School of Economics, London. Who Is the Community in Community Radio?

Despite the enthusiasm for community-owned radio, a movement which has been steadily gaining pace since the implementation of new legislation of 2006, we are yet to find an understanding of who the community is in community radio. Through an extended case study, this analysis shows how “community participation ” is constantly shifting. It presents three arguments: “community ” is not a discrete entity; communities are dynamic; and communities are cognitive constructs. Following the decision of the Supreme Court in 1996 that the “airwaves are public property”, and the implemen-tation of new guidelines for non-governmental orga-nisation (NGO)-owned community radio in November 2006, the movement for community radio has been rapidly gaining momentum in India. In 2011, it was estimated that 82 com-munity radios were operational in India, with a further 121 having signed the “grant of permission agreement ” with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.1 It is frequently stated that community radio is the most relevant form of media for socially excluded groups, due to its lower techno-logical cost (both of the station and receiver sets), low literacy levels required, and therefore, relatively low barriers to entr