power and microradio stations comply with the rules and regulations, other vibrant and vital stations have operated illegally only to be shut down by the FCC eventually.

Low-power television (LPTV) which was created in 1982 to give spectrum space for local programing is in some instances a form of community media. LPTV stations also often simply supply retransmission signals from the major networks, but they are a potential community media outlet. The introduction of digitized technology has created obstacles for both LPTV as well microradio due to the loss of spectrum availabity during periods of conversion. It remains to be seen how the switch from analog to digital will play out regarding community media (Rennie, 2006, p. 69).

The mode of community media that bypasses legal obstacles is print media. No special licensing is required to produce fanzines, newsletters, leaflets, etc. In societies where press freedoms are more repressed, print mediums may face some distributive challenges, but, given their underground nature, DIY projects find ways to reach the particular community often at relatively large scales.

Similar to satellite technology, the advancement of the digital environment that puts media production hardware, software, and equipment in the hands of the amateur consumer facilitates a virtual world of community expression. Essentially, the Internet is a space for the digital propagation of the aforementioned modalities of community media. For example, groups, organizations, and individuals can create video, audio, and text and graphics based media, upload it to the Internet, network it, and ultimately spark discussion, interaction, and real-life activities. Some examples are vlogs, blogs, audio and video podcasts, websites, and video and audio streaming. Rennie (2006) points out that the initial discourse around Internet technology emphasized the important potential for democracy and participation within global and real-time contexts. This "cyberdemocracy" was premised on the direct relationship between technology and the growth of civil society (p. 164). Clearly, in terms of community media, the implications were (and still are) exciting. The initial discourse, however, has been complicated by the market and commercial forces that threaten to alter the democratic and open virtual environment of the Internet into one targeted on consumption and profit. Obviously, this would change the strategies of community media on the Internet and make it even more vital as a countervailing influence.