airtime to create and run short social messages. When cigarette advertising was banned on electronic media in Nepal, the health ministry offered funds to stations to run health warnings about the dangers of smoking. Radio Sagarmatha and other stations in Kathmandu also ran short, creatively produced messages that were underwritten by a public health company, to create public awareness about HIV. In Chimoio, Mozambique, the day after a community radio station broadcast an interview with a person living with HIV, 32 people went to the voluntary testing and counselling centre double the daily average.
Airtime sales and trade exchanges Another strategy that has worked well for South African stations is airtime sales, where blocks of airtime were sold to another organisation. The local university law programme ran an on-air legal aid clinic; and the Institute for Democracy in Southern Africa (Idasa) slotted a programme on democracy and local governance. In these cases the presenters and producers would become members of the station, and receive technical training before going on- air. However, the station should make sure that the content does not come into conflict with the station’s principles. In cases where there is potential mutual benefit, media and business can barter or trade their services without any cash changing hands. Bush Radio runs trade exchanges with local newspapers– advertising them on air, while the papers print programme schedules.
In-house infrastructure and potential Community radio stations can use the in-house infrastructure in various ways. Bush Radio has successfully run training courses on ‘How to use the media effectively’ for various organisations. Stations could also consider equipment rental, studio and premises rental, and consultancies to business and social organisations. The other innovative income generating projects are as follows: • Community events and remote broadcasts: Funds can be raised by bringing together members of a community for specific events e.g. Community Radio Madanpokhara sponsored a folksong festival in which competing groups paid a fee to perform. Bush Radio offers exclusive advertising to local companies who fund outside or remote broadcasts in specific areas. For example, during the summer, cell phone companies sponsor broadcasts on the beach to promote safety (high alcohol consumption often results in drowning). • Promotional items: Items such as T-shirts, caps, and bags may not generate huge amounts, but can generate publicity. During the war on Iraq, Bush Radio printed a T-shirt, which carried the slogan ‘Bush Against War’ (pun intended). The T-shirt was so popular that several new batches had to be ordered. Bush Radio also sells a wire radio to international supporters, produced by a local women’s cooperative and dubbed ‘The Bush Radio’. • Internships: With a growing scholarly interest in community broadcasting, Bush Radio ‘sells’ internships to foreign (predominantly European and North American) journalism students, who have to conduct a mandatory internship as part of their studies. Similarly, Kothmale CR is the site of regular internships from university journalism departments in Columbo, and the station receives payment for internships.
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Donor funding and the role of governments Given that the shortage of funding is often used to justify the centralised broadcasting paradigm, participatory broadcasting should leave room for third- party and non-governmental assistance with funding. The operative condition should, however, build enough tolerance into the budgetary assistance process to allow the recipient community radio stations to eventually appropriate the financial management of the outlets. Remarkably, South Africa’s fledgling community radio sector has attracted the interest of a consortium of local and international donors, whose funds have sponsored start-up budgets, training, and the purchase of broadcast equipment. The Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA) is credited with having given the utmost support to the sector. Between 1995 and 2000, OSF-SA gave a grant support of about R 15 million (USD 2.1) to community radio stations. A large part of the grants went towards equipment purchase, planning and development, programme production and training. Though the OSF-SA uses a hands-on approach that includes ongoing and non-financial support, its modus operandi includes stepping back at a point when self-sustenance is realistically expected.Further, many activists argue that governments should share responsibility the same way they fund libraries or the National Orchestra.
Some thoughts on social sustainability While the issue of financial sustainability is paramount, it is also necessary for stations to sustain themselves in other ways – a station that has enough funding, but not sufficient well produced local quality programming, or one which is well resourced but cannot hold listeners, will not be able to sustain itself for long. • Programme production: Audiences globally no longer accept programmes, which are not ‘professionally’ produced. The challenge for community radio is to professionalise programming without losing the values of access, participation, and empowerment. What is key here is to research the airwaves, and be able to provide a unique and locally relevant service. Some stations have also begun to depend on programmes produced internationally or by independent production houses. The key is to localise such programmes, which are produced for a more generalised audience. • Audience research and development: There is also a strong link between programme development and audience research and development. Stations cannot be sustainable if their audiences do not feel a sense of ownership in the station. Stations need to conduct community mapping and low cost participatory audience research projects in order to produce appropriate programming. • Volunteerism and community participation: The need for community participation at all stages of a development initiative has been widely recognised since the late 1970s. Sustainability of a radio station depends on a core of staff members, who are usually volunteers. In South Africa, volunteers tend to be unemployed or unskilled, and after receiving training at community stations are then often poached by other organisations or radio stations, where they actually receive a i4d | April 2007 | Vol. V No. 4