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

3 LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

3.1 While some information to answer the research question was available at a UK-wide level, principally through Ofcom Annual Reports, Scotland specific research was required to improve our knowledge of the field. By undertaking a literature review the study examined:

• Legislation, funding, programming, volunteering and training structures
• Listener numbers and profiles
• Standards, benefits and working with others
• Common support needs
• International perspectives

3.2 The following sections provide an overview of community radio provision in the UK, looking specifically at structures, listeners, impacts and benefits, and support needs. The penultimate section draws on international examples in order to illuminate alternative forms of practice. The conclusion highlights evidence deficiencies in the current literature and identifies future research questions for phase two.

Legislation

3.3 Community radio has been around in Britain since the 1960s in the form of temporary restricted licences (Clayton and McDonald, 2006: 6). Although the 1990 Broadcasting act did not provide for the introduction of full-time community radio services it did allow for the provision of temporary short-term broadcasting licenses and long-term very low power services for closed establishments such as hospitals and universities (Hellitt & Wilson, 2010: 5). Short and long term 'Restricted Service Licences' (RSLs) remain popular today with a significant number of temporary broadcasts taking place each year. Current UK community radio regulation was developed in conjunction with the sector and was marked by the launch of fifteen temporary experimental stations in 2001/2 (ibid: 1). Known as 'Access Radio' stations, they were intended to develop the concept and model of community radio in the UK. Having reached the end of their temporary licences, a number of these stations received extensions and later became fully licensed community radio stations. Section 262 of the Communications Act 2003, subsequently provided powers under secondary legislation for radio services which would provide for the good of members of the public or of a particular community, rather than for commercial reasons (HM Government, 2003: Section 262 (2) a & b). This legislation enabled the establishment of community radio services whilst also establishing the Community Radio Fund.

3.4 The Community Radio Order 2004 (CRO 2004) built on the requirements of Section 105 of the 1990 Broadcasting Act (BA 1990) which itself sets out what Ofcom has to consider when assessing applications for commercial radio licences (Ibid: 3). The CRO 2004 also requires Ofcom to consider additional factors such as an applicant's ability to deliver 'social gain' (community benefits), ensure accountability and provide access to facilities (ibid). ^[4] This specific permanent legislation was followed by two rounds of licensing for community radio stations. A third round of licensing commenced in April 2011(Ofcom, 2011b: 3).

Structure and licensing

3.5 Community radio operates as a third tier alongside the BBC and commercial radio channels.^[5] In its response to the House of Lords Select Committee on communications Report into the Digital Switchover of Television and Radio, the UK Government state that it "recognises that a strong local and community radio tier is an important part of a healthy local media sector" (DCMS, 2010a: 3). The UK Government response to the Commons Select Committee, Culture, Media and Sport Committee report on the Future for Local and Regional Media states that the provision of hyper-local content which is specifically relevant to local audiences should be actively encouraged (DCMS, 2010b: 9). In this response the Government also welcomed the upgrade to DAB which will enable the development of a new tier of hyper-local community radio to occupy the FM spectrum vacated by larger stations (ibid).

3.6 Of the 231 licensed community radio stations, 169 are in England, 12 in Northern Ireland, 18 in Scotland and nine in Wales (Ofcom, 2011b: 8-9). Scotland also has seven small scale independent local radio stations.^[6] Table one provides details on the 18 licensed radio stations in Scotland.

Table one - licensed community radio stations broadcasting in Scotland

Station	Location	Category of target community	Annual report
3TFM Community Radio for Health	Saltcoats, Ayrshire	Health promotion	Yes
Alive Radio	Dumfries	Religious	Yes
Awaz FM	Central Glasgow	BME	Yes
Black Diamond FM	Midlothian	Geographic - urban	Yes
Brick FM	St Boswells, Borders	Geographic - town/rural	Yes
Bute FM	Rothesay, Isle of Bute	Geographic - town/rural	Yes
Celtic Music Radio	Glasgow	Music - Scottish	Yes
Dunoon CR	Dunoon	Geographic - town/rural	Yes
Edinburgh Garrison FM	Edinburgh	Military	Yes
Insight Radio	West Glasgow	Disability group	Yes
Leith FM	Edinburgh	Geographic - urban	Yes
Mearns FM	Mearns, Aberdeenshire	Geographic - town/rural	Yes
Pulse CR	Barrhead, East Renfrewshire	Geographic - town/rural	Yes
Revival Radio	Glasgow	Religious	Yes
shmuFM	Aberdeen	Geographic - urban	Yes
Speysound Radio	Badenoch & Strathspey		Yes
Sunny Govan Radio	Govan, Glasgow	Geographic - urban	Yes
The Super Station Orkney	Orkney	Geographic - town/rural	Yes

Source: Community Radio: Annual report on the sector: 20010/11, London: Ofcom, 2011b: 12 & 52-57.

3.7 Demand for licences has outstripped supply and in August 2010 121 of the 200 second round applicants in the UK were given a license (Ofcom, 2010a: 6). Over 230 expressions of interest were received for a potential third licensing round. This was subsequently confirmed and applications for the third round of licensing in Scotland should be submitted in March 2012.

