"We are Community Builders, Part of The Fabric": A Review of Community Radio

2 INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH METHODS

Introduction and background

2.1 Having obtained an Ofcom licence, the first community radio station in the UK was launched in November 2005. Operating as small scale, not-for-profit radio services designed to deliver community benefits, a total of 196 stations are currently broadcasting in the UK (Ofcom, 2011b: 3).^[3] The Broadcasting and Creative Industries Policy Team at the Scottish Government commissioned this study to provide an overview of the community radio sector with a focus on Scotland specific circumstances. The research is intended to assist policy development in support of such services.

2.2 The Scottish Government has sought to support community radio by, for example, increasing the amount of advertising purchased through community radio by 48% in 2009/10 compared to the previous year. In addition to representing the sector by working closely with Ofcom and the UK Government, the Scottish Government has also commissioned this research to inform future policy options for the field.

Research aims and objectives

2.3 The purpose of the research was to provide an overview of current community radio provision with a specific focus on the Scottish sector. By providing evidence around the following questions the research is intended to help inform future actions in support of community radio provision in Scotland:

• What does community radio consist of generally and in Scotland specifically?
• What are the perceived benefits of taking part?
• What currently works well in terms of management, volunteering provision, training and delivery?
• What difficulties does the currently sector experience?
• What kind of support does the sector require and how can the Scottish Government and/or other partners assist?

What the research consisted of

2.4 The study consisted of two phases:

• A literature review looking at community radio in general
• Two Questback surveys and focus groups on community radio provision in Scotland specifically

2.5 In phase one a desk and internet based review of published literature on community radio in Britain and abroad was carried out. Literature was drawn from a range of sources detailed in Appendix one. This study is not a systematic review of all available literature but is intended to provide an overview of evidence on community radio provision, what it consists of, how it operates and what benefits result from it. The literature search was conducted by the Scottish Government Information Management Unit.

Research participants/respondents

2.6 The station manager survey received 11 responses from a possible 25 community radio stations and small scale independent local radio stations in Scotland. The survey was open to any individual who worked in a management capacity at their station either as a paid employee or volunteer.

Six of the 11 respondents worked or volunteered as station managers. A number of respondents indicated that they worked as a presenter (five), development manager (four), sales manager, engineer (three), and/or volunteer manager (two). A further four respondents worked as project director, chairman and/or licencee.

2.7 Of the 11 participating station managers, three were full-time paid workers and one was part-time paid. A further three worked full-time as unpaid volunteers and there were also four part-time volunteers. In addition to the four paid station managers detailed above, respondents indicated that there were also a further seven full-time workers at their radio stations. These full-time jobs were supported by a further five paid part-time workers. Another two posts were not specified as either full or part-time. Three respondents indicated that they did not have any paid staff at their station at the present time and a further three gave a negative response that was inconclusive.

2.8 The volunteer survey received 91 responses. Volunteers frequently undertake more than one role at their radio stations. The majority (96%) had a presenting role and 40% were also involved in producing. Other roles included general volunteering, fundraising, journalism and engineering. Respondents also volunteered as board and trustee members.

2.9 Preliminary analysis was undertaken on data from the surveys prior to the focus groups in order to help frame and focus the sessions. The aim of the focus groups was to elicit further responses to the research questions and provide participants with an opportunity to discuss more fully the kind of support they believe is required and to suggest how they think this could be achieved. In such a way the focus groups assessed the current position whilst also engaging participants in shaping potential solutions and defining the future direction of the field.

2.10 Two focus groups were held, one with community radio station managers and one with volunteers. There were 26 participants. An invitation to take part was emailed to all community radio station managers in Scotland from the Scottish Community Broadcasting (SCBN) circulation list. Managers were asked to pass on the email to as many volunteers as possible.

2.11 It should be noted that due to the small sample size, findings from the station manager survey should not be regarded as generalisable. The station manager focus group does provide additional insight which strengthens reporting on these participants.

2.12 The main findings from the literature review and station manager survey and focus group are discussed in chapters three and four respectively, and those from the volunteer survey and focus group are examined in chapter five. The report ends with a summary of findings and concluding thoughts and suggestions in support of community radio provision in Scotland.