Rádio Comunitárias: uma realidade inexistente entr…

Rádio Comunitárias: uma realidade inexistente entre nós

No Media Guardian, um artigo sobre um relatório dedicado às rádios comunitárias revela o seu papel contra a exclusão social, através da amplificação de sectores da sociedade menos representados nos mass media. O “The Community Radio Sector: Looking to the Future” foi publicado pelo Department for Culture, Media and Sport e destaca o papel destas rádios na formação profissional dos indivíduos e criação de emprego.

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Community radio ‘engages those most in need’

John Plunkett
Tuesday November 28, 2006
MediaGuardian.co.uk

Community radio: helping tackle social exclusion, says report

The new generation of community radio stations has been praised in a government report for giving a voice to under-represented sections of society.

Small-scale stations, which number around 100 to date but will eventually total 200, helped tackle social exclusion and gave a voice to people who had been ignored by mainstream media and the education system, the survey concluded.

The broadcasting minister, Shaun Woodward, said the training offered by community broadcasters “is engaging those most in need, individuals who find it difficult to learn in traditional educational environments.

“Stations are giving people a focus and the opportunity to regain confidence and alleviate loneliness.

“And increasingly, community radio means economic gain for individuals, with employment opportunities flowing through to the attainment of better standards of living and life opportunities.”

The Community Radio Sector: Looking to the Future, published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, said community stations had delivered “important social gains across a range of issues, but particularly in respect of volunteering, work placement and training opportunities.

“Several of the stations have made impacts at a local level. All the stations recognise the part they can play in helping to foster social inclusion and active citizenship. They have discovered that giving people a voice can lead to come surprising outcomes.”

The report, which focused on the activity of 13 community radio stations, used the example of “truculent teenagers who begin to register what goes around comes around and modify their behaviour accordingly”.

It also cited a 38-year-old with literacy problems who “discovered he had considerable creative talent and now writes his own scripts and presents historical documentaries on air”.

However, the report said funding would remain a key issue for some of the stations. Ofcom currently distributes up to £500,000 a year among operators - funding which is due to be reviewed next year.

Some commercial radio companies have been critical of the new breed of community stations, claiming they are under-regulated and distort the advertising market.

However, announcing the report at the weekend, Mr Woodward said the benefits of the stations extended beyond the people who worked at them, “encouraging the aspirations of peers and siblings, extended families and the wider communities”.