Accountability

3.8 The characteristics of community radio services in the UK and the definition of social gain are laid out in the 2004 legislation (amended in Jan 2010).
Services must:

• Be for the good of the public
• Deliver social gain
• Serve specific communities
• Be non-profit making
• Provide managerial and operational opportunities for target community members
• Be accountable to the community concerned (Ofcom, 2011b: 34)

3.9 Four mandatory social gain objectives are defined by the legislation. These require stations to:

• Serve underserved groups
• Facilitate discussion and the expression of opinion
• Provide education or training
• Strengthen links within and facilitate better understanding of a particular community (ibid)

3.10 In addition to the four mandatory social gain objectives, many stations also commit to further objectives of a social nature such as those outlined in the CRO 2004. These include delivery of services provided by local authorities, the promotion of employment/work experience, economic development, social inclusion, cultural and linguistic diversity, and civic participation and volunteering (Ofcom, 2010a: 36).

3.11 Ofcom (2011b: 12) states that "Each community radio station has a set of 'key commitments' which forms part of its licence" and sets out how it will meet these characteristics and deliver social gain". Accountability to the community, ensuring access, programming aims and other social gain objectives such as training provision are laid out within these 'key commitments'. Performance should in large part be judged relative to this. Appendix two outlines the key commitments of Scottish community radio stations.

3.12 Stations operating for over a year are also required to complete an annual report. Ofcom checks each station's annual key commitments report against the promises made in its licence to ensure key commitments are being met (Ofcom, 2010a: 30). The regulator also listens to individual station's output through a process of 'content sampling'.

Income

3.13 The average (mean) community radio station income in the UK is £63,000 of which grant funding accounts for 37%, on-air advertising or sponsorship for 21%, donations for 12% and Service Level Agreements for 11% and other (such as membership schemes and fundraising events) for 6% (Ofcom, 2011b: 14-15). According to Ofcom (2011b: 22), average income is much higher in Scotland than the sector average and income from Service Level Agreements is almost treble the sector average. While the sector average for donations is 12%, in Scotland donations account for 39% of income (ibid).

3.14 Public sources of funding currently account for around 25% of total station income in the UK (Ofcom, 2011b: 18). This has dropped year-on-year since 2007/08, with a 12% decrease from 2009/10 to 2010/11 (ibid). In 2010/11 public funding of community radio stations in the UK consisted of 3% from the Community Radio Fund, 8% from other public bodies such as the Arts Council, national lottery awards, health and education providers, and 13% from local authorities (Ofcom, 2011b: 19). The remaining 75% of income was derived from non-public sources (ibid).

3.15 Community radio stations are not permitted to generate more than 50% of their annual income from the sale of on-air advertising or sponsorship (Ofcom, 2011b: 14). In 2008 Ofcom drew up guidelines for community radio stations wishing to take into account volunteer time when calculating their annual turnover (Ofcom, 2008). The average value of an hour's volunteering is calculated as £13.13 for senior volunteers and £9.38 for standard volunteers (Ofcom, 2011b: 14). The average value of in-kind support was £73,000 in 2010/11 (up £44,000 on the last reporting period) (Ofcom, 2011b: 17).^[7] This has helped stations to avoid breaching the single source income limit requirement. Stations must be non-profit distributing and any produced profit should be used to improve the service or delivery of social gain.

3.16 Income across individual stations in the UK ranged from less than £1,500 to over £550,000 (Ofcom, 2011b: 14). Four stations earned more than £250,000 (ibid). Stations serving a general urban audience report an average income of close to £90,000 compared to the sector average of around £63,000 (Ofcom, 2011b: 20). Mean income for UK stations has dropped by 19% since 2009/10 (Ofcom, 2011b: 14).^[8]

3.17 Stations cost on average around £64,500 (- 13% on 2009/10) to run and although they roughly break even, the highest deficit in the UK was reported as close to £90,000 (Ofcom, 2011b: 31). Almost 50% of running costs are for staff expenditure (Ofcom, 2011b: 27). In response to concern about cuts to public finance and diminishing advertising revenue, Hewllitt and Wilson (2010: 28) suggest it may be possible to pass over a share of any top-sliced revenues from the Television Licence Fee to small-scale not-for-profit broadcasters rather than subsidise commercial radio.

The Community Radio Fund

3.18 The Community Radio Fund is one of the most significant sources of public funding for community radio in Britain. Local authority funding also remains significant, as do other sources of public funding such as the Welsh Assembly Community Radio Fund and bodies such as the Arts Council in England. The community Radio Fund is administered by Ofcom on behalf of the DCMS. The fund is intended to help support the core costs of running a community radio station and in particular to provide for areas of work which are otherwise difficult to secure alternative funding for. Long term sustainability, core activities and innovation are priorities. There is no limit on the amount which can be applied for but priority is given to those who have not previously received the award.

