** On behalf of Last Moyo, [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> **
CALL FOR PAPERS:
THE RADIO JOURNAL: INTERNATIONAL STUDIES IN BROADCAST & AUDIO MEDIA
Special Issue: Community Radio in Africa: Critical Reflections, Strategic interventions
Edited by Dr. Last Moyo
Senior lecturer, Media Studies, University of Witwatersrand, P Bag 3, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa. E-mail: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
INTRODUCTION
The deregulation of the broadcasting industry in Africa more than two decades ago profoundly transformed the broadcasting institution in the continent. In most countries, it did not only remove state monopoly in broadcasting, but also brought about pluralism and diversity in the industry. A number of countries embraced the three tier broadcasting system comprising public, private, and community broadcasters. Community radio in particular, became an epitome of this new democratic dispensation as an information and communication resource for citizens to actively engage with the state on a range of development and democracy issues. Radio stations representing geographic and communities of interest were created with the aim of enabling wider social participation so as to give communities a voice in social, political and economic issues. In short, community radio represented the ideal of bottom-up and participatory radio cultures that were based on the people’s right to communicate and participate in issues of public interest. However, after more than several years of broadcasting, it is clear that community radio in Africa is facing numerous problems. Apart from the problems of financial sustainability due to donor fatigue and a weak community economic base in some communities, there are other problems to do with skills and strategies of facilitating community participation at content and governance levels. Community radio is increasingly caught up in an identity crisis because of its appropriation of the private commercial broadcasting model that delivers audiences to the advertisers. There is less informative and educational programming produced by communities themselves. Entertainment programming mostly in the form of pop music dominates thus potentially creating a captive audience of consumers and not active citizens. This Special Issue seeks to critically engage with some of these key issues affecting community radio in Africa. While not overlooking success stories in community radio broadcasting in the continent, it intends to examine and discuss problems associated with the ownership models, funding and financing models, content production models and participation models in community radio. The central underlying concerns of the issue are: Is it time to rethink these models? Who are the communities of community radio? To what extent do they participate in the generation of content and the funding and governance of their stations?
Through exploring case studies across Africa, the Special Issue invites a critical engagement with many issues that potentially undermine the role of community radio as a space for communicative democracy and participatory communication for local communities. To what extent is community radio in different socio-political and economic contexts in Africa still representative of the democratic participant forms of communication? Invariably, focus would also be on how community radio is changing especially with the advent of the Internet and mobile phones- technologies that potentially broaden the scope for community involvement and participation in content production.
RECOMMENDED THEMES
Contributions must focus on, among other related issues, the following themes:
· Community radio and community participation
· Community radio cultural production models
· Community radio political economies ( Re/Thinking ownership, funding, governance models)
· Community radio and social change
· Broadcasting policy and community radio
· Language, culture and community radio
· Community radio, the Internet and mobile phones
· Community radio and digital migration
SUBMISSION
Please send your abstract on or before 31 May 2012 to Dr. Last Moyo at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Authors of accepted proposals would then receive a full timeline on the publication process from the editor.
_____________________________________
Last Moyo, PhD
Media Studies Department
University of the Witwatersrand
School of Literature and Languages
P. Bag 3
Wits 2050
Tel: + 27 11 717 4241
Fax: +2711 717 4149
Publications: http://wits.academia.edu/LastMoyo
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