Community Radios Stations - Research Proposal Example

Community radio stations are a key to this role, initiating local democracy and addressing local issues in the process. Community radio is，“the prime medium of the poor as it leaps the boundaries of illiteracy and isolation.” (Fraser & Estrada, 2001). Moreover, it is the most affordable electronic medium with which to both broadcast and receive. Ultimately, through community radio, the ordinary people can “participate in communication processes and consensus-building about issues that affect the lives.

” (Fraser & Estrada, 2001, p.1). As will be discussed later, community radio ensures access, participation, self-management, community mandate, and accountability for the community members. (Tabing, 2002).According to Fraser and Estrada (2001), the notion that radio will be replaced by more sophisticated communication technologies, such as TV, is unfounded, arguing that radio is in an ever continual expansion. Indeed, by 2001, there were over 20,000 radio stations worldwide, a growth largely recorded in the last two decades leading to the new millennium.

At the same time, community radio also experienced significant growth and rising popularity. Fraser and Estrada (2001) attribute this to the processes of democratization and decentralization in many places across the world, the deregulation of the media, and the increasingly relaxed monopolies by state institutions.The new millennium has also seen its own share of growth in community radios. However, there are inconsistencies. For community radios to perform their primary roles, they must abide by certain principles (that is, in programming and program-specific content) (Thyagarajan, 2013).

But this is where community radio has lost much of its essence. The new millennium has seen a strong shift towards the media's globalization (Fenton, 2010). In this regard, the content of programs has mainly focused on the commercial advantages, with many so-called community radios shifting more towards the mainstream character.