3.19 The DCMS is providing up to £500,000 a year for the Fund which has been confirmed up to 2014/15 (Ofcom, 2011a: 2). Ofcom awarded £459,992 to 29 stations in the UK over two rounds of funding in 2009/10 (Ofcom, 2010b: 2). Applications amounted to £2,077,123 for both rounds and the average award payment was for £15,861 (Ofcom, 2010b: 6). 3TFM in North Ayreshire and Bute FM both received awards in 2009/10. The former was for a fundraising officer to support the SCBN and the latter was for a station manager.

3.20 Ofcom carried out a public consultation on the management and administration of the Fund in 2005, proposing a light touch approach to its operation as well as representation from the Community Media Association on the grant awarding panel. Ofcom report that Funds typically generate two to three times the income received in the form of further grants and advertising to UK stations (Ofcom, 2010: 7). This figure can rise up to five times. Ofcom receives feedback on the Fund from awardees and report that there is little negative feedback from stations (Ofcom, 2010b: 4). The Fund has, however, been criticised by some stations and commentators for not being sufficient to support the growing number of community radio stations (Hallett and Wilson, 2010: 12, Ofcom, 2010a: 40). The DCMS have also indicated that the Fund will be cut by £17,000 in 2010/11 and that £20,000 will be diverted to support the CMA (Ofcom, 2010 b: 3).

Content and programming

3.21 Community radio stations in the UK broadcast for an average of 82 live hours per week topped up by a further 12 hours of original pre-recorded material per week (Ofcom, 2011b: 35 & 5). Networking or overnight automation is common within the radio sector generally. Speech accounts for around 32% of daytime output (Ofcom, 2011b: 36). A range of community organisations and initiatives can feature in this speech output as well as music which is selected according to the focus of a particular station or is more generic to satisfy a more general geographical audience. Specialist output tends to be broadcast in the evening. Most community radio stations also broadcast online and a number deliver through other licensed platforms such as DAB or satellite.

3.22 Ofcom is required to consider whether stations will broaden choice and offer distinctive content which is sufficiently different to other local commercial and community radio services (Ofcom, 2010a: 29). Consequently, music output is necessarily diverse with community radio, ranging from mainstream pop, Christian rock and gospel to devotional and spiritual Islamic songs.

3.23 Speech output across UK stations can include contributions from local public bodies, private and third sector organisations. Local individuals and celebrities as well as professionals from different services such as health, fire and the police can feature in programming output. A variety of languages are also spoken on community radio, although this can be dependent on the availability of particular volunteers. Community radio stations also undertake outreach work such as attending events and holding outside broadcasts. Audiences in the UK are increasingly being engaged through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and web forums (Ofcom, 2010a: 33). Although on-air discussion is a popular way of expressing views, this is also substituted by text and email.

3.24 Paul Moore (2008: 46) argues that community radio assumes that listeners are subjects and participants rather than objects to be captured for advertisers, or citizens to be informed or improved. This is an important point as it illustrates how community radio is seen to create broadcasting space which is free from commercial interests (Elson, 2007: 32) and is shaped by the contours and needs of its immediate environment.

The arts and community radio

3.25 In their research report, Chochrane et al (2008: 8-10) highlight the commonality between the arts and community radio in the UK, arguing that community radio utilises art forms and represents and progresses artistic interests. For example, the authors suggest that there is a high commitment to literature and spoken word programming and that a number of stations produce drama on a regular basis. Approximately 70% of community radio programming is music-based, often reflecting the complex layers of musical practice which intersect particular communities. There is evidence (Chochrane et al, 2008: 8) to suggest that many urban stations are beginning to develop effective partnerships with well-established theatres, producers and performers. Chochrane et al (2008: 9-10) also suggest that film and visual arts feature prominently in listings and review programmes, through interviews with artists and coverage of exhibitions and events. Organising and covering local events, festivals and carnivals plays a central role in community radio. Approaches to training vary with some stations offering accredited courses and structured training programmes, but the majority rely on informal mechanisms (ibid).

3.26 Chochrane's research (2008: 9) points out that the arts sector is a key potential ally and delivery partner for community radio in Britain. The sector acts as a conduit for information about the arts and cultural activity, functioning as a cultural 'hub' connecting artists and organisations together (ibid). The authors highlight the considerable synergy the sector has with the creative industries, not least, through its training and skills development function which enables many volunteers to pursue careers in the mainstream media. They maintain that there is considerable scope for the Learning and Skills Councils and the Sector Skills Council to support training in community radio settings (ibid). They caution that involvement with formal education and accredited training should be developed in ways that take into account the sector's informality and slender administrative resources (ibid). The report makes a number of recommendations relevant to this review:

