Media
In small-scale tight-knit cultures, the information people need to make important decisions can be transmitted orally, person to person. In our increasingly globalized societies, much of the information we need comes via the media. When the media is controlled by profit-seeking corporations, we hear about international celebrities, distant disasters, isolated acts of violence, and the theater of left-right politics. But we rarely get meaningful information about the place where we actually live. Combined with the corrosive influence of advertising, mass media thus works to turn diverse cultures into bland copies of a global monoculture. For these reasons, we should do what we can to build up and support local, place-based media.
The digital economy has led to a steep decline in small local newspapers, depriving people of solid reporting about their own communities. Set up a local news organization to help fill the gap.
Take action
- Start a nonprofit news organization, whether online, print, or podcast, with The Institute for Nonprofit News' guide Starting a Nonprofit News Organization (US).
- Learn to disseminate local news effectively online with the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy's Playbook for Launching a Local, Nonprofit News Outlet (US).
- Create a hyperlocal publication with help from the UK charity Nesta's toolkit, the Survivors Guide to Hyperlocal Media. It is based on the lessons learned by the editors of the hyperlocal newspaper Kentishtowner (UK).
Get inspired
- Cape Town Community Television in South Africa proves that local media can strengthen community while connecting people to the broader world. The station covers hard news from the Cape Town region, gives marginalized communities a voice, airs programs for and by young people, and screens documentary films from around the world. The station reaches 2.7 million people each month.
- After the 2008 financial collapse, most newspapers across the United States were cutting reporting staff to the bone. But the news site VTDigger, launched in 2009, bucked those trends by focusing entirely on issues and events of importance to the state of Vermont. Over the years it has earned a reputation for solid reporting, and is thriving: in a state with a population of just 625,000, the daily online news source has 300,000 monthly users.
In-depth, critical news coverage about corporate power is getting harder to find, as is news about the multitude of inspiring local initiatives emerging all over the world. Nonprofit public-interest news organizations and media outlets help fill this gap and play an indispensable role in generating an informed and engaged citizenry.
Take action
- Find news sources that provide reasoned, fact-based critiques of the global economy, and real-life stories of positive change, with Local Futures' list of Independent Media Sources.
- Find a community radio station near you with Wikipedia's lists of community radio stations in the US, Canada, and the UK, and the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia's page Find a Station.
- Find local and regional newspapers in any country using Online Newspapers' directory of newspapers.
Get inspired
- First Nations Experience is "the first and only national broadcast television network in the United States exclusively devoted to Native American and World Indigenous content," and is currently broadcast to 25 US states.
- Cape Town Community Television in South Africa proves that local media can strengthen community while connecting people to the broader world. The station covers hard news from the Cape Town region, gives marginalized communities a voice, airs programs for and by young people, and screens documentary films from around the world. The station reaches 2.7 million people each month.
The radio spectrum is a public commons, and we should all have the right to use it – not just governments and well-funded corporations. While many countries allows citizens to set up a public radio station, each has its own rules. While this Guide can’t offer an exhaustive descriptions of the process everywhere, we do offer a few examples. You should be able to find detailed guidelines from the government or community radio association where you live.
Take action
- While the US Federal Communications Commission has not accepted new applications for low-power transmitters since 2013, many people hope that the situation will change in the near future. Check out the Prometheus Project to stay informed.
- For rules on community radio in the UK, see Ofcom's page Apply for a Radio Broadcast License.
- In India, community radio stations are licensed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which presents the steps required in the 10-minute video How to set up a Community Radio Station.
- Read an overview of the status and licensing requirements in more than 20 additional countries with Wikipedia's entry on Community Radio.
Get inspired
- The Association of Community Access Broadcasters in New Zealand is a group of 11 community radio stations that receive government funding, operate locally and independently, and air programming that reflects diverse beliefs and underrepresented voices.
- Central Vermont Community Radio (CVCR) is the new non-profit organization managing the independent Vermont radio station WGDR in the US. The station was previously run by Goddard College, which is handing full control of the station to the local community.
The airwaves were once considered a commons, owned by all. Today, they are largely controlled by deep-pocketed corporations, governments, and the military. Making the airwaves more accessible to smaller players would loosen the grip of established telecom corporations, and expand the diversity of voices in the media.
Take action
- To learn more, read this article on The Rise and Fall of Broadcasting as a Commons.
- In the United States, telecom companies often buy the rights to a portion of the spectrum at auction, but only use it in densely populated areas where the financial returns are highest. So-called "use-it-or-share-it" proposals call for spectrum sharing – a policy shift that would lower barriers to entry for smaller businesses. Details are in the paper Use it or Share It: A New Default Policy for Spectrum Management by Michael Calabrese of the Open Technology Institute.
- Although written in 2003, this Citizen's Guide to the Airwaves is still relevant today. It explains in graphic form how one of the most valuable commons has been enclosed, and what can be done about it.