Innovations in Community Radio

…………You do not have to look for them. They are there, 24X7, beaming like radio waves all around you. Put up the antenna, turn up the volume - snap... crackle... this just in, every person you talk to is a chance to change the world...........

But, a chance is needed to innovate, an environment is needed to change, a voice is needed to listen. A decade back, a chance was needed to air the voice of the voiceless. Now it is there. Now the Community Radio (CR) needs new initiatives and innovations to become the most powerful communication medium in a democratic political architecture.

CR has its unique value in the society. It provides a platform where members of a community or communities can discuss their problems, issues and exchange views. It develops a sense of belonging among the members of a community. CR is already recognized as one of the most low cost media, especially suitable to reach remote communities and disadvantaged group of people -- the illiterates, the disabled, women, the poor, while offering a platform to intervene in the public debate, irrespective of people’s educational, financial and social level. Being a participatory communication medium, CR can be instrumental in making the voices of the underprivileged and marginalized sections of society heard. CR has played a crucial role in creating awareness among people and informing citizens about their rights and entitlements.

A research on Innovations in Community Radio are available at the website of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, which is prepared by CEMCA. The main focus has been given in the research on the innovative practices of the community radios scattered in nook and corner of the country. Emphasis has also given to classify the possible innovations in the sector and a list of areas on innovation has been identified. This endeavor would open up new paths to create a robust community radio environment in the country.

For detail, you may visit- 
http://mib.nic.in/ShowDocs.aspx 
http://www.slideshare.net/ankurandutta/ankuran-cr-innovation
https://oasis.col.org/handle/11599/2448

Cite the book as-
APA
Dutta, A. (2014). Innovations in Community Radio: With Special Reference to India (2nd ed.). S. Mishra (Ed.). Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia, New Delhi.

MLA
Dutta, Ankuran. Innovations in Community Radio: With Special Reference to India. Edited by Sanjaya Mishra, 2nd ed., Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia, 2014. https://oasis.col.org/handle/11599/2448.

Defining 'Community'

Defining the term community is a complex concern, with various diverging perspectives and outlooks. How can we define the term 'community' in a simplest yet most comprehensive way? As we try to understand the term with a slightly different approach it’s observed ‘community’ comprises of two distinct yet intricately imbibed phrases- Commons and Unity (Common(s) + Unity = Community)  

Commons, simply refers to people or masses, and unity stands for the state or feature of being one, uniformity, being in accord, harmony with one another or towards a particular cause. So, Community is a group of people with unification of some specific genre, may be geographical, political, economic, cultural, identity real or virtual. For example, a Facebook or other social network’s community is a virtual community. Similarly, the concept 'C3' finds its bases primarily on geographical community. But it may also be identified with socio-cultural identity!

(http://www.slideshare.net/CEMCA/community-video).

Cite this definition as-
APA
Dutta, A., & Ray, A. (2014, October 12). Defining 'Community'. Community Communications. Retrieved March 16, 2020, from https://www.comcomm.org/2014/10/defining-community.html

MLA
Dutta, Ankuran, and Anamika Ray. "Defining 'Community'." Community Communications, 12 Oct. 2014, www.comcomm.org/2014/10/defining-community.html. Accessed 16 Mar. 2020.