• That the community radio sector is recognised by the Arts Council England (ACE) as a delivery agent for innovation and participation in the arts and actively seeks to support the growth of the sector
• That ACE and the CMA work together to build networks and increase understanding between the arts and community radio sectors, public and private sector agencies, venues and arts organisations
• That discussions should take place between Government departments to recognise the role community radio plays in achieving cultural, social, educational, environmental and regeneration benefits
• That the Sector Skills Councils - Skillset and Creative and Cultural Skills work with the CMA and ACE to ensure community radio is represented in workforce development and training within the wider creative and media sector - training opportunities should also be mapped and publicised
• That the ACE ensure there is a designated officer to act as a 'first contact' for community radio practitioners seeking arts funding
• That the Government should ensure the community radio sector is aware of possible business support services
• That the CMA should organise a series of regional seminars to showcase excellence in arts-based programming and raise awareness of community radio work
• That the CMA should develop a marketing, press and communications strategy to raise the profile of the sector

Volunteering

3.27 Volunteering is a key characteristic of the community radio sector in the UK with volunteers taking on a variety of roles from presenting to marketing, journalism and sports correspondence. A number of stations are entirely volunteer run. Volunteer involvement varies from 1 to over 295 hours per week with UK stations on average working with around 78 volunteers (Ofcom, 2011b: 36). Ofcom estimates that volunteers contribute close to 250,000 hours a month (Ofcom, 2011b: 6). Volunteers can be involved for a short time or for many years.

3.28 The value of volunteering is highlighted by Clayton and McDonald (2006: 12) who point out that volunteering links people together in networks of shared norms, reciprocity, trust, solidarity, and community action. They maintain that communities that have volunteers as active citizens will have higher social capital and be stronger and more cohesive. Volunteers are regarded as pivotal to this link between community radio and social capital - "The pursuit and entrenchment of community radio as a force for civic virtue is arguably one of the potentially positive manifestations of social capital as a creative force for the public good" (ibid).

Training

3.29 According to Ofcom (2010a: 34), all stations in Britain offer some form of training for volunteers and the majority also offer training opportunities to other members of their target community too. Training ranges from taster sessions and short courses through to fully accredited training programmes (ibid). Schools are also encouraged to undertake radio skills training. Training partnerships with other local media organisations as well as local agencies such as health or community groups have been formed by some. Many stations also offer work experience opportunities to school pupils or students. Placements can run from a day to a few weeks.

3.30 According to Cochrane et al. (2008: 68) community radio is underrepresented in planning for training, workforce development and professional learning within the wider creative and cultural sector. It is suggested (ibid) that Skillset (the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media) should work more closely with the CMA and the Arts Council of England, or in Scotland's case this would mean Creative Scotland, to rectify this situation.

Listener numbers and profiles

3.31 RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd) is the radio industry standard for measuring listener figures in the UK. It is used by the BBC and commercial radio services and costs around £10,000 to commission. Community radio stations are not measured by RAJAR and consequently independent audited listening figures and profiles are not available to assess the market share, advertising effectiveness or social impact of the sector. Stations are also not able to use potentially positive listening figures from such research to secure more revenue funding. Not withstanding the prohibitive cost of RAJAR, the facility is not designed to measure small audiences. Given this it is questionable whether it is an appropriate means of measuring community radio audiences.

3.32 Ofcom invite stations to detail any listener research they have conducted in their reports, however, any evidence from stations in the UK is informal and largely anecdotal. Methods include listener correspondence, emails, social networking, website forums, phone calls, street surveys and even a website Guest Book (Ofcom, 2010a: 41/49). ^[9] Third party companies are used on occasion. Cost, lack of resource and staff capacity/skills are all highlighted as factors inhibiting more diligent listener research by individual stations.

3.33 The Scottish Government (2009) published research on public attitudes towards broadcasting in Scotland. Overall, low levels of listening were recorded for community radio, with 2% indicating they had listened in the last 7 days (Scottish Government, 2009: 34). Levels were highest in the Highlands and Islands with 10% of respondents having listened to community radio in the past 7 days. This was followed by 5% for the North, 2% for the East/South and 1% listening in the West of Scotland (ibid).

3.34 Demand was also measured (Scottish Government, 2009) by the asking respondents whether they thought it was important to have a community radio station in their area. Overall, 49% indicated this was either fairly or very important to them (Scottish Government, 2009: 34). A further 33% said the opposite (that it was fairly or very unimportant to have a station in their area). Therefore, while almost half said it was important to have a local community radio station, 51% either indicated this was not a priority, that they did not know, or were not sure. It would be helpful to know to what degree the neutral and negative responses were based on informed opinion about or experience of community radio provision rather than a lack of understanding of what it involves. The research does breakdown responses into socio economic groups, indicating that 56% of C2s were in favour of having community radio provision in their area while 45% of AB1s thought it was important. It is also apparent that 41% of the over 65s testified positively. Geographical differentiations were noted again and stronger support was recorded where community radio already exists.

Table two - importance of having own community radio station in Scotland

Region	Level of Support
North	59%
East/South	48%
West	45%
Highlands and Islands	67%

Source: Public Attitudes Towards Broadcasting in Scotland 2009. Scottish Government, 2009: 34-35.

3.35 Given the geographical differentiations in both listening patterns and demand for community radio locally, the literature implies that it may be more appropriate for community radio provision in Scotland to adopt a more nuanced place-based approach rather than one based on the assumption of equal demand/need across the whole country. Ensuring stations are supported within particular geographical areas should also, however, be balanced alongside the need to accommodate thematic stations which serve particular listener sub-groups (such as minority ethnic populations) or interest categories (such as different music genres).

3.36 Using computer modelling of population data and signal reception, Ofcom estimate that over 10.5 million adults in the UK (just over 12.5 million people in total), are able to receive a community radio service (Ofcom, 2011b: 12). These figures estimate potential to receive a signal, however, rather than actual take up of community radio services. Community radio is not intended to maximise listenership. It is also worth noting that the delivery of social gain objectives can be as much about what takes place off-air during the production process as the numbers of listeners any given station may attract. As Phil Korbel observed, community radio is about the quality of engagement, the ownership audiences feel for the station and how it is able to benefit both participants and listeners (Korbel, 2006 quoted in Hallett and Wilson, 2010: 17). Notwithstanding this, the literature did not contain a reliable account of or method for assessing either listener numbers or experiences.

3.37 According to Ofcom (2010a: 3), the majority of stations in Britain serve a general audience in an urban/suburban area (17%) or a town/rural area (43%). Others serve communities of interest such as minority ethnic groups (14%), youth audiences (11%) or religious groups (7%) (ibid). Stations can serve more than one type of community and those with a geographical community often include a specific remit to serve subgroups within this wider community.

Impact and benefits

3.38 According to Ofcom's (2011b: 5) annual report 2010/11, the community radio sector in the UK reported providing the following benefits at a cost of just over £10 million pounds:

• A total of almost 12,500 volunteering opportunities
• Over 45,000 volunteer hours each week
• Over 15,000 hours of original radio output each week
• Output broadcast in a wide range of community languages

3.39 The literature reviewed also included a significant number of case studies of individual community radio initiatives. These included using community radio to improve communication between landlords and tenants (Lupton, 2005a), an initiative in Oldham to engage students and young people in clean and green messages (Odell, 2006) and Radio Regen in Manchester engaging disenfranchised young people (including refugees) through workshops, training courses and projects (Crispin, 2007). Other named benefits in the literature include:

• Education and training;
  • Building local volunteer and community aptitudes
  • Contributing to local education/training provision
  • Providing training and work experience opportunities
  • Promoting technological literacy
  • Developing media skills and awareness
  • Developing entrepreneurial skills
• Personal wellbeing;
  • Engaging teenagers and giving them something to do
  • Boosting self and collective confidence
  • Providing escapism and 'the feel good' factor
  • Attaining better standards of living and life opportunities
• Creativity and belonging;
  • Consolidating the identity of a given area
  • Enabling cultural and creative expression
• Participation (or the 'big society');
  • Promoting volunteering
  • Encouraging the aspirations of peers
• Representation;
  • Providing a voice for underrepresented groups of people such as older people and minority language speakers
  • engaging individuals and communities which other stations and community groups cannot reach
  • Responding to particular needs such as refugee or migrant communities
  • Ensuring overall radio output is more diversified and locally responsive
  • Producing alternative 'non-mainstream' formats and content
• Communication;
  • Providing an extra communication channel for local service providers to promote their work and to keep in touch with local people's views
  • Keeping people in touch with news and events locally
  • Ensuring information is accessible
  • Acting as an impartial forum and mediating local disputes

3.40 A number of commentators celebrate the transformative power of community radio (Everitt, 2003a/b, Clayton and McDonald, 2006:10 & 23). However, Cammaerts (2009: 6) points out that the reality of community radio as an alternative platform can be a lot messier than the positive accounts allow for, with many reproducing mainstream formats, adopting semi-professional governing structures and financing their work through advertising and sponsorship contracts. Additionally, it should be noted that the evidence on benefits is largely anecdotal. This review did not uncover any systematic breakdown or measure of the social, educational, cultural, personal, community or other outcomes resulting from either producing or listening to community radio broadcasts. This is not to neglect the value of existing accounts, it is simply to note that these conclusions have not been empirically tested, particularly in relation to longer term consequences. Echoing this concern, Professor Everitt (2003a: 8 &133) in his otherwise enthusiastic evaluation of the 15 access radio projects in the UK called for Ofcom to commission major research to assess the social and personal outcomes of access radio.

Linking up with other services

3.41 In his follow up study of the access radio pilot projects, Everitt (2003b: 41) applauded the development of partnerships between stations and local councils, other public sector and voluntary bodies and local strategic partnerships. Indeed, a number of case studies also highlighted how community radio can benefit other service providers locally, enabling them to reach and engage potential users, improve relations locally and inform people of the work they do. For example, Peter Richmond (Lupton, 2005a: 21), the Chief Executive of Castle vale Community Housing Association explained that the association provides free accommodation to Vale FM because of the social and economic benefits of having the station on the doorstep and the positive experience they provide for local people:

Particularly for young people, a radio station is somewhere they're comfortable to go into. It's using people's interests to explore opportunities for training and employment. And there have been some real success stories in the past of young people who have been right on the edge of exclusion and through their involvement with the station that's then helped them into formal training.
Peter Richmond, Chief Executive, Castle vale Community Housing Association

3.42 A further example is Preston FM, a new station set up by community arts company Prescap, over 70 volunteers were involved in the first broadcast. The Women's Refuge were encouraged to take part in the breakfast show and their director commented that their involvement had been beneficial for both the refuge and the listening public.

We had one woman visiting our Drop in Centre, The Hope Centre, specifically because she had listened to the first programme. The Refuge has benefited greatly from the project because we have been able to tell listeners about the wide range of services we provide. We interviewed local service users and nothing is quite as powerful as a survivor of domestic violence telling of her experiences and how she has come through it. We were able to raise public awareness of the massive problem of domestic violence and by presenting part of the show in Gujarati, Punjabi and Urdu meant that we reached out to a wider community.
Valerie Wise, Director, Women's Refuge

3.43 In 2005 Phil Korbel, Head of Radio Regen and former programme maker for Radio 4, claimed (Lupton, 2005a: 21) that "regeneration practitioners ignore it [community radio] at their peril" and will use it as second nature in 3-5 years time. Although this view may now be regarded as overly optimistic by some, the literature suggests that community radio can enhance understanding of other forms of local provision and improve local people's engagement with these services.

3.44 Reference to Scottish stations in the literature included Ofcom's example of shmuFM in Aberdeen which following £30,000 of Scottish Government funding through the Offender Literacies Learning Challenge Fund, offered prisoners community media activities in prison. This support and skills training was continued on release in order to break the cycle of offending. The project was recognised as good practice by HMIe (Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education, Scotland) (Ofcom, 2010a: 36). Insight Radio which serves the visually impaired in Glasgow is also cited for helping to educate potential employers about employing blind or partially sighted individuals (Ofcom, 2010a: 37). In 2011 Awaz FM in Glasgow were recognised as winner of the Queens Awards MBE for Voluntary Groups and Black Diamond FM (Midlothian) won several awards for programme quality and production (Ofcom, 2011b: 59). Young presenter Kenny Coyle of 3TFM Community Radio for Health in Salcoats also received a National Award from Creative Scotland at Adult Learners Week (ibid). Celtic Music Radio and Insights Radio in Glasgow both receive awards for traditional music output and station of the year respectively (ibid).

3.45 As part of the reporting process Ofcom encourage stations to report on their achievements beyond their specific social gains. Named achievements in the sector's annual report 2009/10 included; remaining financially viable on air despite the current economic climate; bringing together a large number of people without broadcasting experience, and; continuing to deliver training, music, news information and advice without substantial funding (Ofcom, 2010a: 39). Celtic Music Radio in Glasgow cited their outside broadcasts as an important way of involving performers, singers, bands and the general public. In terms of further achievements, Awaz FM in Glasgow achieved acclaim by receiving the Queens Award for Voluntary Service which is regarded as the equivalent of an MBE.

Quality

3.46 Given that community radio is conceived and produced by local people with limited technical and broadcasting skills, it is unrealistic to expect the same level of quality as achieved by the BBC and commercial radio. Although little is written about the quality of programming output, comments from a Preston FM listener (Mailout, 2006: 17) imply that listeners appreciate the unpolished and genuine style of delivery:

It is obvious that a lot of the presenters on Preston FM haven't done the job before and there have been a few guffs when I have been listening. I think this is one of the things which has kept me tuned in since the launch. Personally, I find the down to earth, average Joe-type of presenter much more endearing than the polished ones who get paid to do the job. Earlier there was a guy who obviously has some form of disability but I thought it was excellent that he was given the opportunity to take part in something he could never do professionally. I thought he did superbly.
Listener, Preston FM

3.47 This view is echoed by Phil Korbel (Harward, 2003: 13) of Radio Regen who remarked that:

The whole thing about this is our volunteers make our programmes. If the airwaves sometimes thud to the sound of a presenter bumping into the microphone, who cares - better to have local accents, minority languages and enthusiastic people than uniform media professionals… We have a music programme in Benin [a Nigerian language]. I don't understand a word of it but you can tell the presenters are buzzing.

3.48 This view suggests that whilst reasonable production standards should apply to community radio output and the aspiration should be there to be as professional as possible, the involvement of local people and relevance of programme content are more important than polished performances.

Common support needs

3.49 Clayton and McDonald (2006: 17) outline a number of areas of concern which were suggested to them by community radio station participants. These include:

• A lack of strategic thinking and poor marketing (which can result in poor visibility)
• Controlling quality with limited staff
• Advertising industry perceptions that community stations 'sound rubbish' and are therefore not worth backing
• The lack of audience research which hampers attempts to target advertisers and consequently conduct financial planning and development

3.50 The following sections provide more detail on common areas of difficulty outlined in the literature.

Funding

3.51 With a decline of 19% in average income compared to the previous year, lack of funding was highlighted as the most common difficulty faced by community radio stations in the UK (Ofcom, 2011b: 14, Clayton and McDonald, 2006:14-16).^[10] Justifying radio as an art form to potential arts funders and the difficulty of obtaining funding for unattractive costs like electricity were pointed out (Clayton and McDonald, 2006: 15). In their report on The Arts and Community Radio, Cochrane et al (2008: 67) recommend that the "Arts Council of England recognises the community radio sector as a delivery agent for innovation and participation in the arts and actively seeks to support growth in the sector". The prescriptive nature of project funding is also highlighted (Clayton and McDonald, 2006: 15) as this restricts what stations can spend their money on. While the Community Radio Fund is welcomed it is also acknowledged that this is not enough to provide financial stability through properly subsidising core costs (ibid).

3.52 Cuts in budgets for potential supporters and a more cautious approach from advertisers were another source of concern. Leith FM explain how the financial climate has made fundraising more difficult and that income from advertising has been limited (Ofcom, 2010a: 66). Grants available in their first year of operation have also not materialised in subsequent years. The growth in the number of community radio stations in Britain may have exacerbated an increasingly competitive funding climate. As a consequence many stations rely more on voluntary workers and have imposed redundancies and/or wage cuts as a way of reducing expenditure (Ofcom, 2010a: 40).

Volunteers

3.53 Although volunteers are the lifeblood of community radio, difficulties can also accompany their involvement. Clayton and McDonald (2006: 14) suggest that it can be hard for stations to manage volunteer expectations as many would rather play music and hear their own voice than go out into the community and involve them in the broadcast process. ^[11] Those volunteers who have an appropriate level of interest and skill can also move on quickly to the BBC or independent local radio. Community radio looses talent quickly as it does not pay (ibid). The problem of 'churn' is identified with volunteers leaving because they are 'no good' or because they move onto a job in the professional media. The quality and commitment of work experience trainees is also highlighted in Clayton and McDonald's work (ibid). Finally, difficulties associated with an over-supply of volunteers were also pointed out (ibid).

Balancing volunteer and paid worker input

3.54 An increased reliance on volunteers can result in a loss of expertise and also affect the quality and consistency of the service in the UK (Ofcom, 2010a: 40). Reduced professional capacity can also have knock-on affects on the delivery of social outcomes and specific services like training and programming. Regular news services and speech-based content require more resources and are difficult to facilitate without paid worker input. One station reported an increased reliance on the goodwill of volunteers as access to one part-time member of staff was not enough to fulfil both their programming responsibilities and community remit (Ofcom, 2010a: 69). A Scottish station pointed out that limited governance and senior management skills among volunteers has hampered organisational development, decision-making and fundraising at the station (ibid). Another station highlighted how without a dedicated worker it was not possible to respond to the "huge demand" for training courses and volunteering opportunities (ibid).

Coverage and premises

3.55 Ofcom (2011:51) identify coverage as a major issue for a number of stations in Britain, with some feeling that they are not achieving suitable coverage or reaching their chosen target area or are restricted by the coverage allocation. Inadequate coverage also makes it difficult for some stations to sell advertising (ibid). A number of stations in Scotland reported difficulties reaching all their target community. Revival FM, Glasgow indicated that their low power level has resulted in poor/patchy signal reception (Ofcom, 2010a: 69). A lack of space and facilities were also identified as difficulties by a small number of stations (Ofcom, 2010: 69).

International perspectives

3.56 A significant portion of the literature on community radio focuses on examples of the empowering and liberating effects of the medium on individuals and communities in the developing world (Bosch, 2007, Elliot, 2010, Jones, 2007, Rael, 2009). Community media - and community radio in particular - are seen as potent tools enabling communities to represent themselves, challenge and critique authority, and advocate strong citizenship (Cammaerts, 2009: 2). The peace-building capabilities of the media are also being increasingly recognised within these contexts. The literature provides an example of community radio assisting with disaster relief efforts -- the Federal Communications Commission licensed an emergency radio station for use by families displaced by Hurricane Katrina, in Houston (Social Policy Summer, 2006). There is evidence that literacy rates among school children are significantly higher in villages in Benin with greater access to community radio (Keefer and Khemani, 2011: 2 & 27).^[12] Improving community relations, communicating information and promoting social justice principles are further facilities attributed to community radio within the developing world.

3.57 Cammaerts (2009: 3) maintains that the propensity to concentrate on Community radio in Asia, Latin America and Africa has led to a lack of critical reflection on its role within Western Democracies and the stifling and/or promotional effects of the regulatory regimes which govern it. Jones (2007), for example, celebrates the first on-air broadcast of WMXP-L/95.5 FM in Greenville, South Carolina, which marked the end of a seven-year battle against the National Association of Broadcasters and the commercial radio station's lobbying organisation in Washington D.C to provide an alternative to the city's large commercial stations for the African-American community. Organised resistance to what commentators regard as the ubiquitous power of commercial radio appears to be most prevalent in literature about the United States, although discourse emanating from the developing world commonly pits community radio in opposition to what is regarded as the dominating, unaccountable and unrepresentative interests of commercial operators, state-owned and controlled press and/or oppressive political and social regimes.

When you look at the big companies - Clear Channel, GE, ABC, Disney - trying to negotiate more and more control without being accountable, what you're finding is a media justice movement that really understands how they're trying to do it, a movement capable of using the same leverage to fight for access. What we're saying is that we want the local control anddetermination which allows us to participate in our democracy … to say no to corporate consolidation of media outlets.
Hannah Sasaman, programme director, Prometheus Radio Project ^[13]

3.58 In this scenario, community radio takes on a profound purpose which goes beyond cultural representation to become a matter of democratic participation. Never-the-less, Cammaerts (2009) argues that community stations in the West are often forced to operate in the margins and struggle to exist and survive. Drawing on the US, UK and Belgium examples, he (Cammaerts, 2009: 2-3) identifies the following factors as having restrained the development of community radio in the West:

• Having to win the right to exist
• Gaining political recognition
• Having little lobbying power
• Accessing adequate frequencies
• Being positioned as rogue and unprofessional actors within the broadcasting community

3.59 Hallin and Manchini (2004) outline three comparative regulatory models as: the North/Central European democratic corporatist model which combines commercial and public service media interests; the North Atlantic or liberal model which is market dominated and the Mediterranean or polarized model in which state or political elites exert a high degree of control over both public and commercial media. While divergences exist in this and other historical accounts, Cammaerts maintains that the US, UK and Belgium regulatory regimes and the accompanying theoretical conceptions of these regimes have in their own way excluded community radio. Cammaerts (2009: 1) suggests that (Western) regulatory regimes need to account for the distinctive nature of community radio in order to create an enabling environment and emphasise the importance of participation and civic culture. This view is echoed across other commentators who openly question whether commercial radio can legitimately represent local interests:

When big companies put out content that is primarily about increasing advertising revenue, it's clear that issues that are important to the localcommunity in that market simply do not matter to them.
Hannah Sasaman, programme director, Prometheus Radio Project ^[14]

Conclusion

3.60 Having highlighted the existing evidence on the processes and structures which underpin the community radio sector, this review looked at listener profiles, the impacts and benefits associated with the sector and common support needs in the UK. Finally, international perspectives were discussed. This section discusses remaining gaps in knowledge and outlines the research questions for the second phase of the research. A number of policy issues which have transpired from this literature review are outlined in chapter six.

3.61 The literature review shows that there is a paucity of evidence on community radio provision in Scotland. Given this, the existing account of community radio in the literature is largely derived from England, the UK as a whole or through international example.

3.62 Whilst there is evidence pointing towards the overall benefits of community radio for participants, there is a lack of systematic evidence on outcomes for listeners. Little is known about the numbers, profile, preferences and interests of community radio listeners in the UK, for example. Demand has also proved difficult to ascertain and consequently investment decisions have largely been made on the basis of the benefits of producing rather than listening. This review suggests that benefits for participants may be far reaching, although it is not clear how representative and inclusive this volunteer workforce actually is. Discussion in the literature about what is meant by 'community' suggest that more thought could be given to how communities are defined and targeted and consequently how services are shaped around their interests.

3.63 The literature draws attention to the difficulties stations in the UK have in funding core costs and paying for key workers. Financial stability is likely to become increasingly difficult to attain within a more stringent public funding climate and when advertising revenues are decreasing. Rewarding synergies between the arts and community radio sectors have been uncovered, as has the opportunity this represents for community radio to further tap into the arts funding infrastructure. Difficulties relating to volunteer management and training, poor marketing and the lack of strategic thinking in the UK sector are also outlined. Concerns were raised, particularly through the international literature, on the status of community radio relative to the wider broadcasting community.

3.64 Although this review has gone some way to answering the objectives of this study, there remain unanswered questions about benefits and the ways in which community radio in Scotland currently works with other sectors and institutions. Improved collaboration with education, cultural and creative sectors could potentially help to consolidate the position of community radio, increase participation and broaden its appeal to new listeners, for example. A more thorough understanding of the sector's support requirements in Scotland would also help to inform future strategic decisions.

3.65 The literature reviewed highlighted a number of shortfalls in the available evidence:

• Limited evidence on the community radio sector in Scotland specifically
• A lack of data on listener numbers and socio-economic profile (for advertising purposes and to justify public investment on the basis of social gain and community involvement)
• A paucity of evidence on listener experiences and what they get out of listening
• No systematic breakdown of benefits over time or into different outcome categories

3.66 Although the literature search uncovered a surprising breadth of writing about community radio, very little was written about community radio in Scotland specifically. A number of questions central to this research were not, therefore, resolved by closer reading of the literature. For example:

• How does Scottish community radio operate in terms of funding, volunteering, training and so on?
• What are the perceived benefits of taking part in community radio in Scotland?
• What currently works well and how could future provision be improved upon?
• In what ways does the sector collaborate with other local service providers and institutions in Scotland?
• What support does community radio in Scotland require in order to become sustainable and maximise benefits for local people?

3.67 Building on the literature review, the second phase of the research was undertaken in order to answer these questions and provide a more comprehensive evidence platform from which to direct future policy and investment in community radio provision in Scotland.